Influences of Green Human Resources Management on Environmental Performance in Small Lodging Enterprises: The Role of Green Innovation

Abu Elnasr E Sobaih,Ahmed Hasanein,Ibrahim Elshaer

doi:10.3390/su122410371

Abstract

Small lodging enterprises encompass a major proportion of the lodging industry worldwide. Nonetheless, limited research has addressed the HRM-innovation-performance link on these enterprises. This research draws on ability, motivation, opportunity (AMO) theory and resource-based view (RBV) theory to examine the influences of green human resources management (GHRM) practices by owner-managers of small lodging enterprises on their enterprises’ green innovation and environmental performance. More specifically, the research examines the direct influence of GHRM on the environmental performance of small lodging enterprises and the indirect influence through green innovation. A self-administered questionnaire was given to owner-managers of small lodging enterprises in Greater Cairo, Egypt. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed direct, positive and significant influences of owner-managers’ green ability, motivation and opportunity on both enterprise green innovation and environmental performance. The ability of owner-managers was the most influential GHRM practices on both green innovation and environmental performance. Moreover, the results showed that the influence of GHRM on environmental performance was doubled with green innovation, reflecting the value and vital role of green innovation in small lodging enterprises’ environmental performance. Several policy-level, theoretical and practical implications are identified and discussed.

Highlights

The environmental performance of organizations has gained growing attention from scholars and practitioners over the past few decades
The current research examined the interrelationship between green human resources management (GHRM), i.e., green ability, motivation and opportunity, and green innovation, as well as the environmental performance of small lodging enterprises in Egypt
The results coincide with previous studies (e.g., [2,10,22]) that GHRM practices, especially green ability, motivation and opportunity, positively influence green innovation and environmental performance [1,2]

Summary

Introduction

The environmental performance of organizations has gained growing attention from scholars and practitioners over the past few decades. Governments’ emphasis on environmental performance as a part of their policies to sustain the natural resources or surrounding environment and achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (UNSDGs). A recent study [2] showed that research often concentrates on the environmental performance of large businesses with limited studies on small enterprises. In the hospitality and tourism context, studies often focus on the environmental practices management from two sides: either customer perspective [3] or employees’ awareness about environmental practices [4]. “there is a lack of empirical studies that link human resources management (HRM) to environmental performance” in the hospitality context, e.g., lodging enterprises [1], p. “there is a lack of empirical studies that link human resources management (HRM) to environmental performance” in the hospitality context, e.g., lodging enterprises [1], p. 83, which is especially true for small lodging enterprises

Methods

Results

Conclusion