Der Einfluss von empowerment-orientierter Führung und der Unternehmenskultur auf das umweltorientierte Verhalten von Beschäftigten in Unternehmen

This contribution examines the extent to which employees are aware of the environmentally strategic orientation and the associated evaluation indicators in their own company. It also examines whether an environmentally oriented corporate culture and an empowerment-oriented management style influence the environmentally oriented behavior of employees in companies. Descriptive analyses are carried out on the basis of a cross-sectional research design and a sample of respondents (N = 290) from German industrial companies. The results show that employees without a management function often lack knowledge of the environmentally strategic orientation and the associated key figures for evaluating this strategy. Nevertheless, the perception of an environmentally oriented culture and the influence of an empowerment-oriented management style have a positive impact on the environmentally oriented behavior of employees.

Practical relevance The energy transition in Germany is currently progressing too slowly to achieve the climate targets for 2045 defined in the intergenerational agreement. Since German companies are significantly involved in achieving the climate targets and employees have a major influence on the achievement of corporate goals through their behavior, it is important to find out which internal factors are important and can be applied to successfully promote the environmentally oriented behavior of employees. The focus of this study is on the environmentally oriented strategy, the corporate culture and the empowerment-oriented management style in order to derive appropriate measures for managers and HR managers in the companies from the results.