From Institutional Leadership to Value Internalization: Explaining Students’ Energy-Conservation Intention in Chinese Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

As energy conservation becomes an increasingly important component of sustainable campus development, understanding how universities can foster students’ pro-environmental intention has become a critical issue in higher education research. This study aimed to examine the relationships among university leadership, environmental values, and pro-environmental behavioral intention in the context of energy conservation among HEIS students. We targeted on students enrolled in higher education institutions in Shanxi Province, China,. Data were collected through online survey and 864 valid responses were retained for the final analysis. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed relationships. The results showed that university leadership did not exert a significant direct effect on pro-environmental behavioral intention, but it had a significant positive effect on environmental values. Environmental values also significantly and positively influenced pro-environmental behavioral intention. In addition, environmental values significantly mediated the relationship between university leadership and pro-environmental behavioral intention, indicating that the effect of leadership on students’ energy-conservation intention operates mainly through value internalization rather than through a direct behavioral pathway. These findings enrich current understanding of how institutional support and internal value formation jointly shape students’ energy-conservation intention in higher education contexts