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. 2025 Jun 17;24(1):659.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-025-03331-2.

Nursing green transformational leadership style, behavioral intentions, actual behavior and creativity: the impact of a green climate

Nagah Abd El-Fattah Mohamed Aly  1 , Safaa M El-Shanawany  2 , Maha Abdelhamied Ghanem  2 , Wael M Lotfy  3
Affiliations

Nursing green transformational leadership style, behavioral intentions, actual behavior and creativity: the impact of a green climate

Nagah Abd El-Fattah Mohamed Aly et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: Nursing leaders and nurses play a significant role in promoting green healthcare practices in healthcare organizations. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanism through which leadership can affect the green behavior and creativity of nurses.

Aims: To investigate the effects of transformational leadership and a green work climate on nurses' behavioral intentions, actual green behavior, and green creativity.

Methods: Self-report questionnaires (nursing green transformational leadership, climate, behavior, and creativity) were used to gather data from 400 nurses.

Results: Nurses' perceptions of nursing green transformational leadership, climate, behavior, and creativity were all at acceptable levels. Regression analysis indicated that nurses' green behavioral intentions, actual green behavior, and green creativity, as well as the green work climate, were positively affected by nursing green transformational leadership. The Sobel results showed that nursing green transformational leadership indirectly affected nurses' green behavioral intentions, actual green behavior and green creativity through the mediating role of the green work environment. There was a moderating influence of the green work climate on the association between nurses' green behavioral intentions and actual green behavior.

Conclusion: A green work climate had a mediating effect on the relationships among nursing green transformational leadership, nurses' green behavioral intentions, actual green behavior and green creativity. Nurses' green behavioral intentions positively affect their actual green behavior through the moderating effects of a green work climate.

Implication: Nurse managers should be aware of the influence of leadership style and the green work climate as significant factors influencing the ability of nurses to engage in green behavior and foster their green creativity.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Keywords: Actual green behavior; Environmental behavior intention; Green creativity; Green transformational leadership; Green work climate; Mediating effect; Moderating effect; Nurses; Nursing management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Approval for conducting the research was obtained from the ethical committee of the Faculty of Medicine at Alexandria University (the IRB number was 0306600) and the Administration of the Faculty of Nursing at Matrouh University. After the purpose of the study was explained, written consent was obtained from the nurses to participate before they completed the questionnaire. All nurses were assured that their responses would not be used in their performance appraisal and would be analyzed with anonymity and confidentiality. The nurses were also informed of their rights to refuse participation and withdraw from the study at any time. All research procedures of present study were performed in adhering to the Declaration of Helsinki and compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual diagram of the present study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Summaries of the mediating and moderating analyses
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Moderating effect of a green work climate on the relationship between green behavioral intentions and actual GB
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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