The contribution of organizational learning and green human resource management practices to the circular economy: a relational analysis – evidence from manufacturing SMEs (part II)

Abstract

Purpose

Circular economy has emerged as one of the most important approaches to addressing environmental challenges. Organizations have begun to act on their abilities to enhance their sustainability management to enable a circular economy. The role of organizational learning and green human resource management in the transition to a more circular economy remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the inter-relationship between the factors of organizational learning and green human resource management, and it aims to rank the identified factors of manufacturing small and medium businesses (SMEs) based on their driving and dependency power and to detect the most substantial factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study identified 11 organizational learning and green human resource management (GHRM) factors after conducting a thorough literature analysis and consulting with experts. To investigate the interaction of the indicated factors and to build their structural hierarchy, this study used the total interpretive structural modeling method. Further, Matriced Impact Croises Multiplication Applique (MICMAC) analysis was used to establish each factor’s driving and dependent power.

Findings

This study discovered that factors “Green separation” and “Organizational learning culture” were found to be significant; “Green performance management” and “Green health and safety management” were observed to be extremely reliant on the remaining GHRM factors.

Research limitations/implications

The recommended framework has been established in the Indian background and is restricted to manufacturing SMEs. Still, the same framework can be applied to other sectors by slightly modifying it. Also, the analysis is based on the experts’ view and this may be biased. The findings of this study will help human resources managers and SME owner-managers clarify the most and least significant factors of organizational learning and GHRM and their relationships, leading to increased awareness of organizational learning and GHRM practices for enlightened environmental performance.

Practical implications

The proposed framework might facilitate decision-makers and practitioners to comprehend the relations between organizational learning and GHRM factors. This will support SME owner-managers in understanding the influence of one factor on another factor in manufacturing SMEs.

Originality/value

Until now, the protruding interest of researchers has been focused mostly on large manufacturing enterprises. However, manufacturing SMEs, which are much smaller when compared to large manufacturing companies, significantly contribute to the economy as well as environmental pollution. Thus, this study provides a vital contribution to the current literature by determining the suitable relationship between the organizational learning and GHRM components, as no previous studies focused on exploring the same using the total interpretive structural modeling approach in the Indian manufacturing SMEs environment.

Citation

Subramanian, N. and Suresh, M. (2022), "The contribution of organizational learning and green human resource management practices to the circular economy: a relational analysis – evidence from manufacturing SMEs (part II)", The Learning Organization, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 443-462. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-06-2022-0068