Does spiritual leadership promote employees’ green creativity? The mediating effect of green work engagement

Purpose Anchored in the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this research aims to examine the effect of spiritual leadership on green creativity via the mediating role of green work engagement (GWEN). Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 254 frontline hotel employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the hypothesized relationships were assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS SEM). Findings The findings suggest that spiritual leadership boosts GWEN and green creativity, and GWEN positively affects green creativity and mediates the nexus between spiritual leadership and green creativity. Practical implications Top management in the hospitality industry should focus on building spirituality and spiritual practices among their managers to accomplish organizational green goals. The hospitality industry is a highly competitive service sector that contains several unique challenges for workers, such as growing customer demands and asking for employee creativity while concurrently producing and delivering high-quality, differentiated services. In such tense and demanding professional settings, employees require intrinsic motivation to achieve something “out of the box.” Organizations should understand that intrinsic motivation implanted by spiritual leaders can encourage individuals to engage in green tasks and ultimately go beyond the script to achieve green creativity. Originality/value This study advances the extant literature by highlighting the role of spiritual leadership, as an emerging leadership style, in fostering GWEN and green creativity. It also adds to the existing research by examining the underlying mechanism through which spiritual leadership nurtures green creativity.