CEO environmentally specific transformational leadership and firm proactive environmental strategy: roles of TMT green commitment and regulative pressure

Purpose This research aims to focus on the environmentally specific transformational leadership (ETFL) of a chief executive officer (CEO) and aims to examine the effect of CEOs' ETFL on firm's proactive environmental strategies (PESs), by indicating the top management team's (TMT) green commitment as a mediator and regulative pressure as a moderator to understand the relation. Design/methodology/approach This study used multisource data from 170 small-to medium-sized manufacturing firms in China. Findings The results indicated that CEOs' ETFL was positively related to the TMT's green commitment, which, in turn, enhanced the firm's PESs. Moreover, regulative pressure strengthened the direct effect of CEOs' ETFL on their TMTs' green commitment and the indirect effect of CEOs' ETFL on the firm's PESs via TMTs' green commitment. Originality/value The tested importance of regulative pressure as an external condition that strengthens the effectiveness of CEOs' ETFL offers new theoretical insights to advance the literature on PESs.