Green (environmental) HRM: aligning ideals with appropriate practices
| Date | 02 August 2019 |
| Published date | 02 August 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-12-2017-0382 |
| Pages | 1169-1185 |
| Author | Sarah Leidner,Denise Baden,Melanie J. Ashleigh |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Global hrm |
Green (environmental) HRM:
aligning ideals with
appropriate practices
Sarah Leidner
Business School, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK, and
Denise Baden and Melanie J. Ashleigh
Business School, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purposeof this paper is to explore how Green(environmental) HumanResource Management
(GHRM) policiescan elicit green employee behaviours. This studyexplores the role of sustainabilityadvocates,
who are leaders and managers in pursuit of their firm’s environmental agenda, in the design and delivery of
GHRM policies,communication, recruitmentand selection, environmentaltraining, rewards and incentives.
Design/methodology/approach –In this qualitative study, eighteen semi-structured interviews with
sustainability advocates in European firms were conducted and analysed.
Findings –GHRM practices are not i n themselves peripheral, intermediate or em bedded, but shaped by
contextual situatio ns. Sustainability advocates’intentio ns do not seem to match GHRM policy design , i.e.
they try to elicit value-ba sed behaviours by using self-inter est-based approaches, leading to mi salignments
between the attitudes and behaviours policies a ttempt to elicit, and the t ype of behaviours they el icit
in practice.
Research limitations/implications –This study explores GHRM practice implementation experienced by
leaders and managers. Further research on the role of the HR function and recipients of GHRM is needed.
Practical implications –Practitioners need to be aware that organisational incentives (GHRM policies)that
reflect self-interest can lead to self-interest-based behaviour and may be short-lived. A careful consideration of
contextual factors will inform the selection of suitable GHRM policies. Environmental training completion
rates seem an unsuitable metric for senior management bonuses.
Originality/value –This paper investigates the design and implementation stage of GHRM, leading to an
identification of GHRM policies as peripheral, intermediate or embedded. This creates an in-depth knowledge
on the efficacy of GHRM policies and their relation to the environment.
Keywords Qualitative, Organizational behaviour, Corporate social responsibility
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The purpose of this paperis to illuminate how GreenHuman Resource Management (GHRM)
policies can be used by “sustainability advocates”in eliciting employee green behaviours
using Pandey et al.’s (2013) model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) embeddedness.
GHRM is definedas “the use of HR policies, philosophies and practicesto promote sustainable
use of resources and prevent harm arising from environmental concern within business
organisations”(Zoogah, 2011, p. 118). Through GHRM environmental capabilities can be
increased, opportunities providedand motivation elicited (Zoogah,2011). GHRM can occur in
the HR function in theform of policies and it can be devolved to leadersand managers across
the organisation. Employees are the main contributors in the pursuit of corporate
environmental agendas, and the degree to which policies are embedded is likely to affect the
desired greenbehaviours. For example, a qualitative studyin the aviation industry foundthat
pilots can actively exert direct positive and negative influence on emissions during flights
depending on their job (dis)satisfaction (Harvey et al., 2013). If employees with low job
satisfaction possess the power to damage or benefit corporate environmental outcomes Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 5, 2019
pp. 1169-1185
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-12-2017-0382
Received 12 December 2017
Revised 24 October 2018
Accepted 16 December 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
The authors would thank the unnamed reviewers for their valuable comments and recommendations.
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Aligning
ideals with
appropriate
practices
significantly,a closer look at people managementpractices is needed (Dailyand Huang, 2001).
Consequently, this study focusses on GHRM policies that aim to elicit employee engagement
in green behaviours.
Studies in GHRM focuson various outcomes. One study finds directlinks between GHRM
and in-role greenbehaviour outcomes, and indirect links with discretionary (voluntary) green
behaviours (Dumont et al., 2016). Other studies in GHRM focus on outcomes for companies,
such as how employees or organisations are affected by environmental initiatives and how
managers use GHRM to increase environmental performance. GHRM policies can affect
employee attitudes towards their employer, including job satisfaction and attitudes towards
environmental initiatives (Benn et al., 2015), and Ramus and Steger (2000) find supervisory
support can increase staff suggestions for green initiatives. It appears that GHRM can
influence green behaviours directly and indirectly through, for example, employee job
satisfaction, which can affect the environmental performance as exemplified by Harvey’s
et al.’s (2013)study of pilots. Thus, the way in which GHRM isimplemented by managers and
leaders needs to be addressed. A focus on outcomes alone seems to treat the design and
execution stage of GHRM policies and decision makers’intentions as a “black box”, and it
does littleto aid understanding of factors thatcan create discrepancies betweenorganisational
behaviours and their (ir)responsible actions.
Therefore, this paper responds to calls by Renwick et al. (2013) to explore underlying
mechanisms of GHRM implementation. We aim to achieve this by gathering empirical
evidence on the ways leaders and managers experience GHRM policies, which initiatives
they consider successful, and what employee perceptions and behaviours their endeavours
elicit. We call these leaders and managers sustainability advocates because all participants
were selected based on their job role, which is in some form related to pursuing the “green”
agenda. Pandey et al.’s (2013) model can identify whether corporate environmental
sustainability (CES) is integrated in a peripheral, intermediate or embedded way, and what
employee-level attitudes each way contains. To understand how company aspects influence
GHRM practice implementation, this paper uses Pandey et al.’s (2013) model of CES. CES
can be seen as the environmental aspect of CSR (De Bakker and Nijhof, 2002). CSR is a
well-developed and popular concept for businesses to fulfil their societal duties and we align
with Carroll (1979, p. 500), who defines that “the social responsibility of business
encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of
organizations at a given point of time”.
This qualitativestudy focusses on data-emergent themes, GHRM aspects, communication,
attraction and recruitment, environmental training (ET), management support, and reward
and recognition. In the subsequent section, the model and GHRM literature are discussed
linking how GHRM policies can aid implementation of environmental objectives and elicit
green behaviours. Findings from seventeen semi-structured interviews with sustainability
advocates in European firms are presented anddiscussed. The discussion section elaborates
on GHRM policies, and finds misalignments between individual approaches and supporting
organisationalprocesses. Lastly, the conclusionhighlights theoreticalcontributions to GHRM,
limitations and future research avenues.
2. Literature review
The literaturereview is presented in two parts. First, it describes the model of CES by Pandey
et al. (2013). Second, contributions to GHRM (attraction and recruitment, ET, reward and
recognition, communication) of data emergent practices are reviewed and discussed.
2.1 Embedding CES
Corporate approaches towards environmental betterment are a product of well-established
capitalist systems, which were believedto always dominate (Heilbroner,1985). Hence, policies
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