Sustainable HRM Research Articles

Towards the improvement of the sustainability in sustainable HRM: The role of system strength

With the growing interest in sustainability, its incorporation in business management, and its inevitable intersection with the management of human resources, some scholars and practitioners have highlighted the potential benefits of successful implementation of sustainable human resource management as a source of competitive advantage. While this may denote a corporation’s capacity to respond to a wider range of needs and requirements beyond economic targets, researchers draw on different theories to point out the possible adverse consequences of adopting such multiple bottom-line approaches for employees. This study builds on ideas from previous research, particularly the works of Bush (2018), Bowen and Ostroff (2004) to 1) examine if the perceived degree of emphasis on a triple-bottom-line (TBL) approach is related to role ambiguity and role conflict; 2) investigate if the elements of human resource management system strength are related to role conflict and role ambiguity and, if these elements can moderate the relationship between the perceived degree of emphasis on TBL approach, role ambiguity, and role conflict. While the findings support the link between taking a TBL approach and role ambiguity and role conflict, it offers evidence that a strong human resource management system may reduce the role ambiguity and role conflict resulting from taking such approaches. Managerial implications and future research directions conclude this research

“Everything Will Be Fine”: A Study on the Relationship between Employees’ Perception of Sustainable HRM Practices and Positive Organizational Behavior during COVID19

Sustainable human resource management practices represent one of the main organizational strategy to survive and to prosper within the fast-moving current scenario. According to this view, sustainability is strictly linked to the consideration of the unique and distinctive value that each human resource means for organizations. The recent COVID19 pandemic is having a serious impact on organizations and on their employees, it is profoundly changing the working modalities, mainly introducing smart working practices that were showed to have significant consequences on workers’ wellbeing. This study aims to investigate employees’ perception of sustainable HRM in the frame of the COVID19 emergency, exploring if and to what extent perceptions of involvement and organizational support together with individual coping strategies associated with organizational change could influence positive organizational behaviors, namely organizational engagement and extra-role behavior. The research involved 549 participants who completed a self-report online questionnaire encompassing psycho-social measures of the abovementioned variables. Results confirmed the important role played by sustainable HRM practices both for the capitalization of human resources and of organizational performance in a time of great uncertainty and global crisis. Implications for theory and HRM practice development were also discussed.

Sustainable HRM as a Pathway to Sustainability—HRMS Relevance on Affective Commitment through Organizational Trust

Human resource management system (HRMS) is an organizational instrument that sends organizational messages to employees. If we consider that HRMS can be an indicator of organization’s involvement towards employees’ it is relevant to understand its impact in employees’ organizational commitment and study indicators that can help unravel the black box between HRMS and positive results, associating an emerging approach, sustainable HRMS that relates HRMS with sustainability, having as common features the association with positive results for employees. Recent literature has tested organizational trust (OT) as a relevant indicator in the understanding of this process. There have been studies that have debated and tested OT in managers as a mediator or moderator of HRMS on affective commitment (AOC) and support for both have been found. In this study, we attempt to contribute to the development of the field, by considering the terminological, conceptual and statistical distinction between moderator and mediator, testing two alternative models that may elucidate the relationship between these variables. 1328 valid responses with employees and managers from 21 Portuguese organizations were collected. A factor analysis, a cluster analysis, moderation tests using hierarchical linear regression, pos hoc tests and mediation tests with sequential regressions were performed. HRMS dimensions are mediated (partially or totally) by OT in manager towards AOC. HRMS dimensions (HR relationship with employees, comprehensibility, utility, visibility and distributive justice) influences OT in manager, which, in turn, influences AOC. Regarding moderation, the interaction between distributive justice and OT, pos-hoc tests showed that when distributive justice increases and levels of OT in manager is high, OAC increases rapidly. It seems that the importance of the distributive justice of HRMS only becomes relevant on OAC, if OT in manager is present. This empirical test of the HRMS model also suggests its reframing in two meta-dimensions: A. the agents of HR system, the HR relationship with employees based on their competence, consistent behavior, ability to solve problems and listening to people; and B. the effects of the system itself, possibly Visibility is the most relevant attribute. We suggest that these interactions between HR agents and employees are relevant and may lead to generalizations about the HRMS.

Barierrs to Implementing the Concept of Green Human Resource Management: The Case of Poland

Purpose: The Green Human Resource Management concept is relatively new to Polish managers. There is a research gap with respect to investigating the reasons behind limited practical implementation of GHRM. The objective of the study is the identification of major barriers to the implementation of the GHRM concept in Polish companies. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study was conducted in 2018 on a random sample of 300 Polish enterprises. The respondents were managers responsible for HR policy development. The method used in the study was CATI. In the first stage of the analysis, an assessment of the level of implementation of the GHRM concept in 7 functional areas was carried out with the use of a 5-point Likert scale. The second stage involved identification of the main barriers impeding the implementation of green HR practices. Findings: Green Human Resource Management viewed as the latest research tendency plays a crucial role in the strategies of corporate sustainable development. However, studies demonstrate that the level of GHRM implementation in Polish companies is low. In the course of the analysis, it appeared that the primary barriers limiting GHRM implementation are: limited financial means, lack of incentives to engage in environmentally friendly activities, low competencies of the management with respect to sustainable HRM, no or low effectiveness of GHRM tools and a culture based on economic values. Practical Implications: If the major barriers to GHRM implementation are identified and Polish managers become aware of them, barrier removal may prove easier and, consequently, the scope of implementation of green practices within the HR function may be broadened. Originality/Value: This article is a pioneer attempt to identify the barriers to Green HRM implementation in Poland. The research enriches the still limited set of literature concerning environmental practice performance in the area of HR. The author believes that the results of the presented research may stimulate interest in GHRM concept’s implementation in Polish companies as a tool of corporate sustainable development.

Bridging Sustainable Human Resource Management and Corporate Sustainability

The rise of the Sustainable Development (SD) concept contributed to the increasing interest in practices encompassing the Sustainable Human Resource Management (Sustainable HRM) and the results of these practices. This article relates to the area of Human Resource Management and activities undertaken by HR departments to implement the principles of sustainable development in the enterprise. In particular, it refers to the concept of Sustainable HRM, recognized by many researchers as a new paradigm in the area of HRM. Although an intensely-studied subject, there is a clear gap in research regarding Sustainable HRM in Polish companies. Additionally, there is a lack of research contribution on the Podlasie region—ecologically and ethnically the most diverse region in the country. While sustainability in environmental terms is evident in the region, the article focuses on sustainability implementation in the business sector. The article helps to close the research gap. Its aim is to examine the two-fold role of HR departments in: Implementing activities in the area of Sustainable HRM, and introducing the principles of sustainability to corporate strategies. It was assumed that such activities contribute to corporate sustainability. In order to verify the role of HR departments, a new, comprehensive research model, based on the work of De Prins, was built. The model relates to the double-task of HR departments in organizations. The added value of the article stems from the research model proposal, which can be applied without geographical limitations and to numerous organization types. The paper introduces one of the applications of the model—a regional one. The model was tested in a questionnaire survey conducted among employees of enterprises operating in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, which is unique in terms of environment, culture, and economy in Poland. The respondents were participants of MBA studies at one of the universities of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The results of the study fully confirmed the hypothesis adopted in the study regarding the performance of activities by HR departments in the psychological and social areas of Sustainable HRM. The third aspect of the study, regarding the ecological area, was not clearly confirmed in the study. It was found that this may result from the restrictive law regulating the issue of the impact of enterprises on the natural environment. The results of the study allowed for the verification of the main hypothesis assumed in the research model, thus confirming its truthfulness.

Human resources development as an element of sustainable HRM – with the focus on production engineers

The concept of sustainability has been gaining importance and influencing the development of an approach towards employees referred to as sustainable HRM (SHRM). HR development is one of the principles of SHRM that should be implemented consistently along with other SHRM principles, which means, e.g., that the development of employees should be carried out having a long-term perspective in mind. It is crucial to acquire the so-called competencies of the future as the basis for implementing the idea of Industry 4.0.The purpose of the article is to present the development of human potential in an organization against the background of other detailed sustainable HRM principles, to be followed by confronting the theory and the research results on the development of future competencies referring to industrial engineers in Poland as the professional group responsible for implementing the idea of cleaner production and Industry 4.0. The Author analyzed the results of three research projects based on the survey method and representative data from Eurostat and Statistics Poland.The conducted research shows that industrial companies in Poland have more of a short-sighted perspective when it comes to developing the potential of their engineers. The HR development practices focusing only on current needs are not in line with the SHRM principles of a long-term perspective and flexibility. There is also a visible lack of employee participation in the process of making training-related decisions, which is another principle of sustainable HRM. In addition, environmental sustainability remains a neglected area of knowledge in terms of training, and the cooperation with external educational institutions is low. It results in certain implications for HR managers and educational institutions. The article also presents directions for further research.

Sustainable HRM through Improving the Measurement of Employee Work Engagement: Third-Person Rating Method

The purpose of the paper is to present the survey findings of two alternative methods (self-rating (SR) and third-person rating (TPR)) of measuring employee work engagement (EWE). The potential impacts of gender, job tenure, position, and work condition on TPR vs. SR were also investigated. A sample of 649 of hotel service workers, supervisors, and managers in China participated in the study. An accurate measure of employee work engagement serves as a leading indicator of turnover intention and an early diagnostic tool for sustainable human resource management. Despite its popularity as a work engagement measure, SR method has many limitations. This research attempted to demonstrate that TPR is a viable and better alternative measure of EWE. The results indicated that TPR does possess desirable measurement characteristics, such as convergent validity, nomological validity, and structure invariant. TPR also provides a more conservative, and perhaps more accurate as well, measure of EWE. The difference in mean EWE scores as measured by SR vs. TPR was found to be affected by the specific dimension under study, with the least observable absorption dimension the most affected. The difference was also found to be significantly higher for males than for females, bigger as an employee’s position moves higher, and larger as the length of job tenure increases. Additionally, the difference in satisfaction–EWE correlations, as measured by TPR vs. SR, were much higher when the work conditions were poor. For practitioners, the importance of this study lies in the fact that TPR, as a conservative measure of EWE, can play an important role in detecting early signs of employee troubles sooner and lead management to take timely actions, making human resource management more sustainable. For academics, the results that SR and TPR of EWE generally result in similar pattern of findings offer strong encouragement to build future research on EWE through the TPR method.

The Impact of Sustainable HRM on Organization’s Reputation

The Impact of Sustainable HRM on Organization’s Reputation

Designing Remuneration Systems of Organizations for Sustainable HRM: The Core Characteristics of an Emerging Field

Successful business trends in the 21st century cover new factors where economic viability and sustainability should address not only the economic criterion, but also the human managerial one. This leads to the creation of effective sustainable work systems including remuneration systems as a part of sustainable human resource management. The basic research object of sustainable work systems is work intensity, which covers many possible approaches including remuneration systems of organizations. Effective remuneration systems enhance the performance and contribution of employees by controlling labor cost, motivating employees and involving them in organizational processes. Nevertheless, there is a lack of evidence for the sustainability of both theoretical and empirical research of remuneration systems. This article pursues validating theoretical concepts related to sustainable human resource management (SHRM) and remuneration systems by empirical disclosure of the expression of SHRM principles in the characteristics of remuneration systems. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the characteristics of remuneration systems of organizations in real SHRM in enterprises in Lithuania. In order to achieve this, a qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 21 corporate HR managers. The study empirically substantiated the relationship between the principles of sustainable human resource management and remuneration characteristics. Results disclosed that as many as 10 of the 12 SHRM principles allow to identify the remuneration system as a sustainable work system. All the identified characteristics of the remuneration system reveal various principles of SHRM through different features and indicators. Furthermore, it confirms the economic, social and environmental nature of sustainable remuneration systems.

From Sustainable HRM to Employee Performance: A Complex and Intertwined Road

Sustainable HRM is an emerging field that underpins the successful implementation of corporate sustainability initiatives. Grounded on the ability‐motivation‐opportunity theory, this study examines the effect of sustainable HRM on employee performance. To do so, we use a mediating model to explain the underlying mechanisms in sustainable HRM and its effect on employee performance. The results show that the road to achieving sustainable HRM from employees' performance is not straightforward but intertwined with a double‐mediation effect of the perceived organizational rationale for sustainability and organizational identification. These findings indicate that an organization needs to find a match or congruency between sustainable HRM practices and employees' inner dispositions, in order to achieve a positive effect on employees' performance. Sustainable HRM practices should be congruent with the sustainability orientation of the organization, and its employees need to perceive this rationale in order to create stronger identification and thus to become more engaged and to better perform.

A Study on the Contribution of MOOC’s Towards Sustainable Human Resource Management

Sustainability has become a focus area for organizations today. Management practices that are sustainable are a lot more favored than many of the traditional ones. Skill development and employee training are important contributors of organizational sustainability. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have emerged as a method of skill improvement that provides major benefits to all stakeholders. Given the role played by MOOCs in sustainable HRM, this study aims to find out factors in MOOCs that make it more effective as a skill update technique. To understand the parameters that influence user experience while navigating through the MOOCs websites, data has been collected from critical users (students and professionals) who have undertaken online courses. The effect of different attributes on the usage of MOOCs have been studied. The study tries to understand how a knowledge of these attributes can help the organization improve its training process. The study is relevant in today’s context because the role of training and the increased corporate use of MOOCs has various implications for organizational sustainability.

Putting employees at the centre of sustainable HRM: a review, map and research agenda

PurposeCurrently, sustainable HRM is largely an employer-driven exercise based on raising employee productivity. The purpose of the article is to expand this position by fully mapping out sustainable HRM and placing employees at the centre of such practices. A further purpose is to provide a research agenda suited to a wider take on sustainable HRM.Design/methodology/approachThe article centres on an analytical review of extant sustainable HRM literature, plus an analytical review of wider literature considering further ways to sustain employment.FindingsEmployee-centred sustainable HRM goes far beyond what is accounted for in the extant HRM literature. The new map accounts for wider parties to sustainable HRM, including trade unions and self-organised employees. An extensive research agenda is a further key output from the study.Research limitations/implicationsThe article is based on a literature review. Follow-up empirical research is required to test out aspects of the new map, as well as address research gaps identified by the review.Practical implicationsThe findings have practical implications for HRM and occupational health practitioners, line managers, built environment and ergonomics specialists, governments, trade unions and workplace activists. A key practical implication is the potential to create micro-forms of corporatism, where wider political structures are absent, to foster employee-centred forms of sustainable HRM.Originality/valueThe article is novel in terms of drawing on a wide range of incongruous literature and synthesising the literature into a new map and an extensive research agenda.

Indian Government’s Sustainable Initiatives and the Millennials Behavior

This conceptual article examines how Sustainable Initiatives of government and corporates can help shape behaviours of Millenials that can address the different needs and expectations of potential and existing employees. This can result in a sustained competitive advantage for the firms and enhanced self-esteem for the existing and prospective employees. Sustainability efforts should encourage youngsters to imbibe behaviours that are in line with governments and corporates' efforts to create a better planet to live in. These behaviours should help firms attract and retain a high-quality workforce because by integrating Sustainable HRM practices into the employee value proposition, they can establish a unique, employer brand. The paper also highlights the challenges faced by the government and corporates together to achieve these sustainable objectives.

Professionals as the 4th 'P' of sustainability: a sustainable HRM framework with strategic implications

Professionals (employees with higher-order goals) are the key in company sustainability programs meant to improve the states of people, planet and profit (the 3P's of sustainability). They are slowly yet steadfastly burning out at work. To be effective, these programs should also create the wellbeing of professionals deemed as the 4th P of sustainability. This article is an attempt to offer a conceptual, comprehensive, and scalable framework, in this regard. We posit that sustainability projects employing the creating shared value strategy under the intervention of sustainability HRM systems can create the 3P's and professionals' wellbeing simultaneously. It we speculate can lead to sustainable business and finally human sustainability. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Professionals as the 4th 'P' of sustainability: a sustainable HRM framework with strategic implications

Professionals (employees with higher-order goals) are the key in company sustainability programs meant to improve the states of people, planet and profit (the 3P's of sustainability). They are slowly yet steadfastly burning out at work. To be effective, these programs should also create the wellbeing of professionals deemed as the 4th P of sustainability. This article is an attempt to offer a conceptual, comprehensive, and scalable framework, in this regard. We posit that sustainability projects employing the creating shared value strategy under the intervention of sustainability HRM systems can create the 3P's and professionals' wellbeing simultaneously. It we speculate can lead to sustainable business and finally human sustainability. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Flexible work arrangement and sustainability of employees during lockdown in delhi

Technological advancement and changing work patterns have altered the working styles of organizations. Prior to pandemic situation of COVID 19 Flexible work arrangements was observed only in IT sector, however it is now applicable even in other sectors. This gave the research a thought to study how FWA effect on economic, social and environment attributes of sustainability among employees. Survey was conducted to meet the objective. Data was collectedfrom 150 from Delhi NCR. At an individual level, the results of the study emphasized FW contribute to a better economic and social factor and during lockdown and teleworking helped to lower the emissions of harmful gasses contributing to healthy environment. Thus managerial implications of this research is pointing towards implementation of such sustainable HRM strategies which can focus on individual efficiency and long term association with the organization.

Towards a sustainable HRM in Latin America? Union-management relationship in Chile

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss why and how the notion of sustainability has been integrated to the practices of HRM in Chile. Especially, it examines how the union‒management relationship shapes and is shaped by the adoption of a sustainable approach. By doing so, it contributes to a broader debate about HRM in Latin America.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on a case study conducted between 2016 and 2018 in two large companies. In each of these companies, besides the analysis of internal and administrative documentation, human resource managers, line managers and union officers were interviewed.FindingsIn this paper, two main findings are discussed. First, the sustainable HRM idea installed in Chile has not involved a total renunciation of some old ideological frames, but rather an adjustment of these. The old paternalist managerialism is shaping a path to a new HRM model, willing to yield part of its control to workers, but not less unitarist in its foundations. Second, the sustainable HRM concept adoption by the studied companies is not primarily motivated by economic goals as it may have occurred in other contexts, but by the need of a solution to labour conflicts in a context of union action renewal.Practical implicationsThis research could be used to teach about leadership, strategy and sustainability, highlighting the importance of understanding the contested nature of the employment relations within these processes of changing. To accomplish this, HR practitioners need to get more involved with pluralistic perspectives in labour relations and thus achieve effective sustainable practices in the workplace. It is also relevant that unions recognise and strengthen their ability to influence these policies.Originality/valueThis paper sheds lights on how the concept of sustainable HRM has been introduced in Latin America, which has been slightly discussed in mainstream scientific literature. It also provides empirical evidence about unexplored and recent changes in HRM and proposes new perspectives for the study of this topic in the region, considering variables as the managerial ideologies, current labour disputes and the relevance of trade union voice.

Technology for Sustainable HRM: An Empirical Research of Health Care Sector

In a highly competitive world of today characterised by VUCA (Volatility Uncertainty Complexity and Ambiguity) environment organizations are striving to achieve excellence with standard business practices. Given the international mantra of cost quality & service companies need to adopt technology in a proactive manner by collaborating with IT department. Traditionally HR and IT have operated as distinct units. But with the changing times there is an urgent need to adopt technology for improving the productivity of human resources thereby contributing to the sustainable organizational development. So a close collaboration between these two departments is called for. Some of the HR professionals assume that technology will fix all their problems i.e. By moving to cloud the outdated HR operating model and disconnected data sourcing issues will get resolved. But HR professionals will be committing a grave mistake if they think that the technology will be a panacea to all HR problems. In other words, the key is about how the technology is applied and not the acquisition of technology. In the prevailing competitive environment there is every need to understand appreciate the behaviour of the employees so that required initiatives could be taken for obtaining outstanding performance from these valuable human resources. In this regard technological tools like HR Analytics(HRA) Artificial Intelligence (AI) come very handy for getting valuable insights into human behaviour. Further application of these tools helps in effective decision making thereby contributing to the accomplishment of organization goals. Application of HRA and AI apart from facilitating decision making also helps in integrating Human Resource with other business activities. The paper focusses on understanding how HR analytics helps in sustainable human resource management by providing insights into elementary HR processes and behaviours. It also correlates well with current HRA/AI trends in general and health care sector in particular. Needless to say this will be a ready reference for any future study into role of data analytics/Artificial intelligence in Human Resource Management.

Applying sustainable employment principles in the tourism industry: righting human rights wrongs?

ABSTRACTThis paper argues that issues of employment in tourism raise fundamental concerns in the context of basic human rights. Such rights lie at the heart of intentions within the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which advocates ‘full and productive employment and decent work for all’. This paper contends that concerns relating to tourism employment, therefore, lie at the heart of the sustainability debate within international tourism. At a time of sustained growth in demand for tourism worldwide, the industry faces persistent challenges with respect to employment, highlighted, inter alia, with respect to low pay, precarious security, poor working conditions, high labour turnover, intersectional disadvantage, occupational ghettoisation and employee sexual and physical abuse that can represent modern slavery. These issues appear to be systemic, structural and universal across all countries and within both formal and informal economies. In this paper, we assess these issues from a human rights perspective at three levels, the individual employee, their family and their community. We then consider whether a sustainability-informed approach to tourism employment can mediate potential human rights violations, building on the ethical case proposed by notions of sustainable HRM. Conclusions are reached which place clear responsibility for change with governments through legislation and enforced regulation; private sector employers; and consumers.

Sustainability and ideology-infused psychological contracts: An organizational- and employee-level perspective

In this paper we explore sustainability-based ideology-infused psychological contracts (IPCs) from both organizational and individual-level perspectives. Better knowledge about how and when IPCs operate and the role of the organization's human resource management in that process is beneficial to firms that wish to capitalize on the positive outcomes resulting from IPCs while avoiding the creation of ideological obligations that they are unable or unwilling to meet (Rousseau & McLean Parks, 1993; Thompson & Bunderson, 2003). Organizations may show they care, through sustainable HRM strategies, and encourage ideological currency exchange in order to recruit and retain quality employees, increase organizational commitment, increase citizenship behaviors, strengthen identity, increase job satisfaction, and maintain a positive public perception and reputation. On the other hand, if an organization fails to fulfill an IPC it may lead to negative behaviors and consequences. We extended our arguments beyond the individual-level focus common to psychological contract theory, to include firm-level context. In doing so, we explain how an organization's efforts towards being more sustainable can connect employees to the organization through their IPCs, and moreover, through their IPCs, employees can connect to corporate goals. Finally, we advance current theory by exploring the underlying motivations that drive organizations and individuals to develop IPCs.