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The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of strategic human resource (HR) competencies of HR professionals on the adoption of green human resource management (HRM) practices.

A quantitative research approach using survey was employed to get insights from 87 HR professionals from Malaysian manufacturing and service companies.

The findings revealed that only strategic positioner and change champion are significantly related to green HRM practices. Specifically, strategic positioner associates positively with all green HRM practices including green analysis and description of job position, green recruitment, green selection, green training, green performance assessment, and green rewards. Additionally, change champion is positively related to green analysis and description of job position, and green rewards.

The extant literature suggests HR professionals’ competencies can play a key role in adopting green HRM. However, examining the relationship between strategic HR competencies and each of the green HRM practices has been limited. As such, this study is timely to address the existing gap in the literature and provide fresh insights and implications in this regard.

This paper focusses on the roles and experiences of the human resource managers and safety, health and environment managers in promoting environmental sustainability in automobile industry.

The exploration uses the data generated from ten in-depth interviews with human resource managers as well as safety, health and environment (SHE) managers from three automobile companies.

Three main themes were derived from the inductive analysis in support of environmental sustainability. They comprised environment-oriented perspectives, green human resource management (HRM) practices and supportive mechanisms. These findings served as insights for the HR managers who played a supportive role in environment sustainability. This study also found that Green HRM practices within the automobile industry were confined to green training and development, green rewards, green employee involvement and green orientation.

The outcome of this study carries implications for managers and businesses in designing a more sophisticated framework for Green HRM practices for their companies so as to achieve a more progressive sustainable goal. For instance, HR managers who are environment-oriented can play a more active role in environmental sustainability. They can participate directly in developing policies by co-partnering with their SHE colleagues. They can encourage and motivate their employees to apply green practices both at work and in their homes. This integration would eventually create a cascading effect that could reduce the industry's negative impact on environment, thereby developing a more environmentally-friendly society.

This study provided practical implications for both the HR and SHE managers in taking up responsibilities in environmental sustainability. This study also indicated the practical implications for the top management in the automobile industry, especially in the designing of the environmental sustainability framework.

This study contributes to the Green HRM area by understanding and comparing the roles of the HR managers and their counterpart, the SHE managers, in support of environmental sustainability. The comparison would provide a clearer picture on how the implementation of Green HRM can be implemented within the automobile industry.

This paper examines the development of green skills across firms located in an institutional context, specifically the national education and skill-formation system, of the under-researched developing country of Thailand.

This paper qualitatively explores the Thai education and skill-formation system and conducts a cross-case analysis of four firms across different industries in Thailand. The empirical findings in this paper draws on semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders; field visits to vocational colleges, universities, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) and firms across industries both in Bangkok and in other provinces in Thailand; and a review of archival documents and web-based reports and resources.

This paper proposes that firms across industries in Thailand must be responsible for helping their employees/workers obtain the green knowledge and skills necessary to perform green jobs through high-road human resource (HR) practices in response to the fact that the Thai education and skill-formation system is unlikely to produce a sufficient number of employees/workers who have green knowledge, skills and abilities and are industry-ready to perform green jobs, leading to a shortage of employees/workers who possess green skills in the labor market. Specifically, curricula in vocational colleges and universities in Thailand are not likely to respond to the needs of firms in producing those employees/workers.

The limitations of this research concern its methodology. This research is based on the qualitative studies of the Thai education and skill-formation system and a case study of firms across industries in Thailand. Thus, this paper does not aim to generalize the findings to all other countries but to enrich the discussion on the effects of macro-level HR policies on the creation of green jobs and the development of green skills across firms in each country. Additionally, it is difficult to gain access to firms across several industries and various stakeholders to understand the development of green skills among employees in these firms. The reasons are resource constraints, time constraints and the hesitation of firms in permitting the author to access the data. These difficulties have restricted the sources of information to construct a more nuanced picture of firms across various industries in developing green skills among their existing employees. Consequently, this research does not include firms in several other industries, including the pulp and paper industry, textile and garment industry, plastic industry and agri-food industry. Thus, future research may extend the topic of the development of green skills among employees to these industries. Quantitative studies using large samples of firms across industries may also be useful in deepening the understanding of this topic, which is significant from the perspectives of the strategic human resource management (SHRM), comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices, and green economy.

This paper also provides practical implications for top managers and/or HR managers of firms in Thailand, other developing countries and other emerging market economies with deficiencies in the national education and skill-formation system. First, the top managers and/or HR managers can apply various methods to internally develop managers and employees/workers with the appropriate environmental/green knowledge and necessary skills to perform green jobs. The methods include classroom training, on-the-job training, coaching, mentoring systems, job shadowing and being role models for younger generations of employees. Second, these top managers and/or HR managers can cooperate with vocational colleges and/or universities in their countries to design educational programs/curricula related to environmental/green management to be able to produce graduates with suitable qualifications for their firms. These managers can request for assistance from universities in their countries when their firms confront sophisticated questions/problems related to environmental/green management. In this regard, universities will have an opportunity to solve real environmental/green problems experienced by industries, while firms can appropriately and accurately solve environmental/green questions/problems. Third, these top managers and/or HR managers can encourage their firms to apply for certificates of green-/environmentally friendly products or carbon footprint labels from NGOs to foster a green image among firms' consumers. These applications require the firms to pay special attention to the cultivation of green awareness and the development of green skills among their employees. Fourth, these top managers and/or HR managers can encourage their employees to express green-/environmentally friendly behaviors as well as sufficiency-based consumption behaviors. In fact, these top managers and/or HR managers can foster their employees to reduce energy consumption, including electricity and water, to conserve these types of energy for young generations. Fifth, these top managers and/or HR managers can adopt and implement green human resource management (GHRM) practices consisting of green recruitment and selection, green training and development, green performance management, green pay and rewards and green employee relations in their firms to upgrade both the environmental and social performances of firms. Finally, these top managers and/or HR managers must take serious actions regarding the implementation of environmental/green management policies and practices within their firms in order to facilitate the movement of the country toward the bioeconomy, circular economy, and green economy (BCG economy).

This paper provides social/policy implications for the government, vocational colleges and universities in Thailand, other developing countries and emerging market economies where the skill shortage problem is still severe. First, the government of each country should incorporate green/environmental policies into the national education policy and the long-term strategic plan of the country. Second, the government should continuously implement such national policy and strategic plan by encouraging government agencies, vocational colleges, universities, firms and NGOs to cooperate in developing and offering environmental/green management educational programs/curricula to produce graduates with suitable qualifications for those firms. Third, the government should encourage vocational colleges and universities to equip their students with green skills to be industry-ready in a real working context. Fourth, to alleviate the skill shortage problem in the labor market, the government should foster firms, especially private sector firms, to focus on the upskilling and reskilling of their existing employees. With this action, their existing employees will have green skills, be able to effectively perform green jobs and become an important driver to help the country move toward the BCG economy. Fifth, the government of each country should encourage firms to develop green-/environmentally friendly products by offering them various types of incentives, including tax reductions or tax exemptions. Sixth, the government should encourage universities in the country to sign a memorandum of understanding with leading research institutes and world-class digital technology companies such that these institutes and/or companies admit high-potential university students to work as trainees/entry-level employees for a certain duration. This action can ultimately facilitate knowledge transfer from these institutes and/or companies to those university students who will finally return to work in their home country. Seventh, the government, especially the Ministry of Education, should encourage vocational colleges and universities to teach students in the environmental/green management program based on real case studies/problems found across firms. In this way, graduates should be industry-ready to perform green jobs. Finally, the government must pay serious attention to the implementation of environmental/green management policies across levels within the country so that the transition of the country toward the BCG economy will finally come true in the future.

This paper contributes to the SHRM, comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices, and the literature on the green economy and the development of green skills in firms in the following ways. First, this paper focuses on examining how the institutional context of Thailand shapes the development of green knowledge and skills among employees across firms in Thailand. In this regard, the paper aims to fill the gap in the literature on strategic HRM and comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices as proposed by Batt and Banerjee (2012) and Batt and Hermans (2012), who suggested that the literature on strategic HRM should go beyond the organizational context and examine how firms adopt and implement HR practices in response to the national institutional context. Second, the paper aims to extend the literature on the green economy regarding the roles played by institutional factors in shaping the development of green knowledge and skills across firms. Finally, strategic HRM, comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices and green economy studies have overlooked the under-researched country of Thailand. Most studies in these three areas focus more on developed countries. Thus, the findings of this paper should extend the literature on those areas regarding the development of green skills among employees across firms in response to the Thai institutional context.

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, the purpose of this paper is mainly to show how electronic human resource management (HRM), green employee empowerment, and human resource (HR) business partner role may influence green HRM practices.

A conceptual framework was proposed to test the direct effect of the three independent variables – and key HR factors – on green HRM. Self-administered questionnaire was adopted in a systematic collection of data from manufacturing and service organizations in Malaysia. The partial least squares method was used to test the conceptual framework of the study.

The empirical results demonstrate that green employee empowerment has a significant positive relationship with all dimensions of green HRM practices; the added value of HR business partner role is an important aspect in ensuring the successful implementation of green HRM practices; and surprisingly, electronic HRM was not significantly related with all dimensions of green HRM practices.

As revealed by searches of ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus, there is no similar work which tested a similar framework based on evidence from an emerging economy. Based on RBV, it is possible to suggest that green employee empowerment and the role of HR as a Business Partner constitute unique resources when adopting green HRM practices.

The recent decade has described the role of HR practitioners as more strategic to advance in environmental management (EM), technology and change management competencies. The study aims to identify the HR professionals' changing strategies and challenges and barriers in sustainability performance (SP) through green HRM, which have become an emerging topic.

Data collection was conducted through six semi-structured face-to-face interviews with senior HR representatives through purposive sampling. The grounded theory (GT) method was applied, followed by an iterative process for codes and themes.

The results indicated the highly significant challenges and barriers (C&B) proposing a 5 × 4 framework in adopting GHRM practices. Examples of the challenges included (1) lack of knowledge, orientation and awareness; (2) corporate social responsibility as an integral part of the organization strategy; (3) environmental concerns internally required from top-bottom and bottom-top approach; (4) budget and cost that remain an issue for the top management, and; (5) HR department's responsibility to build competencies for their entire team.

The findings help the top management and policymakers maintain a balance between economic, environmental and social sustainability performance agendas. Furthermore, the environmental goals and values of the hotel are key ingredients in seeking the solution to environmental sustainability, which requires continuous training programs to enhance awareness at all levels.

The results are presented as future directions to enrich the literature and make significant contributions to the existing body of knowledge. Moreover, the research benefits the managers from the results intended in accomplishing sustainable development approaches.

This study aims to explore the effect of human resource (HR) strategy (e.g. empowerment and teamwork) on green supply chain integration (e.g. green supplier and customer integration), which further leads to economic performance. Moreover, the authors examined the moderating effects of information systems and mutual trust on the relationship between HR strategy and green supply chain integration.

Using the empirical data from 213 Chinese manufacturing firms, this study uses structural equation modeling and hierarchical regressions to examine the conceptual model.

The study’s findings reveal that empowerment and teamwork positively enhance green supplier and customer integration. Green supplier and customer integration are positively related to economic performance. Moreover, information systems positively moderate the relationship between empowerment and green supplier integration but negatively moderate the relationship between teamwork and green supplier/customer integration. Mutual trust positively moderates the relationship between empowerment and green supplier integration and the relationship between teamwork and green customer integration.

This study extends the existing understanding regarding how to enhance green supply chain integration by adopting an appropriate HR strategy in the context of different levels of information systems and mutual trust.

Environment concerns and climate changes have led organizations to reorient their processes with a focus toward sustainability. Organizations recognize that incorporating greening in HR practices has the potential to address environmental concerns. The present study aims to focus on investigating the relationship between green human resource management (GHRM) practices and environmental performance (EP). It is premised that the adoption of green human resource practices facilitates the development of a green organizational culture (GOC) that helps the organization to gain strategic business advantage with respect to the competitors. The literature suggests that the adoption of green human resource practices among organizations is at a nascent stage. The present study focusses on understanding the mediating role of three dimensions of GOC, that is, degree, diffusion and depth in the relationship between green human resource practices and EP that has not been addressed in the empirical literature.

The present study developed a model consisting of GHRM practices as an independent variable, the three dimensions of culture (degree, diffusion and depth) as mediators, and EP as the dependent variable. The study followed a quantitative exploratory research approach. The sample consisted of 278 employees from private and public sector organizations located in India. The hypothesized model was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The study found the green human resource practices to be significantly related with EP of the organization. Results of parallel mediation confirmed that the “degree” dimension of GOC played a significant mediating role in the relationship between green human resource practices and EP of the organization. The other two dimensions of GOC, diffusion and depth, did not have a significant mediating role in this relationship. The findings of the study have been explained in the context of social identity theory, resource based view and ability–motivation–opportunity theory.

The study provides practical insights for researchers and managers who seek to adopt sustainability objectives in the organization. The findings have the potential to encourage human resource managers to adopt green human resource management practices toward promoting a culture of greening in the organization. The importance of developing and measuring EP targets for industry leadership is also emphasized.

The originality of the study lies in classifying and understanding GOC in terms of three dimensions, that is, degree, diffusion and depth, following the model proposed by Harris and Crane (2002). The three dimensions help in assessing the current level of GOC. This assessment promotes the judicious application of resources by the organization and adopts green practices to foster the organizational EP.

This paper aims to investigate the direct relationship between green human resource management (GHRM) practices and environmental performance (EP) in Palestinian universities, as well as the mediating role of management support (MS) and green organisational culture (GOC) in this relationship.

A quantitative approach was used in this study. The data were collected from 351 employees working in Palestinian universities through a questionnaire and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The study finds that the implementation of GHRM practices positively enhances EP. The results further demonstrate that GHRM practices influence both MS and GOC. Furthermore, this study reveals that both MS and GOC play a significant role in mediating the relationship between GHRM and EP.

This study adds to the existing literature by providing a conceptual framework and empirical evidence of the correlation between GHRM, GOC, MS and EP, specifically in university settings. Educational institutions can use this study’s findings to foster a green culture and gain endorsement from top-level management. This approach promotes the adoption of eco-friendly practices and the development of environmental strategies that can influence EP.

This study contributes to the field by enhancing the understanding of the ability–motivation–opportunity theory in the context of Palestinian universities. Specifically, this study investigates how GHRM practices and GOC establish core competence for sustainable EP. Furthermore, the findings reveal a positive influence of GHRM practices on both GOC and MS. Finally, this study’s empirical evidence highlights the significance of GHRM practices in fostering GOC, MS and, ultimately, improving EP within universities.

Green human resource management (HRM) has been considered to be a vitally important mechanism for companies to move towards a sustainable organization. By adopting the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity as the underpinning theory, the purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that facilitate the adoption of Green HRM in Malaysia.

A qualitative exploratory approach research was adopted in this study. The required data for this study were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews with human resources directors and managers from four large manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The data collected was then reorganized into four themes.

Based on the interview, four key factors that influence the adoption of Green HRM include stakeholder pressures, relative advantage, which means the perceived benefits from implementing Green HRM, top management commitment and green intellectual capital, which means the intellectual capital incorporating green innovation or environmental management. Surprisingly, among the three dimensions of green intellectual capital, only green human capital and green structural capital were greatly discussed by the human resources directors and managers, while the role of green relational capital on the adoption of Green HRM was hardly observed.

Research studies on Green HRM in Malaysia are scarce. The originality of this paper lies in its exploration of Green HRM in an environmental sensitive sector and the insight it provides to academics and practitioners involved in the manufacturing sector. Although research findings cannot be generalized, they can be used as insights for both academics and end-users in emerging economies.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the moderating role of green lifestyle to the impact of green human resource management (GHRM) on employee’s job performance from various industries and a possible spillover of GHRM to employee’s lifestyle.

Structural equation modeling and exploratory factor analysis were utilized in order to determine the relationship of the variables. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 332 respondents from various private industries who were randomly selected for this study.

This study shows that the implementation of GHRM has an effect on an employee’s lifestyle and also on their job performance. It suggests that organizations can contribute to the environment and also maintain employees’ good performance.

Considering the locus of the study, it was restricted to industries from the National Capital Region in the Philippines. The study was also limited to industries who are ISO14001 certified, aiming for that certification, or implementing green practices. The survey was also not disseminated according to age groups and gender. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to explore further the effects of these variables to other factors.

This study may encourage human resource practitioners to implement GHRM practices in the workplace to motivate employees to participate in greening the world.

This study brings great importance to the implementation of GHRM as it is needed by the current status of the world.