Green HRM promotes higher education sustainability: a

mediated-moderated analysis

Citation
ABBAS, Zuhair, Shagufta SARWAR, Mohsin Abdur REHMAN, Roman ZÁMEČNÍK, and Muhammad
SHOAIB. Green HRM promotes higher education sustainability: a mediated-moderated analysis.
International Journal of Manpower [online]. Emerald Group Holdings, 2021, [cit. 2023-06-19]. ISSN
0143-7720. Available at
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJM-04-2020-0171/full/html

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-04-2020-0171

Permanent link
https://publikace.k.utb.cz/handle/10563/1010734

This document is the Accepted Manuscipt version of the

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publikace.k.utb.cz
 Green HRM promotes higher education sustainability: a mediated-
moderated analysis

Zuhair Abbas

Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata

University in Zlin, Zin, Czech Republic

Shagufta Sarwar

Business Division, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Mohsin Abdur Rehman

Department of Marketing, Management and International Business, Oulu Business School, University
of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

Roman Zámečník and Muhammad

Shoaib Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata
University in Zlin, Zlín, Czech Republic

Corresponding author: Zuhair Abbas can be contacted at: abbas@utb.cz

Abstract

Purpose - In the contemporary world, where sustainability at higher education is at the forefront, the
ever-changing business ecosystem nurtures a new drift towards economic, environmental and social
performance. This study aims to measure the impact of green human resource management (GHRM)
practices on sustainability in the higher education of a developing country context through a
theoretical aspect of Resource-Based View (RBV).
Design/methodology/approach - This study adopted a quantitative approach to propose and test a
model based on predictors of sustainability. The survey approach received 190 responses from
employees (faculty and non-faculty members) working as a full-time in the 40 higher education
institutions (HEIs) of Pakistan. The structural and measurement model was calculated using SmartPLS.
Findings - The results show that “green training and development” (GTD) and “top management
commitment towards greening workforce (TMCGW)” have a positive relationship with sustainability
while green recruitment and selection (GRS) was not supported by sustainability. The mediating effect
of TMCGW plays a crucial role between GTD and sustainability. Also, this study contributes through
the moderating interaction effect of Gender between GTD and sustainability. Overall the GHRM
practices promote employee green behavior and sustainability.
Originality/value - The proposed research model in the current study is a substantial gap in the
literature and exploring this connection requires new theoretical frameworks. To bridge this literature
gap, this study examined the role of GHRM on sustainability at micro-level (employee perspective)
through a theoretical aspect of RBV in the developing country higher education context of Pakistan.
Importantly, this study enhances the understanding of the emerging global wave of green mobility and
highlights the impact of GHRM practices on sustainability through perception of academic
professionals.
Keywords: GHRM, sustainability, HEIs, Pakistan, greening workforce, top management commitment

Introduction

Policymakers, managers and practitioners are concerned about environmental issues and implement
the eco-friendly practices that mitigate a climate change in Asian countries (Renwick et al, 2013). A
recent study by Zahid et al. (2020) reveals that sustainability has drawn more attention in the
corporate sector. Even though the topic seemed a bit neglected and overlooked in higher education
institutions (HEIs), the past decades have revealed a rapidly increasing familiarity of sustainability in
almost every field of life. Likewise, other important factors, this has also evolved the context of HEIs
to address the ongoing challenges of another important field of study, particularly, in the educational
setting (Findler et al., 2019).

It is worth noting that HEIs are capable and responsible for educating stakeholders of society in the
greening of environment, which can foster current as well as future generations realizing the
significance of pro-environmental behavior (Rayner and Morgan, 2018). This is one of the emerging
fields of research with multiple research contexts in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Asia-Pacific (Naeem and
Neal, 2012), Brazil (Cronemberger de Araujo Goes and Magrini, 2016) and Pakistan (Gilal et al., 2019).
In majority of contexts, the human resource department is concerned to be responsible for initiating,
implementing and maintaining the practices which are mentioned above (Foroutan et al., 2018).
Hence, another emerging challenge for institutions and corporations is to attract, retain and develop
such high professional and skilled workforce who could effectively achieve such dynamic challenges of
environmentally friendly sustainability (Natalia etal., 2018).

Employee behavior is crucial for the control of the environmental degradation that ensures green
environmental performance in the context of higher education (Mohamed et al., 2020). A recent study
has shown that HEIs are usually operating as business organizations (Al-Zawahreh et al, 2019).
However, Gilal et al (2019) revealed that the green human resource management (GHRM) practices
boost employee green behavior to mitigate the environmental issues at the workplace in the context
of HEIs of Pakistan. The higher education sector, as being knowledge-intensive and dynamic, needs
faculties and professionals to function smoothly. Hence, to accomplish an ecologically-compliant HEI,
faculty and professionals, both need to play their part in terms of developing and implementing green
supporting policies and procedures, especially in a nation like Pakistan which is poised to become one
of the world’s fastest-growing economies by 2022 (Rehman et al, 2019). Research on the
GHRMpractices has increased steadily in the last 20 years and provides substantial knowledge of
employee green behavior in response to the changing economic, environmental and social conditions
at the workplace. Human resource scholars continuously exploring green HRM initiatives in employee
behavior (Yong et al., 2019; Fawehinmi et al, 2020), higher education as a context is important to
study accordingly. The implications for research and management are noteworthy, as they help us to
better understand the interlink between the GHRM practices and top management commitment and
the way in which they affect sustainability in the higher educational context. They can enable managers
to understand how the GHRM practices promote sustainability. Furthermore, the current study implies
that top management commitment influences the sustainability outcomes derived from the GHRM
practices in the higher educational sector in Asia. The current study extends the previous literature on
GHRM by representing an exploratory investigation into the facet level commitment exhibited by top
management, examining how the GHRM practices predict sustainability.

The current study addresses numerous research gaps; firstly, Ren et al (2018) suggested investigating
the antecedents, mediators, moderators of the GHRM phenomenon. Hence, we respond to this call
for research to address the research gap by applying top management commitment towards greening
workforce (TMCGW) as a mediator between the GHRM practices and sustainability. Secondly, this
study also bridges the research gap by examining “gender” as a moderator to evaluate the perception
of both male and female employees to know about the adoption of GHRM practices at the workplace.
Hence, the current study aims to answer the below research questions in the higher education context
of a developing country with resource-based view (RBV) as theoretical framework:

RQ1. Do the GHRM practices promote sustainability?

RQ2. What is the role of TMCGW in promotion of sustainability?

Literature review

Theoretical perspective of the RBV

The current research has been based on the RBV theory that argues that an organization contains both
tangible and intangible assets that help a firm to create a kind of competitive advantage and sustain in
the competition of industry. The tangible assets can easily be determined as fixed assets, ownership
of building, machinery, land and other valuable resources and the intangible assets include the brand
name and equity, employee competency and other aspects (Wernerfelt, 1984).

Furthermore, there has been an increased interest in the study of the organizational resource,
formulating and implementing sustainable business practices and such kind of relationship has been
usually studied using the RBV theory (Jabbour et al., 2008). Moreover, as concluded explicitly by
Jackson and Seo (2010), companies that introduce the sustainability practices within their culture,
especially within the human resource management, tend to be more profitable. Therefore, it can be
concluded that the introduction of the sustainability practices depends on mobilizing the internal
resources both tangible (financial resources) and intangible (people ability and skills) ones (Wright et
al., 2001). The studies reviewing the implications of RBV within the HRM domain appear to have
suggested that the RBV perspective has helped companies to successfully integrate both practices and
strategies of management and HR (Wright et al., 2001).

GHRM and sustainability

The organizations are increasingly responding to the call for contributing to sustainability. To achieve
this objective, companies are more likely to rely on the valuable internal resource, which is their
department of human resource management to implement sustainability vision (Wirtenberg et al.,
2007). HRM plays a central role in coping with various levels of pressure from both governmental and
international bodies such as institutions, evolutionary developments, organizational renewal,
organizational effectiveness (Bombiak and Marciniuk-Kluska, 2018). Therefore, a manager within the
HRM department is likely to attribute a particular focus to bring the change and enhance the
company’s efforts towards sustainability (Gim et al., 2021). The company employees are seen as an
invaluable resource for the company who implement and execute the organization’s vision and mission
(Yong et al., 2019). Therefore, in order to contribute to an ongoing debate of the role of sustainable
HRM practices in bringing the organizational suitability, the current research study employs RBV as
underpinning theory to develop and conclude the empirical evidence on the relationship. However,
few studies indicate that GHRM is one of viable tools available to the organization that can be better
optimized in generating the organizational strategies that will help them to achieve the sustainability
practices (Renwick et al., 2016).

Green recruitment and selection

Companies can recruit those candidates who take care of environment at the workplace (Jabbour et
al., 2008). According to Siyambalapitiya et al. (2018), to recruit green-focused employees, the
environmental policies of green recruitment strategies are likely to play a key role in attracting the
most appropriate talent. The environmental prestige and identity of a hiring agency are also essential
considerations in recruitment due to expanded knowledge of the climate (Renwick et al., 2013). A
company’s environmental success can be used for recruiting interest in the procurement phase
(Jabbour et al., 2010). Web-based recruitment helps recruiters to have additional details about their
environmental protection practices relative to conventional outlets such as newspaper ads or
brochures (Renwick et al., 2013). Hence it can hypothesize that:

H1. Green recruitment and selection (GRS) is positively associated with Sustainability.

Green training and development

Green training and development (GTD) contribute to an organization’s sustainable approach, and it is
also contemplated to have an indispensable significance for any company (Pinzone et al., 2019). The
training programs that are designed to motivate the hired employees have shown to improve the
environmental performance of a company (Renwick et al., 2016), and this motivated staff can support
a firm in achieving the green opportunities in different business functions (Rani and Mishra, 2014).
The organizations intend to achieve environmental sustainability by integrating several dimensions of
GHRM and successfully implementing these practices system-wide. Moreover, the key objective of the
firms is to ensure workforce greening for their continued sustainable growth (Jabbour et al, 2010).
Consequently, it is essential to have employee commitment for social and environmental
responsibility, as it will also support the responsibilities of employees towards environmental
objectives, and that can be taken as an essential feature for improvement of the environmental
management system outcomes. There are many benefits of such systems such as pollution reduction,
efficient resource usage and waste reduction. Hence it can hypothesize that:

H2. GTD is positively associated with Sustainability.

Mediating role of TMCGW

The position of top management is one of the most crucial internal factors for strategy development
and execution (Singh et al., 2021). As for top management commitment, businesses should be capable
of executing their green initiatives successfully or, from this study’s viewpoint, the GHRM activities -
to achieve good environmental results (Spencer et al., 2013). Despite the progress in the top
management commitment literature, the research is significantly limited and requires further
exploration with GHRM as a useful mediator (Yusliza et al., 2019). Existing research have been calls for
further research to better understand the top management commitment as a potential mediator
under the GHRM phenomenon with sustainability (Ren et al., 2021; Yong etal., 2019; Moktadir et al.,
2020). Since the literature is almost silent on the mechanism of GHRM practices on sustainability
(Mousa and Othman, 2020).
Several scholars suggested for the inclusion of top management commitment as a mediating variable
between GHRM and sustainability. More importantly, in the existing literature, prior research
investigated the direct relationship of top management commitment with GHRM practices (Yusliza et
al., 2019). They argued that the direct relationship between GHRM and sustainability cannot declare
100% reliability, as this association might be influenced by a number of several important factors
neglected by previous research and is far more complex than it seems, and there is a lack of
comprehensive mediation mechanism that connects GHRM with sustainability (Moktadir et al., 2020).
Responding to aforementioned calls for research, the present study focuses on top management
commitment as a potential mediator between GHRM practices and sustainability, thus making a
significant contribution to the HRM literature.

H3. TMCGW is positively associated with Sustainability.

H4. GRSis positively associated with TMCGW.

H5. GTD is positively associated with TMCGW.

H6. TMCGW mediates the relationship between GRS and Sustainability. H7. TMCGW mediates
the relationship between GTD and Sustainability.

H7. TMCGW mediates the relationship between GTD and Sustainability

Moderating role of gender

The personality traits and values affected by a crucial factor of gender together with GHRM boost green
behavior at the workplace (Greening and Turban, 2000). Women engage in green eco-friendly
behavior more than men and they consider it as social and moral concern to promote sustainability
(Wong and Wan, 2011). The existing literature reflects that firms having more female employees
reveal a higher level of involvement in CSR, including environmental initiatives and work for society
(Fernandez-Feijoo et al., 2014). Environmental literature reported major differences in gender (Chang
and Wu, 2015), stating that gender plays a crucial role in the relationship between GHRM and
sustainability.

H8. The effect of GRS on Sustainability is moderated by Gender.

H9. The effect of GTD on Sustainability is moderated by Gender.

Research methodology

Sample and data collection procedure

The unit of analysis (population) were employees (faculty and non-faculty members) working in the
higher education intuitions HEIs of Pakistan. Data was collected from 190 employees working in 40
HEIs. The current study focused on full time employees; that means unit of analysis was presumed to
individuals. Importantly, our study examined GHRM practices at the micro-level because employees
are considered to be an important resource in adoption of GHRM practices. Consequently, this present
study investigates employee perspectives on how and under what conditions, GHRM may promote
sustainability. A total of forty HEIs participating in the research were selected from all four provinces
of Pakistan, e.g. Balochistan, KPK, Punjab and Sindh. It was ensured that the respondents were working
full time and have spent a certain period with the HEI and thus are presumed to be familiar with the
GHRM initiatives. Purposive sampling was adopted to recruit respondents of this study.

After formulating the survey questionnaire, a Google form-based web link was created and shared
through emails of academic professionals of Pakistani private and public universities. An ethical form
was attached to the email that assured participants’ confidentiality and anonymity. A total of 500 HEI
professionals were initially contacted. The authors collected 190 questionnaires through a web-based
online survey representing a response rate of 38%. To decide about the sample size, the most
prescribed methodology in the PLS-SEM literature is power analyses (Hair et al., 2017). According to
the literature, the sample size should be calculated using power analyses, depending on the constructs
in the model (Hair et al., 2017). This was also in alignment with Cohen (1992) and other scholars, who
have recommended the use of the statistical power analyses model for multiple regressions. The
assurance of size depended on three factors, namely: (1) 80% of statistical power, (2) the least value
of R-square, (3) the unpredictability of model path. So, the obtained number of respondents, i.e. 190,
was far above the minimum required sample size of 103 for this study.

Measurements

The five items of GRS were adapted from the work of Yong and others (Yong and Mohd-Yusoff, 2016;
Jabbour et al., 2010). The three items of GTD were adapted from Jabbour et al. (2010). TMCGW was
measured with four item scale and adapted from Banerjee and others (Banerjee et al., 2003; Jabbour
et al., 2010; Masri and Jaaron, 2017). The four items of sustainability were adapted from the work of
Masri and Jaaron and others (Masri and Jaaron, 2017; Paulraj, 2011; Jabbour et al., 2010; Banerjee
et al., 2003). These measures were ranked on a Likert scale from 1 = “Very Strongly Disagree” to 7 =
“Very Strongly Agree”.

Demographic profile of the sample

Table 1 above indicates that the sample of this study consisted of 65.8% male academic professionals
within the young population of Pakistan. 47.9% of respondents were aged between 30 and 40. As for
the educational level, 43.7% of respondents were having Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, which
can reflect the focus of HEIs on highly qualified academic professionals.

Pre-test and pilot test

The research instrument was further refined by using a pre-test and a pilot survey. Three academic
experts examined the survey instrument for face validity, following minor modifications made to
ensure clearness. The questionnaire was distributed to 38 respondents for the pilot survey and
received 23 responses back, out of which 14 were male responders, and 9 were female responders.
According to Nunnally (1978), the values of Cronbach’s alpha of all scales were found to be more than
0.7, which is acceptable.
 Table 1. Demographic characteristics

Note(s): 𝑛 5 190

Results

The assessment model has tested the validity of the instruments used following the principles of Hair
et al. (2019). This study applied SmartPLS to evaluate the model. SmartPLS is a method used for
assessing the path coefficients in casual models, and the software permits for concurrent testing of
the hypotheses as it does not require an assumption of ordinariness and analyses consistently, not
usually coursed (Ringle et al., 2015).

Measurement model fittest

As Hair et al. (2017) report, PLS-SEM literature employed the Composite reliability approach and
Cronbach’s alpha coefficients to extensively examine the constructs’ reliabilities. The results in Table
2 show that all values exceeded the threshold of 0.5, which supports the findings of Bagozzi and Yi
(1988) and Hair etal. (2019). To consider the Cronbach’s alpha as a valid statistic, one must give it a
minimum value of 0.60 and a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.70 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). Our PLS-SEM
estimations exceeded the thresholds; therefore, the research structures appear reliable. Additionally,
the PLS-SEM offers composite reliability and average variance extracted (AVE) metrics, as they are
included in the model (Hair et al., 2012). Composite reliability test results are all within the range that
is acceptable (a threshold of 0.8). The least composite reliability coefficient for the study components
is 0.8858, while the maximum is 0.9243. While convergent validity was presented by the AVE, which
exceeded the minimal requirement of 0.5 (see Table 2).
 Table 2. Construct reliability and validit

Note(s): Composite Reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Cronbach’s Alpha (a)

All items (indicator variables) loaded significantly to their associated latent constructs. According to
Bagozzi and Yi (1988), the optimal measurement of a latent variable under study is a loading that
exceeds a threshold of 0.6. In actuality, these indicators measure as intended and have a load range of
0.758-0.902. Consequently, the findings are reported in Table 3 with their respective loadings
(coefficients).

The Fornell-Larcker criterion’s results reveal that the constructs satisfy both foundational and strict
postulations, and hence, discriminant validity is substantiated. The Fornell-Larcker table (see Table 4)
illustrates that the diagonal values, which are highlighted in italic, represent the measured constructs’
AVEs, and hence must be greater than 0.5. AVEs should be greater for each concept at both row and
column positions in order to prove discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).

Questionnaire design capacity is tested by Fornell Larcker’s criterion of discriminant validity. It is

measured by distinguishing data for the questionnaire’s defined tenacity and its ability to be
distinguishable from other questions with a concept in between (Hair et al., 2010). The following chart
depicts the Fornell-Larcker criterion, which is used to evaluate discriminant validity. Fornell-Larcker’s
criteria results from the current study therefore reveal that each building has a higher value for its
structure and a smaller value for the contagious building. The aggregate findings on validity and
reliability are on the edge of acceptability.
 Table 3. Measurement model for constructs

Note(s): Mean (average of every item of the scale), SD (Standard Deviation), VIF (Variance Inflation Factor)

Table 4. Measurement model of discriminant validity -Fornell-Larcker’s criterion

Note(s): 𝑁 5 190. Squared correlations; AVE in the diagonal (in italic)

Table 5. Discriminant validity (HTMT criterion)

Structural model - hypothesis testing

Following Hair et al. (2019), the way coefficients, standard mistakes, 𝑡-qualities, and 𝑝-values for the
basic model utilizing a 5,000-example re-test bootstrapping system were accounted for (Ramayah et
al., 2018). The results demonstrate (see Table 6) that GTD (𝛽 = 0.650 𝑝 < 0.000) has a significant
positive relationship with TMCGW. However, GRS has an insignificant mediating relationship with
Sustainability as depicted (𝛽 = 0.068; 𝑝 < 0.155). Also, GRS (𝛽 = 0.182, 𝑝 < 0.067) has an insignificant
relationship with TMCGW. TMCGW (𝛽 = 0.371, 𝑝 < 0.004) positively enhances Sustainability.
 Table 6. Path coefficient and hypothesis model

Note(s): 𝛽 5 regression coefficient and 𝑡 5 significant value (𝑡 > 1.96), Green Recruitment and Selection (GRS), Green Training
and Development (GTD), Top Management Commitment towards Greening Workforce (TMCGW), Sustainability (𝑅2 5 0.543,
𝑄 2 5 0.408), TMCGW (𝑅2 5 0.615, 𝑄 2 5 0.458)

Mediation analysis

Mediation analysis reveals (see Table 6) that TMCGW plays a role of mediation between GTD and
Sustainability (𝛽 = 0.024; 𝑝 < 0.004).

Moderation analysis

Concerning moderation analysis, the result was rather interesting as out of two moderated
hypotheses, only one was significant. Thus, the construct Gender as a moderating variable plays a
significant moderation role between the interaction of GRS and Sustainability (𝛽 = —0.260, 𝑝 < 0.010).
This suggests that both male and female employees improve the economic, environmental and social
performance (see Table 6 and Figure 1).

Figure 1. Structural equation modeling testing of how the GHRM practices predict sustainability
Discussion

This study examined the effects of GHRM practices on sustainability in the Pakistani higher education
context. In particular, it explored the ways in which GTD (Green Training and Development - as an
organizational intervention influenced) TMCGW (Top Management Commitment towards greening)
which subsequently had a directly proportional relation to sustainability - a desired organizational
output. This exploration has broken new ground by unpacking the black box of how GHRM practices
influence sustainability, which is a neglected issue in the GHRM literature (Paile et al., 2014; Zaid et
al., 2018). A new context, the emerging context of Pakistan, was also introduced. Last few years have
witnessed a major surge of interest in GHRM practices with environmental performance and non-
green outcomes (Ismail et al., 2021; Paile et al., 2014; Shen et al., 2018). However, few attempts have
been made to explore the link between GHRM and sustainability (Zaid et al., 2018; Paulraj, 2011).
Also, the focused towards sustainability is also increasing in other sectors such as tourism and
hospitality is in lime light (Javed and Tučková, 2020). The empirical evidence derived from the full-time
employees of HEIs supports the “win-win” hypothesis, which assumes that both
institutions/employers and employees will eventually gain from the adoption of GHRM practices.
Through the lens of resource - based view theory (Wright et al., 2001) the tested model highlighted
the role of gender - a demographic construct, by examining its moderating role in linking GRS and
organizational outcome i.e. sustainability. This finding clearly indicates the positive impact of GRS
initiatives on sustainability thus addressing a major gap in addresses the gap in GHRM literature (Shen
et al., 2018). Ultimately, the study findings broaden the HRM literature by providing further evidence
that GHRM and in particular GTD is imperative for promoting sustainability in the HEIs of Pakistan.
However, contrary to expectations, H1 GRS was not supported with sustainability. In this vein, this
result contradicts with the previous research (Malik et al., 2020). Additionally, the data revealed (H2)
GTD positively related with sustainability. This finding is aligned with Gilal et al. (2019), they conducted
research in HEIs of Pakistan, and they found GHRM practices can assist organizations with creating
workers who are more likely to view nature as part of a wider ecosystem at the workplace. This study
demonstrated H3, thus a direct effect of “top management commitment towards greening workforce”
(TMCGW) is positively related to sustainability. Importantly, our finding is as significant as the result of
studies conducted by Yusliza et al. (2019) and Kramar (2014). However, the literature has largely
ignored the role of top management commitment as to know the indirect effect on sustainability. This
finding is consistent with the notion that top management commitment is crucial for the influence of
individually thought processes to achieve a common goal as an organization (Williams et al., 2014).
Gender plays a significant moderation role between the interaction of GRS and sustainability. Our
result contradicts the gender being a moderator within the GHRM practices (Chaudhary, 2020a).

Theoretical implications

This study contributes to the current body of knowledge on GHRM in the higher education sector by
making a few significant discoveries. Little empirical study has been devoted to the new phenomena
of green HRM. First, this study was to employe RBV theory to provide greater theoretical rigor to the
GHRM literature, which is still theoretically an underresearched area in the field of human resource
management (Paille et al., 2014; Yong et al., 2019). This research builds on existing work in the field
by examining intangible resources (employee abilities and skills) derived from RBV philosophy . RBV
helps HR in implementing policies like environmental sustainability to assist the company’s
comprehension (Wright et al., 2001). More crucially, RBV has acknowledged the growth of GHRM at
work through a theoretical pillar (Jabbour et al., 2010). Second, Asia is the largest and most populous
continent, and it is also in a constant struggle with environmental issues (Ren et al., 2018). To date,
there is scarce research on GHRM and sustainability in the Asia. By doing so, this research responds to
the recent calls for further research to blend GHRM and sustainability in South Asia (Hameed et al.,
2020; Moktadir et al., 2020). This study contributes to our understanding of GHRM in emerging
economies and is thus an important addition to GHRM knowledge in the Asian setting. Third, this study
applied the mediation model to ascertain the inter-linkage effect of top management commitment
between the GHRM practices and sustainability, which responds to previous calls for research by
scholars because field of HRM has not paid adequate attention (Ren et al, 2018,2021). In green HRM
study, we usually find a direct association between green HRM and sustainability, but we generally
leave out the mediating mechanism and do not examine it (Zaid et al., 2018). Fourth, the strategy has
proposed exploring and getting to know the opinions of female and male employees on the adoption
of green HRM practices towards sustainability (Chaudhary, 2020b). Regarding gender discrepancies,
this study offers a moderation model. At the macro level, green HRM and sustainability efforts are
more focused on institutional or organizational practices. In addition, the recent literature assessment
of the GHRM demonstrates that most of the prior macro-level studies (Yong et al. ,2019; Zaid et al.,
2018) did not cover the employee perspective in detail at the micro level of analysis (Malik et al.,
2020). Our research examines how employees and their personal experience with greening and
sustainability impacts the RM practices. By looking at GHRM practices, this study also widens the
research about the HRM on a micro level (concept of individual level) and expands the literature base.

Practical implications

The findings of this study are particularly important for higher education policymakers and
practitioners in the service sector. Firstly, by using GHRM practices, such as GRS, businesses may
engage staff that have a strong green attitude and green work skills and assign them green duties to
advance sustainability. Importantly, a new, improved approach to business sustainability requires the
presence of environmental awareness and understanding when choosing new workers. Several
companies have put effort into GHRM programs in order to be more sustainable, and policymakers
may help them out by applying intangible resources. Practitioners of higher education can build a
strategy that uses GHRM techniques to promote sustainable goals such as the responsible
management of resources, environmental ecoefficiency and social performance of employees on the
job. Secondly, our research shows that organizations should implement GTD practices to foster
sustainable operations by growing green knowledge and skills. For example, waste management
training and recycling practices should be promoted regularly at workplaces. Our study implies that
trained employees work responsibly to take care of organizational resources and comply
environmental rules and concerned about society. Thirdly, our results revealed a positive and
significant role played by top management commitment in the successful adoption of GHRM practices
for driving the organizations towards sustainability. A recent research suggested top management
reflect sustainable practices in their mission and vision statements and cultivate a culture that
promotes sustainability (Ali et al., 2021). Accordingly, the policymakers must prioritize the GHRM
antecedents that can prove to be beneficial in formulating and implementing sustainability goals
accurately and effectively. It is also likely to help managers improve work culture and employee well-
being. Based on our results, it is recommended that senior management and policymakers pay more
attention to the GHRM practices to achieve sustainability goals in HEIs. Fourth, gender has been shown
to play a crucial impact in the adoption of GHRM practices, according to this study. This paper posits
that female and male employees can help green their workplace by expressing their commitment to
sustainability. In South Asia, which is similar to our subject region, GHRM practices are already in place.
This study advocates that organizations should use a “win-win-win” strategy to meet sustainable
development goals (SDGs) in terms of “people, profits, and planet” because of their ability to play a
more responsible role in profit maximization and in environmental and social performance.

Limitations and future recommendations

This study features few limitations. First, the population frame was higher education professionals,
hence, the results of this study may not be generalized to other contexts. Second, the phenomenon of
green human resource management (GHRM) is emerging where longitudinal study to measure ongoing
dynamic perceptions would add more value to understand the phenomenon, however, the current
study opted for the cross-sectional one. Third, the current study proposed the factors delineating
sustainability, including “green recruitment and selection”, “green training and development”, “top
management commitment towards greening workforce”, hence, future research studies can extend
the existing model by including other human resource management practices such as performance
appraisals and rewards management. To sum up, the focus of the current study was solely on the
higher education sector of Pakistan as a developing country. The authors suggest doing future research
to conduct a comparative study across different geographical zones. This will further deepen the
validation of the proposed model.

Conclusion

In sum, an important finding of this study is that the GHRM practices significantly and positively
predicted the sustainability within the higher education sector in Pakistan. Environmental
sustainability is becoming a vital part of the organizational functions. This research confirms previous
findings and contributes to our understanding that notion of GHRM promotes sustainability, which
encourages firms’ organizational productivity in terms of corporate social responsibility. Sustainability
and outcomes are essential in accomplishing a strong relation between GHRM and organizational
performance. The current study also highlights that TMCGW can significantly enhance sustainable
organizational behavior. In terms of contextual contribution, this study provides HEIs with a way to
improve the sustainable position through the initiatives of GHRM practices. To conclude, the use of
RBV as a theoretical underpinning to draw a link between the GHRM practices and the sustainability
outcomes has enhanced our understanding of the emerging global wave of green mobility in the
context of a developing country.

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Appendix
Table A1. Questionnaire items