Green Practices of Human Resource Department: A Tool for Sustainability and Competitive Advantages
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/sajssh.2026.7401Keywords:
Bangladesh, Competitive Advantage, Green HRM, SustainabilityAbstract
This study analyzes how Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices affect sustainability and competitiveness in Bangladeshi multinational firms. Due to industrialization and globalization, eco-friendly measures are needed to safeguard the environment and human capital. The main goal of this study is to determine whether there is a link between "Green HRM" practices and "Sustainable Competitive Advantages" among Bangladesh's multinational companies. The study examines the benefits of digital technology in GHRM recruitment, training, performance evaluation, and remuneration. According to a comprehensive literature analysis, GHRM enhances operational efficiency, teamwork, organizational climate, and cost efficiency. Organizational sustainability and employee development require the integration of environmental principles into HRM tasks such as recruitment, performance evaluation, and training. GHRM's competitive edge, sustainability, relevance in multinational firms in Bangladesh, and potential for sustainability and competitive advantage are the goals. The study's theoretical framework posits that GHRM practices enhance sustainability and competitiveness, and that sustainability practices may mitigate the relationship between competitive advantage and GHRM. Research philosophy blends positivism and interpretivism to maintain scientific rigor and impartiality while admitting subjective interpretations. Gender-proportional data are collected from Bangladeshi employees of multinational corporations. The questions cover green HRM, sustainability, and competitive advantages. This article emphasizes the importance of GHRM in achieving sustainability and competitive advantages for multinational firms in Bangladesh, and seeks to inform future research and the implementation of green HRM.
References
Boselie, P., Paauwe, J., & Jansen, P. G. W. (2001). Human resource management and performance: Lessons from the Netherlands. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(7), 1107–1125.
Cherian, J., & Jacob, J. (2012). A study of green HR practices and its effective implementation in the organization: A review. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(21), 25.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Daily, B., & Huang, S. (2001). Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource factors in environmental management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 21(12), 1539–1552.
Delgado-Ceballos, J., Fernández-Mesa, A., & Pérez-Cabañero, C. (2019). Green HRM and sustainability knowledge sharing for environmental performance: The role of interpersonal relationships. Journal of Business Ethics, 156(4), 925–940.
Gharibeh, M. (2019). The impact of Green Human Resource Management Practices (GHRMP) on the competitive advantage of the organization. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 8(4), 630–640.
Grolleau, G., Mzoughi, N., & Pekovic, S. (2012). Green not (only) for profit: An empirical examination of the effect of environmental-related standards on employees’ recruitment. Resource and Energy Economics, 34(1), 74–92.
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1995). Multivariate data analysis with readings (4th ed.). Prentice-Hall.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Hart, S. L. (1997). Beyond greening: Strategies for a sustainable world. Harvard Business Review, 75(1), 66–77.
Hempel, P. S. (2004). Preparing the HR profession for technology and information work. Human Resource Management, 43(2–3), 163–177.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115–135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Hossain, T., & Shirazi, H. (2022). Implications of HRIS for gaining competitive advantages: Evidence from telecommunication industry in Bangladesh. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 8.
Hristova, S., & Stevceska-Srbinovska, D. (2020). Green HRM in pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage (pp. 53–63). University American College Skopje. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4393537
Huselid, M. A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635–672.
Jabbour, C. J. C., de Sousa Jabbour, A. B. L., Govindan, K., Teixeira, A. A., & de Souza Freitas, W. R. (2013). Environmental management and operational performance in automotive companies in Brazil: The role of human resource management and lean manufacturing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 47, 129–140.
Jabbour, C. J. C., Santos, F. C. A., & Nagano, M. S. (2010). Contributions of HRM throughout the stages of environmental management: Methodological triangulation applied to companies in Brazil. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(7), 1049–1089.
Jackson, S., Renwick, D., Jabbour, C. J. C., & Muller-Camen, M. (2011). State-of-the-art and future directions for Green Human Resource Management. German Journal of Research in Human Resource Management, 25, 99–116.
Mandip, G. (2012). Green HRM: People management commitment to environmental sustainability. Research Journal of Recent Sciences, 1, 2502–2506.
Marhatta, S., & Adhikari, S. (2013). Green HRM and sustainability. International eJournal of Ongoing Research in Management & IT, 2.
Al Mamun, M. A. (2019). An analysis of employee awareness on green human resource management practices: Evidence from Bangladesh. Human Resource Management Research, 9(1), 14–21.
Muisyo, P. K., Qin, S., Ho, T. H., & Julius, M. M. (2022). The effect of green HRM practices on green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 33(1), 22–40.
Nawangsari, L. C., & Sutawidjaya, A. H. (2019). The influence of green human resource management on environmental performance and employee behavior. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 8(3), 40–45.
Nijhawan, G. (2014). Green HRM—A requirement for sustainable organization. PARIPEX – Indian Journal of Research, 3(10), 69–70.
Pfeffer, J. (1981). Management as symbolic action: The creation and maintenance of organizational paradigm. Research in Organizational Behavior, 3, 1–52.
Rao, T. V., & Garg, P. (2018). Green human resource management and firm performance: The role of green intellectual capital. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 67(5), 876–897.
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.
Saeed, B. B., Afsar, B., Hafeez, S., Khan, I., Tahir, M., & Afridi, M. A. (2019). Promoting employees' pro-environmental behavior through green human resource management practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(2), 424–438.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
Shukla, A., & Choudhary, N. (2017). Green HRM, sustainability practices and firm performance: A conceptual framework. Global Business Review, 18(1), 81–98.
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
Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. Sociological Methodology, 13, 290–312. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/270723
Soper, D. S. (2016). Sobel test calculator for the significance of mediation [Software]. Retrieved from http://www.danielsoper.com/statcalc
Stojanoska, A. (2016). Green human resource management: The case of Gorenje Group. Univerza v Ljubljani, Ekonomska fakulteta.
Suhaimi, S. (2011). Strategic Green HRM: A proposed model that supports corporate environmental citizenship. 2011 International Conference on Sociality and Economics Development, 10.
Tang, G., Chen, Y., Jiang, Y., Paillé, P., & Jia, J. (2018). Green human resource management practices: Scale development and validity. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 56(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12147
Tippins, M. J., & Sohi, R. S. (2003). IT competency and firm performance: Is organizational learning a missing link? Strategic Management Journal, 24(8), 745–761.
Unnikrishnan, D., & Hedge, S. (2007). Environmental training and cleaner production in Indian industry: A micro-level study. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 50(4), 427–441.
Verma, R. (2015). Green HRM requirement of 21st century. International Journal of Recent Research in Commerce Economics and Management (IJRRCEM), 2(2), 39–44.
Wehrmeyer, W. (2017). Greening people: Human resources and environmental management. Routledge.
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, 258, 120968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120968
Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., & Lai, K. H. (2013). Green supply chain management innovation diffusion and its relationship to organizational improvement: An ecological modernization perspective. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 30(1), 1–15.
Zoogah, D. B. (2011). The dynamics of Green HRM behaviors: A cognitive social information processing approach. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(2), 117–139.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 South Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
