Green banking practices and proactive environmental behavior: the roles of employee environmental commitment and perceived organizational support toward the environment

Purpose This study aims to investigate how green banking practices and perceived organizational support toward the environment shape employee environmental commitment and proactive environmental behavior in the banking sector, drawing on social exchange theory, the resource-based view and conservation of resources theory. Design/methodology/approach This study used cross-sectional survey design and data were collected from employees of the banking sector in Türkiye. The authors assessed the proposed moderated mediation model with structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate that green banking practices have a direct and indirect positive effect on proactive environmental behavior through employee environmental commitment. In addition, perceived organizational support toward the environment reinforces the green banking practices-employee environmental commitment relationship and thus has a positive moderating indirect effect on proactive environmental behavior. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data limit causal inference. Practical implications The results indicates that banks should engage employee to engage with sustainability initiatives and that matching green practices with organizational support that is visible and legitimate would help banks develop employee commitment to sustainability initiatives. Such support, in contexts which are highly regulated and hierarchical, may be helpful for employees to view sustainability efforts as an essential part of their job rather than an additional demand. Originality/value This study contributes by embedding structural green practices and psychological support mechanisms into a moderated mediation framework and provides contextual evidence from a less researched banking industry of an emerging market.