Characteristics of Sustainable HRM System and Practices for Implementing Corporate Sustainability

Abstract

The current mutual benefit-focused HRM practices have a limited role in enhancing organization–stakeholder relationships to achieve organizational financial performance and human/social and environmental outcomes of corporate sustainability business strategy. Hence, sustainable HRM evolved as a discipline to facilitate a new understanding of organization–stakeholder relationships. Although there are many definitions available in the sustainable HRM literature, currently there is no established set of characteristics for sustainable HRM practices. The characteristics of sustainable HRM practices are important to operationalize an organization’s corporate sustainability business strategy using HR as a core business competency. In this article, distinct pro-financial, social/human and ecocentric characteristics are proposed for each of the identified HRM practices for sustainable HRM system to facilitate employee behaviours to achieve corporate sustainability outcomes. Furthermore, the synthesis effects of bundles of HRM practices in the sustainable HRM system to enhance integrated outcomes of corporate sustainability are explored. An attempt was also made to theoretically explain the difference in characteristics of HRM practices between the control, commitment (strategic) and sustainable HRM systems to feature the distinct characteristics of sustainable HRM practices. Finally, practical and empirical implications are provided.