Green Work Motivation as A Predictor of Strategic Employee Green Behaviour in Manufacturing Firms

Manufacturing firms are increasingly expected to translate environmental management commitments into daily workplace practices. However, formal environmental procedures may remain symbolic when employees are not personally and organisationally motivated to enact them. This study examines green work motivation as a predictor of strategic employee green behaviour in manufacturing firms. Strategic employee green behaviour refers to employee actions that support environmental sustainability through task-related green behaviour, proactive green behaviour and standard-oriented green behaviour aligned with organisational environmental objectives. The study used a quantitative cross-sectional survey design involving 304 technicians from manufacturing firms in Malaysia recognised under ISO 14001 and registered with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers. Technicians were selected because their operational responsibilities are closely connected with pollution control, resource use, waste management and environmental procedure implementation. The research instrument was adapted from established measures and validated through exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling using SPSS 23 and AMOS 23. The measurement results supported the adequacy of the constructs. Green work motivation showed strong item loadings, while strategic employee green behaviour demonstrated high composite reliability and convergent validity. The structural result discovered a strong and significant positive effect of green work motivation on strategic employee green behaviour (beta = 0.750, C.R. = 8.244, p < 0.001). The correlation between the two constructs was also substantial (r = 0.755, p < 0.001), indicating that motivated employees were more likely to demonstrate green behaviour that was not only routine but also proactive and aligned with organisational standards. The findings suggest that environmental management in manufacturing firms should not depend solely on audits or certification. Instead, firms need to develop motivational conditions that encourage employees to internalise environmental responsibility and consistently perform strategic green actions at work.

Green work motivation, manufacturing firms, strategic employee green behaviour, employee green behaviour, ISO 14001

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