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Employee green behavior in laboratories of higher education institutions: a qualitative study

Yossra Fareed El-Tony (Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Kingdom of Bahrain and Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Kingdom of Bahrain)
Ling Suan Choo (Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Kingdom of Bahrain and School of Economics and Management, Xiamen University Malaysia, Sepang, Malaysia)

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 10 September 2024

36

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore employee green behavior in higher education institution (HEI) laboratories in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was used to explore the green behavior experiences of individuals working in HEI laboratories. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine participants selected via purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was performed on the collected data using ATLAS.ti 9 software.

Findings

The analysis of the collected data identified five themes related to the green behavior in HEI laboratories. These themes, ranked in descending order of frequency, are conserving, avoiding harm, transforming, influencing others and taking initiative. The conserving theme accounted for one-third of the subcodes, as did the avoiding harm theme. The final one-third of subcodes was distributed among the remaining three themes.

Research limitations/implications

This study conducted virtual interviews and coincidentally interviewed only female participants. The findings contribute to the existing literature on the themes of green behavior among laboratory staff in HEIs and provide valuable insights for university managers and sustainability coordinators in shaping policies to promote environmentally friendly practices and address negative practices.

Originality/value

Despite existing studies on environmental practices in various workplace settings, the exploration of green behavior in HEI laboratories in the Kingdom of Bahrain from the employee perspective remains limited. This study presents a significant opportunity for researchers to explore sustainability in HEI laboratories and for policymakers to develop corresponding strategies.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge that the data presented in this paper is derived from the first author’s Master’s thesis.

Citation

Fareed El-Tony, Y. and Choo, L.S. (2024), "Employee green behavior in laboratories of higher education institutions: a qualitative study", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2024-0168

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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