Green human resource management and environmental performance: mediating role of green innovation – a study from an emerging country

• Published in: Foresight (Cambridge) Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 35 - 58
• Main Authors: Rana, Geeta, Arya, Vikas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 16-01-2024; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Climate change; Competitive advantage; Corporate culture; Developing countries; Employees; Environmental aspects; Environmental economics; Environmental management; Environmental performance; Green products; Human resource management; Innovations; LDCs; Manufacturing; Manufacturing industry; Natural resources; Organizations; Social responsibility; China; India; Environmental sustainability; Resource-based view theory; Green innovation; Environment performance; Green human resource management
• ISSN: 1463-6689; 1465-9832; 1463-6689
• DOI: 10.1108/FS-04-2021-0094

Purpose
This study sought to determine the role of green human resource management (GHRM) in fostering employees' environmental performance (ENVP). This study aims to advance knowledge related to the role of firms’ GHRM activities in cultivating eco-responsible behaviors among employees, considering green innovation (GI) as a mediator.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, data of 579 respondents were collected from employees working in the manufacturing industry in India. In all, 579 employees from the manufacturing sector in India participated in the study. The proposed model was tested using SMART PLS 3.3.
Findings
The findings of this study stated that GHRM was found significantly to predict ENVP in the Indian manufacturing industry, and GI exhibited partial mediation. This study emphasizes that GHRM activities carried out by firms encourage employees to engage in innovation to develop green products and find novel green operation processes to improve firms’ ENVP.
Research limitations/implications
As this study is limited to manufacturing organizations in India, the results of this study cannot be generalized; future studies may examine the proposed model in different contexts to generalize findings.
Originality/value
This study encourages policymakers to devise laws to enable organizations to implement GHRM practices. This study contributes to the existing literature on the environmental aspects of corporate social responsibility and environmental management. This study is one of the few attempts that seek to assess the relationship between GHRM, ENVP and GI in the Indian manufacturing industry. The contribution of this paper is significant to limit GHRM literature, as it empirically investigates the association between GHRM and ENVP.