1 Introduction

Local governments hold a pivotal role in shaping the environmental landscape within their jurisdiction as exerting an impact on the residents' quality of life in cities and towns (Yu et al. 2019; Taylor 2021). The engagement of citizens in environmental matters is notably influenced by the actual initiatives undertaken by municipal bodies (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood 2018; Lee et al. 2021; Masuda et al. 2022; Macca et al. 2024). The implementation of clearly defined and well-executed environmental practices empowers local governments to enhance the desirability and contributions of their cities or municipalities. Through leveraging the distinctive characteristics of each locale, robust environmental governance can confer competitive advantages and prospects for regional development.

Municipalities showcase their commitment to ongoing environmental enhancement by enacting policies endorsed by their upper management. Based on the local challenges posed by the growing threats of climate change, a greater degree of solidarity in response to the global climate crisis can be encouraged (Bouncken et al. 2022). As (Zeemering 2021) notes, studies in public administration have mainly focused on emphasizing policy instruments in achieving sustainable outcomes, rather than on management processes “that can improve sustainability through organizational change”. Nevertheless, the tools employed for implementation largely concentrate on the explicit, formal and normative dimensions within organizations (Boiral 2009; Alt and Spitzeck 2016; Wang et al. 2023).

Scientific research on the relationship between digitalisation as a hard management factor and environmental sustainability is emerging within this context and the context of technological development (Chopra et al. 2023). Amid the bureaucratic milieu of local governments, informal initiatives within organizations- often voluntary, decentralized and unplanned behavior by the municipalities’ government—isfrequently overlooked. This oversight arises from the backdrop of stringent regulations and the accountability owed to diverse stakeholders who oversee environmental adherence via formally aligned procedures. The changes that have been implemented in the roles, responsibilities and values of local government professionals have enabled a greater process orientation of the manager's internal administrative role and these, in turn, strengthen the legitimacy of the local government professional in the eyes of the citizens (Nalbandian 1999).

Given the escalating intricacies and magnitude of environmental predicaments, integrating such human-driven, informal and behavioral initiatives, grounded in the framework of organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment (OCBTE) (Tosti-Kharas et al. 2017; Luu 2019; Zhao et al. 2021; Gansser and Reich 2023), becomes a necessity within the implementation procedures of recognized, formal environmental policies. The potency of voluntary employee conduct surpasses on-the-job behaviors due to its alignment with the intrinsic values of employees (Zhang et al. 2022; Tiberius et al. 2022). Research indicates that such behaviors outside of designated roles are particularly pertinent in scenarios of change management, where supervisors encounter challenges in predefining desired employee conduct (Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019). Within the framework of modern environmental governance, the emphasis on environmental leadership is becoming a critical foundation for catalyzing a shift towards sustainable practices. This comprehensive analysis provides a rich comparative perspective, underscoring the crucial role of forward-thinking environmental practices. These efforts are vital for enhancing environmental performance and guiding organizations towards outstanding sustainability achievements. In this context, adopting innovative environmental strategies is imperative for businesses aspiring to excel in environmental stewardship, thereby making a substantial impact on the global sustainability agenda (Su et al. 2020).

Despite the relevance of such initiatives in the specific context of local government management and environmental matters, such research on organizational citizenship behavior is still missing. This omission is a result of the presence of rigorous regulations and the responsibility held towards a wide array of stakeholders who supervise environmental compliance through formally established processes. Therefore, the central research questions for this study are:

RQ1

In the framework of contemporary environmental governance, how does the emphasis on environmental leadership serve as a critical catalyst for fostering a transition towards sustainable practices?".

RQ2

How do organizational citizenship behaviors towards the environment (OCBTE) manifest in the local government, and what are the implications for environmental strategies in such contexts?

RQ3

How does instrumental environmental support influence Organizational Citizenship Behavior towards the environment?

RQ4

How does the mediation of stakeholder demands impact the relationship between instrumental supervisory support for the environment and organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment?

Hence, this study examines the OCBTE of immediate managers of local governments, as they are among the most positive and optimistic members (Brewer 2005) of the public service workforce and serve as important intermediaries in transmitting the ethics and values of public service to the next generation of public servants (Destler 2017). Immediate managers are the intermediary between senior management and other employees, who often turn to them for encouragement and support for their voluntary environmental activities. They communicate extensively with subordinates in their departments on environmental issues and have close relationships with senior management in the communities. In this way, they can spread their confidence upwards (Fulmer and Ostroff 2017) and their enthusiasm for the environment downwards (Zhang et al. 2022).

The support of managers’ OCBTE and other local government staff contributes to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental tools, increasing their comprehensiveness, scope and impact, and reducing superficial approaches to addressing ecological problems (Daily et al. 2009; Lamm et al. 2015; Huang et al. 2023).

Although the dynamics of change have been mapped in terms of environmental, social and financial sustainability, there is a lack of analysis of the impact of organisational assumptions on the process of these changes (Tipu 2022). While the positive moderating effect of power distance on corporate social responsibility and the three pillars of sustainable investment has been explored in the business environment, there is a lack of research in the public sector and local government environments (Le et al. 2023). OCBTE of local government employees significantly contributes to environmental citizenship and provides a framework for collaboration with other stakeholders to address environmental issues in their area (Levy et al. 2016; Zhang et al. 2019). The direct impact of OCBTE support has proven to enhance organizations' environmental performance, social responsibility and promote the success of environmental projects (Paillé et al. 2014; Alt and Spitzeck 2016; Tosti-Kharas et al. 2017; Kim et al. 2019; Luu 2019). Management decisions on environmental measures without employees' involvement often lead to a superficial and wasteful use of resources (Sarkis et al. 2013). Positive environmental behavior by employees can also engage external stakeholders by presenting their environmental values and trying to influence the environmental behavior of colleagues positively. The impact of individuals' environmental behavior may seem relatively insignificant but the implications are substantial.

Research studies highlight the importance of OCBTE within the local government. The factors influencing such behavior have not been sufficiently explored in this sector (Iqbal and Piwowar-Sulej 2023). Given the specific nature of local government work contexts (Cantor et al. 2012), it is not possible to explicitly adopt research findings from the business sector and further research is needed to explore the mechanisms and contexts of OCBTE in local government. In identifying the relationship between governance and local government performance, we draw on economic, contingency, and resource-based theoretical frameworks that suggest that human resources, in particular, are scarce and difficult to replicate and therefore represent a key source of sustained competitive advantage (Walker and Andrews 2015).

As such, local government employees not only work but also live in the areas they manage and are under constant scrutiny by citizens who pay taxes to improve the quality of the environment. They are also under the scrutiny of stakeholders on issues related to the carbon footprint and operation of municipal waste management. In addition to their visibility in communities and proximity to citizens, motivation for public service is a significant factor for civil servants, which may influence some assumptions of OCBTE and political forces that interfere with management processes (de Geus et al. 2020).

This research in particular explores the context of instrumental support mayors provide to local government managers and their OCBTE. This instrumental support, along with emotional support, forms part of social support. Although emotional support can indeed motivate employees to OCBTE (Gkorezis 2015), some researchers suggest that these two variables have a negative relationship (Paillé et al. 2014) due to the variability of emotional support and its low inspirational aspect when the conviction of municipal managers to address environmental problems appears to be weak. Instrumental support, if delivered consistently, can offset the insufficient emotional support and thus plays a significant role in supporting the OCBTE of subordinates (Cantor et al. 2012; Paillé et al. 2014). Yet, several authors argue that instrumental support for the environment (ISE) depends significantly on the context and other factors that may correlate with OCBTE in different directions (Robertson and Barling 2015). Therefore, it is essential to examine the mediating role of stakeholder influence in the relationship between ISE and OCBTE, building on the stakeholder theory in environmental initiatives.

Under the premise of the positive associations of ISE and OCBTE identified in other sectors (Cantor et al. 2012; Robertson and Barling 2015) and the influence of other variables relevant to the local government environment on the activation of managers OCBTE, we aim to investigate further the relationships of ISE and OCBTE in local governments through mediation-moderation analyses and contribute original insights to the field of local government management.

This comprehensive analysis of OCBTE in Slovakia addresses a significant research gap in the literature by shedding light on the current environmental practices in a country considered a transitional economy in Eastern Europe. The study provides a rich comparative perspective, emphasizing the importance of forward-thinking environmental strategies in such contexts.

2 Literature review and hypotheses development

2.1 Organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment

The concept of OCBTE has recently emerged in organizational behavior theory for its contribution to building environmental awareness, creating an environmental culture and enhancing environmental performance in different organizations (Boiral 2009; Paillé et al. 2014; Borial et al., 2015; Alt and Spitzeck 2016; Wang et al. 2023). There are several theories to explain the significance of research on managers’ OCBTE. First, social learning theory (Bandura 1986), grounded on the observation and emulation of the behavior of others and second, social exchange theory (SET) (Blau 2017), grounded on the reciprocal behavior of employees towards the leader. In the context of SET, leaders address employees' concerns as one of the most critical organizational stakeholders (Kim et al. 2019). Their behavior influences subordinates' perception and understanding of workplace challenges while it shapes their environmental awareness and ensuing voluntary initiatives (Cantor et al. 2012; Ones and Dilchert 2012; Lülfs and Hahn 2013). Many studies have identified the beneficial effects of several factors on OCBTE; in particular, support from direct supervisors plays a pivotal role (Paillé and Raineri 2015; Robertson and Barling 2015; Kim et al. 2017). Thus, managers must motivate their employees rather than force them to engage in such behaviors (Wesselink et al. 2017). Research has established a positive relationship between the behaviors of managers and OCBTE employees (Kim et al. 2017; Wesselink et al. 2017; Robertson and Carleton 2018).

Positive associations of environmental behavior with the overall performance of organizations have subsequently been confirmed (Jo et al. 2013). OCBTE extends organizational citizenship behavior (Yuriev et al. 2018). Numerous antecedents of OCBTE across industries have been identified, most notably in management-employee interactions (Kim et al. 2019; Abbas et al. 2022). The most frequently identified variables in studies included transformational leadership style (Mi et al. 2019; Asghar et al. 2022; Wang et al. 2023a), psychological empowerment (Lamm et al. 2015; Iqbal et al. 2020), job commitment (Paillé et al. 2013, 2014; Afsar et al. 2020; Abbas et al. 2022), perceived organizational support (Paillé and Raineri 2015; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019a; Aboramadan et al. 2022), environmental values and perceived behavioural control (Paillé et al. 2013; Cop et al. 2020; Akterujjaman et al. 2022).

Stritch and Christensen (2016) introduced the idea of OCBTE in public administration. They viewed it as an individual and discretionary social behavior that is not explicitly recognised by the formal reward system and contributes to improving the environmental management effectiveness of organizations, as defined by Boiral (2009). Stritch and Christensen (2016) view it as the voluntary activity of employees beyond their specified job duties in implementing various environmental initiatives, which coincides with the concept of OCBTE as defined in other areas of economic life (Pham et al. 2018; Cop et al. 2020; Ullah et al. 2021; Abbas et al. 2022). In the public sector, whether state or local, the argument supporting OCBTE is the stewardship (management) of environmental and natural public resources. This holistic approach highlights the necessity of fostering a deep understanding and commitment to environmental stewardship at all levels of society to ensure the effective protection and sustainable use of natural resources (Bennett et al. 2018).

Theory is in early stages of exploration in local government settings (Beck and Storopoli 2021) and we consider this an original contribution offered by our study. This joins the call for local government managers (Zeemering 2021) to focus on integrating sustainability into management processes, where the basis is not only policy instruments related to sustainability, but tools and practical frameworks for their implementation. Environmental issues tend to be very complex and challenging. Overcoming this complexity is made possible by aligning the goals and values of individuals with those of the organization (Locke and Latham 2006; Mostafa and Gould-Williams 2014), which is the basis of the person-organization fit (POF) theory. If the mayor provides instrumental support, then this support can motivate employees’ OCBTE by fostering alignment of values and goals between managers and the municipality while respecting the diverse interests of stakeholders (Zhao et al. 2021). Trust in mayors and their positive environmental interests and attitudes support managers in promoting environmental values and attitudes to subordinates (Piatak et al. 2022). Based upon previous research (Keulemans and Groeneveld 2020; Kevin Wang et al. 2020) and consistent with expectancy theory, it is evident that trust and commitment to mayors appear to play a critical role in the voluntary extra-role behavior of managers and may alter the strength of the ISE and OCBTE relationship (Cho and Lee 2012). However, political considerations in selecting mayors and other specific features of local government may modify these findings. We hence consider it relevant to examine them.

However, the exploration of OCBTE has some specificities in local governments. These are related to the perception of the general concept of civic behavior regarding participation in civic life (Stritch and Christensen 2016). Civil servants' on-role and off-role behaviors follow additional normative constraints (de Geus et al. 2020; Rainey 2021). Civil servants at all levels of public governance receive more visibility, remain under public scrutiny, receive payments from citizens' taxes and their off-role environmental behavior can spread to citizens in an influential way (Tummers et al. 2015). On local levels, where citizen proximity is the highest, the extra-role environmental OCBs are essential in advancing environmental goals. Moreover, antecedents of OCBTE across the public sector involve both motivations to serve and the organizational politics of public service (de Geus et al. 2020).

2.2 Instrumental support for the environment by a mayor

ISE was coined as an organiational behavior concept by behavioral scientists to provide social support and assistance in the workplace (Schultz et al. 2022). Social support refers to the interaction between people within a particular social structure. However, support can take different forms, ranging from emotional to instrumental and informational to evaluative support (Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019). The literature often narrows them down to two main categories, emotional and instrumental support, as the other two categories can be subsumed under one of them (Shakespeare-Finch and Obst 2011). It is unclear which type of support is adequate for OCBTE, nor whether their effectiveness is synergistic (Gkorezis 2015; Robertson and Barling 2015; Mathieu et al. 2019). There is a consensus that instrumental support is positively related to OCBTE, while opinions on emotional support differ (Cantor et al. 2012; Gkorezis 2015; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019). ISE, when used in the context of environmental behavior, reflects the extent to which an employee believes their direct manager has environmental responsibility and provides support as well as opportunities for voluntary environmental initiatives (Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019). In local public administration, ISE reflects the support, interest and tools of mayors and senior municipal managers towards environmental initiatives, issues and employee communication. ISE plays a fundamental role in developing OCBTE because it represents a systemic guidance of employees towards environmentally friendly behavior (Paillé and Raineri 2015; Robertson and Barling 2015; Kim et al. 2017). Paillé and Meija-Morelos (2019) argue that immediate managers are crucial to achieving environmental goals in the work environment. Given the specific characteristics of the work environment and its high connectivity with citizens and their environmental behavior, ISE provides a tool in local public administration that explicitly provides employees with support and signals to promote environmental ideas further.

Therefore, it is expected that:

H1

Managers’ instrumental support for the environment will positively correlate with organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment.

2.3 Trust in and commitment to the mayor as moderators of the ISE and OCBTE relationship

Trust (T) emerges as one of the widely studied variables in organizational research in the context of working relationships and their impact on organizational outcomes (Cho and Lee 2012; de Jong et al. 2016; Bak 2020). Cho and Lee (2012) view it as a valuable managerial resource that reinforces altruistic behavior represented by organizational citizenship behavior. Mayor´s trust, in the sense of interpersonal trust, is considered as the willingness of a local government manager to accept vulnerability to the mayor's actions based on expectations of positive intentions or behaviors without the ability to influence the mayor's actions (Tan and Tan 2000; de Jong et al. 2016; Bak 2020). Managers have confidence in the mayor's professionalism, openness, trustworthiness, reliability and willingness to collaborate on multiple work activities and maintain reciprocity with the mayor. In environmental extra-work activities, trust in the supervisor becomes significant because it allows the manager to embark on riskier projects with the knowledge of the mayor's support. Local government employees have considerable autonomy in their interactions with citizens and have high expectations regarding their ethical obligation to serve the public responsibly (Taylor 2018). Trust in superiors guides attitudes and enforcement of environmental values towards citizens (Destler 2017; Keulemans and Groeneveld 2020; Kevin Wang et al. 2020; Piatak et al. 2022).

The social exchange theory relies on support as a fundamental prerequisite for strengthening and developing social relationships. Studies show that this relationship is strengthened through trust and commitment to the supervisor (Lavelle et al. 2009). In such settings, middle management trust in the mayor is more significant, given the elected mayoral positions and the political background of selecting some managerial positions. Expectancy theory also partially explains the role of trust in voluntary employee behavior by raising expectations in the implementation of OCBTE and, consequently, instrumentality. However, the latter is not paramount in behaviors outside work roles (Cho and Lee 2012). Specifically, we argue that although ISE helps to stimulate OCBTE, those managers who also trust their mayor are likely to exhibit higher levels of OCBTE since such managers tend to accept more vulnerability to their mayor's actions, trust their mayor's competence, reliability and helpfulness across various work activities. As a result, they commit themselves to reciprocity towards them.

This discussion brings up a second hypothesis:\

H2

Trust in the mayor moderates the relationship between instrumental supervisor support for organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment and thus the relationship will be stronger for those who trust the mayor firmly.

Trust in the mayor borders on commitment (C) to the mayor. Commitment has its theoretical roots in the social identity theory, which includes the importance of individuals' value affiliation to a particular social group (Tajfel 1982). In work settings, commitment is defined as "a voluntary psychological bond reflecting dedication and accountability to a specific goal" (Klein et al. 2012, p. 137). Commitment in the context of social identity theory refers to the formation of a manager's relationship with the mayor through their shared value orientation and individual identification with the MAYOR's personality, rather than the manager's committed behavior towards motivational tools (Landry et al. 2010; Cheng et al. 2015; Kim et al. 2019; Imam et al. 2020). Researchers have examined the relevance of supervisor commitment in environmental behavior and confirmed its complementary effects in developing supervisor-subordinate relationships in the context of environmental sustainability (Paillé and Raineri 2015; Kim et al. 2019; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019; Iqbal et al. 2020). Personal and organizational environmental goals overlap and the sense of psychological responsibility enhances in this domain, resulting in voluntary organizational behavior (Zhang et al. 2019; Afsar et al. 2020; Font and Lynes 2020; Abbas et al. 2022). Managers undertake OCBTE because they are more aligned with the environmental mandate of the local government and more concerned about the environmental interests of all stakeholders, including employees as well as citizens (Montabon et al. 2016; Srivastava and Dhar 2016; Afsar et al. 2020). We argue that although ISE helps to stimulate OCBTE, managers who simultaneously have a higher level of commitment to the mayor are more likely to identify with OCBTE because the personal and organizational environmental goals of these managers intersect; they share the environmental mission of the local government towards the internal as well as the external boundaries of the organization.

This discussion develops another hypothesis:

H3

Commitment to the mayor moderates the relationship between instrumental supervisory support and organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment and thus this relationship will be stronger for those with high commitment to the mayor.

2.4 Mediation role of stakeholder demands

The mediating role of stakeholder demands (SDs) is based on stakeholder theory (Freeman 2010), according to which stakeholder pressure emerges as a significant driver of environmental initiatives (Sarkis et al. 2010; Kotzian 2022). Stakeholders in local government are decision-makers who support local governments in identifying opportunities to meet their needs, thereby contributing to solving the economic, social and environmental problems of communities (Schwab and Vanham 2021). Local government management needs to balance meeting different stakeholder needs (Sarkis et al. 2010; Soltani et al. 2015; Beck and Storopoli 2021) and ensure stakeholder engagement in environmental activities (Stocker et al. 2020). Commitment is a critical element of building consensus to tackle complex environmental problems (Venturelli et al. 2018; Zaid et al. 2020).

Stakeholder theory, as the authors note, is in its infancy in the context of local government (Beck and Storopoli 2021) and research on relationships to other variables in the context of local government environmental behavior has been very marginal. The focus here has been on understanding stakeholder commitment and in turn, on appropriate response instruments (Soltani et al. 2015; Cregård and Sobis 2017; Marrone and Hammerle 2018; Stocker et al. 2020). Voluntary environmental off-task behavior of municipal managers can be one of the informal tools through which municipalities communicate their positions on environmental issues to their stakeholders and a component of communication strategies of municipalities towards external and internal environments (Pedrini and Ferri 2018). For these tools to be powerful, it is essential to share their relevance within the organization and to create an open and transparent environmental culture based on instrumental support from environmental managers. The mayor is the ultimate bearer of organizational culture. When managers are convinced of the mayor's support and commitment to environmental issues, they engage in environmental activities towards stakeholders, respecting and considering their different demands (Paillé and Raineri 2015; Robertson and Carleton 2018; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019).

OCBTE plays a critical role in increasing stakeholder trust in the behavior of local governments and perceptions of the reliability of the formal information presented by them (Boiral and Heras-Saizarbitoria 2020), given the many studies criticising the transparency of this practice (Cho et al. 2018; Boiral and Heras-Saizarbitoria 2020). One of the barriers to OCBTE in organizations is the failure to manage the conflicting objectives of different stakeholders, suggesting a positive relationship between the two variables (Azam et al. 2022). Positive associations between OCBTE and SD have been demonstrated in studies on responsible leadership by leaders who strive for harmony between people, society and the environment. Through responsible leadership, leaders focus on stakeholder interests and encourage employees to engage with OCBTE in line with these interests. There is a positive link between SD and OCBTE.

Therefore, it is assumed that:

H4

Stakeholder demands play a mediating role between instrumental supervisory support for the environment and organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment.

2.5 Mediating role of person-organization fit

Person-organization fit (POF), proposed by Cable and Judge (1996), represents a measure of the congruence of individuals' goals and values with those of the organization. Three dimensions are tracked: values-values fit, needs-offer fit and requirements-abilities fit (Maloba and Pillay-Naidoo 2022). POF plays a significant role in research studies on management and organizsational behavior in public administration (Bright 2007). Along with motivation for public service, researchers consider it to be a critical determinant of job satisfaction, commitment, lower turnover of public servants and also increased citizenship behavior (Farzaneh et al. 2014; Langbein and Stazyk 2018; Demircioglu and Berman 2019; Maloba and Pillay-Naidoo 2022). Even tasks from supervisors with higher levels of POF are better perceived and performed by employees (Hamstra et al. 2019). The theory also enters into the environmental context of managing organizations. Greater alignment of values and goals should lead to employees being environmentally proactive to achieve broader environmental goals (Gould-Williams et al. 2015). For environmental projects to be successful, managers support OCBTE and many researchers have found a positive relationship between POF and OCBTE (Luu 2019; Mi et al. 2019; Faraz et al. 2021; Zhao et al. 2021; Iqbal and Piwowar-Sulej 2023; Wengang et al. 2023).

Researchers have identified direct relationships between POF and supervisory social support towards the environment (Graves and Sarkis 2018; Yuriev et al. 2018; Mi et al. 2019), as well as indirect effects of POF in moderation and mediation analyses with various forms of employee organizational behavior (Redelinghuys and Botha 2016). When employee and organizational values are aligned, an environmentally responsible mayor is more likely to provide support and space for voluntary environmental initiatives by managers as well as all employees (Luu 2019; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019; Faraz et al. 2021; Wengang et al. 2023) in the belief that these initiatives will progress in a congruent manner towards stakeholders (Robertson and Barling 2015; Kim et al. 2017). These managers are typically willing to take the initiative and display loyalty, enthusiasm and proactive citizenship behaviors (Boon et al. 2011; Straatmann et al. 2020), while their pro-environmental behaviors influence other employees (Baldassari et al. 2021; Baldassari and Eberhard 2023).

It is therefore assumed:

H5

Person-organization fit is mediating between instrumental supervisory support from the environment and organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment.

The researched theoretical model of the study is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Theoretical model of the study

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3 Methods

3.1 Data collection and sample

Data collection was executed through a questionnaire survey in January 2023, targeting mid-level managers within local government offices in Slovakia. The selection of offices followed a random sampling approach. In Slovakia, there exist 2890 local government regions. To gather a representative sample, we adopted a strategy of selecting every tenth municipality, resulting in the outreach to 289 municipalities for participation in the survey. Ultimately, 59 municipalities expressed their willingness to partake in the study. The questionnaires were then disseminated electronically to the managers' corresponding addresses. The participants were comprised of heads of departments, divisions and offices. A comprehensive explanation of the survey's objectives, intent and assurance of response anonymity was provided to the managers. By completing the questionnaire, respondents indicated their consent to data processing. We received a total of 2,150 requests for participation and questionnaire completion, yielding a return rate of 20%. Consequently, the final survey cohort consisted of 420 managers.

The composition of the sample demonstrated diversity. In terms of gender distribution, it encompassed 32% men and 68% women. Regarding managerial experience, the average duration of experience was 10.72 years (with a range from 2 to 22 years and a standard deviation of 5.02). All managers possessed a university degree. Among the participating managers, 21% hailed from offices with over 250 employees, 49% were from offices with 50 to 249 employees and the remaining 30% represented smaller offices with fewer than 50 employees. Geographically, the representation of managers was relatively uniform, with an average of 10–11% per region. Notably, the Bratislava region exhibited a higher proportion at 27%.

3.2 Measurements

Organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment (OCBTE) was measured using a variable developed by Mearns and Reader (2008) in measuring safety citizenship behavior and adapted to an environmental context by Temminck et al. (2015). Participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they engaged in the identified activities. A five-point scale was used (1 = not at all; 5 = to a great extent). The OCBTE contained seven items.

Instrumental support for the environment (ISE) by the mayor (mayor) was measured using a 5-item construct that was adopted from a study by Ramus and Steger (2000) and further developed in a study by Paillé and Meija-Morelos (2019). Participants expressed their agreement/disagreement on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) on items about the mayor's support for environmental initiatives, issues and their communication.

Stakeholder demands (SD) were measured using a 5-item construct adopted from a study by Sarkis et al. (2010). Participants expressed on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) the extent to which they felt pressure from stakeholders (5 stakeholder groups) to implement environmental practices.

Person-organization fit (POF) was measured using a 3-item construct adapted from a study by O'Reilly and Chatman (1986) and developed by Bright (2007). Participants expressed their agreement/disagreement on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) with statements about sharing personal values with organizational values and feeling a sense of belonging with their office.

Trust in the mayor (T) was measured using a three-item construct adapted from a study by Stinglhamber and Vandenberghe (2003). Participants expressed their agreement/disagreement with statements about the trustworthiness and integrity of their mayor on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).

Commitment to the mayor (C) was measured using a three-item construct adapted from a study by Cook and Wall (1980) and developed by Paillé and Raineri (2015). Participants expressed agreement/disagreement with statements about pride and respect for the mayor on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).

3.3 Data analysis

The hypotheses were verified using structural equation modelling with SmartPLS 3.3 software to assess the measurement and structural models. This is a suitable tool for measuring relationships between selected constructs and verifying multiple hypotheses simultaneously under both direct and indirect effects in complex systems (Sarstedt et al. 2021). Reasons for choosing this method include the relatively small sample size (420), the study's focus on predicting dependent variables and the use of latent variable scores for predictive purposes.

4 Results

4.1 Test of common method bias

The survey questionnaire contained a set of 27 indicator variables (Table 1) for the measurement model. Since the survey was self-administered over the same period, a common method bias that often threatens the validity of inferences in the behavioral sciences could occur (Podsakoff et al. 2003). Several measures were taken to mitigate this, most notably the random placement of items in the questionnaire, reversal of scales and the presentation of each section in a different context (Podsakoff et al. 2003). We also used a full collinearity test by calculating the variance inflation factor (VIF), whose values were less than 3.3 for all constructs. The model was not subject to collinearity and can be considered free of bias by the standard method (Kock 2015).

Table 1 Categories and descriptors of latent variables
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4.2 Measurement model

Measurement model validation was performed to verify the reliability and validity requirements of our model. The first result measures the outer model loadings, which can take values between 0 and 1. A fitting model is expected to have loadings (Henseler et al. 2016). The loadings calculated in this case satisfy this criterion, which means that the overall reliability requirement of the model is satisfied. We verified the internal reliability of the construct through three indicators (Table 2). Cronbach's alpha is expected to be between 0.7 and 0.9 (Sarstedt et al. 2017). As the ISE is below 0.7 for the ISE variable, we examined the other indicators (CR and rho_A), which met the requirements for all variables. Based on theory, rho_A should be between the value of Cronbach's alpha and CR, which is satisfied in our model (Sarstedt et al. 2021) (Table 2).

Table 2 Loadings, reliability and validity
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Convergent validity was measured by calculating the average variance extracted (AVE) and meets the required values exceeding 0.5 for all constructs (Hair et al. 2019) (Table 2).

Discriminant validity was assessed using the traditional Fornell-Larcker criterion (Sarstedt et al. 2021), with the square root of the AVE for the construct being greater than the inter-construct correlation (Table 3). A cross-loading measure was used for validation, where according to the application of cross-loading, a particular variable had a higher loading on its latent variable compared to the other latent variables in the study (values are not shown due to having a large amount of data) and a measure of heterotrait-monotrait correlation (HTMT) (Sarstedt et al. 2021). However, in the case of the heterotrait-monotrait correlation measure, which is measured as the average of the correlations of the variables across constructs, not all values obtained were below the threshold of 0.90 (Henseler et al. 2016). We conclude that discriminant validity is established (Table 3).

Table 3 Discriminant validity (Fornell-Lacker criteria)/HTMT ratio
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4.3 Structural model

Before implementing the measurement of each pathway, we validated the model's accuracy by determining the predictive capability (endogenous R-squared indices) and predictive significance (Q2 values), with the strength of each structural pathway determined. We found results greater than 0.1 for R2 (Sarstedt et al. 2021), which led us to conclude the model's predictive ability and greater than 0 for Q2 (Hair et al. 2019), which led us to conclude the model's predictive significance. We assessed the fit of the model using SRMR. We indicate an acceptable model fit because the observed values are less than 0.100 (Sarstedt et al. 2017). The results are presented in Tables 4, 5 and 6.

Table 4 Predictive capability of the model
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Table 5 Predictive relevance of the model
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Table 6 The model fit
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4.4 Path coefficients and mediating effects

The individual path coefficients and mediating effects were obtained by the bootstrapping method.

We verified four hypotheses:

  • H1 for a direct effect of ISE on OCBTE,

  • H2 for mediation of POF between ISE and OCBTE,

  • H3 for mediation of SD between ISE and OCBTE, and

  • H4 for mediation of both POF and SD between ISE and OCBTE.

The obtained results are presented in Table 7.

Table 7 Path coefficients, total, direct and indirect effects
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The findings show that a direct relationship exists between ISE and OCBTE (β = 0.399, p = 0.000), confirming Hypothesis 1. Instrumental mayor support for the environment directly influences managers' organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment.

We confirmed H2, which posits POF as a mediator between ISE and OCBTE. Mayor instrumental support for the environment has a greater overall effect on mayors' organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment than the direct effect (β = 0.817, p = 0.000). The mediator Person-organization fit (POF) accounts for 51 percent of this effect (β = 0.417, p = 0.000). The direct effect of ISE on OCBTE accounts for the remaining 49 percent (β = 0.399, p = 0.000).

We confirmed H3, which identifies SD as a mediator between ISE and OCBTE. The overall effect of Instrumental mayor support for the environment on the organizational citizenship behavior of managers towards the environment is greater than the direct effect (β = 0.813, p = 0.000). The mediator of stakeholder demands (SD) accounts for 51 percent of this effect, similar to the previous mediator (β = 0.418, p = 0.000). The remaining 49% is accounted for by the direct effect of ISE on OCBTE (β = 0.395, p = 0.000).

We confirmed H4, which posits that POF and SD mediate between ISE and OCBTE. The overall effect of instrumental mayor support for the environment on the organizational citizenship behavior of managers towards the environment is greater than the direct effect (β = 0.814, p = 0.000). The mediators (ISE and POF) account for up to 64% of this effect (β = 0.516, p = 0.000). The remaining 36% is accounted for by the direct effect of ISE on OCBTE (β = 0.298, p = 0.000). Both mediators exert almost equal strength in joint interaction with a slightly higher effect of POF (β = 0.260, p = 0.000).

The final empirical model is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Empirical model of the study. OCBTE Organizational Citizenship Behavior Towards the Environment, ISE instrumental mayor support for the environment, SD Stakeholder demands, POF Person–organization fit, T trust in the mayor, C commitment to the mayor; p < 0.05

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4.5 Trust in the mayor (T) and commitment to the mayor (C) as moderators of the ISE and OCBTE relationship

The moderating effect of two variables, namely trust in the mayor and commitment to the mayor, was examined. The results are presented in Table 8.

Table 8 Trust moderation and commitment to the ISE and OCBTE relationship
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The moderating effect of trust in the mayor is shown in Fig. 3 and the moderating effect of commitment to the mayor is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Moderating effect of trust in the mayor. OCBTE Organizational Citizenship Behavior Towards the Environment, ISE instrumental mayor support for the environment, T trust in the mayor; p < 0.05

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Fig. 4
figure 4

Moderating effect of commitment to the mayor. OCBTE Organizational Citizenship Behavior Towards the Environment, ISE instrumental mayor support for the environment, C commitment to the mayor; p < 0.05

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The moderating effect of trust in the mayor is significant and positive. This implies that trust in the mayor, the mayor of the city or municipality in our case, significantly strengthens the relationship between instrumental supervisory support for the environment and the organizational citizenship behavior toward the environment. This moderating effect was not confirmed for the variable commitment to the mayor.

5 Discussion and conclusion

The significance of OCBTE for all local municipal employees in environmental policy implementation is indisputable. Off-role behavior is much more effective than in-role behavior because it is linked to employees' intrinsic values (Zhang et al. 2022). Its support from supervisors contributes to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental instruments, understanding their complexity, scope and impacts, as well as shaping environmental citizenship in the managed areas. The direct impact of OCBTE support has even been shown to enhance the environmental performance of organizations, increase their environmental and social responsibility, as well as promote the success of environmental projects (Paillé et al. 2014; Alt and Spitzeck 2016; Tosti-Kharas et al. 2017; Kim et al. 2019; Luu 2019). This study examines the OCBTE of immediate managers who play a significant role in spreading this behavior in the organization. They serve as a link between senior management and other employees in resolving environmental issues. They can transmit their trust upwards (Fulmer and Ostroff 2017) and their commitment to environmentalism downwards (Zhang et al. 2022). The social learning theory and social exchange theory act as role models for employees and influence the formation of environmental awareness of employees and subsequent voluntary initiatives through their behavior (Cantor et al. 2012; Ones and Dilchert 2012; Lülfs and Hahn 2013). It is, therefore, in the interest of every local authority to identify opportunities to raise the OCBTE levels of immediate managers.

The intention behind this research was to identify the extent to which instrumental mayor (mayor) support for the environment (ISE) is related to organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment (OCBTE) of immediate managers. The research findings are consistent with the results of studies by other authors (Robertson and Barling 2015; Kim et al. 2017; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019) and confirm that ISE by the mayor in local municipal government settings is among the factors that can positively influence the OCBTE of immediate managers. The reason for this is the high level of trust managers place in the mayor to be environmentally responsible and to provide support and space for voluntary environmental initiatives by managers and all employees. In essence, ISE is the systematic leadership of employees to behave environmentally friendly (Paillé and Raineri 2015). In the context of local public administrations, ISE is a tool that explicitly empowers employees with support and signals to spread further environmental awareness, given its specific characteristics and the high degree of engagement with citizens and their environment-friendly behaviors.

This study demonstrates that the relationship between mayoral ISE and direct manager OCBTE is not only directly mediated but that two significant variables, namely person-organization fit (POF) and stakeholder demand (SD), can enter the model positively as mediators, thereby significantly increasing the overall effect of ISE on OCBTE. These are significant findings for local authority management, which should focus not only on the ISE of managers in their efforts to promote OCBTE but also on unrelated factors, namely, person-organization fit and stakeholder demand. It is essential to monitor the extent to which individuals' goals and values align with those of the organization across all dimensions, including the size of the environment. The findings support previous studies conducted by researchers (Luu 2019; Mi et al. 2019; Maloba and Pillay-Naidoo 2022; Iqbal and Piwowar-Sulej 2023a; Wengang et al. 2023), which contribute to the knowledge that greater alignment of values and goals leads to employees being more environmentally active in order to achieve broader environmental goals. When the importance of immediate managers and the organization are aligned, an environmentally responsible mayor is more inclined to provide all employees with support and space for voluntary environmental initiatives (Luu 2019; Wengang et al. 2023). Consequently, such managers are willing to take the initiative and exhibit loyalty, enthusiasm and proactive citizenship behavior (Straatmann et al. 2020), while their pro-environmental behavior influences other employees (Baldassari et al. 2021).

Like POF, the SD factor mediates the relationship between ISE and OCBTE. Stakeholder pressures strongly influence environmental initiatives in general, not excluding local authorities. This makes this study original in this setting, as stakeholder theory is still in its infancy in the context of local authorities (Beck and Storopoli 2021) and research on relationships with other variables in the context of municipal environmental behavior has so far been marginal. Thus, our findings highlight the importance of SD acceptance and the close link with OCBTE. The voluntary environmental behavior of municipal managers can be one of the informal tools through which municipalities communicate their positions on environmental issues to stakeholders and it forms part of the communication strategies of municipalities towards the external and internal environment (Pedrini and Ferri 2018). The mayor's ISE can only effectively support the OCBTE of managers when they communicate transparently and effectively with stakeholders and considers their different, sometimes conflicting, demands.

Considering that managers from local governments in the Bratislava region made up 27% of our sample, we conducted an analysis to identify statistically significant correlations within individual paths. The outcomes of the multi-group parametric tests, based on segmentation variables, revealed that the significance of the relationships among individual variables was not greater near the capital city or in other regions. This observation underscores the predominance of managerial competencies over political factors in the management of local governments.

The findings of this study are consistent with the previously conducted studies on the positive moderating effect of trust in superiors (Destler 2017; Keulemans and Groeneveld 2020; Kevin Wang et al. 2020; Piatak et al. 2022). Nevertheless, while all the studies have been conducted in public administration, they have not been demonstrated in the context of local municipalities. Therefore, the added value of our research is reflected in the findings discussed above and the implication for local mayors to foster trust since trust in the organization not only helps in increasing the OCBTE of the employees but also assists in the attitudes and enforcement of environmental values towards the citizens living in local municipalities. Consistent with the definition of trust, if immediate managers trust their mayor, they become more willing to tolerate the vulnerability of their actions on complex environmental issues because they trust the competence and reliability of the mayor. Building on the social exchange theory, they reciprocate and behave similarly. Although we expected a positive moderating effect for the commitment variable for mayor and municipalities based on studies conducted outside public administration (Kim et al. 2017; Paillé and Meija-Morelos 2019), this hypothesis was not confirmed. Based on the concept of commitment, the mayor's predominantly committed environmental behavior may be related to incentives and not based on the same value orientation and individual identification with the mayor's personality. Managers' sense of psychological accountability in pursuing environmental goals may also be lower on their possible frequent turnover in management positions when other political leadership takes over. With those above, the manager's value affiliation to a social group in the local government may also decrease. The above facts would merit further research to test various control variables such as age, gender and length of experience that may affect the results.

Our research provides valuable insights for local government managers into the significance of instrumental environmental support for enhancing OCBTE, in the context of stakeholder demand and person-organization fit. These insights are identified as essential managerial competencies for advancing the environmental agendas of local administrations and fostering ecological civic participation. Concurrently, the research encourages these managers to develop and implement strategies for attaining environmental objectives. This involves advocating environmental principles among staff through the systematic cultivation of trust within their establishments, ensuring the goals and values of employees are in harmony with those of the organization, and acknowledging the concerns of all relevant stakeholders.

Our research makes a noteworthy contribution in several key areas: In theoretical advancement, our contribution is evident in showcasing the interconnectedness of societal environmental sustainability, local environmental resilience, and overarching objectives. Our study offers significant theoretical insights specifically in undreserched area of Slovakia, country in Eeastern Europe on which we do not know enough. Thus, this comprehensive framework provides a deeper understanding of environmental management dynamics across different contexts. The second contribution addresses identified overlooked areas in the literature and proposes potential avenues for future research within each domain, which enriches the academic discourse on environmental sustainability and guides future inquiry by highlighting areas that warrant further exploration. The third contribution is in the theoretical improvements evident in the developed framework. Our research develops a structured framework that emphasizes the interactions among all elements, enhancing comprehension of complex environmental systems' dynamics. This approach enables a more nuanced understanding of interdependencies and feedback loops, contributing to theoretical clarity and practical applicability.

Finally, our findings have practical implications for both scholars and local government managers. By offering insights into environmental policy implementation and the utilization of various instruments for sustainability, our research bridges the gap between theory and practice. It empowers stakeholders to make informed decisions and take effective action in real-world environmental management scenarios.

In summary, our research significantly advances the understanding of environmental sustainability by contributing to theory development, identifying research gaps, developing frameworks, and providing practical insights.

The present study provides several original findings for the local government environment. However, several limitations need to be considered when generalising these findings that also provides avenues for future research. This cross-sectional study is conducted at a single point, so causal conclusions cannot be drawn from the results. Mediated relationships were identified and developed in line with the theoretical search and findings from previous studies, thus mitigating some of the limitations. We sought to increase the validity and methodological soundness of the latent variables employed and the overall model by several recommended procedures. However, we did not use a pilot survey, which might have affected this to a greater extent. At the same time, we implemented several steps to mitigate a common method bias. Although our model is free of this bias, asserting this fact with complete certainty is impossible in the behavioral sciences. It would be advisable to conduct a survey of managers and subordinates and then compare the results to increase the objectivity of the research. The above findings can be a recommendation for further investigation and lead us to explore other variables that could enter into the model which we have developed to promote and enhance the OCBTE of local municipality employees.