Search results
1 – 10 of over 40000Bhavesh Sarna, Tiina Onkila and Marileena Mäkelä
Although emotional tensions related to organizational sustainability have been identified, little is known about how employees aim to resolve such situations. This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Although emotional tensions related to organizational sustainability have been identified, little is known about how employees aim to resolve such situations. This study aims to explore how employees use sensemaking to resolve emotionally tense situations concerning organizational sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors studied a case in which, while employees attached positive emotions to organizational sustainability, external stakeholders viewed it negatively. Specifically, the study analyzed how employees used sensemaking to resolve such tense experiences and how this sensemaking eventually influenced their actions. To this end, the authors interviewed 25 employees at an energy company who had experience participating in its sustainability work.
Findings
The analysis revealed three sensemaking mechanisms for resolving emotional tensions related to organizational sustainability caused by discrepancies between external reputation and internal personal experience: rational sensemaking, experiential sensemaking and identity work. The complexity of sensemaking was reflected in the mixed-use of these three mechanisms, as employees constantly moved from one to another.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates employees’ tendency to defend their positive emotions about their organization’s sustainability in tense situations. It further provides insights into related sensemaking processes and shows how they can result in different levels of action.
Details
Keywords
Nataraj Balasubramanian and M. Balaji
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and develop a scale for measuring employees’ perception on the sustainability of service organisations. With several companies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and develop a scale for measuring employees’ perception on the sustainability of service organisations. With several companies adopting sustainability initiatives, it is prudent to measure the sustainability performance of those companies. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the sustainability measures and its associated challenges, this paper attempts to develop a scale to measure employees’ perception of sustainability of an organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was developed and 977 samples were collected based on snowball sampling method. For scale development, this study randomised 586 samples to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and used the remaining samples for validation using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).
Findings
The existing literature on sustainability focusses on three dimensions, namely, economic, social and environmental sustainability measures. This paper explored the similarities of the three dimensions to serve as critical determinants for measuring employees’ perception of sustainability with the collected data from service industries. The EFA revealed that there were six factors for organisational sustainability with 26 questionnaire items. The six factors are as follows: environment management, employee-related sustainability, public related sustainability, financial sustainability, pollution control measures and governance sustainability. The identified factors were tested using CFA and the results are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
This paper will be beneficial for the academicians in sustainability and the policy-makers as it provides a scale to measure employees’ perception on the sustainability of an organisation. This paper adds value to the research by providing a six-factor measurement model for organizational sustainability of selected service industries.
Practical implications
The paper is highly beneficial to the organisations to measure employees’ perception on sustainability and ascertain their position in supporting the holistic development of environment and society, thereby improving the goodwill and reputation of the organisation.
Originality/value
This paper provides insights about measuring employees’ perception on organizational sustainability. A six-factor measurement model has been proposed for organisational sustainability.
Details
Keywords
Nataliya Podgorodnichenko, Adeel Akmal, Fiona Edgar and Andrè M. Everett
The purpose of this empirical study is to develop an understanding of how human resource (HR) managers employed by organizations with an explicit sustainability agenda view…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this empirical study is to develop an understanding of how human resource (HR) managers employed by organizations with an explicit sustainability agenda view employees as stakeholders, and to explore how such views are operationalized in HR policies and practices.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive approach using data from 35 semi-structured interviews was adopted for this study. Data were transcribed and analyzed using the Gioia methodology.
Findings
Comparison of approaches to sustainable human resource management (HRM) revealed three distinctive conceptualizations of employees with respect to the sustainability agenda – employees as a driving force for sustainability, employees as consumers of HR practices and employees as members of a community. Strong levels of integration between the HRM and sustainability agendas were only evidenced in those organizations where an attempt had been made to address all three roles simultaneously. Findings suggest that engagement with a sustainability agenda widens the remit of the HRM function, underscoring the importance of employees' roles as consumers of HR practices and as members of wider communities.
Practical implications
By addressing the integration of HRM with a sustainability agenda, this article helps practitioners recognize diversity among employees' roles and the varying associated needs. Examples of policy and practice initiatives that effectively address these needs are provided.
Originality/value
HRM has been widely criticized for overemphasizing shareholder value, thereby lacking in attention to the needs of other stakeholders, including employees. Findings from this study suggest the holistic approach advocated by a sustainability agenda can effectively quell these concerns.
Details
Keywords
Hakem Sharari, Rasha Qawasmeh, Abdullah Helalat and Ashraf Jahmani
This study aims to focus on how the design of an organization influences employee sustainability. It also highlights how top management support can mediate this relationship.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on how the design of an organization influences employee sustainability. It also highlights how top management support can mediate this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to examine the role of employee quality of life on performance sustainability, a quantitative survey approach was adopted. A questionnaire was distributed using simple random sampling to the employees working in the hotel sector.
Findings
Results suggest that organizations can enhance employee sustainability, including performance, commitment, motivation and retention, by investing in values that align with their employees, providing suitable health and wellness initiatives, and adopting in career growth policies. In that, values, health and wellness and human development are confirmed to be core determinants of employee sustainability, with a negligible role of fair compensation and physical artifacts. Top management support is found to mediate the relationship between employee quality of life and sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to a better understanding of how organizational design for quality of life can assist employee sustainability with the mediation role of top management support. The study recommends that the hotel organizations should consider designing their work environments to promote their employee quality of life, which affects their sustainability within the hotel industry.
Practical implications
This study contributes to a better understanding of how organizational design for quality of life can assist employee sustainability with the mediation role of top management support. The study recommends that the hotel organizations should consider designing their work environments to promote their employees’ quality of life, which affects their sustainability within the hotel industry.
Originality/value
While there is ample research in business and management literature on the economic and environmental factors of sustainability, social sustainability has received less concentration. This study gives more attention to how employee social sustainability can be affected by the managerial and organizational factors of ensuring work life balance and top management support.
Details
Keywords
Leanne Johnstone, David Yates and Sebastian Nylander
This paper aims to better understand how accountability for sustainability takes shape within organisations and specifically, what makes employees act in a Swedish local…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to better understand how accountability for sustainability takes shape within organisations and specifically, what makes employees act in a Swedish local authority. This aim moves beyond the prevalent external face of accountability in social and environmental accounting research by observing how employees understand and act upon their multiple accountability demands.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a single case study approach within a Swedish local authority, drawing from qualitative data including semi-structured interviews, site visits and governing documents.
Findings
Sustainable action is not only the product of hierarchically enforced structural accountabilities and procedures but often must be reconciled with the personal perspectives of the public sector employees involved as part of an accountability dynamic. Additionally, the findings reveal that hierarchical accountability, rather than serving to individualise and isolate employees, acts as a prompt for the more practical and personal reconciliations of accountability with the ethics and experiences of the individual involved.
Practical implications
Greater consideration to employee socialisation processes in public sector organisations should be given to reinforce organisational governance systems and controls, and thus help ensure sustainable behaviour in practice.
Social implications
Employee socialisation processes are important for the development of sustainable practices both within and beyond organisational boundaries.
Originality/value
This study considers the interrelatedness of hierarchical and socialising accountability measures and contributes towards the understanding of the relationship between these two accountability forms, contrary to previous understandings that emphasise their contrasting nature and incompatibility.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to emphasize integrating training for organizational sustainability with the United Nation’s (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows how SDGs can be…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to emphasize integrating training for organizational sustainability with the United Nation’s (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows how SDGs can be included in the training, development programs and incentives to promote sustainable practices. It guides organizations to set long-term sustainability objectives to stay competitive and adapt to changing conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper conducts a review of the literature on the topic of integrating training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs. The research includes investigating the 17 SDGs and their specific areas of improvement, the benefits and challenges of integrating training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs and the best practices of organizations that have successfully integrated training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs.
Findings
The findings of this study were obtained through a systematic review of literature on the topics of human resource development, corporate social responsibility, organizational sustainability and the integration of training to promote sustainable and ethical behavior. A total of 36 articles were selected from a pool of 120 articles identified through a comprehensive search of electronic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The selected articles were analyzed in detail, and information from the UN was also incorporated into the analysis. The review focused on examining the impact of integrating sustainability training with the SDGs on organizational sustainability. The results of this analysis suggest that integrating sustainability training with SDGs has a positive impact on organizations. This impact includes promoting sustainable practices, improving employee satisfaction and productivity, reducing environmental impact and enhancing the organization’s reputation. The study found that regular progress reviews and long-term objectives are essential for organizations to remain competitive and adapt to changes.
Originality/value
This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the 17 SDGs and how they can be integrated with training for organizational sustainability. It provides practical guidance for organizations on effectively incorporating the SDGs into their training and development programs, performance evaluations and incentives. The paper also includes case studies and best practices of organizations that have successfully integrated training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs, making it an original and valuable resource for organizations looking to promote sustainable practices within their operations.
Details
Keywords
Timothy Galpin, J. Lee Whitttington and Greg Bell
The purpose of this article is to present a multidisciplinary model that can be used as both a road map for practicing managers to create a sustainability focused culture within…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to present a multidisciplinary model that can be used as both a road map for practicing managers to create a sustainability focused culture within their own organizations, and as a guide for future research into the relationship between organizational culture and sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
A narrative synthesis approach is used to integrate extant empirical and practitioner literature spanning various disciplines to build a comprehensive model, including key propositions, to assist both practitioners and researchers alike. Case examples illustrating each component of the model in practice and implications for future research based on the key tenets of the model are also provided.
Findings
Building an organizational infrastructure that fosters a culture of sustainability results in positive employee- and organizational-level sustainability performance.
Research limitations/implications
The model presented is an important advancement in the sustainability literature. It is applicable to various sustainability efforts, and it may be applied regardless of the industry or the size of the companies undertaking sustainability initiatives. The model provides a framework to guide research into the relationship between organizational culture and sustainability. Future research should focus on the relationship between the different organizational factors identified in the model, organizational culture and sustainability performance.
Practical implications
The multidisciplinary model presented can be used as a road map for practicing managers to create a sustainability focused culture within their own organizations.
Originality/value
A gap exists in both the empirical and practitioner literature regarding the development and assessment of the organizational factors that foster a culture of sustainability. Moreover, no clear model exists with the expressed purpose of helping leaders create such a culture, while providing a framework to guide research into the relationship between organizational culture and sustainability. In this paper, a comprehensive model, including key propositions, to assist both practitioners and researchers alike is presented. Case examples illustrating each component of the model in practice and implications for future research based on the key tenets of the model are also provided.
Details
Keywords
Catherine Greene, Lottie Crumbleholme and Jeremy Myerson
This paper aims to describe a design research project which looked at how to support facility managers engage employees in behaviour change to create more environmentally…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe a design research project which looked at how to support facility managers engage employees in behaviour change to create more environmentally sustainable workplaces and work styles.
Design/methodology/approach
The multi-disciplinary research team used ethnographic and user-centred design methodologies to get employees’ perspectives on environmental sustainability in the workplace. This involved in-depth interviews and workplace observations to understand employees’ views on sustainability in their organisation; workshops to explore attitudes towards sustainability; and design provocations to explore how employees might be motivated to act more sustainably.
Findings
The research demonstrated the different understandings people have of what sustainability in the workplace should mean and whose responsibility they think it should be. The results were developed into a model of four different sustainability cultures, pragmatist, libertarian, housekeeper and campaigner, based upon people’s perception of the cost of sustainability to both company and employees. This model can be used to provide insight into the predominant sustainability culture of an organisation as well as the attitudes of individual employees.
Originality/value
The research has been compiled into a toolkit, “The Sustainable Cultures Engagement Toolkit”, aimed at FM and workplace managers, which uses this model as the basis to provide information about how best to communicate with employees about environmental sustainability in the workplace and how to motivate behavioral change. This research demonstrates a user-centred design approach to address these challenges.
Details
Keywords
Divya Tripathi, Pushpendra Priyadarshi, Pankaj Kumar and Sushil Kumar
The purpose of this paper is to take a micro-foundational perspective to identify the effective leadership style and employee work behavior in achieving the goals of sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to take a micro-foundational perspective to identify the effective leadership style and employee work behavior in achieving the goals of sustainability. It also aims to identify the mechanism through which leaders influence employees’ performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on existing literature for model creation and proposition development to understand the leadership style and employee behavior that would be effective in achieving sustainability goals.
Findings
In achieving the multifaceted goals of sustainability, servant leadership style is effective in mobilizing the resources and implementing the sustainability strategies among stakeholders. By enhancing interpersonal trust and psychological empowerment, servant leaders positively influence the work role behavior of the employees. Furthermore, the work performance of employees helps in achieving sustainable development.
Research limitations/implications
This study draws on the theory of micro-foundations to establish how individual-level factors help in realizing the macro goal of sustainability. It throws light on the growing need to cultivate micro-level leadership skills and employee behaviors to have effective organizational sustainability performance. It is imperative for the organizations to be socially responsible along with achieving the business goals.
Originality/value
This study responds to the call of studying micro-level actions in the context of sustainable development. It extends the current knowledge by developing a causal model linking leadership and employee performance through interpersonal trust and psychological empowerment. Moreover, it presents testable propositions linking interpersonal trust and psychological empowerment.
Details
Keywords
Christopher A. Craig and Myria W. Allen
The information sources employees in one Fortune 100 organization draw on to learn about sustainability are identified. The linkages between knowledge about sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
The information sources employees in one Fortune 100 organization draw on to learn about sustainability are identified. The linkages between knowledge about sustainability, perceptions of the organization's involvement in sustainability initiatives, and interest in learning more about sustainability are investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees (n=1,952) completed an online survey investigating what they knew and thought about sustainability, and the sources of their information. The information sources investigated included external association sources, media sources, supply-chain sources, interpersonal sources, and intraorganizational sources.
Findings
Important external information sources include professional/industry associations, faith-based institutions, and supply-chain partners. Important internal sources include supervisors, company meetings, and the company sustainability report. Those who think sustainability is important to their organization's long-term success were interested in learning more about sustainability. Awareness of the organization's sustainability initiatives is related to the belief sustainability is important to the organization's success.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include a cross-sectional study, single-item measures, and nominal data.
Practical implications
Companies launching sustainability initiatives need to understand and manage the information sources their employees utilize.
Originality/value
This is a large empirical study that focusses on information sources and employee perceptions involving sustainability.
Details