Building sustainable workplaces: A systematic review of green human resource management (GHRM) practices and their impact on organisational sustainability

Shannen Kimeu; Lucy Kihara; Susan Sawe; Harriet Okello; Jackson Ndolo

doi:10.51867/ajernet.6.4.110

Authors

Shannen Kimeu KCA University, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0682-8937
Lucy Kihara KCA University, Kenya
Susan Sawe KCA University, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6626-0592
Harriet Okello KCA University, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0805-1112
Jackson Ndolo KCA University, Kenya https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7902-0842

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.6.4.110

Keywords:

Environmental Performance, Green Innovation, Green Human Resource Management (GHRM), Pro-Environmental Behaviour, Sustainability, Sustainable HRM, Organisational Behaviour

Abstract

This is a systematic review of a total of eighteen empirical studies, which explore the role of green human resource management (GHRM) practices in organisational sustainability in different sectors and national settings. Using PRISMA 2020 and a protocol registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251229461), the review finds a consistent positive impact of green recruitment, green training, green performance management, and green reward systems on environmental performance, green innovation, and pro-environmental behaviour by employees. The results suggest that a significant number of these relationships are mediated by behavioural mechanisms, specifically green organisational culture, environmental felt responsibility, and green work engagement, while being moderated by leadership style, HR competencies, and contextual factors related to the implementation outcomes. Although the strategic role of GHRM has been strongly supported by empirical evidence, the review notes that the methodology has methodological weaknesses, including cross-sectional designs and the geographic focus of the study in Asia and the Middle East. On the whole, the review shows that GHRM is an important organisational lever to be used in embedding sustainability in workforce systems and offers clear theoretical, practical, and methodological guidelines on how to develop the field. Therefore, it is recommended that Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices should be adopted in organisations to improve their performance in increasing sustainability. Policymakers and practitioners should restructure these practices to suit their contextual situations, thereby making the transformation effective in the workplace.

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