Examining the nexus between social cognition, biospheric values, moral norms, corporate environmental responsibility and pro-environmental behaviour. Does environmental knowledge matter?

The present study highlights the effect of employees' social cognition, biospheric values, moral norms, and perceived corporate environmental responsibility in determining pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) through the lens of the norm-activation model (NAM) and social cognitive theory (SCT). The study further explored the influence of employee PEB on a firm's environmental performance (EP). This research also analyzed the mediation role of PEB in the interaction between perceived corporate environmental responsibility and EP. We finally evaluated the moderation impact of environmental knowledge on the interplay between PEB and EP. To facilitate the study objective, we used a survey design approach to collect data from 480 business entities in China's Jiangsu province. To evaluate the hypothetical synopsis, the PLS-SEM approach was utilized. The empirical findings are as follows; (1) employees' social cognition, personal biospheric values, perceived moral norms, and perceived corporate environmental responsibility are critical predictors of PEB. (2) pro-environmental behaviour directly affects EP. (3) PEB has a mediation effect on the association between perceived corporate environmental responsibility and EP. (4) lastly, the environmental knowledge of employees enhances the connection between PEB and EP. The empirical analysis presented provides practical and theoretical contributions to how employee PEB facilitates EP. This study highlights the need for firms to offer policies and initiatives for environmental sustainability. This research emphasizes the need for in-depth knowledge and training on employees' PEB and environmental knowledge to accomplish higher EP.