Exploring the Impact of Green HR Practices on Innovation in Sustainable Project Development: The Influence of Employee Empowerment and Resource Availability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37435/nbr.v7i2.128Keywords:
Green HR Practices, Employee Empowerment, Innovation, Sustainable Project Development, Resource AvailabilityAbstract
Purpose: This study investigates the impact of Green Human Resource Practices (GHRP) on innovation in sustainable project development, emphasizing the mediating role of employee empowerment and the moderating role of resource availability.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey from 320 employees working in sustainability-oriented organizations in Islamabad. Pre-existing, validated measurement scales were employed to assess GHRP, employee empowerment, resource availability, and innovation. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS and Hayes’ PROCESS macro to test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings: The results reveal that GHRP significantly enhance innovation in sustainable projects. Employee empowerment emerged as a key mediating factor, indicating that autonomy and participation enable employees to translate HR practices into innovative outcomes. Furthermore, resource availability strengthens the positive effect of GHRP on innovation, suggesting that sufficient financial, technological, and organizational resources amplify innovation potential.
Practical Implications: Organizations are encouraged to integrate environmentally friendly HR practices, empower employees by providing decision-making authority, and ensure the availability of necessary resources. These actions foster a culture of sustainability-driven innovation and align HR systems with organizational sustainability objectives.
Originality/Value: This study offers a comprehensive model that combines empowerment and resource perspectives to explain how GHRP foster innovation in sustainable project development. It contributes to the growing body of literature on green HRM and sustainability, providing practical guidance for organizations aiming to achieve sustainability and innovation goals simultaneously..
References
Baran, B. E., Rhoades, L., & Turner, R. (2023). Advances in measurement for organizational research: Reliability and validity of Likert-type scales. Journal of Business and Psychology, 38(2), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09845-7
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Booth, A., James, M. S., Clowes, M., & Sutton, A. (2021). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review. Sage.
Chen, Y., Tang, G., Jin, J., Xie, Q., & Li, J. (2022). Green human resource management and employee creativity: The roles of employee empowerment and environmental passion. Journal of Cleaner Production, 350, 131489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131489
Dumont, J., Shen, J., & Deng, X. (2017). Effects of green HRM practices on employee workplace green behavior: The role of psychological green climate and employee green values. Human Resource Management, 56(4), 613–627. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21792
Fan, X., Zhao, S., Zhang, X., & Meng, L. (2023). The impact of improving employee psychological empowerment and job performance based on deep learning and artificial intelligence. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, 35(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.4018/JOEUC.325549
Fernandez, S., & Moldogaziev, T. (2013). Employee empowerment and job satisfaction in the U.S. federal bureaucracy. American Review of Public Administration, 43(1), 55–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074011435849
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage.
Hassan, M., Nawaz, A., & Raza, M. (2023). Linking green HRM and sustainable innovation: The mediating role of psychological empowerment. Sustainability, 15(11), 8756. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118756
Jabbour, C. J. C. (2015). Environmental training and environmental management maturity of Brazilian companies with ISO14001: Empirical evidence. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, 331–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.039
Kanwal, N., Ayub, A., & Rathore, K. (2023). Employee empowerment, environmental training and sustainability outcomes: Evidence from developing economies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 392, 136217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136217
Khan, M. H., & Muktar, S. N. (2024). Green employee empowerment: The missing linchpin between green HRM and sustainable organizational performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 434, 139812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139812
Khan, S. U., Yang, Q., & Waheed, A. (2022). How green HRM drives green innovation: Examining the roles of green knowledge sharing and employee empowerment. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 177, 121525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121525
Kim, S., Park, S., & Lee, J. (2022). Employee empowerment and innovative behavior: The role of green HRM in sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 370, 133495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133495
Liu, Z., Mei, S., & Guo, Y. (2021). Green human resource management, green organization identity and organizational citizenship behavior for the environment: The moderating effect of environmental values. Chinese Management Studies, 15(2), 290–304. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-05-2020-0194
Maciel, K. F. K., Fuentes-Guevara, M. D., da Silva Gonçalves, C., Mendes, P. M., de Souza, E. G., & Corrêa, L. B. (2022). Mobile mandala garden as a tool of environmental education in an early childhood school in Southern Brazil. Journal of Cleaner Production, 331, 129913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129913
Malik, S., & Azam, R. I. (2024). Green HRM and sustainable project innovation: Evidence from emerging economies. International Journal of Project Management, 42(2), 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2023.102123
Mann, C. J. (2003). Observational research methods. Research design II: Cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies. Emergency Medicine Journal, 20(1), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.20.1.54
Na-Nan, K., Phanniphong, K., Niangchaem, L., & Ouppara, N. (2024). Validation of an organizational sustainable development questionnaire: Exploring dimensions and implications. Sustainable Futures, 100221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2023.100221
Nisar, Q. A., Haider, S., Ali, F., & Iqbal, A. (2023). Greening HRM for sustainable organizational performance: A moderated mediation analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(27), 72765–72778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26872-0
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Pinzone, M., Guerci, M., Lettieri, E., & Huisingh, D. (2023). Green human resource management for organizational sustainability: A systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 382, 135398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135398
Rea, L. M., Marshall, K., & Farrell, A. M. (2022). Online survey methods in organizational research: Opportunities, challenges, and best practices. Organizational Research Methods, 25(4), 635–662. https://doi.org/10.1177/10944281211067240
Ren, S., Tang, G., & Jackson, S. E. (2021). Green human resource management research in emergence: A review and future directions. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 38(1), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-020-09771-1
Renwick, D. W. (2018). Towards an understanding of green human resource management. In J. Renwick (Ed.), Contemporary developments in green human resource management research (pp. 1–20). Routledge.
Renwick, D. W., Redman, T., & Maguire, S. (2013). Green human resource management: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00328.x
Setia, M. S. (2016). Methodology series module 3: Cross-sectional studies. Indian Journal of Dermatology, 61(3), 261–264. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5154.182410
Shahzad, F., & Khan, A. (2023). Resource constraints and sustainable innovation: The moderating effect of organizational resilience. Journal of Business Research, 155, 113437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113437
Singh, S. K., Del Giudice, M., Chierici, R., & Graziano, D. (2020). Green innovation and environmental performance: The role of green transformational leadership and green human resource management. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 150, 119762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119762
Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442–1465. https://doi.org/10.2307/256865
Tang, G., Chen, Y., Jiang, Y., & Paillé, P. (2022). Green human resource management practices: Scale development and validity. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 39(2), 553–581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-021-09791-4
Wang, C., Zhang, X. E., & Teng, X. (2023). How to convert green entrepreneurial orientation into green innovation: The role of knowledge creation process and green absorptive capacity. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(4), 1260–1273. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3285
Wang, R. (2024). The hidden linkage of corporate efficiency and green innovation with human resource management practices: A newly perspective from China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(8), 12511–12527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29185-w
Yong, J. Y., Yusliza, M. Y., Ramayah, T., & Fawehinmi, O. (2020). Nexus between green intellectual capital and green human resource management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 262, 121382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121382
Zhang, X., Cai, H., & Tu, H. (2023). Impact of landscape pattern on river water quality based on different topographic relief areas: A case study of Chishui River Basin in Southwest China. Sustainability, 15(2), 1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021476
Zhang, Y., Dang, Y., He, Y., Ma, X., & Wang, L. (2021). Is private supplementary tutoring effective? A longitudinally detailed analysis of private tutoring quality in China. Asia Pacific Education Review, 22, 239–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-020-09697-1
Zhang, Y., Luo, Y., Zhang, X., & Zhao, J. (2019). How green human resource management can promote green employee behavior in China: A technology acceptance model perspective. Sustainability, 11(19), 5408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195408
Zhang, Y., Sun, J., & Xu, L. (2024). Resource-based perspectives on green innovation: The role of organizational resources and capabilities. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), 682–695. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3479
Zhang, Y., & Ahmad, S. (2023). Resource availability, green HRM practices, and sustainable innovation: A moderated framework. Sustainable Development, 31(4), 1843–1856. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2598

