The role of Islamic work ethics and emotional intelligence in fostering employee pro-environmental behaviour

Abstract

The concern regarding the environmental degradation has become one of the main topics all around the world. However, the progress in solving the issue remained sluggish. Preserving the environment can only be done by changing individuals' behaviour towards pro-environmental activities in addressing the problem of the environmental degradation leading towards organizational sustainability. Nevertheless, the existing models pertaining to pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) in the workplace is not sufficiently taken into account in the current studies. Considering this, the present study extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) that identifies the role of the Islamic Work Ethics (IWE) and the Emotional Intelligence (EI) in fostering employee PEB in the universities in Malaysia. This model proposes that IWE acts as an antecedent of employee attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control that can lead towards the employee pro­environmental intention (EPEI). The model also suggests EI as the mediator between EPEi and employee pro-environmental behaviour (EPEB). This proposed model includes 11 hypotheses and is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Value­Belief-Norm Theory. A total of 420 questionnaires are distributed among six universities in Malaysia (Klang Valley area) which yielded 344 usable questionnaires to proceed for further analysis. The partial least squares based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that out of all 11 proposed hypotheses, 9 of them are supported while the remaining two are not supported. The study findings suggest that, in order to achieve the organizational sustainability, IWE and EI play significant roles in fostering the EPEB in the universities. Overall, this study proposes and verifies an extended model of the TPB in fostering EPEB. It reveals positive results in not only having a theoretical significance but also enhancing the understanding of the employees' behaviour in universities.