Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmentalism in the Chinese Tourism Industry: A Cross‐Level Moderated Mediation Approach

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationships among corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmentally sustainable development, green innovation, and employee pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB) in China's tourism industry while also testing the moderating role of ethical leadership within a cross‐level moderated mediation framework. Drawing on two‐wave data collected over a one‐month period from 1087 respondents across 114 medium‐sized and large hotels in China, this study employs multilevel analysis. The findings indicate that environmentally sustainable development mediates the relationships between CSR and both green innovation and employee PEB. Environmentally sustainable development and green innovation also act jointly as sequential mediators linking CSR to employee PEB. In addition, ethical leadership strengthens the indirect effects of CSR on green innovation and employee PEB through environmentally sustainable development. These findings advance the understanding of the micro‐level processes through which CSR is translated into environmental outcomes. The study suggests that organizations should embed CSR into core management practices, communicate CSR initiatives clearly to employees, and strengthen ethical leadership and environmental sustainability capabilities, and policy‐makers should promote wider CSR adoption through appropriate regulatory frameworks and targeted incentive mechanisms.