Sustainable Leadership Promotes Employees Taking Charge in Green Production: A Resource Investment Perspective

Abstract

Sustainable performance in green production hinges on collective employee engagement. While prior research has largely focused on the influence of sustainable leadership in fostering employee role behaviors and team relationship-oriented behaviors, this study delves into the critical role of taking charge behavior, which is related to the organization’s additional performance growth and long-term development. This study, grounded in the Conservation of Resources theory, explores how sustainable leadership encourages taking charge behavior through employee resilience as a mediator and colleague support as a moderator. Using the longitudinal method, data from 386 paired responses were collected from corporate employees across two time periods. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis, supplemented by path analysis to explore mediating and moderating effects. The findings indicate that sustainable leadership can enhance taking charge behavior by strengthening employee resilience, and in environments with robust colleague support, the impact of sustainable leadership on improving employee resilience is magnified, resulting in a more effective promotion of taking charge. This study contributes both theoretically and practically to the field of sustainable leadership.