Culture-Based Green Workplace Practices as a Means of Conserving Energy and Other Natural Resources in the Manufacturing Sector

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of organizational culture in fostering green practices in the workplace while investigating the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in the context of energy conservation. Based on a cross-sectional quantitative study with a sample of 203 employees from the manufacturing sector, the hypothesized relationships were verified. Based on the mediation analysis, statistical analyses revealed positive relationships between organizational culture and green workplace practices, as well as organizational culture and intrinsic motivation. Additionally, the study found that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and green workplace practices. This study supported the importance of organizational culture in enhancing green workplace practices aimed at conserving energy and natural resources. The underlying mechanism behind the significant positive effect of intrinsic motivation on proenvironmental behavior in the workplace was also identified. The research demonstrates the importance of an organizational culture to reinforce green practices in the workplace. Furthermore, based on the used models, this study illustrates the importance of each organizational culture dimension: leadership, sense of community, communication, collaboration, and structure in promoting green behavior. Additionally, the research suggests a key role of intrinsic motivation in this relationship. This study provides valuable guidance for the implementation of specific environmental measures in companies.

1. Introduction

Energy is critical to manufacturing sector organizations and often represents a significant cost to both the business and the environment. Taking steps to better manage energy consumption not only saves money for the organization, but also benefits society. One of the objectives of ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System is, among other things, to develop policies for more efficient energy use and continuous improvement of energy management [1,2]. The measures taken for sustainable energy consumption result from the proenvironmental policy adopted by the company [3,4] or ecoefficiency of production [5] and corporate social responsibility [6]. Increased awareness of resource overexploitation, environmental degradation, and climate change is driving public and business interest in reducing adverse environmental impacts [7]. Ecofriendly behavior in organizations includes programs for recycling, reuse, waste minimization, reducing energy consumption, minimizing water consumption, reducing carbon dioxide generation, and measuring environmental impact [8]. Therefore, organizations implement a strategy of responsible use of not only energy, but also other natural resources. Successful implementation of a corporate strategy that involves the least possible negative impact on the environment and a commitment to conserve natural resources requires the involvement/involvement of all employees. Employees play a key role in putting the adopted strategy into practice because the result achieved is a function of the decisions, behavior, and performance of the members of the organization [9,10,11].

Green workplace practices as a way to conserve natural resources, including energy, is a trend that enables this strategy from the employees’ perspective. Employees play a central role in their organization’s green practices because they contribute to the reduction of energy and other resource consumption through the daily implementation of green behaviors in the workplace. Green employee behavior refers to environmentally friendly actions in the workplace such as rational use of resources, e.g., reducing energy consumption, water consumption, recycling, participation in environmental initiatives, etc. [12,13,14].

Green workplace practices can be defined as the implementation of individual, voluntary proenvironmental employee behavior in in organizations. Moreover, employees’ green behaviors are entirely voluntary and are not included in formal job descriptions.

Proenvironmental behavior of the employee pertains to the prosocial dimension of work, because the employee, through his attitude, noticing the possibility of ecological behavior, engaging in various forms of resource conservation, consciously tries to minimize the negative impact of his actions on the environment [15]. Values and beliefs that guide employees in making green choices and assessing the benefits of environmentally friendly actions vary; they can range from hedonic values (which make the employee focus on what makes him feel good), to egoistic values (the employee focuses on actions that increase his resources), and altruistic values (the employee focuses on actions that benefit others) [16]. However, the main driver of proenvironmental behavior is the employee’s conviction that what he or she does today has long-term consequences for society and future generations.

The undertaking of proenvironmental actions by an employee may result from his/her intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation [17]. The extrinsic motivational factors for proenvironmental activities are the possible personal benefits, rewards, or other consequences resulting from the achievement of, for example, certain standards [18]. An employee may also engage in proenvironmental activities in the workplace primarily for intrinsic satisfaction, e.g., printing double-sided or turning off the computer/light when leaving work, thereby promoting resource conservation. In this case, the source of such voluntary behavior is the employee’s intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation can stem from the belief that voluntary green actions are necessary, effective, and appropriate [19,20]. Intrinsic motivation can be a robust predictor of proenvironmental action [18]; therefore, this factor is considered in this study. Environment-friendly behavior is an employee choice, although it is embedded in their daily activities [10,21], so it is important to know the factors that support the implementation of green practices in the workplace.

Previous research on the factors influencing proenvironmental behavior in the workplace have included individual factors, such as employee’s personal attitudes and norms [22,23], intraorganizational factors, such as implemented norms and their control [24], and environmental training of employees [25]. Furthermore, it has been emphasized that actions should be taken within the organization to help reinforce the results of the introduced resource-saving programs and initiatives through the developed green innovation strategy [26] sustainable innovation [27,28] and by changing daily habits in the workplace [29]. Employees’ taking eco-logical actions at work can be supported or undermined by the organization’s culture. Organizational culture is an important contextual factor that affects employees’ attitudes in multifaceted ways. Previous research has highlighted that organizational culture and environmental management are closely related [30,31]. An organization can improve its environmental performance by creating a culture that supports environmental management [32,33].

However, this is an as-yet unexplored topic, and research on this topic is still in its nascent stage. As indicated by Norton et al. [20] and Banwo and Du [24], there is a lack of research linking intrinsic employee motivation, organizational culture, and proenvironmental practices in the workplace. The literature on energy conservation in manufacturing primarily focuses on manufacturing technologies [34,35] and energy efficiency processes [36,37], and less on the roles of employees in developing green workplace practices. To address this research gap, our study examines the roles of organizational culture in promoting green behavior. We also examine the relationship of intrinsic motivation to these workplace practices. The purpose of this study is to analyze a research problem concerning the role of organizational culture in facilitating green workplace practices mediated by intrinsic motivation.

The study used empirical data obtained from a questionnaire administered to 203 employees in the manufacturing sector. Comprehensive mediation analysis based on the linear regression method allowed us to verify the research problem.

The contribution of this research is related to the identification of the relationship between organizational culture and employee behavior directed towards energy and natural resource conservation in the workplace. These are, to the best of our knowledge, the first studies on this topic. Additionally, this study provides guidance to managers in designing desirable policies in building green workplace practices based on the various dimensions of organizational culture. Our research indicates which organizational culture dimensions should be focused on in order to promote resource-efficient behavior by employees in the workplace. They therefore help to plan the development of green workplace practices in contemporary organizations.

2. Background

2.1. Green Workplace Practices

Green workplace practices (GWP), also referred to as environmentally sustainable workplace practices, are those activities that result in the efficient use of resources and ensure that environmental degradation resulting from human activities and workplace operations is minimized [38]. GWPs are practices that lead to saving energy and water, minimizing the use of plastic bottles, reducing paper consumption, conducting waste management, and recycling [39,40]. Minimizing energy consumption in the production process refers, among other things, to using energy-efficient machinery and equipment, shortening the production process, and increasing production efficiency. Reducing energy consumption in the workplace, on the other hand, may involve, for example, the use of LED lighting, switching off unnecessary lights, disconnecting equipment before the employee leaves the workplace, etc.

Previous studies show that conserving energy and other resources or using them efficiently reduces the negative impact of energy use on the environment [41,42,43,44] and positively affects a company’s financial performance. Therefore, paying attention to the efficient use of energy in the workplace can positively affect both the environment and the company.

Research on the determinants of an employee’s energy-saving behavior in the workplace shows that it is different than in the household [45,46,47]. In a household, an individual’s behavior to reduce energy consumption leads directly to financial savings. In a company, the importance of monetary savings becomes less important for individual employees because they do not perceive the direct impact as in their household [48,49]. For employees to want to adopt GWPs, organizations must focus on the employee-level determinants/phenomena that will lead to the implementation of sustainable work practices [50,51]. Previous research has indicated that environmental knowledge is a predictor of employee attitudes toward GWPs, but benefits to the organization and the environment will arise when there is a sustained change in attitudes and intentions toward the GWPs being implemented [52]. Therefore, it is important to examine what contributes to employees’ post-environmental behavior [53] and green practices in the workplace.

2.2. Organizational Culture

The phenomenon of organizational culture refers to the specific and unique identity of an organization. It is assumed that the culture is a way of organizing the functioning of the company [54], a certain collective programming of employees [55] or meanings that have meaning for members of the company [56]. Organizational culture can be thought of as a pattern of shared assumptions that a group has developed based on its own experiences and that guide the actions of its members [57]. Thus, organizational culture is a unique defining characteristic of an organization and an indication of the distinct ways in which a particular company operates, based on established norms and values, manifested in its organizational processes.

In the scholarly debate, it has become accepted that because of the elusiveness of the concept of organizational culture, the manifestations of it are studied [58]. In particular, studies of culture are concerned with different perspectives of organizational culture analysis, such as verifying different models of culture according to organizational focus and organizational processes (clan, adhocracy, hierarchical, and market) [59], examining the interrelationship of organizational culture and national cultures [60], assigning organizational cultures to separate models based on the degree of risk of their functioning and the speed of information received from the market [54], or following the dynamics of cultural change in digital transformation processes [61]. Despite many existing studies, however, there is still no acceptance of a single model of culture [62]. Hence, there are attempts to develop a framework for analyzing organizational culture which will meet the needs of both scholars and practitioners. The measurement of culture is usually carried out by identifying values [63] or dimensions [64]. According to the functionalistic–systematic paradigm, the dimensions of organizational culture are manifestations of deeper-rooted elements such as values or beliefs that exhibit themselves in specific practices [65]. From this perspective, the analysis of organizational culture through dimensions focuses on the functions and structures of particular activities, which are manifestations of values and shared assumptions. In this approach, organizational culture is a specific organizational context that affects the management of the organization [66]. In this study, we examine the dimensions of organizational culture that have been identified based on previous empirical research [67]. The investigated dimensions were developed on the basis of studies of organizational cultures that were conducted, among others, in the manufacturing sector [68,69]. Based on this process approach to organizational culture, seven dimensions of organizational culture were identified, which allow to diagnose key areas of company functioning: sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, team collaboration, communication, team structure, and informal relationships [64]. The each of these aforementioned dimensions is an important element that has been used in empirical analyses of organizational cultures. Sense of community refers to the positive atmosphere that characterizes an organization in which its members feel integrated and feel a sense of participation in the workplace community [70,71,72]. Strategic orientation has also been selected as a determinant of organizational culture dimensions in several published empirical studies [57,73,74,75]. Likewise, the leadership dimension has been used repeatedly as a measure of organizational culture [76,77,78]. Similarly, teamwork is a well-established indicator of organizational culture [79,80,81,82]. Communication as a dimension of culture allows for effective diagnosis of information dissemination practices within an organization [69,80,83,84,85,86,87,88,89]. Furthermore, many of the extant studies have confirmed that team structure is an important distinguishing feature of organizational cultures [71,90,91]. Moreover, interpersonal relationships among organizational members are a validated factor of organizational culture [88]. Thus, in conclusion, the above dimensions provide a basic framework for process analysis of an organization’s culture.

Extant research confirms that an organization’s culture is critical to achieving effectiveness [92,93]. Alignment between values and culture ensures greater performance because employees feel integrated into the established norms [94]. It has been demonstrated that the organizational culture also supports the development of a competitive advantage for the company [95]. Moreover, as Linnenluecke and Griffiths’ [63] research has confirmed, organizational culture also affects the sustainability of organization. Indeed, a systematic analysis of the literature has shown that there are ten elements that link the sustainability of an organization to its culture [96]. In addition, a recent study of 137 companies found that organizational sustainability is linked to organizational culture [97]. Moreover, studies conducted in manufacturing companies confirm that organizational culture is related to environmental performance [98]. Therefore, in light of the above-described relationships, it seems reasonable to hypothesize a positive association between organizational culture and GWP. It can be hypothesized that an organizational culture focused on conservation of energy and natural resources will support employees’ green behavior. Such a culture that is oriented towards environmental care and conservation of natural resources can be referred to as a green organizational culture. Supporting environmental goals through the organization’s culture aligns employees’ environmental practices. Thus, the accepted hypothesis is:

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

(Green) Organizational culture is positively related to GWP.

2.3. Intrinsic Motivation

Ryan and Deci (2000) emphasize that motivation activates energy required to initiate action [99]. In organizational terms, motivation influences the intensity, duration, direction, and persistence of work behaviors [100]. There are different theoretical approaches to motivation. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an individual’s motivation depends on whether it is caused by extrinsic (e.g., financial incentives) or intrinsic factors (e.g., dedication to work, passion) [101]. SDT stresses that if an individual enjoys a task and is interested in it, he/she will do it with more commitment and perseverance [102].

SDT explains how employees perform tasks because they are interesting and enjoyable to them [101]. Tasks driven by intrinsic motivation are perceived by employees as autonomous, whereas extrinsically motivated tasks tend to be perceived as controlled and imposed [103]. Therefore, employees who are intrinsically motivated to perform a given task will be more persistent, regardless of extrinsic motivation factors. Altogether, SDT emphasizes the role of intrinsic motivation, shaped by the performance of interesting tasks, and related to the commitment and persistence of employees in completing them. Through the lens of SDT, stimulating intrinsic motivation is an important challenge to not only increase the effectiveness of attitude formation but also to reinforce new habits. Moreover, from an SDT perspective, the workplace is a context that can effectively support intrinsic motivation [99]. Therefore, providing support from the environment, such as the organizational culture, to inspire interest in a given task can increase intrinsic motivation and, consequently, improve the performance of that task. Thus, the SDT perspective indicates the role of organizational culture in enhancing employees’ intrinsic motivation to achieve specific goals.

Previous research indicates that intrinsic motivation is associated with higher levels of goal attainment and job satisfaction [101]. In summary, when an employee is intrinsically motivated, he or she self-regulates his or her performance, and his or her dedication to the task at hand is high. In the workplace, intrinsic motivation is understood as a specific type of autonomous motivation that is characterized by an employee’s commitment to action with a full sense of desire, will, and choice [104]. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is characterized by a strong assessment of personal commitment [105].

It pertains to actions for which motivation is directed from one’ s behavior. With respect to intrinsic motivation, it is the spontaneous experiences of enjoyment associated with a particular behavior themselves that provide the “rewards” [104]. Employees can be intrinsically motivated for at least some of their work, if not all of it. Intrinsically motivated individuals produce high-quality job performance. Intrinsic motivation also contributes to wellbeing [104,106].

Given that the culture of an organization provides an important context for employee actions, it can also affect employee motivation. Previous research has shown that organizational culture influences attitudes toward work [107]. Therefore, it seems that organizational culture could provide a structure to support the internalization of certain attitudes that lead to the performance of tasks with greater dedication and perseverance. For example, research in the education sector has demonstrated that organizational culture supports increased employee motivation [108]. Therefore, in the light of SDT theory, the culture of an organization is the context that shapes employees’ attitudes and can enhance their intrinsic motivation. Building on SDT’s concept of contextual influence on motivations for action, we propose that employees will engage more in green workplace practices if the organizational culture reinforces proenvironmental attitudes. This leads to the hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

(Green) Organizational culture is positively related to employees’ intrinsic motivation.

The next issue for consideration is the relationship of intrinsic motivation to green workplace practices. According to SDT, those employees who are more convinced of the need for natural resource conservation initiatives, and have an intrinsic interest in not doing so, will be more likely to practice green behaviors at work. Empirical research proves that there is a relationship between intrinsic motivation and environmental action [109]. Moreover, the literature demonstrates the verified role of intrinsic motivation in shaping green creativity [110] and proenvironmental behavior at work [111]. Interest and passion, or perceiving an issue as enjoyable, forms the basis of intrinsic motivation, which activates individuals to pursue given actions [104]. Thus, employees interested in environmental issues should be more inclined to undertake and sustain environmental activities. Based on the above discussion, employees who are intrinsically motivated will be more committed to implementing green practices in the workplace:

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

Employees’ intrinsic motivation is positively related to GWP.

Top management support and organizational culture are key variables that influence employees’ behaviors regarding environmental issues in the workplace [49,112].

Empirical studies show that through the mediating mechanism of green intrinsic motivation, leadership influences green behavior [111,113], and through the mediating role of intrinsic motivation, green transformational leadership influences green creativity [110]. Venhoeven, Bolderdijk, and Steg’s [114] empirical findings suggest that decision-makers can use people’s intrinsic motivation to promote sustainable actions. Therefore, we hypothesize that intrinsic motivation is the underlying mechanism mediating the relationship between an organization’s culture supporting resource conservation and GWP.

Hypothesis 4 (H4).

Intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Sampling and Research Context

The survey was conducted among employees in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is one of the four major types of industries detailed in the Annual Energy Outlook Reference 2021 [115]. Information on the energy consumption of U.S. manufacturing plants shows that manufacturing consumes 77% of all energy used by industry [116]. In the European Union, manufacturing consumes one-third of total energy consumption [117]. Although the final consumption of manufacturing industries in EU 28 has decreased from 323.4 Mtoe in 2000 to 271.5 Mtoe in 2018 [118], it still needs to be reduced.

In the manufacturing sector, energy consumption includes both the production process and energy used for the general and administrative needs of the business. Studies show that energy consumption in nonresidential buildings in Europe has increased by 74% over 20 years [119]. In contrast, the use of computers in the workplace has contributed to almost 30% of the increase in energy consumption in offices [120]. Reducing energy demand in workplaces is important in reducing total energy consumption [121,122].

It is very important to reduce energy consumption in this sector, mainly because of the impact of consumption on the environment and the efficiency of operations. The introduced standard ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System indicates that energy management should be concerned with the efficient management of energy in all forms. In addition, ISO 50001:2018 indicates an important need to increase the role of top management and emphasizes the role of the organization’s culture in implementing this standard into practice [1].

The questionnaire was conducted online. A self-administered survey was used for data collection. It was preceded by a pilot study conducted on 12 employees from a small business organization. The feedback from this pilot study helped to adjust the questionnaire to make sure that it was understandable.

The study was conducted online in July 2021, due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and imposed restrictions. The target group for this questionnaire included employees in the manufacturing industry in Poland. A purposeful sampling method was used [123]. This method is based on obtaining and selecting respondents who are rich in information with respect to the issue being analyzed [124]. It involves identifying individuals who have sufficient knowledge and experience to provide reliable answers to questions [125]. The goal of this method is to obtain information that is specialized and contextualized. The survey was addressed to employees of manufacturing companies, currently employed and of legal age, who agreed to participate anonymously in the study. The authors sent an email to HR managers of manufacturing companies operating in Poland with background information and a link to an online questionnaire. After being approved by HR managers, the link to the questionnaire was sent to employees. A total of 203 employees of manufacturing companies participated in the study. The profile of respondents consists of 35.5 per cent females and 64.5 per cent males. Of those surveyed, 36% have a high school diploma, 23.2% have a bachelor’s degree, 10.3% have a master’s degree, 4.9% have an MBA, and 15.8% have completed an engineering degree. The sample included employees of different ages. A total of 29.2% of the respondents were up to 25 years old, 35.7% were 26–35 years old, 24.2% were 36–50 years old, and 10.9% were over 50 years old. The following positions were represented among the respondents: top management 6.4% (13), middle management 28.6% (58), assistant 21.7% (44), specialist 14.3% (29), and other 29.1% (59).

3.2. Measures

The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first included questions about the demographic data of the participants such as gender, age, education, and job position. The second part of the questionnaire (Appendix A) contained constructs to examine the variables in the study.

The measurement of the independent variable (X) of organizational culture was prepared on the basis of an empirically verified instrument [64]. The dimensions used in this measure were previously examined in an empirical study of IT companies. The quantitative survey used to identify the organizational culture dimensions was conducted on a sample of 92 IT organizations, randomly selected from the 302 best IT organizations operating in Poland. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis [67]. This method allows the identification of real descriptive factors reflecting the data. Based on exploratory factor analysis, seven dimensions were identified for analyzing organizational culture These were then confirmed using a qualitative method in the form of interviews. The qualitative research was conducted on a group of 20 respondents representing the surveyed IT organizations, employed in managerial and specialist positions. The analysis of the content of interviews has allowed to positively verify the model of organizational culture obtained as a consequence of quantitative research [67]. Such application of both quantitative and qualitative methods in diagnosing the dimensions of culture is a recognized research practice [126,127] that permits a comprehensive understanding of the ephemeral phenomenon of organizational culture [57]. The dimensions of this instrument, described in detail above, are used as indicators that diagnose organizational culture. The identified dimensions for the measurement of organizational culture align with the areas by which organizational cultures are analyzed: sense of community [70,71,72], strategic orientation [57,73,74,75], leadership [76,77,78], team collaboration [79,80,81,82], communication [69,80,83,84,85,86,87,88,89], team structure [71,91,92], and interpersonal relationships [88]. Therefore, this tool is suitable for studying the characteristics of organizational culture. Moreover, some of the dimensions have been previously applied to the study of the culture in the industrial sector [62,63], which indicates that their relevance to this study can be assumed.

The first step in examining the dimensions of organizational culture was initially to diagnose from the extant literature the areas that might accurately characterize organizational culture. Subsequently, questionnaire questions were constructed for evaluation by respondents. After carrying out the pilot study, the measure was used in the actual study. The questions were adapted to the context of the study concerning energy conservation and waste-free use of natural resources (Appendix A).

The independent variable (Y) of GWP was measured using an instrument adapted from an existing questionnaire [128]. It consisted of 10 questions illustrating behaviors regarding saving energy and taking actions that conserve natural resources. Individual work characteristics lead to the availability of different proenvironmental behaviors [122], hence this study selected the most frequently mentioned workplace practices for conservation of natural resources [129,130], as well as general formulations on the use of environmentally friendly practices. The precise formulation of the questions enabled the examination of GWPs and the assessment of the use of specific actions in practice compared, for example, to the approach presented by Bissing-Olson et al., which uses only a general measurement of employee engagement in the initiative to act in environmentally-friendly ways at work [131]. In addition, the precise formulation of questions makes it easier for respondents to give accurate answers and reduces the level of ambiguity, contributing to more reliable results [132].

The measurement of the mediator (M) of intrinsic motivation was based on a measure developed by Fagan, Neill, and Wooldridge [132]. Individual items in this measure are consistent with selected questions of the interest/enjoyment subscale, considered a self-report measure of intrinsic motivation, from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory [133]. The use of self-reports of interest and enjoyment of activities, per se, is a common approach to measuring extrinsic motivation [134]. Intrinsic motivation was operationalized by reference to workplace research [135]. In addition, referring to the concept of intrinsic motivation, the selected questions are those that pertain to interest in a particular aspect of work, as interest and enjoyment are indicated as inherent components of intrinsic motivation [103]. It permits to emphasize the motivation originating from interest or enjoyment in the activity rather than from expectation of reward, recognition, or expected performance improvement. Although the instrument chosen is relatively short, it has been successfully used in empirical studies [135]. Moreover, the choice of a short questionnaire was dictated by the need to take into account practical aspects of the questionnaire, such as the time needed to complete them. Long questionnaires can lead to reduced data quality due to respondents’ fatigue and decreased cognitive engagement [136]. The questions were developed using a five-point Likert scale (Appendix A).

3.3. Measurement Model

Considering the fact that the present research analyzes the perceptions of the investigated variables by employees in the manufacturing sector and the questionnaires were self-reported, this may have led to problems of common method variance [137]. According to Podsakoff, MacKenzie, and Podsakoff [138], performing certain statistics procedures may provide a remedy to detect whether this problem actually occurred in the study. In this study, anonymity and confidentiality of data were ensured for the purpose of this study, as anonymity can reduce the bias [139]. In addition, thorough instructions were ensured during the design of the questionnaire [132]. We also applied an ex-post remedy by using a Harman’s single-factor test [140]. Analysis of all indicators loaded into a single factor showed that together they account for 41.35% of the variance. According to the recommended limit, it should be less than 60% [141]. Therefore, the results suggest that common method variance is not a problem in this study.

Model validation was conducted as recommended by MacKenzie, Podsakoff, and Podsakoff [142], and includes an assessment of the goodness-of-fit of the model, validity assessment, and construct reliability. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out according to standard procedures [143], the results of which are shown in

Table 1. CFA results.

Factor	Indicator	Estimate	SE	p	Stand. Estimate
Organizational culture	oc1	1.130	0.0652	<0.001	0.931
	oc2	1.138	0.0634	<0.001	0.949
	oc3	0.881	0.0731	<0.001	0.741
	oc4	0.972	0.0745	<0.001	0.784
	oc5	0.990	0.0757	<0.001	0.785
	oc6	0.900	0.0810	<0.001	0.699
	oc7	0.959	0.0773	<0.001	0.753
Intrinsic motivation	im1	0.728	0.0541	<0.001	0.817
	im2	0.849	0.0550	<0.001	0.902
	im3	0.568	0.0523	<0.001	0.700
Green workplace practices	gwp1	0.523	0.0483	<0.001	0.687
	gwp2	0.594	0.0528	<0.001	0.708
	gwp3	0.613	0.0545	<0.001	0.708
	gwp4	0.505	0.0552	<0.001	0.603
	gwp5	0.597	0.0529	<0.001	0.710
	gwp6	0.683	0.0566	<0.001	0.745
	gwp7	0.622	0.0502	<0.001	0.760
	gwp8	0.719	0.0488	<0.001	0.851
	gwp9	0.567	0.0539	<0.001	0.673
	gwp10	0.554	0.0628	<0.001	0.585
CFA Goodness-of-Fit Statistics (Overall model fit indices)
χ2 = 488 (p = <0.001); df = 167; χ2/df = 2.92; CFI = 0.923; RMSEA = 0.077; SMRS = 0.621

Notes: SE: standard error; p: significance; χ²: chi-square; df: degrees of freedom; CFI: comparative fit index (CFI); SMRS: standardized root mean residual.

. As recommended by Kline [144], the following goodness-of-fit measures of the model were used: chi-square and degrees of freedom, RMSEA, CFI, and SRMR. The results obtained indicated a good model fit.

To test the model, an analysis of average variance extracted (AVE) of constructs and convergent validity and composite reliability was conducted, using questions as suggested by Hair et al. [143]. The reliability of the questions was measured by investigating the loadings for each. It was found to be adequate because all loadings are equal to or above 0.5 [143]. The results of composite reliability and AVE are presented in

Table 2. Evaluation of the measurement model.

	Factor Loadings	Cronbach’s Alpha	AVE	CR
Organizational culture	0.931	0.935	0.657562	0.92997
	0.949
	0.741
	0.784
	0.785
	0.699
	0.753
Intrinsic motivation	0.817	0.843	0.657031	0.85046
	0.902
	0.7
Green workplace practices	0.687	0.876	0.347483	0.872928
	0.708
	0.708
	0.603
	0.71
	0.745
	0.76
	0.851
	0.673
	0.585

Notes: The construct items are used to explain the construct. AVE: average variance extracted; CR: composite reliability.

.

Although in one variable (green workplace practices) the average variance extracted is below 0.5, it is acceptable because the convergent validity value is above 0.6 [145]. Therefore, the model analysis is acceptable and allows further operations on the data.

Discriminant validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations between constructs and the variances and covariances of the constructs. Each square root of the AVE of every variable should be higher than the correlation between each construct [145]. The analysis performed confirmed discriminant validity for all the constructs (

Table 3. Square root of the average variance extracted (AVE) and correlations matrix.

	GreenWP		IntrinsicMotiv		Culture
GreenWP	(0.811)
IntrinsicMotiv	0.623	***	(0.809)
Culture	0.543	***	0.476	***	(0.589)

Note: *** p < 0.001. In the parenthesis are the square root of AVE.

).

The verification of the hypotheses adopted in the study was based on the Hayes [146] PROCESS procedure. The PROCESS macro in the R studio [147] program was used. The use of macros enabled to conduct advanced analysis of mediation using bootstrapping and estimation of confidence intervals.

The study used a bootstrapping approach of 5000 bootstrapped samples. According to the method, the effect of organizational culture as an independent variable on green workplace practices dependent variable was verified by considering intrinsic motivation as a mediator of this relationship. Based on the method developed by Hayes [146], the total, direct, and indirect effects of this relationship were analyzed. A 95% confidence interval (CI) analysis was used as an indicator of the statistical significance of the calculation. When the difference between the lower (LLCI) and upper (ULCI) confidence interval does not contain zero, such mediation test is assumed to be statistically significant. In this study, a partial mediation assumption was made. Thus, it was assumed that the indirect effect βyx.m does not fall below zero, and the mediation analysis is statistically significant (p level).

4. Results

4.1. Hypothesis Testing

The first step concerning the analysis was the verification of hypothesis 1—(Green) organizational culture is positively related to GWP. It was conducted based on linear regression analysis. This analysis showed that the organizational culture has a significant impact on the green workplace practices (β = 0.358; (F(1,201) = 83.928; p < 0.001). Furthermore, it demonstrated that organizational culture explains 29 percent of variance (R² = 0.294) in green workplace practices. Thus, hypothesis H1 was positively verified.

Furthermore, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to assess the relationship of various organizational culture dimensions with green workplace practices. The analyses revealed statistically significant differences between the following dimensions of organizational culture and the degree of declared application of green workplace practices: sense of community (F(4,198) = 13.8, p < 0.001), strategic orientation (F(4,198) = 15.7, p < 0.001), leadership (F(4,198) = 13.2, p < 0.001), team collaboration (F(4,198) = 16.2, p < 0.001), communication (F(4,198) = 14.8, p < 0.001), structure of teams (F(4,198) = 9.28, p < 0.001), informal relationships (F(4,198) = 17.5, p < 0.001).

Post hoc comparisons using the Turkey test found that mean score for sense of community differs significantly at the lowest level of green workplace practices (MD = 3.44, SD = 0.871) and high level of green workplace practices (MD = 4.54, SD = 0.492). Thus, declarations of a low sense of community are statistically associated with low practice of green workplace practices, while high sense of community is associated with the highest use of green practices.

Additionally, post hoc tests showed that there was significant differentiation in the level of strategic orientation to a of green workplace practices. While high levels of green practices (MD = 3.45, SD = 0.851) are associated with high levels of strategic orientation, low levels of strategic orientation are associated with low levels of green practices (MD = 4.61, SD = 0.523).

Leadership also differentiates the level of green workplace practices. The tests show a significant difference between low levels of green practices (MD = 3.37, SD = 0.857) and the highest (MD = 4.49, SD = 0.482) and the levels of leadership.

In turn, team collaboration also differentiates the mean level of green workplace practices. Statistically, a differentiation is observed between team collaboration and the lowest level (MD = 3.33, SD = 0.892) of green practices and the highest level (MD = 4.49, SD = 0.471).

Furthermore, the communication also differentiates between the lowest (MD = 3.51, SD = 0.793) and highest (MD = 4.53, SD = 0.564) levels of green practices in the workplace.

The average level of the team structure also indicates a statistically significant differentiation in the level of green practices. The differences occur especially between the lowest level (MD = 3.53, SD = 0.809) of green practices and the highest (MD = 4.23, SD = 0.688) in relation to the mean value of the team structure.

Finally, team relationships also differentiate green practices. Post hoc tests demonstrate that high levels (MD = 3.51, SD = 0.861) of green practices are appropriate for high levels of relationships, while low levels of green practices (MD = 4.48, SD = 0.505) are for low levels.

The analysis of the obtained data confirms that each dimension of organizational culture (sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, communication, teamwork, team structure and relationships) significantly differentiate the use of green workplace practices. A high level of each of the organizational culture dimensions discussed above is indicative of high implementation of green practices.

Further regression analysis results also confirmed the relationship between organizational culture and intrinsic motivation (H2: (Green) Organizational culture is positively related to employees’ intrinsic motivation) (β = 0.353; (F(1,201) = 58.806; p < 0.001; R² = 0.226). The hypothesis assuming the relationship between intrinsic motivation and GWP was also positively verified (H3: Employees’ intrinsic motivation is positively related to GWP) (β = 0.556; (F(1,201) = 128; p < 0.001; R² = 0.389).

4.2. Mediation Analysis

Hypothesis 4 (intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP) was verified according to the Hayes procedure described above [146]. Detailed results of the mediation analysis are presented in

Table 4. Total, direct, and indirect links between organizational culture and green workplace practices through intrinsic motivation.

				Bootstrap 95% Confidence Interval (CI)
Effect [β]	SE	t	p	LLCI	ULCI
Total effect (βyx): organizational culture (X) on green workplace practices (Y)
0.359 Fp = 87.590 *** R2 = 0.467	0.039	9.161	<0.001	0.282	0.436
Direct effect: organizational culture (X) on green workplace practices (Y)
0.210	0.038	5.420	<0.001	0.134	0.286
Indirect effect (βyx.m) organizational culture (X) on green workplace practices (Y) through intrinsic motivation (M)
Intrinsic motivation
0.148	0.030			0.133	0.286

Notes: *** p < 0.001; lower-level confidence interval (LLCI); upper-level confidence interval (ULCI); number of bootstrap samples for bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals: 5000; level of confidence for all confidence intervals in output: 95%. N = 203.

. The results of the mediation analysis indicate that the total effect of the study is statistically significant (βyxm = 0.359; LLCI = 0.282; ULCI = 0.436; p < 0.001). Moreover, the direct effect was also statistically significant, but its value was reduced in comparison to the total effect (βyx = 0.210; LLCI = 0113; ULCI = 0.286); p < 0.001). The analyzed model explains almost half of the variance in green workplace practices (R² = 0.467). In addition, the static significance is confirmed by the ratio of the indirect to total effect of X on Y: β = 0.413; LLCI = 0.088; ULCI = 0.258.

In summary, the results of the mediation analysis carried out indicate a mediation analysis with 5000 bootstrapped samples on statistically significant total (βxm = 0.148; LLCI = 0.133; ULCI = 0.286; p < 0.001), direct (βyx = 0.210. LLCI = 0113; ULCI = 0.286), and indirect effect (direct (βyx.m = 0.148; LLCI = 0133; ULCI = 0.286). The interrelationship is illustrated in Figure 1. Additionally, the kappa-squared value for the indirect effect is 0.236, which suggests a large mediating effect [148].

Taken together, the results of the mediation analysis discussed above demonstrate that organizational culture is statically significant in supporting workplace green practices. Intrinsic motivation plays an important role in mediating this relationship and explains almost half of the (46.7%) variance in GWP.

The obtained results provided positive verification of hypothesis 1— (Green) Organizational culture is positively related to GWP and hypothesis 4—Intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP. More importantly, the findings provide support for the assumption that implementing green practices in the workplace is based on the organization’s culture, through intrinsic motivation.

5. Discussion

This study has several important findings for both the theory and practice of organizational management. Firstly. this study found that organizational culture has a significant positive impact on GWP in a manufacturing sector organization. This is consistent with the findings of Young et al. [112], which indicate that organizational culture is a key driver of employee behavior regarding environmental issues. In a similar vein to the results of Bakhsh et al. [98], this study demonstrates that the effective formation of environmental behavior among employees in the manufacturing sector is based on the organizational culture of a particular company. Moreover, the obtained results allow us to assume that organizational culture can also be a major barrier to the implementation of energy and natural resource conservation policies in the company. Thus, this supports the findings of Trianni et al. [149], suggesting that the lack of alignment of organizational culture with green actions is a source of resistance to the introduction of environmentally friendly practices. However, this study is the first to point to specific culture dimensions that support GWP implementation. As the findings indicate, both a sense of community with respect to green initiatives and strategic orientation towards green goals, as well as leadership support for green actions, cooperation oriented towards environmentally friendly initiatives, communication of the need for green actions within the organization, and structural support for environmental solutions, including informal relationships, significantly support GWP in companies. Moreover, the study is the first to identify the core features of an organizational culture for successful implementation of GWP from a process perspective.

Secondly, this study also confirms the important role of intrinsic motivation, which mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP. In this aspect, this study corresponds to Venhoeven, Bolderdijk, and Steg’s [114] research, which confirms the role of intrinsic motivation in promoting sustainable initiatives. People who are environmentally conscious, including in their work, are more likely to help save the natural resources, conserve energy, and engage in environmentally friendly activities. Employees undertake these efforts not because of external rewards, but because it gives them satisfaction. They feel what is referred to as a “helper high” [150]. Additionally, if employees believe in the need for environmentally friendly actions, they are more committed to them, and the change in their attitude is more permanent [151]. Therefore, these results suggest that it is through the implementation of appropriate policies in the specific dimensions of an organizational culture (sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, team collaboration, communication, structure, and informal relationships) underpinned by undertaking measures that support intrinsic motivations for environmentally friendly behavior, that the successful implementation of GWP is possible.

Thirdly, addressing only the day-to-day activities related to saving energy and other resources in their workplaces is important but not sufficient. It is much more important to understand the reasons that influence the long-term implementation of environmentally friendly practices in companies. This research provides clear support for what measures are needed to effectively implement GWP among employees. In line with the model of Lulfs and Hahn (2013), which suggests that organizational context and individual circumstances, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, attitudes, intentions, and habits are key predictors of proenvironmental behavior in the workplace [152], these results demonstrate that the role of employee attitudes should be considered in the successful implementation of green policies. Our research shows which specific management interventions for shaping organizational culture processes can support the employees’ environmental behavior and how to reinforce the desired behavioral patterns of employees concerning the conservation of energy and natural resources.

Finally, in manufacturing companies, energy efficiency is characterized by a rather interdisciplinary set of organizational problems [153]. Abdelaziz et al. [154] discussed three pathways to improve energy efficiency: regulation, technology, and management. Energy and environmental management play an important role in contemporary challenges for manufacturing companies [155,156,157,158]. This study addresses this issue and illustrates how to support GWP.

5.1. Theoretical Contribution

Our study extends the body of research on organizational culture and broadens understanding of the role of culture in shaping employees’ attitudes. This study contributes to the emerging debate on how to influence employees’ intrinsic motivation through the formation of organizational culture. Building on SDT theory in the context of organizational behavior, the findings raise an important point, supporting the notion that organizational culture significantly influences employees to undertake green practices. Thus, they point to contextual sources that foster the adoption of individual ecological actions. They also emphasize the mechanism of cultural drivers affecting green behavior through intrinsic motivation. From a theoretical perspective, the present investigation is consistent with the findings of Faraz et al. [111] and Li et al. [110], whose research indicates the role of intrinsic motivation in workplace environmental initiatives. Moreover, the results of the study make a significant contribution to the literature by demonstrating that particular dimensions of organizational culture (sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, team collaboration, communication, team structure, and informal relationships) help promote proenvironmental behavior. Thus, in order to foster green attitudes among employees, actions must be taken in each of these seven dimensions of organizational culture, potentially enhancing not only GWP but also intrinsic motivation to conserve natural resources.

5.2. Practical Contribution

With the growing importance of green employee behavior in organizations today, supporting green practices in the workplace is an important aspect of organizational management [10,11]. The organizational culture can be instrumental in increasing the green work behavior of employees. This study has significant practical implications by showing that aligning the various dimensions of organizational culture leads to successful implementation of the GWP. In addition, it emphasizes the role of employees’ intrinsic motivation in undertaking green actions in the workplace. Saving energy and conserving natural resources is a major challenge for modern organizations. By highlighting concrete practices, this study provides valuable guidance for the implementation of specific environmental measures in companies. In particular, this can be accomplished by creating a green atmosphere and fostering a sense of awareness of the importance of environmental issues among employees. Companies should also cultivate a strong attitude towards conserving natural resources. Moreover, by running internal campaigns to promote a green mindset, organizations can foster internal motivation among employees to undertake green initiatives and sustain GWP.

5.3. Limitations and Future Research

This study provides an interesting and useful theoretical framework for understanding the mechanisms that facilitate proenvironmental behavior. However, this study has some limitations. Although it establishes an important framework for promoting GWP based on organizational culture mediated by employee intrinsic motivation, there may be other variables that can also influence this relationship. Future studies may address other potential factors affecting GWP. Another limitation is that the data source was a survey, which means that caution must be taken when generalizing the results. Still another limitation of this study is the use of a measure that was constructed by the authors. This may provide some constraints in generalizing the results, and therefore this measure needs further empirical verification. Moreover, in order to strengthen the validity of the results, it is recommended that more longitudinal studies and qualitative research be carried out to investigate in-depth employee attitudes. It will be particularly interesting to undertake future qualitative research to capture respondents’ individual perspectives on the relationship between organizational culture and GWP. The use of qualitative interviews allows one to understand the perceptions of individual respondents [122] and provides in-depth insight into the analyzed phenomenon. The different employee approaches to GWP can also be analyzed in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Examining the relationship between organizational culture and GWP in other sectors may also be an important direction for future research.

6. Conclusions

This study set out to examine the contextual factors that promote GWP in the industrial sector. Moreover, it focused on the critical factors that facilitate influence on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. The study demonstrated that organizational culture has a significant positive impact on GWP. In addition, our findings highlight the role of intrinsic motivation, which strengthens GWP. In conclusion, this study empirically examined some unexplored aspects of energy policy implementation in manufacturing organizations. It established the relationship between organizational culture and GWP in manufacturing companies. Additionally, it pointed out the intrinsic motivation mechanism that mediates the link between organizational culture and GWP. In essence, this study helps managers in the manufacturing industry who are interested in promoting GWP by identifying specific areas of organizational culture that enhance employees’ green behavior.

Our paper and its proposed theoretical framework bridge the gap in the literature regarding the relationship between organizational culture, intrinsic motivation, and GWP [20,24]. Moreover, it brings the analysis of employees’ proenvironmental behavior to the manufacturing context. This research has resulted in the development of a new instrument to study the green behavior of employees.

The findings are particularly relevant to the measures taken by companies. This applies especially to the introduction of appropriate regulations, which can reinforce the desired environmental behavior of employees [14,159]. This framework can be effectively used by both scholars and practitioners to increase GWP. The growing importance of supporting green activities in organizations further emphasizes the need to understand the mechanisms that promote GWP in the manufacturing context.