Abstract:

This study aims to explore the role of work values and the needs of young graduates, along with gender and status (students vs professionals), regarding their preferences for green organizations (PGOs).

A non-probabilistic and convenient sample was obtained by applying an online questionnaire to 348 graduate students at different Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEI), as well as recently hired staff working at companies from different company sectors.

Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), the results indicated that preferences for green organizations, and their opposites, are influenced by values at work in addition to gender and status. The consistency analysis revealed that gender (female), status (young professionals), and different work values (e.g. personal fulfilment, a secure and pleasant work environment, remuneration and benefits, organisational prestige and work-life balance) are the necessary conditions in the respondents’ preference for green organisations. The main enablers of non-preference for green organisations are the absence of personal fulfilment, lack of a secure and pleasant work environment, and low organisational prestige. From these results, it is women and newly hired individuals who express a preference for green organisations. It was also concluded that students do not indicate that the environmental sustainability of companies is a determining aspect in their choice of a company to work for. Two configurational models were then generated; these underscore the heterogenous nature of predicting a preference for Green Organizations and its negation.

The results contribute to a deeper knowledge of the preference for Green organisations by proposing more comprehensive predictive models. These explain both the cases of preference and non-preference, recognising them as distinct constructs.

The findings are relevant in supporting the development of organisational policies and practices aimed at enhancing employees’ pro-environmental behaviours. They will also provide additional assistance to HEI in the development of sustainability competences for their study plans.

Keywords:

Green organizations, work values, fsQCA, young graduates, sustainability in education.