Linking Green HRM to Employee Green Behaviors with Green Work Engagement: An Empirical Study of Higher Education
Keywords:
Green Human Resource Management, Higher Education, Mediation Impact, Work Behavior, Work EngagementAbstract
This study investigates the influence of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices on employees’ environmentally responsible behaviors within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in China, with a particular focus on the mediation effect of Green Work Engagement (GWE). Although GHRM has been extensively examined in many industries, including manufacturing and service, its application in academic contexts remains inadequate, especially in China. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, the Job Demands-Resources Model, and the Broaden-and-Build Theory, this study develops an integrated framework to examine how GHRM affects both in-role and extra-role green workplace behaviors through GWE. The empirical analysis is based on survey data collected from 400 academic and administrative employees at four universities in Shenyang, a major educational and industrial hub in northeastern China with a history of environmental challenges. The sampling location was particularly suitable due to government-driven sustainability initiatives and the region’s concentration of higher education institutions. Standardized and validated scales were employed to measure GHRM, GWE, and green work behaviors, with data analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that GHRM has a significant positive impact on both in-role (β = 0.16) and extra-role (β = 0.18) green behaviors, indicating that employees are more likely to perform not only their formally required environmental tasks but also voluntary, discretionary eco-friendly actions. The results also show that GWE has a significant positive impact on both in-role (β = 0.21) and extra-role (β = 0.19) green behaviors, indicating that employees respond to organizational support for sustainability by displaying greater engagement and environmentally responsible conduct. The research contributes to the limited body of research on sustainability in higher education, recommending that HEIs implement GHRM within institutional policies and foster employee engagement to enhance long-term ecological performance.
References
Ababneh, O. M. A. (2021). How do green HRM practices affect employees’ green behaviors? The role of employee engagement and personality attributes. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 64(7), 1204-1226. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2020.1814708
Aboramadan, M. (2022). The effect of green HRM on employee green behaviors in higher education: The mediating mechanism of green work engagement. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 30(1), 7-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-05-2020-2190
Abualigah, A., Koburtay, T., Bourini, I., Badar, K., & Gerged, A. M. (2023). Towards sustainable development in the hospitality sector: Does green human resource management stimulate green creativity? A moderated mediation model. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(6), 3217-3232. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3296
Adu Sarfo, P., Zhang, J., Nyantakyi, G., Lassey, F. A., Bruce, E., & Amankwah, O. (2024). Influence of green human resource management on firm’s environmental performance: Green employee empowerment as a mediating factor. Plos One, 19(4), e0293957. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293957
Albrecht, S. L., Donnelly, T., Frenkiel, M., Rajic, S. K., Kavadas, V., & Leiter, M. P. (2023). Pro-environmental employee engagement: The influence of pro-environmental psychological capital, pro-environmental job resources, and perceived corporate environmental responsibility. Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, 11782. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1117892
Altassan, M. A., & Ahmad, A. (2024). Green threads of change: Unravelling the gendered and experienced moderators in the sustainable symphony of green HR practices and environmental responsibility. International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 7(2), 852-862. https://doi.org/10.53894/ijirss.v7i2.2956
Amah, O. E. (2020). Innovative work behaviors: Role of employee engagement and organizational citizenship behaviors. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 56(2), 356-373. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27199331
Bakker, A. B., Albrecht, S. (2018). Work engagement: Current trends. Career Development International, 23(1), 4-11. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-11-2017-0207
Ba, Y., & Cao, L. (2023). Assessing the impact of green human resource management practices on environmental performance in China: Role of higher education. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(41), 94386-94400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-02328523-8
Bissing‐Olson, M. J., Iyer, A., Fielding, K. S., & Zacher, H. (2013). Relationships between daily affect and pro‐environmental behavior at work: The moderating role of pro‐ environmental attitude. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 156-175. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1788
Blau, P. M. (1964). Justice in social exchange. Sociological inquiry, 34(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1964.tb00583.x
Bui, H. T. M., Bui, T., & Pham, B. T. (2024). The role of higher education in achieving sustainable development goals: An evaluation of motivation and capacity of Vietnamese institutions. The International Journal of Management Education, 22(3), 101088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2024.101088
CEIC. (2023). Air Quality: PM2.5 Concentration: Monthly Average: Shenyang. https://www.ceicdata.com/en/china/air-quality-pm25-concentration-city/air-quality-pm25-concentration-monthly-average-shanghai
Chatelain, G., Hille, S. L., Sander, D., Patel, M., Hahnel, U. J. J., & Brosch, T. (2018). Feel good, stay green: Positive affect promotes pro-environmental behaviors and mitigates compensatory “mental bookkeeping” effects. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 56, 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.02.002
Chen, L., Luo, F., Zhu, X., Huang, X., & Liu, Y. (2020). Inclusive leadership promotes challenge-oriented organizational citizenship behavior through the mediation of work engagement and moderation of organizational innovative atmosphere. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 560594. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.560594
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
Ercantan, O., & Eyupoglu, S. (2022). How do green human resource management practices encourage employees to engage in green behavior? Perceptions of university students as prospective employees. Sustainability, 14(3), 1718. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031718
Fawehinmi, O., Yusliza, M. Y., Ogbeibu, S., Tanveer, M. I., & Chiappetta Jabbour, C. J. (2022). Academic employees’ green behaviour as praxis for bolstering environmental sustainable development: A linear moderated mediation evaluation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(7), 3470-3490. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3095
Fawehinmi, O., Yusliza, M. Y., Wan Kasim, W. Z., Mohamad, Z., & Sofian Abdul Halim, M. A.(2020). Exploring the interplay of green human resource management, employee green behavior, and personal moral norms. Sage Open, 10(4), 2158244020982292. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020982292
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and- build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Gilal, F. G., Ashraf, Z., Gilal, N. G., Gilal, R. G., & Channa, N. A. (2019). Promoting environmental performance through green human resource management practices in higher education institutions: A moderated mediation model. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(6), 1579-1590. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1835
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
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. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Haque, M. A., Islam, M. A., & Soh, S. (2024). Green HRM practices and green work engagement: The roles of green knowledge sharing and green group cohesion. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 44(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22266
Islam, M. A., Hossain, M. S., Hoque, M. E., Khan, T., & Hassan, M. M. (2023). The moderating role of gender and employee championing behaviour in the relationship between green human resource management practices and sustainable organisational performance: Evidence from Bangladesh. In O. D. Adekoya, C. Mordi, & H. A. Ajonbadi (Eds) Global Perspectives on Green HRM (127-153). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35795-4_6
Islam, T., Khan, M. M., Ahmed, I., & Mahmood, K. (2021). Promoting in-role and extra-role green behavior through ethical leadership: Mediating role of green HRM and moderating role of individual green values. International Journal of Manpower, 42(6), 1102-1123. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-01-2020-0036
Kania, D. (2024). Green human resource management and green behavior: Mediating work engagement. International Journal of Applied Finance and Business Studies, 12(1), 19-27. https://doi.org/10.35335/ijafibs.v12i1.275
Kim, T. T., Kim, W. G., Majeed, S., & Haldorai, K. (2023). Does green human resource management lead to a green competitive advantage? A sequential mediation model with three mediators. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 111, 103486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103486
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3. Baskı). Guilford Press.
Marini, M., Handoyo, S., & Sukadiono, S. (2023). Green Work Engagement: A Literature Review. RSF Conference Series: Business, Management and Social Sciences, 3(3), 179-185. https://doi.org/10.31098/bmss.v3i3.662
Miah, M., Szabó-Szentgróti, G., & Walter, V. (2024). A systematic literature review on green human resource management (GHRM): An organizational sustainability perspective. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2371983. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2371983
Mou, X., Kelana, B. W. B. Y., Jie, C., & Mahmod, A. (2024). Linking GHRM to environmental performance through green behaviour in Private Chinese Universities. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(12), 4419-4439. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i12/24412
Nabi, T., Joshi, A., Malik, S. H., Siddiqui, M. A., & YETGİN, M. A. (2023). Nexus between green human resource management and environmental practices: An empirical study using structural equation modelling, Research Square, 9(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3394470/v1
Ojo, A. O., Tan, C. N. L., & Alias, M. (2022). Linking green HRM practices to environmental performance through pro-environment behaviour in the information technology sector. Social Responsibility Journal, 18(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2019-0403
Oliveira, M. C., & Proenca, J. (2025). Sustainable campus operations in higher education institutions: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 17(2), 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020607
Pham, S. L., Hoang, V. H., Ngo, Q. D., & Pham, H. H. (2024). Unveiling the drivers of green purchase intention in Vietnam: The moderating role of environmental consciousness and perceived consumer effectiveness. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(7), 1163-1178. https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i7.4278
Petter, S., Straub, D., & Rai, A. (2007). Specifying formative constructs in information systems research. MIS Quarterly, 31(4), 623-656. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148814.
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and psychological measurement, 66(4), 701-716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471
Sharif, S., Malik, S. A., Arooj, N., & Albadry, O. M. (2024). Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and organizational commitment in Higher Educational Institutions (HEI): A mediating role for work engagement. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-11-2023-0456
Susanto, A. (2023). The role of Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) on Job satisfaction and Green Work Engagement (GWE): An empirical study on manufacturing industries. Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Studies, 6(3). 1123-1131. https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v6-i3-11
Tirno, R. R., Islam, N., & Happy, K. (2023). Green HRM and ecofriendly behavior of employees: Relevance of proecological climate and environmental knowledge. Heliyon, 9(4). e14632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14632
Wang, Y., Ummar, R., Qureshi, T. M., Haq, Ul. J., & Bonn, M. A. (2025). Employee sustainability: How green practices drive employee well-being and citizenship behavior. Sustainability, 17(3), 936. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030936
Yadate, D. A. (2025). The effect of green human resource management on employee green behavior. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 32(1), 404-418. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2956
Yamane, T. (1973). Statistics: An introductory analysis. (3rd ed.). Harper and Row.
Yong, J. Y., Yusliza, M. Y., & Fawehinmi, O. O. (2020). Green human resource management: A systematic literature review from 2007 to 2019. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(7), 2005-2027. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-12-2018-0438
Zhang, S., Chen, M., & Tang, G. (2024). How green human resource management can promote green competitive advantage: The role of green innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(5), 4613-4625. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3715
