The effect of environment-specific servant leadership on employee green behaviors in the context of sustainable management: The mediation role of the green role model

The solution to one of the most pressing issues of our time, environmental problems, relies on individuals, organizations, and societies exhibiting environmentally friendly behaviors. These behaviors encompass actions both within and outside the workplace. Leaders play critical roles in increasing environmental awareness, motivating, and guiding others. Servant leadership, centered on prioritizing followers' needs and empowering them, forms the basis of leadership. Environmentally servant leadership, on the other hand, entails leaders encouraging environmentally friendly behaviors among personnel in line with environmental values. This study examines the impact of environmentally servant leadership on environmentally friendly behaviors both within and outside the workplace, as well as the mediating role of the green role model. The research is based on a sample of 420 academic and administrative staff from Süleyman Demirel University and Isparta Applied Sciences University. Surveys were conducted using Likert-type scales, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was preferred. The analysis results indicate that environmentally servant leadership is positively related to environmentally friendly behaviors both within and outside the workplace, and the green role model partially mediates this relationship. The findings underscore the significant role of environmentally servant leadership and the green role model in promoting environmentally friendly behaviors and highlight the potential for leaders to increase organizational environmental awareness