Abstract
Graphical abstract
۱٫ Introduction
۲٫ Theoretical background and hypotheses development
۳٫ Research methodology
۴٫ Results
۵٫ Discussion
۶٫ Conclusion
Funding
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Declaration of competing interest
Acknowledgements
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Appendix.
Research Data
References
Abstract
The slow and inefficient environmental performance of universities is drawing the attention of scholars towards behavioural change in employees rather than just relying on technological upgrades. Drawing upon the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory, the purpose of this study is first to examine the influence of Green Human Resource Management (HRM) practices (green competence building practices, green motivation enhancing practices, and green employee involvement practices) on the organisational citizenship behaviour towards the environment (OCBE) of academic staff and, in turn, its impact on the environmental performance. Second, the mediating impact of OCBE between each of Green HRM practices and environmental performance is assessed. The data were collected from September until November 2017 on two campuses of a renowned public research university in Malaysia. Using quantitative research design, a structured questionnaire was used among the academic staff of the university. Convenience sampling was used to select the respondents from both campuses, and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) modelling technique was used to analyse the data, which comprised 122 respondents. Overall findings showed that three sets of Green HRM practices based on the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity framework had a significant impact on OCBE. Furthermore, OCBE had a significant relationship with environmental performance. For the mediation analysis, the results showed that OCBE exhibited by academic staff acted as a means through which the Green HRM practices of a university can positively influence the environmental performance of a university campus. The originality of this study rests in shedding light on Green HRM practices in the higher education sector and highlighting the critical role of academic staff’s environmentally friendly behaviour for improving the environmental performance of a university.
Introduction
Globally, researchers and environmental policymakers have agreed upon the fact that the reasons for environmental deterioration like resource deficits, increasing pollution and the loss of biodiversity are deep-rooted into human behaviour (Mtutu & Thondhlana, 2016; Renwick et al., 2013). In response to this, many organisations are inclined towards ensuring that their daily operations are less harmful to the environment through the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS) or green initiatives (Fawehinmi et al., in press). Hence, an emerging need exists for understanding and shaping employee behaviour to minimize the negative environmental impacts of their activities in organisations. In response to these concerns, the role of Green Human Resource Management (HRM) in influencing green employee behaviour in the workplace has emerged as a topic of study (Dumont et al., 2016). Green HRM is the inclusion of environment consciousness within the whole HRM process of hiring, training, rewarding and developing a green workforce that understands and values environment-friendly values, practices, and initiatives. Besides, contemporary researchers supporting the role of human resources in environmental performance have concentrated on environment-friendly employee behaviour as a crucial factor in successfully implementing environmental policies at the workplace (Kim et al., 2017).