GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ECO-INNOVATION: KNOWLEDGE-SHARING AS A MEDIATOR

Abstract

In recent years, the global attention to environmental sustainability has made Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) increasingly relevant. The phenomenon of eco-innovation, which focuses on the development of environmentally friendly products and processes, is critically dependent on organizational efforts - GHRM among them. Meanwhile, there has been an expanding interest in the relationship between GHRM practices and eco-innovation, however, a crucial blackout focused on how knowledge sharing behavior mediates the link of these research variables. This gap is the focus of this research which investigates the mediating effect of knowledge-sharing on eco-innovation in organizations with an environmental orientation. We argue that GHRM practices should have a positive impact on knowledge-sharing behavior that ultimately contribute to eco-innovation. With a sample of European manufacturing organizations, we survey 300 employees across various firm applications. Our results provide evidence for the hypothesized model and indicate that knowledge-sharing acts as a substantial mediator in the link between GHRM practices and eco-innovation performance. By adding a behavioral perspective to the intersection of both GHRM and eco-innovation, we provide new insights for practitioners that seek to use human resources as agents for environmental sustainability. Significant practice and research implications are provided.

Keywords: Green Human Resource Management, Eco-Innovation, Knowledge Sharing, Organizational Sustainability, Human Resource Practices