Linking green HRM practices to environmental performance through pro-environment behaviour in the information technology sector

Existing literature acknowledges the role of green human resource management (GHRM) in shaping employees’ pro-environmental behaviour and environmental performance. However, limited studies have investigated the specific impacts of GHRM practices on pro-environmental behaviour from the employees’ perspectives. This study aims to conceptualise GHRM practices as internal resources that can be used to stimulate employee pro-environmental information technology (IT) behaviour.

The hypothesised relationships were tested with the aid of partial least square path modelling of data collected from 333 IT professionals in ISO 14001 companies in Malaysia.

The results suggest that green training and development, performance management and empowerment and participation are essential in stimulating pro-environmental IT behaviour. Besides, the mediating effects of pro-environmental IT behaviour were significant for the impacts of green training and development, performance management and green empowerment and participation on environmental IT performance.

The results indicate that GHRM practices are significant predictors of environmental IT performance, but training and development could be counter-productive to performance unless it stimulates employees’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviour.

This study contributes to the resource-based view of HRM by examining GHRM practices as organisational resources for stimulating employee pro-environmental IT behaviour to support environmental IT performance.