Revealing Employee Commitment to Sustainability: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Mean ratings of items measuring Organizational Identification (OI), Environmental Responsibility (ER) and Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) defined as Eco-training and Eco-reward, in Portugal and Slovakia.

As sustainability becomes a growing concern, the contribution of employees to environmental initiatives within their organizations is crucial. Organizations are striving to enhance their environmental impact, and the role of employees in promoting and practicing environmentally friendly behaviors is more important than ever. A new adaptation and validation of a questionnaire offer a reliable way to measure these behaviors across different cultural contexts, providing valuable insights into how organizations can better support and encourage their workforce in contributing to sustainability goals.

A team of researchers has successfully adapted and validated a questionnaire measuring Organizational Citizenship Behavior towards the Environment (OCBE) for use in both Portuguese and Slovak cultural contexts. This effort was led by Dr. Candida Manuel alongside Dr. Carla Magalhães, Dr. Claudia Huber, Professor Artur Costa, and José Alves from Lusófona University, and Dr. Lukáš Smerek from Matej Bel University. Their findings are published in the journal Administrative Sciences.

The primary motivation behind this study was the growing importance of environmental performance within organizations and the need for reliable tools to measure employee behaviors that contribute to sustainability. As organizations worldwide strive to enhance their environmental impact, the role of employees in promoting and practicing environmentally friendly behaviors is crucial.

The research team employed a rigorous methodological procedure to ensure that the questionnaire was reliable and valid across different cultural contexts. The process included translation, adaptation, and validation, involving bilingual translators, expert reviews, and pre-tests to ensure the content’s relevance and clarity. The final questionnaire was tested with samples from Portugal and Slovakia, demonstrating good functional equivalence, content validity, and reliability. Dr. Manuel emphasized the significance of this study: “Our research highlights the importance of cross-cultural adaptation in creating reliable tools for measuring organizational citizenship behaviors towards the environment. This work is critical for organizations aiming to implement effective environmental sustainability practices.”

The researchers used a comprehensive approach to adapt the questionnaire, including forward and backward translations, expert committee reviews, and pretesting. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed using participants from both Portugal and Slovakia. The study found that the adapted questionnaire was valid and reliable for evaluating the impact of employee practices and organizational management in promoting environmental sustainability.

One of the significant findings of the research was the similarity in the factorial structure of OCBE between Portuguese and Slovak organizations. This similarity underscores the effectiveness of the adaptation process and highlights the universal applicability of the OCBE construct. The questionnaire revealed that employees in both countries engage in eco-helping actions and eco-civic engagement, demonstrating their commitment to environmental sustainability. 

Moreover, in both countries, the mean ratings decreased in the order of Organizational Identification (OI) > Environmental Responsibility (ER) > Green Human Resource Management (GHRM), which means workers were answering more positively to questions about how they identify themselves with the organization’s values than to questions about the organization’s responsibility towards the environment and green management. These results also suggested that Portuguese employees and organizations in this study are more aware of environmental issues because Slovakia had lower ratings than Portugal. Surprisingly, this finding is not corroborated by the fact that Slovakia is currently ranked 18th, with an environmental performance index (EPI) score of 60.0, while Portugal is ranked 48th, with a 50.4 score, updated in 2022. The EPI is a crucial tool that provides a quantitative basis for assessing the environmental performance of 180 countries.

Dr. Manuel noted, “The cross-cultural adaptation process was meticulous, ensuring that the questionnaire was not only translated accurately but also culturally relevant. This approach ensures that the findings are robust and applicable in diverse cultural settings.”

The results indicated that employees in both Portugal and Slovakia perceive a strong organizational identification and engagement in environmentally responsible behaviors, despite differences in environmental management practices. This finding suggests that organizational culture and leadership play a vital role in promoting environmental behaviors among employees.

The findings have significant implications for organizations aiming to enhance their environmental performance. By understanding the factors that influence employee behaviors towards the environment, organizations can develop targeted strategies to promote sustainability. The adapted questionnaire provides a reliable tool for measuring these behaviors and can be used in future research to further explore the impact of organizational practices on environmental sustainability.

In conclusion, the cross-cultural adaptation of the OCBE questionnaire by Dr. Candida Manuel and her colleagues has provided a valuable tool for organizations seeking to measure and improve their environmental performance. This study highlights the importance of cultural adaptation in creating reliable measurement tools and underscores the universal relevance of organizational citizenship behaviors towards the environment.