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Sustainable strategies, employee competencies and social outcomes: are they aligned?

Mirta Diaz-Fernandez (Department of Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain)
Alvaro Lopez-Cabrales (Department of Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain)
Ramón Valle-Cabrera (Department of Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain)

International Journal of Manpower

ISSN: 0143-7720

Article publication date: 17 May 2024

Issue publication date: 29 August 2024

127

Abstract

Purpose

The present paper contributes to the development of sustainable strategies by focusing on the social perspective and the role played by HRM. Specifically, we identified and compared the employee competencies that supported the compliance strategy as well as the innovative/proactive sustainability strategies – and their impacts on social outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

After formulating hypotheses, we tested them on a sample of 179 companies from the chemical and metallurgical industries using the bootstrap method.

Findings

The results revealed that both sustainability strategies were present in the sample. The compliance sustainable strategy showed to be negatively associated with employee competencies, whilst proactive sustainable strategy firms presented a positive relationship with employee competencies. We also found that compliance strategies failed to have any impact on social outcomes, but proactive strategies had a positive effect on social outcomes. Indeed, normative and foresighted thinking competencies acted as mediating variables in such a relationship.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in three aspects hitherto unaddressed in the literature: first, the conceptualisation and assessment of sustainable strategies focused on a social dimension; second, the identification of individual competencies required developing sustainable strategies; and third, the demonstration that it is only the firms that adopt proactive sustainable strategies that obtain positive social outcomes.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: Funding and support was provided by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spanish Government): Grant No. PID2020-112599GBI0. Title: Nuevas formas de trabajo y de relación de empleo para la sostenibilidad y la agilidad organizativa.

Citation

Diaz-Fernandez, M., Lopez-Cabrales, A. and Valle-Cabrera, R. (2024), "Sustainable strategies, employee competencies and social outcomes: are they aligned?", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 45 No. 7, pp. 1426-1449. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-02-2023-0066

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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