An exploration of the role of Green (environmental) Human Resource Management in eliciting employee green behaviours

Abstract

There is limited empirical evidence on the implementation and embeddedness of
Green (environmental) Human Resource Management (GHRM). Existing studies in
this area find that GHRM can influence employee green behaviours. It is nominated by a focus on outcomes such as job satisfaction, environmental performance and firm performance. However, research adopting a normative view on aligning practices with values and considering environmental betterment is still in its nascent phase.

Chapter 2 (Paper One) presents a study that explores how GHRM can elicit green
employee behaviours from the perspective of environmental sustainability
advocates, whose role is to drive the sustainability agenda through the firm. GHRM policies such as communication, recruitment and selection, environmental training, rewards, and incentives are explored empirically. Data were collected by
interviewing eighteen sustainability advocates from European firms. Applying the
model of Pandey et al.’s embeddedness of Corporate Social Responsibility helped to reveal a misalignment between sustainability advocates intentions and
implementation of GHRM. A practical contribution of this study is that practitioners need to be aware that incentives might override values-based communication approaches and elicit self-interest-based behaviours, which are not sustainable over time.

Chapter 3 (Paper 2) intensifies focus on a context rich in environmental practices
by exploring GHRM implementation in a green firm. This ‘green’ context promises fertile ground for exploring value-based behaviours, which, according to the motivation literature, promise longer-lasting effects. The five green behaviours avoiding harm, conserving, working sustainably, taking action and influencing others are explored against the backdrop of GHRM. Findings suggest that participants are predominantly occupied with creating practices that influence others and take action. Distinct organisational and individual features that contribute and detract from environmental practice are identified. This research further stipulates that GHRM may have indirect effects on the green behaviours of external stakeholders.

Chapter 4 (Paper 3) is a sister publication to paper 2 and explores data-mergent
themes in the same research setting in more depth. The standalone paper
investigates the reframing of implicit and explicit CSR and intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation in times of change against the backdrop of GHRM. Data reveal that extensive work towards the introjected, integrated and identified types of extrinsic motivation might reveal long-lasting benefits for green behaviour adoption if personality traits such as curiosity and constant questioning of own and others’ decisions is fostered in employees through GHRM. Within the reframing of CSR communication from implicit to explicit CSR has not shown any trade-offs at the time of data collection because the firms environmental values serve as a gatekeeper to either adopt an open or a closed system to behaviours change. However, increased attention to establishing metrics and measurable activities might lead to a crowding-out effect of intrinsic motivation in the long-run.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for Denise Baden: orcid.org/0000-0002-2736-4483

ORCID for Melanie Ashleigh: orcid.org/0000-0002-0583-0922

Catalogue record

Export record