Survey links servant leadership to environmental behavior through employee passion

A three-wave survey of 245 white-collar manufacturing employees in Pakistan found that environmentally specific servant leadership was associated with employees’ pro-environmental behavior through harmonious environmental passion. The study, described as an early version of peer-reviewed research, used partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine a proposed mediation pathway and a possible moderation by internal environmental locus of control.

The survey was conducted in the non-Western, male-dominated manufacturing sector of Pakistan and separated its measurements across three waves. Its statistical model tested whether harmonious environmental passion helped explain the association between environmentally specific servant leadership and pro-environmental behavior. It also assessed whether employees’ internal environmental locus of control changed the strength of the relationship between leadership and passion. Because the evidence comes from a time-lagged observational survey rather than a randomized experiment, the results establish statistical associations and do not demonstrate that servant leadership caused the reported behavior.

The analysis identified harmonious environmental passion as a significant mediator. In the proposed model, employees who perceived environmentally specific servant leadership showed more environmentally engaged passion, and that passion was linked to stronger pro-environmental behavior. The authors interpret the pattern as evidence that the affective response to supportive leadership may be an important part of the pathway connecting leadership practices with environmental engagement at work. Their results extend the use of Affective Events Theory to a non-Western organizational setting.

Internal environmental locus of control did not significantly moderate the relationship between environmentally specific servant leadership and harmonious environmental passion, contrary to the study’s expectation. This non-significant result does not show that individual beliefs are irrelevant to environmental behavior; it indicates that the tested moderation was not supported in this sample and model. The authors suggest that the leadership-related affective process may have been more influential than control beliefs in shaping employees’ environmental passion, but the study does not establish why the moderation was absent.

Overall, the findings offer a measured explanation for how leadership could be associated with environmentally responsible conduct in the workplace. For Pakistan’s manufacturing sector, the results point to the possible importance of leaders who support environmental concerns as part of their broader service-oriented approach. The sample was limited to 245 white-collar employees in one country and sector, so broader generalization is uncertain. The findings also depend on survey-based measures and the specified structural model, and the early-access version may undergo further editorial changes before the final version of record appears.

Subject of Research: How servant leadership and environmental passion are associated with pro-environmental employee behavior in Pakistani manufacturing

Article Title: Fostering employees’ pro-environmental behavior through environmentally specific servant leadership, harmonious environmental passion, and environmental locus of control

Article References: Rahman, S. U., Sarmad, M., Paille, P., Ullah, I., Kee, D. M. H., & Ahmadzai, S. A. (2026). Fostering employees’ pro-environmental behavior through environmentally specific servant leadership, harmonious environmental passion, and environmental locus of control. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04778-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04778-2

Keywords: pro-environmental behavior, servant leadership, environmental passion, workplace sustainability, employee attitudes, manufacturing sector, Pakistan, survey research, structural equation modeling, Fostering, employees, pro-environmental