Does green intellectual capital spur corporate environmental performance through green workforce?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-06-2020-0181 |
| Published date | 06 January 2021 |
| Date | 06 January 2021 |
| Pages | 823-839 |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,HR & organizational behaviour,Organizational structure/dynamics,Accounting & finance,Accounting/accountancy,Behavioural accounting |
| Author | Adil Mansoor,Sarwat Jahan,Madiha Riaz |
Does green intellectual capital spur
corporate environmental
performance through
green workforce?
Adil Mansoor
Putra Business School, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia and
Department of Business Administration, Ghazi University,
Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan
Sarwat Jahan
Department of Business and Accountancy, Lincoln University College,
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, and
Madiha Riaz
Department of Economics, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose –Drawing upon the intellectual capital-based view theory, this study explored the relationship
between green intellectual capital (IC) and environmental performance(EP) with the intervening effect of green
human resource management (GHRM).
Design/methodology/approach –Cross-sectional data were collected from 187 human resource directors/
managers working in manufacturing firms of Pakistan. A partial least squares approach was applied to test the
hypothesized relationships.
Findings –The results showed a mediating effect of GHRM on the relationship between green human capital
and the organizational EP. Also two dimensions of green IC (green human capital, green relational capital) were
also found positively related to the EP of the firm.
Practical implications–Policymakers should devotetheir attention tothe preservation and enhancementof
their employees’knowledge as green human capital is possessed by the employees. Furthermore, managers
must exchange information with key stakeholders to better understand and resolve their environmental
concerns. Organizational leaders must also ensure the implementation of GHRM policiesthat, in turn, improve
the EP with the aid of green IC.
Originality/value –The current research contributes to the literature by defining green IC as an antecedent
and GHRM as an intervening variable for EP. In addition, this study underlines the significance of GHC as a
valuable intangible asset for the achievement of environmental sustainability.It also illustrates the importance
of GRC, which creates an exchange partnership with the stakeholders to promote corporate environmentalism.
Keywords Green human resource management, Green human capital, Green relational capital, Green
intellectual capital, Environmental performance, Green workforce
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Climate change has become a very serious worldwide issue and is also considered one of the
biggest challenges for organizations as well (Gilal et al., 2014). Organizations are now
becoming extremely careful regarding environmental issues, which promotes towards a
better corporate image in today’s competitive business world (Tang et al., 2018). Several other
motivators may act as a reason for the adoption of environmental management initiatives
(Raut et al., 2017). Particularly, stakeholders’pressures (Singh et al., 2019;Yu et al., 2017), and
international regulations (Quesada et al., 2018) have diverted the attention of firms towards
the creation of an environmental management system (EMS). Organizations are now using
environmental protection techniques. Moreover, manufacturing companies are increasingly
Green
intellectual
capital
823
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1469-1930.htm
Received 3 June 2020
Revised 9 September 2020
3 November 2020
27 November 2020
Accepted 25 December 2020
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 22 No. 5, 2021
pp. 823-839
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-06-2020-0181
trying to eliminate the waste generated by production processes to improve their image inthe
eyes of their stakeholders (Kim et al., 2019). Similarly, organizations in the service/hospitality
industries are also trying to conserve water, energy, and reducing waste in order to enhance
their environmental performance (EP) (Kim et al., 2019;Rahman et al., 2012). To mitigate
stakeholders’pressure and concerns of environmental protection agencies, companies must
rely on its intangible resources like intellectual capital (IC) (Dubey et al., 2015;Singh and El-
Kassar, 2019). In addition, researchers have empirically established the connection between
IC and EP (Dal Mas, 2019;Massaro et al., 2018). Similarly, Yusoff et al. (2019) presented a novel
conception of green IC and found that green IC promotes EP of the small-medium
enterprises (SMEs).
EP is the alignment of organizational business practices with prescribed standards of
environmental protection. It shows the organization’s commitment with respect to the care of
the environment (Roscoe et al., 2019). Furthermore, scholars have suggested that the EP of
firms largely depends upon employees’sensitivity towards environmental problems (Singh
et al., 2019). According to Yong et al. (2019a,b), HRM plays a vital role in the development of
employees, which create s a competitive advantage a nd resultant high EP for the
organization. The participation of employees in green activities through organizational
HRM initiatives would make it green human resource management (GHRM) (Kramar, 2014).
Considering the important role of GHRM in predicting EP, it is imperative to conduct more
research on this relationship (Kim et al., 2019). Renwick et al. (2013) highlighted the important
role played by human resource management (HRM) in pursuing an organizational greener
agenda. Enabling human resources to follow the green agenda could result in better EP (Yong
et al., 2019a,b).
Different scholars have explored GHRM link with several other variables. For example,
GHRM link with green supply chain management (Nejati et al., 2017;Raut et al., 2017),
environmental aspects (O’Donohue and Torugsa, 2016;Zibarras and Coan, 2015),
organizational citizenship behavior (Anwar et al., 2020) and performance (Hameed et al.,
2020;Siyambalapitiya et al., 2018). However, the research on the relationship between green
IC and GHRM is rather scant (Kong and Thomson, 2009;Malik et al., 2020). Therefore, the
current investigation tries to uncover the expected role of GHRM and green IC in the
promotion of organizational green performance. Although Yong et al. (2019a,b) established
the link between green IC and GHRM, the current research posits that the combined effect of
these two variables can yield corporate environmentalism. Furthermore, we speculated that
the GHRM would act as an intervening variable in the promotion of EP through the GHC.
The manufacturing sector is a significant contributor to environmental concerns and
problems (Malik et al., 2020). Therefore, it is imperative for manufacturing organizations to
divert their attention towards environmental sustainability. Pakistan has a share of 0.4
percent in the total carbon emission of the world and it is growing at an exponential rate
(Shahzad et al., 2017). Consequently, manufacturing firms should rethink their current
business models and devise and implement green strategies to conserve natural resources. To
do so, organizations can adopt the principles of GHRM along with green IC. Considering the
established role of IC in the promotion of EP, the current investigation aims to test the
relationship of green IC, GHRM, and EP which is previously overlooked by researchers
(Malik et al., 2020;Yusliza et al., 2020).
This study has two important research questions, (1) how does green IC affect the firms’
EP? and (2) does GHC predict EP through GHRM? This study contributes to the existing
literature in multiple ways. First, it applied intellectual capital-based view (ICV) theory to
explore the relationship of green IC, GHRM, and EP; whereas, previous studies have applied
RBV theory to predict EP. Second, this research suggests that green IC directly as well as
indirectly through GHRM affects EP. This study has responded to the call for research by
Yong et al. (2019a,b), who stressed testing the proposed relationship. Third, this research is
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