When Do Supply Chain Employees Feel Responsible for Proactively Engaging in Greening Behaviours?

Employees in supply chain (SC) functions are increasingly assigned sustainability-related responsibilities and expected to engage in green behaviours. While prior research distinguishes voluntary from required green behaviours, the SC context suggests that employees perceive varying degrees of voluntariness and obligation. This study investigates why some SC employees engage more proactively than others, particularly in required green behaviours, and how they influence peers. Using semi-structured interviews with managers in SC and sustainability roles across five companies, we adopt a multi-level case study approach to examine proactive employee green behaviours (EGBs). We identify three levels of engagement—proactive, active compliance and passive—and interpret them through self-determination and proactivity theories. Findings indicate that employees with broader role breadth and a combination of internalized and externalized felt responsibility are more likely to engage proactively and influence colleagues. We develop a multi-level theoretical framework depicting how EGBs are co-shaped by individual-level factors (e.g. role breadth, felt responsibility) and external influences from peers and supervisors (external felt responsibility). By adopting a role- and responsibility-based perspective, we provide practical guidance for job design and establish a foundation for future research on the dynamic, multi-level interplay between individual and organizational factors in shaping EGBs.