Towards Sustainable HRM: Types, Factors, Drivers and Outcomes

Dear Colleagues,

Scholarly debate on corporate sustainability has reached a new level with suggestions that companies should focus on contributing to UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) (Dyllick & Muff, 2015). Therefore, the companies are aspiring to embed the sustainability goals into various levels of their strategy, and academic research is increasingly exploring these issues. Although there is a growing body of literature on sustainable accounting, marketing, and retailing, literature on sustainable HRM is relatively diverse and fragmentary (Renwick et al., 2013). Thus, we know little about how the search by companies to become “more sustainable” impacts HRM or how HRM could effectively contribute to both sustainable HRM systems and reaching SDGs (Aust et al., 2020). Therefore, understanding the classification of sustainable HRM types and the design and implementation of sustainable HRM practices is vital for scholars and practitioners (Aust et al., 2020).

In response to the potential significance of sustainable HRM, this Special Issue aims to offer a thorough exploration of sustainable HRM, its types, factors, drivers and outcomes within diverse industry contexts (production/manufacturing/service) and its implications for corporate sustainability.

This Special Issue welcomes theoretical, empirical, experimental, and case study research contributions from a wide range of disciplinary and post-disciplinary perspectives. These contributions should clearly address the theoretical and practical implications of the research. Although we encourage submission on the themes outlined below, the topics within the themes are not exhaustive:

Sustainable HRM types

Aust et al. (2020) have classified four types of sustainable HRM: 1) Socially Responsible HRM, 2) Green HRM, 3) Triple Bottom Line HRM, and 4) Common Good HRM. Type 1 concerns socially responsible HRM activities, such as diversity management, training, and development, as well as health and safety and work-life balance. Type 2 concerns environmental sustainability. It was developed to influence and improve employees’ ecological awareness, and behavior and, ultimately, to both reduce an organization’s carbon footprint and contribute to its green credentials (Renwick et al., 2013). Type 3 focuses on both employee-oriented practices (such as employee well-being or involvement) while also considering the impact of HRM on its social and ecological environments (for example, resource regeneration) (Ehnert, 2009) and/or ecological goals (Andersson et al., 2013). Type 4 is a new paradigm or “outside-in” approach which assumes that it is a fundamental responsibility of a business to resolve the sustainability challenges the world is facing and contribute toward sustaining our collective livelihood (Ehnert, 2009). The challenges Common Good HRM looks to address are: in-work poverty and exploitative working conditions in supply chains, lack of labor voice, (youth) unemployment and job insecurity. Theoretical/case study contributions are welcome in exploring these (or any other) types.

Sustainable HRM factors, drivers, and outcomes

Coming to the implementation of sustainable HRM, the factors, drivers and outcomes need to be explored. Gollan and Xu (2014) in their mode identify five factors: organizational change (e.g., value and behavior), workplace institutions and systems (e.g., recruitment and reward policies), career development and organizational learning (e.g., training and capability enhancement), employee consultation and involvement (e.g., innovation), and work-life balance. In addition, the model identifies three main drivers (culture and customs, leadership, and management style) for organizations adopting sustainable HRM strategies and examines their impact on employees (e.g., development and well-being, satisfaction and commitment, voluntary and required pro-environmental behaviors), and organizational outcomes (e.g., productivity and profit). Empirical contributions in testing models of association are welcome.

Refrences

Andersson, L., Jackson, S. E., & Russell, S. V. (2013). Greening organizational behavior: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 151-155. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1854

Aust, I., Matthews, B., & Muller-Camen, M. (2020). Common Good HRM: A paradigm shift in Sustainable HRM? Human Resource Management Review, 30(3), 100705. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2019.100705

Dyllick, T., & Muff, K. (2015). Clarifying the Meaning of Sustainable Business: Introducing a Typology From Business-as-Usual to True Business Sustainability. Organization & Environment, 29(2), 156-174. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026615575176

Ehnert, I. (2009). Sustainable human resource management. Springer.

Gollan, P. J. and Xu, Y. (2014). ‘Fostering corporate sustainability: Integrative and dynamic approaches to sustainable HRM’. In K. Zink, W. Harry and I. Ehnert (Eds), Managing human resources sustainability (pp. 225–245). Heidelberg: Springer Publishing.

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.

Dr. Kamal Badar
Dr. Ahmad Siddiquei
Dr. Mohammed Aboramadan
Guest Editors

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• sustainable HRM
• socially responsible HRM
• green HRM
• triple bottom line HRM
• common good HRM
• recruitment and selection
• training and development
• values and behavior
• leadership
• satisfaction and well-being