Unpacking the Link Between Employee Perceived Greenwashing and Quiet Quitting: A Serial Mediation Model Involving Psychological Contract Breach and Affective Commitment

Abstract

noneGiven the growing concerns about corporate sustainable responsibilities, this study explore how employee perceived greenwashing influences their organizational attitudes and behaviors. Drawing upon Cognitive Dissonance Theory, a serial mediation research model was proposed to investigate the how perceived inconsistency in corporate green initiatives may lead to psychological contract breach, further reduce employees’ affective commitment, and finally result in quiet quitting. This research collected data from 269 full-time employees, without restrictions on industries, via online survey, and SPSS PROCESS was employed to examine the serial mediation hypotheses. The results support the serial mediation path, indicating that perceived environmental dissonance in an employment relationship triggers a psychological contract breach, which in turn diminishes affective commitment to the organization and ultimately lead to employees’ withdrawal behavior. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the consequences resulting from corporate greenwashing from the internal stakeholders’ perspectives and offers managerial implications for building authentic green practices and improving green communications with existing employees.