The Normative Influence in Corporate Environmental Responsibility: Creating a Sense of Organizational Belonging in Promoting Pro-Environmental Attitudes

Organizations play a pivotal role in ecological transition and the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors. Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) encompasses voluntary actions undertaken by companies to minimize environmental impact during production and promote these efforts through effective internal and external communication. Grounded in the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct, this research explores how injunctive and descriptive norms related to CER contribute to creating a collective sense of efficacy and commitment to organizational environmental issues, positively influencing attitudes toward both simple (e.g., recycling, sustainable mobility) and collectively challenging behaviors (e.g., acceptance of the company's new energy technologies). Experimental Study 1 involved 439 Italian workers from public and private organizations, utilizing a 2x2 between-subject design to manipulate the intensity of injunctive and descriptive norms. Analyses revealed significant main effects of both norms on collective efficacy and affective commitment but not on pro-environmental attitudes. No interaction effects emerged. To analyze the relationships between the variables, correlational Study 2, with 371 Italian workers, employed a path analysis model. Injunctive and descriptive norms served as independent variables, while collective efficacy and affective commitment acted as sequential mediators. Attitudes toward simple or challenging pro-environmental behaviors were dependent variables. No direct effects of norms, both injunctive and descriptive, on attitudes, were observed, confirming the result from Study 1; instead, the relationship was mediated by collective efficacy and subsequent affective commitment. In both studies, the organization's emphasis on environmental issues did not directly impact workers' favorable attitudes toward pro-environmental matters but indirectly fostered it via a sense of belonging and community within workgroups. This underscores that an organization can establish environmental standards to cultivate a green organizational culture, shaping corresponding attitudes among employees.