*Article* **Culture-Based Green Workplace Practices as a Means of Conserving Energy and Other Natural Resources in the Manufacturing Sector**

**Helena Buli ´nska-Stangrecka 1,\* and Anna Bagie ´nska <sup>2</sup>**


**Abstract:** The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of organizational culture in fostering green practices in the workplace while investigating the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in the context of energy conservation. Based on a cross-sectional quantitative study with a sample of 203 employees from the manufacturing sector, the hypothesized relationships were verified. Based on the mediation analysis, statistical analyses revealed positive relationships between organizational culture and green workplace practices, as well as organizational culture and intrinsic motivation. Additionally, the study found that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and green workplace practices. This study supported the importance of organizational culture in enhancing green workplace practices aimed at conserving energy and natural resources. The underlying mechanism behind the significant positive effect of intrinsic motivation on proenvironmental behavior in the workplace was also identified. The research demonstrates the importance of an organizational culture to reinforce green practices in the workplace. Furthermore, based on the used models, this study illustrates the importance of each organizational culture dimension: leadership, sense of community, communication, collaboration, and structure in promoting green behavior. Additionally, the research suggests a key role of intrinsic motivation in this relationship. This study provides valuable guidance for the implementation of specific environmental measures in companies.

**Keywords:** green workplace practices; organizational culture; energy saving; conservation of natural resources; intrinsic motivation

#### **1. Introduction**

Energy is critical to manufacturing sector organizations and often represents a significant cost to both the business and the environment. Taking steps to better manage energy consumption not only saves money for the organization, but also benefits society. One of the objectives of ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System is, among other things, to develop policies for more efficient energy use and continuous improvement of energy management [1,2]. The measures taken for sustainable energy consumption result from the proenvironmental policy adopted by the company [3,4] or ecoefficiency of production [5] and corporate social responsibility [6]. Increased awareness of resource overexploitation, environmental degradation, and climate change is driving public and business interest in reducing adverse environmental impacts [7]. Ecofriendly behavior in organizations includes programs for recycling, reuse, waste minimization, reducing energy consumption, minimizing water consumption, reducing carbon dioxide generation, and measuring environmental impact [8]. Therefore, organizations implement a strategy of responsible use of not only energy, but also other natural resources. Successful implementation of a corporate strategy that involves the least possible negative impact on the environment

**Citation:** Buli ´nska-Stangrecka, H.; Bagie ´nska, A. Culture-Based Green Workplace Practices as a Means of Conserving Energy and Other Natural Resources in the Manufacturing Sector. *Energies* **2021**, *14*, 6305. https://doi.org/10.3390/ en14196305

Academic Editor: Dimitrios A. Georgakellos

Received: 3 August 2021 Accepted: 24 September 2021 Published: 2 October 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

and a commitment to conserve natural resources requires the involvement/involvement of all employees. Employees play a key role in putting the adopted strategy into practice because the result achieved is a function of the decisions, behavior, and performance of the members of the organization [9–11].

Green workplace practices as a way to conserve natural resources, including energy, is a trend that enables this strategy from the employees' perspective. Employees play a central role in their organization's green practices because they contribute to the reduction of energy and other resource consumption through the daily implementation of green behaviors in the workplace. Green employee behavior refers to environmentally friendly actions in the workplace such as rational use of resources, e.g., reducing energy consumption, water consumption, recycling, participation in environmental initiatives, etc. [12–14].

Green workplace practices can be defined as the implementation of individual, voluntary proenvironmental employee behavior in in organizations. Moreover, employees' green behaviors are entirely voluntary and are not included in formal job descriptions.

Proenvironmental behavior of the employee pertains to the prosocial dimension of work, because the employee, through his attitude, noticing the possibility of ecological behavior, engaging in various forms of resource conservation, consciously tries to minimize the negative impact of his actions on the environment [15]. Values and beliefs that guide employees in making green choices and assessing the benefits of environmentally friendly actions vary; they can range from hedonic values (which make the employee focus on what makes him feel good), to egoistic values (the employee focuses on actions that increase his resources), and altruistic values (the employee focuses on actions that benefit others) [16]. However, the main driver of proenvironmental behavior is the employee's conviction that what he or she does today has long-term consequences for society and future generations.

The undertaking of proenvironmental actions by an employee may result from his/her intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation [17]. The extrinsic motivational factors for proenvironmental activities are the possible personal benefits, rewards, or other consequences resulting from the achievement of, for example, certain standards [18]. An employee may also engage in proenvironmental activities in the workplace primarily for intrinsic satisfaction, e.g., printing double-sided or turning off the computer/light when leaving work, thereby promoting resource conservation. In this case, the source of such voluntary behavior is the employee's intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation can stem from the belief that voluntary green actions are necessary, effective, and appropriate [19,20]. Intrinsic motivation can be a robust predictor of proenvironmental action [18]; therefore, this factor is considered in this study. Environment-friendly behavior is an employee choice, although it is embedded in their daily activities [10,21], so it is important to know the factors that support the implementation of green practices in the workplace.

Previous research on the factors influencing proenvironmental behavior in the workplace have included individual factors, such as employee's personal attitudes and norms [22,23], intraorganizational factors, such as implemented norms and their control [24], and environmental training of employees [25]. Furthermore, it has been emphasized that actions should be taken within the organization to help reinforce the results of the introduced resource-saving programs and initiatives through the developed green innovation strategy [26] sustainable innovation [27,28] and by changing daily habits in the workplace [29]. Employees' taking eco-logical actions at work can be supported or undermined by the organization's culture. Organizational culture is an important contextual factor that affects employees' attitudes in multifaceted ways. Previous research has highlighted that organizational culture and environmental management are closely related [30,31]. An organization can improve its environmental performance by creating a culture that supports environmental management [32,33].

However, this is an as-yet unexplored topic, and research on this topic is still in its nascent stage. As indicated by Norton et al. [20] and Banwo and Du [24], there is a lack of research linking intrinsic employee motivation, organizational culture, and proenvironmental practices in the workplace. The literature on energy conservation in manufacturing primarily focuses on manufacturing technologies [34,35] and energy efficiency processes [36,37], and less on the roles of employees in developing green workplace practices. To address this research gap, our study examines the roles of organizational culture in promoting green behavior. We also examine the relationship of intrinsic motivation to these workplace practices. The purpose of this study is to analyze a research problem concerning the role of organizational culture in facilitating green workplace practices mediated by intrinsic motivation.

The study used empirical data obtained from a questionnaire administered to 203 employees in the manufacturing sector. Comprehensive mediation analysis based on the linear regression method allowed us to verify the research problem.

The contribution of this research is related to the identification of the relationship between organizational culture and employee behavior directed towards energy and natural resource conservation in the workplace. These are, to the best of our knowledge, the first studies on this topic. Additionally, this study provides guidance to managers in designing desirable policies in building green workplace practices based on the various dimensions of organizational culture. Our research indicates which organizational culture dimensions should be focused on in order to promote resource-efficient behavior by employees in the workplace. They therefore help to plan the development of green workplace practices in contemporary organizations.

#### **2. Background**

#### *2.1. Green Workplace Practices*

Green workplace practices (GWP), also referred to as environmentally sustainable workplace practices, are those activities that result in the efficient use of resources and ensure that environmental degradation resulting from human activities and workplace operations is minimized [38]. GWPs are practices that lead to saving energy and water, minimizing the use of plastic bottles, reducing paper consumption, conducting waste management, and recycling [39,40]. Minimizing energy consumption in the production process refers, among other things, to using energy-efficient machinery and equipment, shortening the production process, and increasing production efficiency. Reducing energy consumption in the workplace, on the other hand, may involve, for example, the use of LED lighting, switching off unnecessary lights, disconnecting equipment before the employee leaves the workplace, etc.

Previous studies show that conserving energy and other resources or using them efficiently reduces the negative impact of energy use on the environment [41–44] and positively affects a company's financial performance. Therefore, paying attention to the efficient use of energy in the workplace can positively affect both the environment and the company.

Research on the determinants of an employee's energy-saving behavior in the workplace shows that it is different than in the household [45–47]. In a household, an individual's behavior to reduce energy consumption leads directly to financial savings. In a company, the importance of monetary savings becomes less important for individual employees because they do not perceive the direct impact as in their household [48,49]. For employees to want to adopt GWPs, organizations must focus on the employee-level determinants/phenomena that will lead to the implementation of sustainable work practices [50,51]. Previous research has indicated that environmental knowledge is a predictor of employee attitudes toward GWPs, but benefits to the organization and the environment will arise when there is a sustained change in attitudes and intentions toward the GWPs being implemented [52]. Therefore, it is important to examine what contributes to employees' post-environmental behavior [53] and green practices in the workplace.

#### *2.2. Organizational Culture*

The phenomenon of organizational culture refers to the specific and unique identity of an organization. It is assumed that the culture is a way of organizing the functioning of the company [54], a certain collective programming of employees [55] or meanings that have meaning for members of the company [56]. Organizational culture can be thought of as a pattern of shared assumptions that a group has developed based on its own experiences and that guide the actions of its members [57]. Thus, organizational culture is a unique defining characteristic of an organization and an indication of the distinct ways in which a particular company operates, based on established norms and values, manifested in its organizational processes.

In the scholarly debate, it has become accepted that because of the elusiveness of the concept of organizational culture, the manifestations of it are studied [58]. In particular, studies of culture are concerned with different perspectives of organizational culture analysis, such as verifying different models of culture according to organizational focus and organizational processes (clan, adhocracy, hierarchical, and market) [59], examining the interrelationship of organizational culture and national cultures [60], assigning organizational cultures to separate models based on the degree of risk of their functioning and the speed of information received from the market [54], or following the dynamics of cultural change in digital transformation processes [61]. Despite many existing studies, however, there is still no acceptance of a single model of culture [62]. Hence, there are attempts to develop a framework for analyzing organizational culture which will meet the needs of both scholars and practitioners. The measurement of culture is usually carried out by identifying values [63] or dimensions [64]. According to the functionalistic–systematic paradigm, the dimensions of organizational culture are manifestations of deeper-rooted elements such as values or beliefs that exhibit themselves in specific practices [65]. From this perspective, the analysis of organizational culture through dimensions focuses on the functions and structures of particular activities, which are manifestations of values and shared assumptions. In this approach, organizational culture is a specific organizational context that affects the management of the organization [66]. In this study, we examine the dimensions of organizational culture that have been identified based on previous empirical research [67]. The investigated dimensions were developed on the basis of studies of organizational cultures that were conducted, among others, in the manufacturing sector [68,69]. Based on this process approach to organizational culture, seven dimensions of organizational culture were identified, which allow to diagnose key areas of company functioning: sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, team collaboration, communication, team structure, and informal relationships [64]. The each of these aforementioned dimensions is an important element that has been used in empirical analyses of organizational cultures. Sense of community refers to the positive atmosphere that characterizes an organization in which its members feel integrated and feel a sense of participation in the workplace community [70–72]. Strategic orientation has also been selected as a determinant of organizational culture dimensions in several published empirical studies [57,73–75]. Likewise, the leadership dimension has been used repeatedly as a measure of organizational culture [76–78]. Similarly, teamwork is a well-established indicator of organizational culture [79–82]. Communication as a dimension of culture allows for effective diagnosis of information dissemination practices within an organization [69,80,83–89]. Furthermore, many of the extant studies have confirmed that team structure is an important distinguishing feature of organizational cultures [71,90,91]. Moreover, interpersonal relationships among organizational members are a validated factor of organizational culture [88]. Thus, in conclusion, the above dimensions provide a basic framework for process analysis of an organization's culture.

Extant research confirms that an organization's culture is critical to achieving effectiveness [92,93]. Alignment between values and culture ensures greater performance because employees feel integrated into the established norms [94]. It has been demonstrated that the organizational culture also supports the development of a competitive advantage for the company [95]. Moreover, as Linnenluecke and Griffiths' [63] research has confirmed, organizational culture also affects the sustainability of organization. Indeed, a systematic analysis of the literature has shown that there are ten elements that link the sustainability of an organization to its culture [96]. In addition, a recent study of 137 companies found that organizational sustainability is linked to organizational culture [97]. Moreover, studies

conducted in manufacturing companies confirm that organizational culture is related to environmental performance [98]. Therefore, in light of the above-described relationships, it seems reasonable to hypothesize a positive association between organizational culture and GWP. It can be hypothesized that an organizational culture focused on conservation of energy and natural resources will support employees' green behavior. Such a culture that is oriented towards environmental care and conservation of natural resources can be referred to as a green organizational culture. Supporting environmental goals through the organization's culture aligns employees' environmental practices. Thus, the accepted hypothesis is:

#### **Hypothesis 1 (H1).** *(Green) Organizational culture is positively related to GWP.*

#### *2.3. Intrinsic Motivation*

Ryan and Deci (2000) emphasize that motivation activates energy required to initiate action [99]. In organizational terms, motivation influences the intensity, duration, direction, and persistence of work behaviors [100]. There are different theoretical approaches to motivation. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an individual's motivation depends on whether it is caused by extrinsic (e.g., financial incentives) or intrinsic factors (e.g., dedication to work, passion) [101]. SDT stresses that if an individual enjoys a task and is interested in it, he/she will do it with more commitment and perseverance [102].

SDT explains how employees perform tasks because they are interesting and enjoyable to them [101]. Tasks driven by intrinsic motivation are perceived by employees as autonomous, whereas extrinsically motivated tasks tend to be perceived as controlled and imposed [103]. Therefore, employees who are intrinsically motivated to perform a given task will be more persistent, regardless of extrinsic motivation factors. Altogether, SDT emphasizes the role of intrinsic motivation, shaped by the performance of interesting tasks, and related to the commitment and persistence of employees in completing them. Through the lens of SDT, stimulating intrinsic motivation is an important challenge to not only increase the effectiveness of attitude formation but also to reinforce new habits. Moreover, from an SDT perspective, the workplace is a context that can effectively support intrinsic motivation [99]. Therefore, providing support from the environment, such as the organizational culture, to inspire interest in a given task can increase intrinsic motivation and, consequently, improve the performance of that task. Thus, the SDT perspective indicates the role of organizational culture in enhancing employees' intrinsic motivation to achieve specific goals.

Previous research indicates that intrinsic motivation is associated with higher levels of goal attainment and job satisfaction [101]. In summary, when an employee is intrinsically motivated, he or she self-regulates his or her performance, and his or her dedication to the task at hand is high. In the workplace, intrinsic motivation is understood as a specific type of autonomous motivation that is characterized by an employee's commitment to action with a full sense of desire, will, and choice [104]. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is characterized by a strong assessment of personal commitment [105].

It pertains to actions for which motivation is directed from one' s behavior. With respect to intrinsic motivation, it is the spontaneous experiences of enjoyment associated with a particular behavior themselves that provide the "rewards" [104]. Employees can be intrinsically motivated for at least some of their work, if not all of it. Intrinsically motivated individuals produce high-quality job performance. Intrinsic motivation also contributes to wellbeing [104,106].

Given that the culture of an organization provides an important context for employee actions, it can also affect employee motivation. Previous research has shown that organizational culture influences attitudes toward work [107]. Therefore, it seems that organizational culture could provide a structure to support the internalization of certain attitudes that lead to the performance of tasks with greater dedication and perseverance. For example, research in the education sector has demonstrated that organizational culture supports increased employee motivation [108]. Therefore, in the light of SDT theory, the

culture of an organization is the context that shapes employees' attitudes and can enhance their intrinsic motivation. Building on SDT's concept of contextual influence on motivations for action, we propose that employees will engage more in green workplace practices if the organizational culture reinforces proenvironmental attitudes. This leads to the hypothesis:

#### **Hypothesis 2 (H2).** *(Green) Organizational culture is positively related to employees' intrinsic motivation.*

The next issue for consideration is the relationship of intrinsic motivation to green workplace practices. According to SDT, those employees who are more convinced of the need for natural resource conservation initiatives, and have an intrinsic interest in not doing so, will be more likely to practice green behaviors at work. Empirical research proves that there is a relationship between intrinsic motivation and environmental action [109]. Moreover, the literature demonstrates the verified role of intrinsic motivation in shaping green creativity [110] and proenvironmental behavior at work [111]. Interest and passion, or perceiving an issue as enjoyable, forms the basis of intrinsic motivation, which activates individuals to pursue given actions [104]. Thus, employees interested in environmental issues should be more inclined to undertake and sustain environmental activities. Based on the above discussion, employees who are intrinsically motivated will be more committed to implementing green practices in the workplace:

#### **Hypothesis 3 (H3).** *Employees' intrinsic motivation is positively related to GWP.*

Top management support and organizational culture are key variables that influence employees' behaviors regarding environmental issues in the workplace [49,112].

Empirical studies show that through the mediating mechanism of green intrinsic motivation, leadership influences green behavior [111,113], and through the mediating role of intrinsic motivation, green transformational leadership influences green creativity [110]. Venhoeven, Bolderdijk, and Steg's [114] empirical findings suggest that decision-makers can use people's intrinsic motivation to promote sustainable actions. Therefore, we hypothesize that intrinsic motivation is the underlying mechanism mediating the relationship between an organization's culture supporting resource conservation and GWP.

**Hypothesis 4 (H4).** *Intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP.*

#### **3. Materials and Methods**

#### *3.1. Sampling and Research Context*

The survey was conducted among employees in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is one of the four major types of industries detailed in the Annual Energy Outlook Reference 2021 [115]. Information on the energy consumption of U.S. manufacturing plants shows that manufacturing consumes 77% of all energy used by industry [116]. In the European Union, manufacturing consumes one-third of total energy consumption [117]. Although the final consumption of manufacturing industries in EU 28 has decreased from 323.4 Mtoe in 2000 to 271.5 Mtoe in 2018 [118], it still needs to be reduced.

In the manufacturing sector, energy consumption includes both the production process and energy used for the general and administrative needs of the business. Studies show that energy consumption in nonresidential buildings in Europe has increased by 74% over 20 years [119]. In contrast, the use of computers in the workplace has contributed to almost 30% of the increase in energy consumption in offices [120]. Reducing energy demand in workplaces is important in reducing total energy consumption [121,122].

It is very important to reduce energy consumption in this sector, mainly because of the impact of consumption on the environment and the efficiency of operations. The introduced standard ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System indicates that energy management should be concerned with the efficient management of energy in all forms. In addition, ISO 50001:2018 indicates an important need to increase the role of top management and emphasizes the role of the organization's culture in implementing this standard into practice [1].

The questionnaire was conducted online. A self-administered survey was used for data collection. It was preceded by a pilot study conducted on 12 employees from a small business organization. The feedback from this pilot study helped to adjust the questionnaire to make sure that it was understandable.

The study was conducted online in July 2021, due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and imposed restrictions. The target group for this questionnaire included employees in the manufacturing industry in Poland. A purposeful sampling method was used [123]. This method is based on obtaining and selecting respondents who are rich in information with respect to the issue being analyzed [124]. It involves identifying individuals who have sufficient knowledge and experience to provide reliable answers to questions [125]. The goal of this method is to obtain information that is specialized and contextualized. The survey was addressed to employees of manufacturing companies, currently employed and of legal age, who agreed to participate anonymously in the study. The authors sent an email to HR managers of manufacturing companies operating in Poland with background information and a link to an online questionnaire. After being approved by HR managers, the link to the questionnaire was sent to employees. A total of 203 employees of manufacturing companies participated in the study. The profile of respondents consists of 35.5 per cent females and 64.5 per cent males. Of those surveyed, 36% have a high school diploma, 23.2% have a bachelor's degree, 10.3% have a master's degree, 4.9% have an MBA, and 15.8% have completed an engineering degree. The sample included employees of different ages. A total of 29.2% of the respondents were up to 25 years old, 35.7% were 26–35 years old, 24.2% were 36–50 years old, and 10.9% were over 50 years old. The following positions were represented among the respondents: top management 6.4% (13), middle management 28.6% (58), assistant 21.7% (44), specialist 14.3% (29), and other 29.1% (59).

#### *3.2. Measures*

The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first included questions about the demographic data of the participants such as gender, age, education, and job position. The second part of the questionnaire (Appendix A) contained constructs to examine the variables in the study.

The measurement of the independent variable (X) of organizational culture was prepared on the basis of an empirically verified instrument [64]. The dimensions used in this measure were previously examined in an empirical study of IT companies. The quantitative survey used to identify the organizational culture dimensions was conducted on a sample of 92 IT organizations, randomly selected from the 302 best IT organizations operating in Poland. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis [67]. This method allows the identification of real descriptive factors reflecting the data. Based on exploratory factor analysis, seven dimensions were identified for analyzing organizational culture These were then confirmed using a qualitative method in the form of interviews. The qualitative research was conducted on a group of 20 respondents representing the surveyed IT organizations, employed in managerial and specialist positions. The analysis of the content of interviews has allowed to positively verify the model of organizational culture obtained as a consequence of quantitative research [67]. Such application of both quantitative and qualitative methods in diagnosing the dimensions of culture is a recognized research practice [126,127] that permits a comprehensive understanding of the ephemeral phenomenon of organizational culture [57]. The dimensions of this instrument, described in detail above, are used as indicators that diagnose organizational culture. The identified dimensions for the measurement of organizational culture align with the areas by which organizational cultures are analyzed: sense of community [70–72], strategic orientation [57,73–75], leadership [76–78], team collaboration [79–82], communication [69,80,83–89], team structure [71,91,92], and interpersonal relationships [88]. Therefore, this tool is suitable for studying the characteristics of organizational culture. Moreover, some of the dimensions have been previously applied to the study of the culture in the industrial sector [62,63], which indicates that their relevance to this study can be assumed.

The first step in examining the dimensions of organizational culture was initially to diagnose from the extant literature the areas that might accurately characterize organizational culture. Subsequently, questionnaire questions were constructed for evaluation by respondents. After carrying out the pilot study, the measure was used in the actual study. The questions were adapted to the context of the study concerning energy conservation and waste-free use of natural resources (Appendix A).

The independent variable (Y) of GWP was measured using an instrument adapted from an existing questionnaire [128]. It consisted of 10 questions illustrating behaviors regarding saving energy and taking actions that conserve natural resources. Individual work characteristics lead to the availability of different proenvironmental behaviors [122], hence this study selected the most frequently mentioned workplace practices for conservation of natural resources [129,130], as well as general formulations on the use of environmentally friendly practices. The precise formulation of the questions enabled the examination of GWPs and the assessment of the use of specific actions in practice compared, for example, to the approach presented by Bissing-Olson et al., which uses only a general measurement of employee engagement in the initiative to act in environmentally-friendly ways at work [131]. In addition, the precise formulation of questions makes it easier for respondents to give accurate answers and reduces the level of ambiguity, contributing to more reliable results [132].

The measurement of the mediator (M) of intrinsic motivation was based on a measure developed by Fagan, Neill, and Wooldridge [132]. Individual items in this measure are consistent with selected questions of the interest/enjoyment subscale, considered a selfreport measure of intrinsic motivation, from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory [133]. The use of self-reports of interest and enjoyment of activities, per se, is a common approach to measuring extrinsic motivation [134]. Intrinsic motivation was operationalized by reference to workplace research [135]. In addition, referring to the concept of intrinsic motivation, the selected questions are those that pertain to interest in a particular aspect of work, as interest and enjoyment are indicated as inherent components of intrinsic motivation [103]. It permits to emphasize the motivation originating from interest or enjoyment in the activity rather than from expectation of reward, recognition, or expected performance improvement. Although the instrument chosen is relatively short, it has been successfully used in empirical studies [135]. Moreover, the choice of a short questionnaire was dictated by the need to take into account practical aspects of the questionnaire, such as the time needed to complete them. Long questionnaires can lead to reduced data quality due to respondents' fatigue and decreased cognitive engagement [136]. The questions were developed using a five-point Likert scale (Appendix A).

#### *3.3. Measurement Model*

Considering the fact that the present research analyzes the perceptions of the investigated variables by employees in the manufacturing sector and the questionnaires were self-reported, this may have led to problems of common method variance [137]. According to Podsakoff, MacKenzie, and Podsakoff [138], performing certain statistics procedures may provide a remedy to detect whether this problem actually occurred in the study. In this study, anonymity and confidentiality of data were ensured for the purpose of this study, as anonymity can reduce the bias [139]. In addition, thorough instructions were ensured during the design of the questionnaire [132]. We also applied an ex-post remedy by using a Harman's single-factor test [140]. Analysis of all indicators loaded into a single factor showed that together they account for 41.35% of the variance. According to the recommended limit, it should be less than 60% [141]. Therefore, the results suggest that common method variance is not a problem in this study.

Model validation was conducted as recommended by MacKenzie, Podsakoff, and Podsakoff [142], and includes an assessment of the goodness-of-fit of the model, validity assessment, and construct reliability. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out according to standard procedures [143], the results of which are shown in Table 1. As recommended by Kline [144], the following goodness-of-fit measures of the model were used: chi-square and degrees of freedom, RMSEA, CFI, and SRMR. The results obtained indicated a good model fit.


**Table 1.** CFA results.

Notes: SE: standard error; *p*: significance; χ2: chi-square; df: degrees of freedom; CFI: comparative fit index (CFI); SMRS: standardized root mean residual.

> To test the model, an analysis of average variance extracted (AVE) of constructs and convergent validity and composite reliability was conducted, using questions as suggested by Hair et al. [143]. The reliability of the questions was measured by investigating the loadings for each. It was found to be adequate because all loadings are equal to or above 0.5 [143]. The results of composite reliability and AVE are presented in Table 2.


**Table 2.** Evaluation of the measurement model.

Notes: The construct items are used to explain the construct. AVE: average variance extracted; CR: composite reliability.

Although in one variable (green workplace practices) the average variance extracted is below 0.5, it is acceptable because the convergent validity value is above 0.6 [145]. Therefore, the model analysis is acceptable and allows further operations on the data.

Discriminant validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations between constructs and the variances and covariances of the constructs. Each square root of the AVE of every variable should be higher than the correlation between each construct [145]. The analysis performed confirmed discriminant validity for all the constructs (Table 3).

**Table 3.** Square root of the average variance extracted (AVE) and correlations matrix.


Note: \*\*\* *p* < 0.001. In the parenthesis are the square root of AVE.

The verification of the hypotheses adopted in the study was based on the Hayes [146] PROCESS procedure. The PROCESS macro in the R studio [147] program was used. The use of macros enabled to conduct advanced analysis of mediation using bootstrapping and estimation of confidence intervals.

The study used a bootstrapping approach of 5000 bootstrapped samples. According to the method, the effect of organizational culture as an independent variable on green workplace practices dependent variable was verified by considering intrinsic motivation as a mediator of this relationship. Based on the method developed by Hayes [146], the total, direct, and indirect effects of this relationship were analyzed. A 95% confidence interval (CI) analysis was used as an indicator of the statistical significance of the calculation. When the difference between the lower (LLCI) and upper (ULCI) confidence interval does not contain zero, such mediation test is assumed to be statistically significant. In this study, a partial mediation assumption was made. Thus, it was assumed that the indirect effect βyx.m does not fall below zero, and the mediation analysis is statistically significant (*p* level).

#### **4. Results**

#### *4.1. Hypothesis Testing*

The first step concerning the analysis was the verification of hypothesis 1—(Green) organizational culture is positively related to GWP. It was conducted based on linear regression analysis. This analysis showed that the organizational culture has a significant impact on the green workplace practices (β = 0.358; (F(1,201) = 83.928; *p* < 0.001). Furthermore, it demonstrated that organizational culture explains 29 percent of variance (R2 = 0.294) in green workplace practices. Thus, hypothesis H1 was positively verified.

Furthermore, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to assess the relationship of various organizational culture dimensions with green workplace practices. The analyses revealed statistically significant differences between the following dimensions of organizational culture and the degree of declared application of green workplace practices: sense of community (F(4,198) = 13.8, *p* < 0.001), strategic orientation (F(4,198) = 15.7, *p* < 0.001), leadership (F(4,198) = 13.2, *p* < 0.001), team collaboration (F(4,198) = 16.2, *p* < 0.001), communication (F(4,198) = 14.8, *p* < 0.001), structure of teams (F(4,198) = 9.28, *p* < 0.001), informal relationships (F(4,198) = 17.5, *p* < 0.001).

Post hoc comparisons using the Turkey test found that mean score for sense of community differs significantly at the lowest level of green workplace practices (MD = 3.44, SD = 0.871) and high level of green workplace practices (MD = 4.54, SD = 0.492). Thus, declarations of a low sense of community are statistically associated with low practice of green workplace practices, while high sense of community is associated with the highest use of green practices.

Additionally, post hoc tests showed that there was significant differentiation in the level of strategic orientation to a of green workplace practices. While high levels of green practices (MD = 3.45, SD = 0.851) are associated with high levels of strategic orientation, low levels of strategic orientation are associated with low levels of green practices (MD = 4.61, SD = 0.523).

Leadership also differentiates the level of green workplace practices. The tests show a significant difference between low levels of green practices (MD = 3.37, SD = 0.857) and the highest (MD = 4.49, SD = 0.482) and the levels of leadership.

In turn, team collaboration also differentiates the mean level of green workplace practices. Statistically, a differentiation is observed between team collaboration and the lowest level (MD = 3.33, SD = 0.892) of green practices and the highest level (MD = 4.49, SD = 0.471).

Furthermore, the communication also differentiates between the lowest (MD = 3.51, SD = 0.793) and highest (MD = 4.53, SD = 0.564) levels of green practices in the workplace.

The average level of the team structure also indicates a statistically significant differentiation in the level of green practices. The differences occur especially between the lowest level (MD = 3.53, SD = 0.809) of green practices and the highest (MD = 4.23, SD = 0.688) in relation to the mean value of the team structure.

Finally, team relationships also differentiate green practices. Post hoc tests demonstrate that high levels (MD = 3.51, SD = 0.861) of green practices are appropriate for high levels of relationships, while low levels of green practices (MD = 4.48, SD = 0.505) are for low levels.

The analysis of the obtained data confirms that each dimension of organizational culture (sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, communication, teamwork, team structure and relationships) significantly differentiate the use of green workplace practices. A high level of each of the organizational culture dimensions discussed above is indicative of high implementation of green practices.

Further regression analysis results also confirmed the relationship between organizational culture and intrinsic motivation (H2: *(Green) Organizational culture is positively related to employees' intrinsic motivation*) (β = 0.353; (F(1,201) = 58.806; *p* < 0.001; R<sup>2</sup> = 0.226). The hypothesis assuming the relationship between intrinsic motivation and GWP was also positively verified (H3: *Employees' intrinsic motivation is positively related to GWP*) (β = 0.556; (F(1,201) = 128; *p* < 0.001; R<sup>2</sup> = 0.389).

#### *4.2. Mediation Analysis*

Hypothesis 4 (intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP) was verified according to the Hayes procedure described above [146]. Detailed results of the mediation analysis are presented in Table 4. The results of the mediation analysis indicate that the total effect of the study is statistically significant (βyxm = 0.359; LLCI = 0.282; ULCI = 0.436; *p* < 0.001). Moreover, the direct effect was also statistically significant, but its value was reduced in comparison to the total effect (βyx = 0.210; LLCI = 0113; ULCI = 0.286); *p* < 0.001). The analyzed model explains almost half of the variance in green workplace practices (R2 = 0.467). In addition, the static significance is confirmed by the ratio of the indirect to total effect of X on Y: β = 0.413; LLCI = 0.088; ULCI = 0.258.

**Table 4.** Total, direct, and indirect links between organizational culture and green workplace practices through intrinsic motivation.


Notes: \*\*\* *p* < 0.001; lower-level confidence interval (LLCI); upper-level confidence interval (ULCI); number of bootstrap samples for bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals: 5000; level of confidence for all confidence intervals in output: 95%. N = 203.

> In summary, the results of the mediation analysis carried out indicate a mediation analysis with 5000 bootstrapped samples on statistically significant total (βxm = 0.148; LLCI = 0.133; ULCI = 0.286; *p* < 0.001), direct (βyx = 0.210. LLCI = 0113; ULCI = 0.286), and indirect effect (direct (βyx.m = 0.148; LLCI = 0133; ULCI = 0.286). The interrelationship is illustrated in Figure 1. Additionally, the kappa-squared value for the indirect effect is 0.236, which suggests a large mediating effect [148].

**Figure 1.** Parallel mediation model (N = 203). Indirect effects of organizational culture on green workplace practices through intrinsic motivation. Standardized effects estimates are presented. The effects on the direct path from organizational culture to green workplace practices depict the direct effect and the total effect (in brackets). \*\*\* *p* = 0.210, *p =* 0.359, *p* < 0.001.

> Taken together, the results of the mediation analysis discussed above demonstrate that organizational culture is statically significant in supporting workplace green practices.

Intrinsic motivation plays an important role in mediating this relationship and explains almost half of the (46.7%) variance in GWP.

The obtained results provided positive verification of hypothesis 1— *(Green) Organizational culture is positively related to GWP* and hypothesis 4—*Intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP*. More importantly, the findings provide support for the assumption that implementing green practices in the workplace is based on the organization's culture, through intrinsic motivation.

#### **5. Discussion**

This study has several important findings for both the theory and practice of organizational management. Firstly. this study found that organizational culture has a significant positive impact on GWP in a manufacturing sector organization. This is consistent with the findings of Young et al. [112], which indicate that organizational culture is a key driver of employee behavior regarding environmental issues. In a similar vein to the results of Bakhsh et al. [98], this study demonstrates that the effective formation of environmental behavior among employees in the manufacturing sector is based on the organizational culture of a particular company. Moreover, the obtained results allow us to assume that organizational culture can also be a major barrier to the implementation of energy and natural resource conservation policies in the company. Thus, this supports the findings of Trianni et al. [149], suggesting that the lack of alignment of organizational culture with green actions is a source of resistance to the introduction of environmentally friendly practices. However, this study is the first to point to specific culture dimensions that support GWP implementation. As the findings indicate, both a sense of community with respect to green initiatives and strategic orientation towards green goals, as well as leadership support for green actions, cooperation oriented towards environmentally friendly initiatives, communication of the need for green actions within the organization, and structural support for environmental solutions, including informal relationships, significantly support GWP in companies. Moreover, the study is the first to identify the core features of an organizational culture for successful implementation of GWP from a process perspective.

Secondly, this study also confirms the important role of intrinsic motivation, which mediates the relationship between organizational culture and GWP. In this aspect, this study corresponds to Venhoeven, Bolderdijk, and Steg's [114] research, which confirms the role of intrinsic motivation in promoting sustainable initiatives. People who are environmentally conscious, including in their work, are more likely to help save the natural resources, conserve energy, and engage in environmentally friendly activities. Employees undertake these efforts not because of external rewards, but because it gives them satisfaction. They feel what is referred to as a "helper high" [150]. Additionally, if employees believe in the need for environmentally friendly actions, they are more committed to them, and the change in their attitude is more permanent [151]. Therefore, these results suggest that it is through the implementation of appropriate policies in the specific dimensions of an organizational culture (sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, team collaboration, communication, structure, and informal relationships) underpinned by undertaking measures that support intrinsic motivations for environmentally friendly behavior, that the successful implementation of GWP is possible.

Thirdly, addressing only the day-to-day activities related to saving energy and other resources in their workplaces is important but not sufficient. It is much more important to understand the reasons that influence the long-term implementation of environmentally friendly practices in companies. This research provides clear support for what measures are needed to effectively implement GWP among employees. In line with the model of Lulfs and Hahn (2013), which suggests that organizational context and individual circumstances, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, attitudes, intentions, and habits are key predictors of proenvironmental behavior in the workplace [152], these results demonstrate that the role of employee attitudes should be considered in the successful implementation of green policies. Our research shows which specific management interventions for shaping

organizational culture processes can support the employees' environmental behavior and how to reinforce the desired behavioral patterns of employees concerning the conservation of energy and natural resources.

Finally, in manufacturing companies, energy efficiency is characterized by a rather interdisciplinary set of organizational problems [153]. Abdelaziz et al. [154] discussed three pathways to improve energy efficiency: regulation, technology, and management. Energy and environmental management play an important role in contemporary challenges for manufacturing companies [155–158]. This study addresses this issue and illustrates how to support GWP.

#### *5.1. Theoretical Contribution*

Our study extends the body of research on organizational culture and broadens understanding of the role of culture in shaping employees' attitudes. This study contributes to the emerging debate on how to influence employees' intrinsic motivation through the formation of organizational culture. Building on SDT theory in the context of organizational behavior, the findings raise an important point, supporting the notion that organizational culture significantly influences employees to undertake green practices. Thus, they point to contextual sources that foster the adoption of individual ecological actions. They also emphasize the mechanism of cultural drivers affecting green behavior through intrinsic motivation. From a theoretical perspective, the present investigation is consistent with the findings of Faraz et al. [111] and Li et al. [110], whose research indicates the role of intrinsic motivation in workplace environmental initiatives. Moreover, the results of the study make a significant contribution to the literature by demonstrating that particular dimensions of organizational culture (sense of community, strategic orientation, leadership, team collaboration, communication, team structure, and informal relationships) help promote proenvironmental behavior. Thus, in order to foster green attitudes among employees, actions must be taken in each of these seven dimensions of organizational culture, potentially enhancing not only GWP but also intrinsic motivation to conserve natural resources.

#### *5.2. Practical Contribution*

With the growing importance of green employee behavior in organizations today, supporting green practices in the workplace is an important aspect of organizational management [10,11]. The organizational culture can be instrumental in increasing the green work behavior of employees. This study has significant practical implications by showing that aligning the various dimensions of organizational culture leads to successful implementation of the GWP. In addition, it emphasizes the role of employees' intrinsic motivation in undertaking green actions in the workplace. Saving energy and conserving natural resources is a major challenge for modern organizations. By highlighting concrete practices, this study provides valuable guidance for the implementation of specific environmental measures in companies. In particular, this can be accomplished by creating a green atmosphere and fostering a sense of awareness of the importance of environmental issues among employees. Companies should also cultivate a strong attitude towards conserving natural resources. Moreover, by running internal campaigns to promote a green mindset, organizations can foster internal motivation among employees to undertake green initiatives and sustain GWP.

#### *5.3. Limitations and Future Research*

This study provides an interesting and useful theoretical framework for understanding the mechanisms that facilitate proenvironmental behavior. However, this study has some limitations. Although it establishes an important framework for promoting GWP based on organizational culture mediated by employee intrinsic motivation, there may be other variables that can also influence this relationship. Future studies may address other potential factors affecting GWP. Another limitation is that the data source was a survey, which means that caution must be taken when generalizing the results. Still another

limitation of this study is the use of a measure that was constructed by the authors. This may provide some constraints in generalizing the results, and therefore this measure needs further empirical verification. Moreover, in order to strengthen the validity of the results, it is recommended that more longitudinal studies and qualitative research be carried out to investigate in-depth employee attitudes. It will be particularly interesting to undertake future qualitative research to capture respondents' individual perspectives on the relationship between organizational culture and GWP. The use of qualitative interviews allows one to understand the perceptions of individual respondents [122] and provides in-depth insight into the analyzed phenomenon. The different employee approaches to GWP can also be analyzed in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Examining the relationship between organizational culture and GWP in other sectors may also be an important direction for future research.

#### **6. Conclusions**

This study set out to examine the contextual factors that promote GWP in the industrial sector. Moreover, it focused on the critical factors that facilitate influence on employees' attitudes and behaviors. The study demonstrated that organizational culture has a significant positive impact on GWP. In addition, our findings highlight the role of intrinsic motivation, which strengthens GWP. In conclusion, this study empirically examined some unexplored aspects of energy policy implementation in manufacturing organizations. It established the relationship between organizational culture and GWP in manufacturing companies. Additionally, it pointed out the intrinsic motivation mechanism that mediates the link between organizational culture and GWP. In essence, this study helps managers in the manufacturing industry who are interested in promoting GWP by identifying specific areas of organizational culture that enhance employees' green behavior.

Our paper and its proposed theoretical framework bridge the gap in the literature regarding the relationship between organizational culture, intrinsic motivation, and GWP [20,24]. Moreover, it brings the analysis of employees' proenvironmental behavior to the manufacturing context. This research has resulted in the development of a new instrument to study the green behavior of employees.

The findings are particularly relevant to the measures taken by companies. This applies especially to the introduction of appropriate regulations, which can reinforce the desired environmental behavior of employees [14,159]. This framework can be effectively used by both scholars and practitioners to increase GWP. The growing importance of supporting green activities in organizations further emphasizes the need to understand the mechanisms that promote GWP in the manufacturing context.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization: H.B.-S. and A.B.; methodology: H.B.-S.; software: H.B.-S.; validation: H.B.-S. and A.B.; formal analysis: H.B.-S.; investigation: H.B.-S.; resources: H.B.-S. and A.B.; data curation: H.B.-S. and A.B.; writing—original draft preparation: H.B.-S. and A.B.; writing review and editing: H.B.-S. and A.B.; visualization: A.B.; funding acquisition: H.B.-S. and A.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research is supported by: Warsaw University of Technology—Open Science Program IDUB and Bialystok University of Technology—grant number WZ/WIZ-INZ/1/2020.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data are available on request from the corresponding author.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **Appendix A**

Instrument for the construct of (green) organizational culture. Intrinsic motivation and green workplace practices

Organizational culture


Intrinsic motivation


Green workplace practices


#### **References**


### *Article* **Food Choices and Their Impact on Health and Environment**

**Katarzyna Szalonka 1,\*, Elzbieta Sta ´ ˙ nczyk 2, Anna Gardocka-Jałowiec 3, Paweł Waniowski 4, Agata Niemczyk <sup>5</sup> and Zofia Gródek-Szostak <sup>6</sup>**


**Abstract:** Food choices are complex and highly variable, even over short periods, as they are influenced by numerous psychological, social, and cultural factors, in addition to biological and economic ones. Consumer choices are increasingly complex because of the growing quantity and variety of available food products, which also affects individuals' environments. This paper is part of a larger study on health-related food choices, and it discusses how food choices affect the environment. To achieve the research goal, classes of respondents that are homogeneous in their food choices were identified. The authors used an algorithm to build classification trees and found that health status is determined by respondents' age and food consumption habits. The paper demonstrates that understanding individual nutritional choices is a prerequisite for changing consumption habits and shaping healthy behavior, which is in line with the principle of sustainable development through sustainable consumption. The findings are relevant to public health researchers and practitioners who wish to understand the relationship between nutritional practices and health in line with sustainable development.

**Keywords:** environment; sustainable consumption; food choices; health; decision trees; classification trees

#### **1. Introduction**

Our goal is to examine the impact of food choices on health and the environment. Food consumption accounts for almost one-third of households' total environmental impact. These environmental impacts include climate change, water pollution, water scarcity, etc. Understanding consumers' preferences for food products is essential for bettering food policy [1,2] whose primary goal should be to improve human health [3] and promote sustainable development [4–6]. Contemporary European Union legislation on food information tries to take into account the right of consumers to reliable information but also stresses the freedom of choice of every human being [7]. Hence, it is important to have more comprehensive and accurate information, not just to provide information on labels [8]. Providing more accurate health-related information can increase people's propensity to eat more healthily, especially in the case of obese people [9]. Not only is the availability of food information important, so are the costs of searching for that information. Reducing these costs may increase the likelihood of consumers choosing healthier products [10]. More and more consumers pay attention to the way goods and services are produced, as

**Citation:** Szalonka, K.; Sta ´nczyk, E.; Gardocka-Jałowiec, A.; Waniowski, P.; Niemczyk, A.; Gródek-Szostak, Z. Food Choices and Their Impact on Health and Environment. *Energies* **2021**, *14*, 5460. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/en14175460

Academic Editor: Dimitrios A. Georgakellos

Received: 30 July 2021 Accepted: 30 August 2021 Published: 2 September 2021

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

well as the degree of their environmental friendliness, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development on the effects of producers' actions for the environment and eco-innovation [11–13].

Developed countries are seeing more and more problems resulting from an unhealthy diet, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer [14]. Therefore, many, including state authorities, are pressuring people to change their eating habits [1,15]. State authorities have an opportunity to conduct information campaigns, set different tax rates for different products, and regulate the food market. According to research conducted in Great Britain, only information campaigns are effective [16].

Tastes and preferences influence food choices throughout a person's life. A love for sweetness and an aversion to bitter and sour tastes are present in humans from an early age since they are innate [17]. However, research clearly shows that parents (especially mothers) pay attention to children's food choices, as they are an important part of parenting and feel obliged, in part because of external pressure, to provide their children with healthy food [18].

Food preferences and aversions develop from experience, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations [19]. Hence, one may notice changes in one's food consumption preferences. After a period of fascination in the 1970s and 1980s with highly processed foods, consumers began to take an interest in natural products and in the origins of food ingredients in line with the principles of sustainable development [20]. Good food choices affect many areas of people's lives around the world. Paradoxically, in developed countries, excessive weight and obesity kill more people than deficient weight does [21,22]. In 2016, 39 percent of adults eighteen years or older were overweight and 13 percent were obese [21].

Due to the increasing wealth of society and progressive urbanization, people are consuming more animal protein and processed food (rich in fats and sugars) and less whole grain and other sources of fiber [23]. Understanding the individual motives that drive certain food choices is key to being able to change consumption habits, shape healthy behavior, and become more sustainable [24]. Each modification of the diet can lead to both benefits (improvement in health) and losses (less enjoyment of food), and a permanent change can only be expected when, in the consumers' view, the benefits are higher than the losses [25]. This can foster a positive attitude toward ecological foods, which, according to CAWI research conducted in Poland in 2014, are perceived as healthier, more environmentally friendly, tastier, and of better quality, as they are subject to more stringent controls and is produced in a more traditional way [26].

In modern times, overeating, or emotional eating, is common, usually as a response to everyday stress [27], intensified even further by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, studies conducted in the United States on 13 February 2019 and 31 March 2020—before and in the beginning of the pandemic—did not find significant changes in food consumption between the two dates, except for a 14 percent increase in sugar consumption among adults, which could have been caused not so much by a change in eating habits as by an increase in purchases of processed foods containing more sugar [28]. The relationship between food expenditure and income seems to be important. People with higher incomes are more likely to change their preferences and are therefore less stable in their choices. This is because the cost of error decreases with income [29]. People who change preferences pay less attention to price and more often consider novelty an important attribute of food products [29–31].

Recently, an increase in food consumption that might not be justified by human needs has been associated with harm to the environment. Among other things, it is responsible for 20–30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions [32,33]. One of the reasons people change their eating habits is by reading information on product labels about products' contribution to environmental damage. Thus far, this information has mainly concerned the carbon footprint of producing a given food item, but the degree to which it changes food choices remains unknown and requires further research [34].

Contemporary shopping and consumption habits reflect not only the need to maintain one's current standard of living, but also snobbery or imitation or buying in stock [35]. The latter applies especially to food that has a strict use-by date. This applies not only to end consumers, but to the entire supply chain. In the United States, 31 percent of food, corresponding to USD 161 billion, is wasted at the retail level [36].

#### **2. Materials and Methods**

#### *2.1. Research Material*

We conducted our research in March and April 2020 with a questionnaire taken by 428 respondents—Polish residents aged 15–65, and aged 65 and over. The sample population was controlled in terms of the place of residence (province), age group, and gender. The questionnaire consisted of thirty-eight questions grouped thematically into physical activity, nutrition prophylaxis, food preferences, and general health.

To identify what food choices affect health and to identify classes of respondents that are relatively homogeneous in their food choices, we used an algorithm for building classification trees. Classification trees (also known as decision trees) are one example of data mining. Breiman et al. [37] introduced its use in regression analysis.

#### *2.2. Methodology Research*

The tree method, a data-analysis tool, has been widely applied to many research fields, not only statistics and econometrics. More and more often it is used in medicine—for example, for determining survival probabilities [38,39]. The use of classification trees in strategies of segmentation of individuals—for example, recipients of health services—in relation to appropriate segmentation into homogeneous subgroups may constitute the basis for targeted interventions by the health service [40,41], or consumers of food products, in particular with regard to the assessment of the symptoms of food addiction (overeating, mindless eating, etc.) for a healthy life [42].

In the present study, the method of classification trees allows us to divide the surveyed respondents into classes and thus to determine whether they belong to the classes of the qualitative dependent variable (health status) on the basis of measurements of explanatory variables (food choices). The classification tree algorithm analyzes the relationship of each explanatory variable (a food choice) with the dependent variable (health status). The variables that were selected for the model and that describe the division in the appropriate nodes of the tree and profiling the relevant subsets of the community under study are also the variables that determine the assessment of health.

The classification tree is a graphical presentation of the recursive group division method. In each node, the relation of division into successive subgroups is checked. The left branch shows the subgroup for which the relation is true, and the right branch shows the other respondents (for whom the relation is not true). The variable and the relations of the division were selected in such a way as to optimize the homogeneity of the division with regard to the dependent variable (that is, health status assessment).

At the lowest level, which illustrates the final division of the population in the study, there are end nodes—lists containing information about the number of respondents assigned to individual classes, the expected value of the dependent variable (health status assessment), and the histograms of the frequency distribution of the dependent variable (see Figure 1). In order to arrive at a relatively simple tree, we stopped the procedure of recursive group division before the segments and classes became fully homogeneous. For this purpose, we applied the fast algorithm for classification trees (FACT) direct-stop rule for 4 percent of the population. The explained (dependent) variable, Y, is a subjective assessment of health whose values were assigned based on the respondents' answers: 1 (good or very good health) or 0 (very bad health, bad health, or neither bad nor good health (so-so)). The explanatory (independent) variables, or food choices (X1, . . . , X18), are:

• X1: eating three meals a day (that is, breakfast, lunch, dinner) (1 = no; 2 = rather not; 3 = depends on the situation at work and at home; 4 = yes; 5 = definitely yes; 6 = more than three meals a day);


The control variables (X19, . . . X20) are:


The calculations were performed in the software Statistica, in the case of classification trees, using the classification and regression trees (C&RT) method for exhaustive search for one-dimensional divisions.

**Figure 1.** Classification tree for health assessment.

#### **3. Results**

All participants, 428, were controlled in terms of the place of residence (province), age group, and gender. Seventy percent of participants were women and 30 percent men; 75.4 percent of respondents lived in cities with more than twenty thousand residents (20 percent in cities with between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand, and 55 percent in cities with over one hundred thousand), and 25 percent were residents of towns with up to twenty thousand residents. Seventy-one percent of the respondents were working at the time of the questionnaire, 20 percent were students, and 7 percent were on a pension. The age distribution of the respondents is presented in Table 1.


**Table 1.** Age distribution of the respondents.

Among the respondents, 19.2 (Table 2) percent assessed their health as very good and 55.1 percent as good (74.3 percent in total). People with very bad or bad health constituted a small share of the remaining respondents.


**Table 2.** Self-assessment of health status.

Respondents' self-assessment of health in relation to selected food choices is presented in Table 3. People who assessed their health as good or very good most often declared that they ate fruit sporadically, vegetables three to four times a day, fish daily, meat once every few months, and dairy products occasionally. For comparison, people assessing their health condition as at best so-so (neither good nor bad) most often declared that they consumed no fruit, vegetables sporadically or one to two times a day, deficient amounts of fish, meat daily, and dairy products once every few months. These observations clearly demonstrate the different self-assessments of people who follow different patterns of nutrition.

**Table 3.** Self-assessment of health status and selected food choices.



**Table 3.** *Cont.*

After constructing the classification tree, we ranked the importance of variables based on one-dimensional divisions (where 0 means low importance and 100 means high importance), as shown in Table 4. The table reveals the regularities described above for people who declare themselves to be in good or very good health.


**Table 4.** Ranking of importance of variables for good or very good health.

According to the model we constructed (Figure 1) and the ranking of explanatory variables (Table 4), apart from the control variables, the variables that most influenced whether someone rated themselves as being in good or very good health were age and frequency of fruit, dairy, and meat consumption. In contrast, low-energy daily diet and slimming daily diet had the least influence.

Finally, after applying the stop rule, the structure of the classification tree included ten significant variables that had the greatest classification power in the model development (which is equivalent to saying they were crucial in dividing the entire population into classes of respondents that differed significantly in their health status). Significant variables that in the classification tree model were the basis for the first divisions of the respondents turned out to be:


• X5: meat consumption.

Self-assessment of health status (the dependent variable) was therefore most strongly determined by age (age of sixty-five years or more). In the first subset of respondents (aged fifty-five or over, numbering 110 respondents), 80.2 percent rated themselves as in good or very good health; in the second (with 318 respondents aged less than fifty-five years), 57.2 percent did.

These subgroups were further divided, with the sets of significant variables selected for both submodels being significantly different. In the group of people aged 55 and over (left side of the figure), the consumption of gluten-containing bread, i.e., traditional wheat or rye flour, had the greatest impact on good or very good health status, as well as consumption of fish or consumption of dairy products. In the group of people under 55 (right side of the figure), the variable of carefully reading the information on food labels before buying them, as well as fruit and meat consumption or professional activity, had an additional impact on good or very good self-rating of health.

As a result of the procedure, with the use of appropriate quality measures for the division of the group of respondents, 14 classes of respondents were distinguished (C1, ... C14)—see end nodes (lists) in Figure 1 and a set of classes in Table 5.


**Table 5.** Respondents' classes.


**Table 5.** *Cont.*


**Table 5.** *Cont.*

Our research on the effects of food choices on health leads to three main conclusions. First, considering the respondents aged fifty-five years or over, the largest share of people declaring themselves to be in good or very good health (80.0 percent) was respondents consuming bread with gluten only once every few days (class C1). In contrast, the smallest share of people who assessed their health condition as good or very good (18.2 percent) was recorded in class C2, which included people who consumed bread with gluten more than once every few days and fish only once every few months.

Second, among the classes distinguished in the classification tree model, the C9 class, grouping people with good and very good health (100 percent), had as common features that they were aged nineteen to twenty-four or forty to fifty-four, they carefully read the information on food labels before purchasing food, they consumed dairy products more than once every few months, they consumed fruit more than once every few months or every few days, and their daily diet was not lactose free. The vast majority consumed meat more often than once every few days. These are people who do not work. Third, one of the classes dominated by people who did not assess their health condition as good or very good was the class of respondents who were under fifty-five years old and declared that they did not carefully read the information on the labels of food products before buying them (C5).

#### **4. Discussion**

In light of our results, consuming healthy food products has a clear role in the healthy functioning of an individual, as suggested by Hippocrates's principle "Let your food be your medicine" [43]. This thesis is confirmed by low consumption of meat or glutencontaining products and high consumption of vegetables, fruit, and fish. Each of these types of food has advantages and disadvantages [44]. Moreover, an important role in the pro-health trend is played not so much by information on product labels [45,46] as by reading them carefully before buying [47,48]. Nevertheless, as stated above, self-assessment of one's health status is most strongly determined by age. Since food choices are influenced by established consumption habits rather than by example [49], good consumption habits must be established within respective age groups.

Much older generations reached good physical condition, for example, thanks to unprocessed food (food products consumed in childhood by older respondents were quite different in nutritional value than modern meat, dairy products, vegetables, and fruit). Young people are more interested in the healthfulness of their diet. Modern technologies in healthcare are useful: "In the health-care setting, technological change has seen for example, the introduction of electronic health records, mobile health apps, mobile computing" [50]. McCamley et al. [51] found that implementing an electronic medical record system increased the quality, availability, and accessibility of data for nutrition assessments and increased time efficiency. The internet and social media have significantly changed the way consumers access health information. Additionally, social media allows users to interact and gives them an opportunity to acquire and share information. Evidence indicates that younger age is significantly associated with using the internet as the first

source of health information, blogging about health, and using social media for health reasons [52].

Therefore, one can contest the thesis of Pliner and Mann [49], quoted earlier, that mainly because of technology, food choices in the twenty-first century are shaped by the behavior and examples of other people. We hope that the examples in question will rationally affect quality of life by promoting patterns of sustainable consumption.

Ensuring sustainable food consumption can be seen as a generic goal that can be supported by most Sustainable Development Goals [53]. Additionally, hope in this regard especially concerns the young generation, who are susceptible to digital influences and treated as future consumers whose habits relating to sustainable food consumption can be associated with large-scale global concerns related to sustainability [54].

#### **5. Conclusions**

The research shows that the health of every human being is significantly influenced by the consumption of appropriate products and paying attention to the information contained in food labels and making one's own choices on this basis. A lack of knowledge may affect consumption choices, but is unlikely to be a dominant factor in nutritional differences, especially in making decisions about home or out-of-home nutrition choices [55]. However, as our research shows, food choices are not always significantly influenced by consumption habits established and examples of other people. This means that the possibilities of active and effective shaping of food choices are significant as they depend to a greater extent on shaping factors (e.g., on providing rational information) than on the socio-cultural standards established.

The problem is worth being examined more seriously as promoting healthy eating is of great importance for sustainable development since the costs of obesity treatment place a huge burden on the healthcare system and are mostly financed by public entities [56].

The analysis conducted confirmed the usefulness of classification trees in the segmentation of respondents due to the assessment of health condition and in distinguishing (classes) of enterprise profiles in terms of key nutritional choices. The advantage of this method was an ability to present data graphically and the ease of interpretation of the model obtained. This study naturally has some limitations. The authors are aware of the weaknesses of the model applied which are revealed in the instability of the classification tree model, as in extreme cases even slight changes in the empirical data set in subsequent research may lead to different divisions of the respondent population. The fact that this paper investigates the Poles, which means that its generalization to other counties is limited, is also considered a limitation of the research. Therefore, comparative studies in other counties are potential areas of future research.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; methodology, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; software, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; validation, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; formal analysis, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; investigation, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; resources, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; data curation, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; writing—original draft preparation, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; visualization, K.S., E.S., A.G.-J., P.W., A.N., Z.G.-S.; project administration, Z.G.-S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This publication was financed by a subsidy granted to the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business. This publication was financed by a subsidy granted to the Cracow University of Economics (6/ZZE/2021/POT). The publication was financed by a subsidy for the University of Wroclaw, Funds for the "Excellence Initiative - Research University" program.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**

