Green human resources management in the environmental protection institutions: qualitative study in the Republic of Serbia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo260004LKeywords:
green human resources management, environmental protection institutions, qualitative researchAbstract
This study examines the practice and application of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) in environmental protection institutions in the Republic of Serbia. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews. Ten respondents from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as environmental protection institutions and organizations, participated in the study. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo, through which five main themes were identified: (1) green recruitment and selection, (2) environmental training and employee development, (3) motivation and reward systems, (4) organizational culture and leadership, and (5) institutional barriers. The results indicate that management staff generally support the integration of sustainable practices into human resource management, particularly within environmental institutions. However, several barriers remain, including limited funding and the lack of environmentally focused training programs. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the importance of GHRM as a strategic tool for strengthening environmental responsibility within institutions and organizations.
Downloads
References
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
Elkington, J. (1998). Accounting for the triple bottom line. Measuring Business Excellence, 2, 18–22. https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/accounting-for-the-triple-bottom-line-X0LgHHe2Xf
Gupta, R., & Kaur, S. (2024). A 2‐1‐1 multi‐level perspective of understanding the relationship between green human resource management practices, green psychological climate, and green employee behavior, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(5), 4068-4084. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2778
Gürlek, M., & Tuna, M. (2019). Corporate social responsibility and work engagement: Evidence from the hotel industry. Tourism Management Perspectives, 31, 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2019.05.004
Ismail, B., & Abdelghani, L. (2024). Green Human Resource Management: Policies and Practices. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 28(4), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i6.5527
Jabbour, C. J. C., & de Sousa Jabbour, A. B. L. (2016). Green human resource management and green supply chain management: Linking two emerging agendas. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112(3), 1824–1833. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.01.052
Jackson, S. E., Renwick, D. W. S., Jabbour, C. J. C., & Muller-Camen, M. (2011). State-of-the-Art and Future Directions for Green Human Resource Management: Introduction to the Special Issue. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(2), 99-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/239700221102500203
Jaganjac, J., Nikolić, J. L., & Lazarević, S. (2024). The importance of green human resource management practices for sustainable organizational development: Evidence from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. JEEMS Journal of East European Management Studies, 29(1), 157-180. https://doi.org/10.5771/0949-6181-2024-1-157
Kumar, M., Anas, M. (2023). Green HRM: An Empirical Study on Validation of Measurement Scale in Indian Environment, BIMTECH Business Perspectives, 4(1), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/25819542231185601
Lakhera A., & Sharma, P. (2020). Green HRM: Best HR Practices Within an Organization for Reducing Employees' Carbon Footprint. International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations (IJKBO), IGI Global Scientific Publishing, 10(3), 1-8. https://ideas.repec.org/a/igg/jkbo00/v10y2020i3p1-8.html
Lawter, L., & Garnjost, P. (2025). Green Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance: A Systematic Review. Sustainability, 17(7), 3132. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17073132
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). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2371983
Molina-Azorin, J. F., López-Gamero, M. D., Tarí, J. J., Pereira-Moliner, J., & Pertusa-Ortega, E. M. (2021). Environmental Management, Human Resource Management and Green Human Resource Management: A Literature Review. Administrative Sciences, 11(2), 48. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11020048
Mousa S. K., Othman, M. (2020). The impact of green human resource management practices on sustainable performance in healthcare organisations: A conceptual framework. Journal of Cleaner Production, 243, 118595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118595
Mousa, S. K., & Othman, M. (2023). Green human resource management practices and environmental performance in the public sector: The mediating role of leadership commitment. Sustainability, 15(4), 2345.
Navajas-Romero, V., Ceular-Villamandos N, Perez-Priego, MA, Caridad-Lopez del Rıo L (2022). Sustainable human resource managementthe mediating role between work engagement andteamwork performance. PLoS ONE, 17(8) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271134
Paillé, P. Paillé P. Chen, Y., Boiral O. & Jin, J. (2014). The Impact of Human Resource Management on Environmental Performance: an Employee-Level Study. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(3), 451-466. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10551-013-1732-0
Panić, A., Vujko, A., & Knežević, M. (2025). Economic indicators of rural destination development oriented to tourism management: The case of ethno villages in Western Serbia. Hotel and Tourism Management, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur2400006P
Pavlović, G. (2024). The COVID-19 Pandemic and it effect on human capital and financial performance: Evidence from Serbian banks. Anali Ekonomskog Fakulteta U Subotici, 60(51), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.5937/AnEkSub2300022P
Pham, N. T., Vo Thanh, T., Tučková, Z., & Thuy, V. T. N. (2020). The role of green human resource management in driving hotel’s environmental performance: Interaction and mediation analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 88, 102392. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102392
Ren, S., Jiang, K., & Tang, G. (2022). Leveraging green HRM for firm performance: The joint effects of CEO environmental belief and external pollution severity and the mediating role of employee environmental commitment. Human Resource Management, 61(2), 277. https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fhrm.22079
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. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00328.x
Renwick, D. W.S., Jabbour, C. J.C., Muller-Camen, M., Redman, T., & Wilkinson, A. (2016). Contemporary developments in Green (environmental) HRM scholarship. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(2), 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1105844
Sharma, G., & Sharma, A. (2020). Policies and Practices in Green Human Resource Management. International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Topics, 01(01), 20-24. https://doi.org/10.5281/
Talić, M., Ivanović-Đukić, M., Rađenović, T. (2020). Sustainable entrepreneurship: Creating opportunities for green products development. Economics of Sustainable Development. 4(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5937/ESD2002001T
Tang, G.; Chen, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Paillé, P.; Jia, J. (2018). Green Human Resource Management Practices: Scale Development and Validity. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resource, 56(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12147
Usman, M., Fazal, S., Warsi, A. Z., & Gul, H. (2025). Green HRM and Resource Optimization in the Public Sector: A Pathway to Achieving Sustainable Environmental Policy Goals. Review of Education, Administration & Law, 8(1), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.47067/real.v8i1.403
Yu, W., Chavez, R., Feng, M., Wong, C.Y., & Fynes, B. (2020). Green human resource management and environmental cooperation: An ability-motivation-opportunity and contingency perspective, International Journal of Production Economics, 219, 224-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.06.013
Yusoff, Y. M., Nejati, M., Kee, D. M. H., & Amran, A. (2018). Linking Green Human Resource Management Practices to Environmental Performance in Hotel Industry. Global Business Review, 21(3), 663-680. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150918779294
Yusoh, H., Abdulatif, A., Halid, H., & Mohd Yusoff, Y. 2023. The Relationship between Green Human Resource Management Practices (Green HRM) and Environmental Performance in Food and Beverage Industry. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(12), 661–676. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i12/19873
Zahrani, A. A. (2024). The influence of green human resource management practices on organizational environmental performance: mediating roles of green innovation and employee performance. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2387378
Zimon, D., Madzík, P., Dellana, S., Sroufe, R., Ikram, M. & Lysenko-Ryba, K. (2022). Environmental effects of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management system implementation in SSCM. The TQM Journal, 34(3), 418-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-01-2021-0025
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 BizInfo Blace
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
