Shaping environmental action through corporate environmental responsibility (CER) norms: cross-cultural patterns in organizational influence

Introduzione. Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) refers to organizations’ voluntary efforts to reduce their ecological footprint and communicate these actions internally and externally. Drawing from the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct (Cialdini et al., 1991), this study conceptualizes CER norms through two lenses: injunctive norms, or shared beliefs about appropriate environmental behaviors, and descriptive norms, which reflect the organization’s ecological practices. Obiettivi. The study investigates whether perceived injunctive and descriptive CER norms foster collective efficacy on environmental matters. It further examines how this sense of collective efficacy may translate into favorable attitudes and intentions toward easy and challenging pro-environmental behaviors (e.g., recycling or adopting sustainable energy technologies) in the organizational setting and through behavioral spillover into the domestic sphere. The moderating influence of cultural norm tightness/looseness on these relationships is explored. Metodo. A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed, involving employees from both public and private organizations in Italy and China (mainland China and Taiwan). The study assessed structural relationships between CER norms, perceived collective efficacy, and behavioral outcomes using a multi-group path analysis while testing for differences across cultural contexts. Risultati. The analyses confirmed the significant role of CER norms in shaping environmentally responsible attitudes within the workplace, with a spillover into the domestic context. Moreover, the degree of cultural tightness/looseness moderated the strength of these relationships, highlighting variations across national samples. Limiti. While the study includes culturally diverse contexts, the samples are limited to specific national and organizational settings, which may restrict broader generalizations. Additionally, the cross-sectional design does not allow for causal inferences. Future research could benefit from longitudinal approaches and the inclusion of behavioral measures beyond self-reports to strengthen the validity of findings. Aspetti innovativi. By integrating CER, normative theory, and cross-cultural dimensions of norm adherence, the research offers a novel framework for understanding how organizational norms can drive environmental engagement across domains and cultures.