Role of Green Transformational Leadership on Environmental Performance in Academia: A Mediated Moderation Model

Scholars have acknowledged the importance of the organization's environmental performance; however, the factors contributing to improving ecological performance must be thoroughly investigated. Drawing on ability, motivation, opportunity theory, and social exchange theory to address this gap, this study investigated the impact of Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) on the environmental performance of green educational institutions in Pakistan. More so, the study empirically examined the mediation effect of green Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and the moderating effect of environmental concern on the environmental performance of educational institutions. The quantitative research design, cluster probability sampling technique, was used for selecting higher education institutions, and simple random probability sampling was used for selecting individuals. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire from teachers, staff, and heads of departments/sectional heads of 52 green higher educational institutions. Using SPSS and Smart PLS 4 software, the results suggest a direct association between green transformational leadership and green performance. Also, there is an indirect association between both variables when green OCB serves as a mediating variable. Further results show that environmental concern does not moderate the relationship between environmental performance and green OCB. Moreover, employees under GTL have sustainable behavior, which leads to higher environmental performance. This indicates that green transformational leadership, which promotes green OCB as well as green behavior, is a critical factor for firms in achieving environmental goals. The findings offer valuable lessons to institutions about how Academia should integrate green leadership and OCB into institutional policies to enhance environmental performance.