Institute of Industry and Academic Research Incorporated
Register in
IJAIR Cover Page
International Journal of Academe and Industry Research

ISSN 2719-0617 (Print) 2719-0625 (Online)

H-index: 7
ICV: 81.83

Employees’ green behaviour initiatives and green human resource management implementation challenges

Samson Adewumi
Volume 5 Issue 4, December 2024

The green behaviour and green human resource management literature shows a sparsity of studies related to employee green behaviour initiatives and green human resource management implementation challenges, specifically in the context of Nigeria’s manufacturing organisations. Hence, this study seeks to address this gap by interrogating employees’ perception and understanding of green behaviour, green behaviour initiatives and green human resource management implementation challenges from the perspective of a manufacturing organization in Lagos, Nigeria. The case study research design was adopted with 15-unit managers purposively recruited from the human resource department and the semi-structured interview was employed to retrieve qualitative data from respondents. Themes and sub-themes were identified from the qualitative data with the aid of the NVivo (v.14) qualitative software. Findings include environmental sustainability, response to climate change and efficient use of raw materials as a perception and understanding of green behaviour. Managers understanding of green behaviour, awareness and campaigns, collectivism and consistent reviews and accountability of green project funds were revealed as green behaviour initiatives. Green human resource management implementation challenges include green evaluation and monitoring, socio-cultural constraints, personality and socialisation and education and training. The study concludes with a more strategic evaluation and monitoring of green behaviour policy and implementation. The policy implication is a call for the inclusion of green behaviour and personality tests in recruitment policy. This will help identify prospective employees with deviant to green behaviour compliance.

green behaviour, green human resource management, employees, organisation, manufacturing

Samson Adewumi. Researcher, University of Zululand, South Africa. Email: adewumis@unizulu.ac.za

Al-Swidi, A.K. Gelaidan, H.M. & Saleh, R.M. (2021) The joint impact of green human resource management, leadership and organizational culture on employees’ green behaviour and organisational environmental performance. Journal of Clean Production, 316(6), 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128112

Aranganathan, P. (2018). Green recruitment: a new-fangled approach to attract and retain talent. International Journal of Business Management, 8(2), 69-76.

Ayeswarya, R. (2017). A study on green human resource management practices and its impact on organizations. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management, Architecture, Technology and Engineering, 3(4), 106–113.

Carmeli, A. Brammer, S. Gomes, E. & Tarba, S. Y. (2017). An organizational ethic of care and employee involvement in sustainability-related behaviours: a social identity perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(9), 1380–1395. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2185

Dahlmann, F. Branicki, L. & Brammer, S. (2019). Managing carbon aspirations: the influence of corporate climate change targets on environmental performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 158(1), 1-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3731-z

Dal Maso, L. Basco, R. Bassetti, T. & Lattanzi, N. (2020). Family ownership and environmental performance: the mediation effect of human resource practices. Business Strategy the Environment, 29(3), 1548-1562. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2452

Demirel, P. Li, Q.C. Rentocchini, F. & Tamvada, J.P. (2019). Born to be green: new insights into the economics and management of green entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 52(1), 759–771. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9933-z

Diana, A. (2016). A study on the effectiveness of green recruitment practices among HR executives of the IT sector. IOSR Journal of Business Management, 1(11), 8-11.

Dilchert, S. (2018). Counterproductive sustainability behaviours and their relationship to personality traits. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 26(1), 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12204

Dumont, J. Shen, J. & Deng, X. J. (2017). Effects of green HRM practices on employee workplace green behaviour: the role of psychological green climate and employee green values. Human Resource Management, 56(4), 613-627. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21792

Fawehinmi, O. Yusliza, M. Y. Mohamad, Z. Faezah, J.N. & Muhammad, Z. (2020). Assessing the green behaviour of academics. International Journal of Manpower, 1-23.  https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-07-2019-0347

Gilal, F. G. Ashraf, Z. Gilal, N. G. Gilal, R. G. & Channa, N. A. (2019). Promoting environmental performance through green human resource management practices in higher education institutions: a moderated mediation model. Corporate Social Responsibility Environmental Management, 26(6), 1579-1590. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/csr.1835

Graves, L. M. Sarkis, J. & Zhu, Q. (2013). How transformational leadership and employee motivation combine to predict employee pro-environmental behaviours in China. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 35, 81-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.05.002

Gupta, S.A. (2021). Implementation of green human resource management practices: Barriers and solutions. Journal of Scientific Research, 65(9), 71-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.37398/JSR.2021.650911

Hasebrook, J.P. Michalak, L. Wessels, A. Koenig, S. (2022). Green behaviour: factors influencing behavioural intention and actual environmental behaviour of employees in the financial service sector. Sustainability, (14)17, 1-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su141710814

Jia, J. Liu, H. Chin, T. & Hu, D. (2018). The continuous mediating effects of GHRM on employees’ green passion via transformational leadership and green creativity. Sustainability, 10(9), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093237

Katz, I.M. Rauvola, R.S. Rudolph, C.W. Zacher, H. (2022). Employee green behaviour: a meta-analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29, 1146–1157. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2260

Kim, A. Kim, Y. Han, K. Jackson, S. E. & Ployhart, R. E. (2017). Multilevel influences on voluntary workplace green behaviour: Individual differences, leader behaviour, and coworker advocacy. Journal of Management, 43(5), 1335–1358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311421830

Kumar, R. (2012). Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners. 3rd edition. California: Sage Publications.

Lange, F. & Dewitte, S. (2019). Measuring pro-environmental behaviour: review and recommendations. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 63, 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.04.009

Le Roux, C. & Pretorius, M. (2016). Navigating sustainability embeddedness in management decision-making. Sustainability, 8(5), 444. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su8050444

Li, C. Aziz, F. Asim, S. Shahzad, A. & Khan, A. (2023). Employee green behaviour: a study on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee green behaviour, green culture: the moderating role of green innovation. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(48), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29798-7

Likhitkar, P. & Verma, P. (2017). Impact of green HRM Practices on organization sustainability and employee retention. International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, 3(5), 152–157.

Masri, H. A. & Jaaron, A. A. (2017). Assessing green human resources management practices in Palestinian manufacturing context: an empirical study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 474-489. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.087

Mi, L. Sun, Y. Gan, X. Yang, H. Lv, T. Shang, K. Qiao, Y. & Jiang, Z. (2020). Promoting employee green behaviour through the person-organization fits the moderating effect of psychological distance. Frontiers in Psychology,11, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568385

Mishra, P. (2017). Green human resource management: a framework for sustainable organizational development in an emerging economy. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 25(1), 762- 788. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-11-2016-1079

Ojo, A. O. Tan, C. N. L. & Alias, M. (2020). Linking green HRM practices to environmental performance through pro-environment behaviour in the information technology sector. Social Responsibility Journal, 2(3), 239-254. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2019-0403

Omisore, A. G. Babarinde, G. M. Bakare, D. P. & Asekun-Olarinmoye, E. O. (2017). Awareness and knowledge of the sustainable development goals in a university community in Southwestern Nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 27(6), 669–676. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v27i6.12

Opatha, H. N.D.P. & Arulrajah, A.A. (2014). Green human resource management science: simplified general reflections. International Business Research, 7(8), 101-112. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v7n8p101

Rehman, S. U., Kraus, S., Shah, S. a., Khanin, D., & Mahto, R. v. (2021). Analyzing the relationship between green innovation and environmental performance in large manufacturing firms. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 163, 120481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120481

Sabokro, M., Masud, M. M., & Kayedian, A. (2021). The effect of green human resources management on corporate social responsibility, green psychological climate and employees’ green behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 313,127963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127963

Saeed, B. B. Afsar, B. Shakir, H.  Khan, I. Tahir, M. & Afridi, M.A. (2019). Promoting employee’s pro-environmental behaviour through green human resource management practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(2), 424-438. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1694

Sathasivam, K., Abu Bakar, R., & Che Hashim, R. (2021). Embracing organisational environmental sustainability: experiences in green human resource management. Business Strategy & Development, 4(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.133

Saunders, M. Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for the business student. England: Pearson Education Limited.

Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: a skill-building approach. 6th ed. United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons Limited.

Tang, G. Chen, Y. Jiang, Y. Paille, P. & Jia, J. (2018). Green human resource management practices: Scale development and validity. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 56(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12147

Waheed, A. Zhang, Q. Rashid, Y. Tahir, M.S. & Zafar, M.W. (2020) Impact of green manufacturing on consumer ecological behaviour: stakeholder engagement through green production and innovation. Sustainable Development, 28(5),1395–1403 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sd.2093

Wassan, A.N. Memon, M.S. Mari, S.I. Kalwar, M.A. (2023) Identifying the critical success practices of sustainability and their implementation in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan: an exploratory factor analysis. Journal of Applied Research and Technological Engineering, 4(1), 37–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/jarte.2023.18623

Woo, E.J. & Kang, E. (2021) Employee environmental capability and its relationship with corporate culture. Sustainability, 13(16), 1-22. 8684 https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168684.

Yafi, E, Tahseen, S., & Haider, S. A. (2021). impact of green training on environmental performance through mediating role of competencies and motivation. Sustainability, 13(10), 5624. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105624

Yasin, R., Huseynova, a., & Atif, M. (2023). green human resource management, a gateway to employer branding: Mediating role of corporate environmental sustainability and corporate social sustainability. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 30(1), 369–383. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2360

Yin, R.K. (2016). Qualitative research from start to finish. 2nd ed. New York: The Guilford Press.

Yuriev, A. Dahmen, M. Paillé, P. Boiral, O. & Guillaumie, L. (2020). Pro-environmental behaviours through the lens of the theory of planned behaviour: a scoping review. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 155, 1879–1658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104660

Zacher, H.  Rudolph, C. & Katz, I.M. (2023). Employee green behaviour is the core of environmentally sustainable organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 465–94. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-050421

Zhang, S. Wu, Z. Wang, Y. & Hao, Y. (2021). Fostering green development with green finance: An empirical study on the environmental effect of green credit policy in China. Journal of Environmental Management 296(1), 113-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113159

Cite this article:

Adewumi, S. (2024). Employees’ green behaviour initiatives and green human resource management implementation challenges. International Journal of Academe and Industry Research, 5(4), 53-80. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijair.353111

License:

ai generated, holographic, interface-8578468.jpg
library, people, study-2245807.jpg
bookshelf, books, library-2907964.jpg
Scroll to Top