Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Green Behavior: The Mediating Role of Moral Attentiveness and Moderating Effect of Ethical Leadership

This study investigates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee green behavior, examining the mediating role of moral attentiveness and the moderating role of ethical leadership. Drawing on social identity theory, social exchange theory, and the person-situation interactionist perspective, we propose a moderated mediation model. Using a three-wave, time-lagged study with 417 employees from South Korean organizations, we find that CSR positively influences employee green behavior, partially mediated by moral attentiveness. Ethical leadership moderates the CSR-moral attentiveness relationship, such that the relationship is stronger under high ethical leadership. The indirect effect of CSR on employee green behavior via moral attentiveness is also stronger when ethical leadership is high. Our findings highlight the importance of fostering moral attentiveness and cultivating ethical leadership to promote employee environmental performance through CSR initiatives.