Considering the key role of the “human dimension” in successfully enacting environmental and green activities in modern organizations (Renwick et al., 2013; Jabbour et al., 2019), an emerging stream of research has adopted a “behavioral perspective” on “green” HRM practices by stressing green training to employees throughout organizations (Jabbour, 2013; Teixeira et al., 2016). Conceptually, a process of on-the-job training and continued education is designed to achieve corporate environmental management targets and purposes (Daily and Huang, 2001).

According to previous research, green training is prioritized as the most effective human resource management practice promoting superior environmental performance (Renwick et al., 2013) since training programs can motivate participants’ formal awareness; that is, employees are aware of informal practices, such as energy conservation to voluntarily reciprocate green behavior (Stefanelli et al., 2021). Consistently, some scholars have evidenced that green training can contribute to extrarole behaviors (Pinzone et al., 2019) because it can build a supportive working context through appropriate interventions toward successful implementation of green goals (Dumont et al., 2017).

As green creativity, referring to developing original, novel, and useful ideas about green products, green services, green processes, or green practices (Chen and Chang, 2013), is recognized as a typical extrarole behavior in organizations, we follow previous studies and propose that green training can stimulate employees’ green creativity. Specifically, when organizations provide green training programs, they intuitively signal that creative green behaviors are expected and valued throughout the organization (Obaid and Alias, 2015). As mentioned above, green training formulates a desirable working situation in favor of green activities. In this situation, the diffusion of environmental awareness and competencies from green training helps employees become better able to take suitable actions to mitigate environmental impacts in the workplace. As a result, they adopt new “green” behaviors in a creative manner to meet the green requirements of organizations. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:

We propose the positive effect of green training on employees’ green values due to the value-based nature of green training. Studies have suggested that the principal purpose is to deliver the value of green in organizations to employees (Amrutha and Geetha, 2021). That is, employees who are trained in proper strategies of behaving in a green manner inevitably develop green-oriented values in the workplace. In addition, receiving green training can increase employees’ awareness and cognition of organizational green values (Pinzone et al., 2019), which in turn reinforces employees’ self-values regarding being green (Wang et al., 2018).

We expect a positive association between green values and green creativity according to the current literature, which has acknowledged that personal values can influence individual attitudes and behavior (Al-Ghazali and Afsar, 2021; Kalyar et al., 2021). Empirical studies (Andersson et al., 2005; Schultz et al., 2005) have reported a significant and positive impact of personal environmental values on individual environmentally friendly behavior. Relating to our research context, we integrate our theoretical argumentations with supplies-values fit theory (Edwards, 1996). That is, when an organization provides an environment that is conducive to the development of employee values (i.e., green training), employees’ green values are consistent with the organization. In this situation, employees will have creative ideas to solve the green problem (Cohen and Liu, 2011; Al-Ghazali and Afsar, 2021).

Based on the reasoning above and Hypothesis 1, we expect that when organizations provide training programs on green issues to employees, these employees sense the necessities and valuableness of green activities in the workplace. Consequently, they are more likely to engage in producing green creative outcomes. Taken together, we propose the following hypothesis:

Adapting the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations (Amabile and Pratt, 2016), we argue, first, that green training can trigger employees’ green intrinsic motivation. Green intrinsic motivation was developed from the concept of intrinsic motivation, which represents a state in which people are internally motivated by enthusiasm for performing the tasks (Deci and Ryan, 1985). Scholars have recently highlighted the concept of green intrinsic motivation by suggesting that desirable contexts are significant predictors of individuals’ green intrinsic motivation (Li et al., 2020), as they help employees sense interests and feel excited about the content of their work (Oldham and Cummings, 1996; Shalley et al., 2004). Regarding green tasks, since green training signals an environment of supporting green attitudes and behaviors, employees perceive green training as a form of organizational investment in their personal growth and development of doing green tasks. As a result, their intrinsic motivation to take green responsibilities are increased.

We further expect a positive effect of green intrinsic motivation on employees’ green creativity. Theoretically, employees are strongly intrinsically motivated to find work assignments interesting because they are internally stimulated to put effort into completing tasks. In terms of working in the green context, employees who have received green-related training will be intrinsically motivated for green tasks through a desire to display creative behaviors. The main reason is that employees with a high level of green intrinsic motivation are naturally interested in environmental issues, which in turn enables them to better enjoy working on green assignments and projects (Amabile, 1997; Deci and Ryan, 2016). In this situation, their inspirations are effectively stimulated to generate creative ideas to address green problems.

According to the reasoning above and the proposed Hypothesis 1, we expect intrinsic green motivation to mediate the relationship between green training and green creativity. Specifically, the more training an organization offers, the greater green intrinsic motivation can be developed, and consequently, employees’ green creative products can be generated. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:

As the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations suggests that creativity is a process that contains some personal attributes (e.g., cognitive and motivational factors; Amabile and Pratt, 2016), we propose that green values and green intrinsic motivation sequentially mediate the relationship between green training and employee green creativity. Specifically, considering the research evidence that green training indirectly affects employees’ green creativity, employees who participate in green training courses aim to develop a sense that engaging in green activities is highly valuable in organizations. In such situations, they are more likely to generate internal motivations to implement green philosophy in their tasks, which in turn leads to more green creative outcomes. Integrating the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations with the discussion and reasoning above, we propose the last hypothesis:

We employed the research design of survey questionnaires in the present study. Since one of the research aims is to examine green creativity in the public sector, we invited employees and their direct leaders working in the public sector in China to complete the questionnaires. Before submitting our questionnaires, the authors randomly contacted individuals in twenty public sectors and informed them about the contents of the present study. After receiving confirmation from individuals in nine public sectors that indicated that they were encouraging green creativity in their own organizations, we randomly selected 800 employees in these public sectors and then submitted the first set of questionnaires to them at Time 1. These employees were informed that their responses would be kept confidential. Meanwhile, we asked them to report the name of their direct supervisors, who would rate their (i.e., employees) green creativity at Time 2. They rated green training, green values and green intrinsic motivation and provided some demographic information. We received 668 responses after deleting responses with incomplete information. After 1 month, at Time 2, we submitted the other set of questionnaires to these employees’ direct leaders according to these employees’ reports at Time 1. We asked these leaders to rate their followers’ green creativity. After deleting responses with incomplete information, we finally received 464 valid responses.

Among these 464 employees in the public sector, 53.2% were female (SD = 0.50), and their average age was 30.72 (SD = 7.11). The most frequently reported education level was associate degree (50.2% employees, SD = 0.71). Their average work tenure in the current organization was 2.82 (SD = 2.10).

Before testing hypotheses, we first used SPSS software version 25 to analyze the data. Specifically, we calculated the descriptive statistics to characterize all the variables in the current study—computing Pearson’s product–moment correlation to test the directions and correlations among all the variables. To test our hypothesis that green values and green intrinsic motivation act as serial mediators of the relationship between green training and green creativity, we used the SPSS PROCESS macro, Model 6, to test the stability and significance of the mediation effects. Particularly, we calculated 95% confidence intervals of the indirect effects derived from bias-corrected bootstrap estimates with 5,000 iterations, which are significant at p = 0.05 if the 95% confidence interval does not include zero. We employed PROCESS to test our hypotheses because it is widely used in the social, business, and health sciences to estimate direct and indirect effects in single and multiple mediation models (Hayes and Scharkow, 2013; Solove et al., 2015; Baroudi et al., 2018). PROCESS generates all of the statistical calculations and implements bootstrapping in a way that facilitates inference about moderated and mediated effects (Hayes and Scharkow, 2013; Hayes et al., 2017). In the current study, specifically, we used Model 6 to perform a sequential mediation analysis that explicitly tested how the in-dependent variable (i.e., green training) can influence the dependent variable (i.e., green creativity) by influencing two distinguished mediators in a sequential way (i.e., influencing green values and then green intrinsic motivation).

Before testing hypotheses, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to establish the discriminant validity of all the factors. We employed AMOS 25.0 and showed the results in Table 1. Specifically, the results of all the alternative models are as follows: the three-factor model (χ² = 1572.768, df = 222, χ²/df = 7.085, RMSEA = 0.115, GFI = 0.719, TLI = 0.824, CFI = 0.846); the two-factor model (χ² = 3206.299, df = 225, χ²/df = 14.250, RMSEA = 169, GFI = 0.537, TLI = 0.617, CFI = 0.660); and the one-factor model (χ² = 5123.279, df = 229, χ²/df = 22.372, RMSEA = 0.215, GFI = 0.420, TLI = 0.383, CFI = 0.442). Comparatively, the results of our hypothesized four-factor model indices are χ² = 575.489, df = 218, χ²/df = 2.640, RMSEA = 0.060, GFI = 0.904, TLI = 0.953, CFI = 0.959. Therefore, our hypothesized model showed a better fit than all the alternative models (Hu and Bentler, 1999).

Table 2 shows the means, standard deviation, and correlations of all the measures. The results show that the relationship between green training and green creativity was significant (β = 0.254, p < 0.001), providing initial support for H1. As discussed, green training correlates to green values (β = 0.280, p < 0.001) and green intrinsic motivation (β = 0.468, p < 0.001). Moreover, both green values (β = 0.540, p < 0.001) and green intrinsic motivation (β = 0.388, p < 0.001) correlate to green creativity.

To test the hypothesis that green values and green intrinsic motivation sequentially mediate the impact of green training on green creativity, we performed a sequential mediation analysis (Model 6, as described in PROCESS) with bootstrap methods (Hayes, 2013). Figure 2 describes all the paths for the full process model. Table 3 shows the coefficients. The results indicate that the total effect (C1) of green training on leader-rated green creativity was found to be significant (β = 0.249, t = 5.017, p < 0.001), supporting H1. Moreover, the results in Table 3 show that the total direct effect (C1′) was insignificant (β = 0.028, t = 0.047, p > 0.05). The total indirect effect (i.e., the sum of the specific indirect effects) was significant, with a total indirect effect (β = 0.221, SE = 0.036) and a 95% confidence interval between 0.155 and 0.294.

Moreover, the specific indirect effect resulting from green values only was significant (a1b1 = 0.114; 95% CI = 0.067 and 0.169), and the specific indirect effect resulting from green intrinsic motivation was significant (a2b2 = 0.094; 95% CI = 0.052 and 0.143). The results indicated that both H2 and H3 are supported.

To test the sequential multiple mediation effect (i.e., H4), the results showed that the specific indirect effect of green training on leader-rated green creativity through both green values and green intrinsic motivation (a1a3b2) was significant, with a point estimate of 0.013 and a 95% confidence interval between 0.005 and 0.026, providing full support for H4. Therefore, green training might lead to positive green values, which might be a unique predictor to increase the level of green intrinsic motivation, and green intrinsic motivation increases leader-rated green creativity, as our hypothesis is supported in the current study. Taken together, the results prove that green values and green intrinsic motivation sequentially mediate the linkage between green training and leader-rated green creativity. In this vein, it is suggested that after receiving trainings on green and environmental issues, employees develop their green values and green intrinsic motivation sequentially; as a result, their leaders evaluate their green creativity in a positive way with higher scores.

First, this was among the first studies to investigate the possibilities of whether and how green training can promote green creativity in employees. We found that when organizations provide training programs related to green topics, employees generate high levels of green creativity in the workplace (Jabbour, 2013). Specifically, organizations offering green training can create a sustainable working environment where employees feel encouraged to engage in producing green solutions in a creative manner (Renwick et al., 2013; Stefanelli et al., 2021). As such, our results reinforce the need to reconsider the role of green human resource management in modern organizations by highlighting the applications of training courses. Furthermore, we enriched the current understanding of the predictors of cultivating employees’ green creativity in organizations, that is, providing green training. In this vein, we contribute to the practical applications of training and creativity in terms of green management (Wang et al., 2013).

Second, we fed into a growing stream of studies that apply the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations in the creativity literature (Amabile and Pratt, 2016). Although creativity scholars following the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations have provided empirical evidence that contextual factors facilitate employee creativity by promoting his or her intrinsic motivation, limited studies have employed these findings in the green literature (Ogbeibu et al., 2021). We uniquely moved beyond these findings to empirically test the green intrinsic motivation that links a specific contextual factor (i.e., green training) and green creativity (Farooq et al., 2021). That is, we found that green training boosts employees’ green intrinsic motivation, which in turn leads to green creativity.

In addition, we empirically tested the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations by identifying the other mediator of green values. That is, green training can contribute to green creativity via green values. This is consistent with the theoretical argument that some personal cognitive characteristics may transfer the benefits of desirable contexts in creativity (Shalley et al., 2004). Meanwhile, by unfolding the sequential process (i.e., green value and green intrinsic motivation) of the association between green training and green creativity, we addressed scholars’ call for investigations of the process perspective in the creativity literature. That is, situational factors (e.g., green training) can exert positive effects on an individual’s cognitive and motivational attributes toward the development of creativity. In addition, our assessment of green creativity is based on employees’ direct supervisors, which increases the objectiveness of measures. In this vein, we extend the previous creativity literature (George and Zhou, 2001; Reiter-Palmon et al., 2012) to green-related creativity research by using supervisor ratings of green creativity, which are the most common method in field studies and give more objective results than the self-rating method.

Finally, our study provides an in-depth understanding of managing employees’ green creativity in the public sector. Existing research stresses that green strategy is highly recognized in modern organizations, and investigations in the context of public sectors are extremely rare (Green and Roberts, 2012). This emphasis leads to a call for a burgeoning interest in understanding how to cultivate green creativity in the public sector. The current study contributed to the practices of stimulating employee creativity in a green manner, especially in the public sector. Since green strategy is highly recognized in modern organizations, our findings validate the importance of managing green behaviors throughout the public sector and can be generalized to other sectors that require environmentally oriented attitudes and behaviors in a creative way (e.g., Cai et al., 2020; Arici and Uysal, 2021). Moreover, relating to our highlighted green trainings in public sectors, it theoretically extends the current literature by suggesting that contemporary business organizations update managerial philosophy to invest more effort into training employees who are green creative (e.g., Pinzone et al., 2019). In this vein, HR departments are encouraged to provide both formal and informal training programs to enhance staff’s green and creative mindsets (e.g., Liu et al., 2020).

The findings of the current study have some practical implications. First, given the benefits of green training, organizations, especially in the public sector, should adopt a series of green training programs to develop employees’ creative green outputs. In doing so, employees can be oriented to the organizational stance on sustainability issues and what the expectations are for them to further green efforts. For example, HR departments should first try to receive enough information about employees’ needs to take training courses related to green and environmental issues in the workplace. Afterward, relevant training programs can be designed and provided accordingly (Shah, 2019). In this way, employees can be effectively equipped with the necessary skills and expertise for the successful implementation of green management goals in a creative way. Second, organizations should properly appraise employees’ green creative endeavors and link this behavior to promotional opportunities, pay, and compensation to encourage and motivate employees to participate in green activities and to contribute to green management objectives. For example, monthly and/or quarterly evaluations should be made, and then, related feedback should be provided to employees, which enables employees to receive a comprehensive picture of their green-oriented performance (Shou et al., 2020) and then make more efforts to behave creatively in an environmental manner. Third, managers can take responsibility to encourage employees to create a value of being green and environmental. Meanwhile, by assigning tasks requiring green creativity to employees, managers can stimulate their followers’ intrinsic motivations to develop creative ideas and solutions through a green method. For example, when providing feedback, supervisors can signal to employees that green creativity is highly valued and encouraged.

Some limitations of the present study should be noted. The first limitation regards the time-lagged research design used to collect data at two different time points. Despite the independence of variables measured at specific and different time points, their substantial correlations can be effectively shown when analyzed longitudinally. Thus, forthcoming longitudinal studies are recommended to replicate and extend our results. Second, we collected data from public sectors in China; thus, our research findings should be generated by conducting research in other countries. Finally, in addition to exploring the chain mechanism through which green training contributes to employees’ green creativity, research in the future should identify the boundary conditions to further understand the relationship between green training and green creativity.