When Green Behavior Meets Its Limits: A Competitive Mediation Model of Employee Green Behavior and Organizational Identity in Public Organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the interplay between green employee behavior (GEB), climate change proactive perception (CCPP), and green organizational identity (GOI) in Italian public organizations. Challenging the dominant perception‐first paradigm, we propose and test a model consistent with behavioral engagement preceding and being associated with climate change perception, rather than merely reflecting it. Drawing on CDT and the person–organization fit, we develop a mediation model tested on 238 public sector employees using PLS‐SEM. Results confirm that GEB positively influences both CCPP and GOI. CCPP exerts a negative and significant effect on GOI, revealing that heightened environmental awareness attenuates rather than reinforces organizational identification. The indirect effect is negative and significant, establishing a competitive partial mediation structure. Findings suggest an ambivalent, competitive mechanism whereby GEB simultaneously reinforces and, through CCPP, partially attenuates organizational identification: As behavioral engagement deepens, it progressively raises the environmental standards against which the organization is evaluated, with critical implications for public organizations.