The Role of Servant Leadership in Enhancing Green Manufacturing Practices: Evidence from Malaysian Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of the business environment, organizational and individual factors on the adoption of Green Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) among manufacturing organizations in Malaysia. Furthermore, it explores how servant leadership (SL) influences the relationship between the above factors and GMPs in question. A quantitative method was employed in the study through sending out the survey questionnaire to senior management and key individuals in manufacturing organizations within the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM). The survey yielded 236 responses from manufacturing organizations that were subjected to analysis through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that the business environment, organizational and individual factors do not directly influence the implementation of GMPs but significantly affect servant leadership, which in turn positively affects GMPs. According to the findings from mediation analysis, the concept of servant leadership acts as a complete mediator between the antecedents and GMP implementation, meaning that the influence of environmental, organizational, and personal factors on GMP implementation is through servant leadership. The results indicate that servant leaders can contribute to improving employee engagement by engaging in proper behavior, effective communication, and empowering employees during the implementation process of GMP. Besides, this study demonstrates the significance of the application of leadership in order to coordinate the alignment of attitudes and actions of employees with the sustainability initiatives of the company. The contribution of this research lies in the introduction of servant leadership into the green manufacturing model.