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The role of employee Employeeenvironmental
environmental commitment in the commitment as
a mediator
green HRM practices, turnover
intentions and environmental
sustainability nexus Received 20 June 2022
Revised 28 May 2023
4 August 2023
Abdul-Razak Suleman Accepted 8 August 2023
Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management,
University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiah
Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management,
University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, and
Aaron Makafui Ametorwo
University of Education Winneba, Winneba, Ghana
Abstract
Purpose –The study sought to examine themediating effect of employee environmental commitment (EEC) in
the relationships between green human resource management practices (Green HRMPs) and environmental
sustainability (ES) and employee turnover intentions (ETI).
Design/methodology/approach – Using a cross-sectional survey approach, data was sourced from 296
respondents from five manufacturing firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Data was analysed using
descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS.
Findings –Results showed that EEC had a partial mediation effect on the relationship between Green HRMPs
and ES at the organisational level but fully mediated the relationship between Green HRMPs and ETI at the
individual level.
Practical implications – It is evident from the findings that Green HRMPs improve ES and employee
stability. Therefore, practitioners and educational institutions should consider integrating environmental
concerns into their functional processes and operations. In addition, governments as policymakers should
formulate and strengthen the enforcement of already-existing environmental management and sustainability
policies that promote the integration of green practices and initiatives in both private and public entities.
Originality/value – Little is known about Green HRM and its effect on organisational and individual-level
outcomes, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study presents empirical evidence from an emerging economy.
Keywords Green human resource management practices, Environmental sustainability,
Employee turnover intentions, Employee environmental commitment, Manufacturing firms
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Advancing a culture of sustainable development in an organisation today is a necessity, and
the human resource management (HRM) department must design and implement strategies
to expand it. As such, Bangwal and Tiwari (2015) posit that it is necessary to integrate
Since acceptance of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliation(s): Abdul-Razak
Suleman is at the School of Business and Law, Centre for People, Place and Planet, Edith Cowan
Benchmarking: An International
University, Joondalup, Australia and Aaron Makafui Ametorwo is at the Department of Human Journal
Resource and Organisational Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology © Emerald Publishing Limited
1463-5771
(KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. DOI 10.1108/BIJ-06-2022-0393
BIJ environmental management into the practice of HRM, conceptualised as Green HRM. The
term Green HRM was first coined by Wehrmeyer (1996) when the first edition of his book
titled “Green policies can help to bear fruit” was published. Subsequently, Wehrmeyer (2017)
defined Green HRM as a concept that fosters sustainable practices by educating employees
and engaging them in environmental sustainability. Thus, Green HRM implies the adoption
and implementation of eco-friendly HR initiatives to accomplish greater efficiency and
employee involvement; this helps organisations reduce the carbon footprint of employees.
For this reason, it is prudent for organisations to build a green sense among employees (Yong
et al., 2020). Moreover, recent studies have revealed that when employees pay attention to the
environment within which they work, it gives them insight into the concepts of
environmental sustainability and Green HRM. This eventually reduces their carbon
footprint and costs, improves efficiency, and engages employees through e-record keeping, e-
learning, carpooling, teleconferences, virtual interviews, among others (Cao et al., 2023; Saeed
et al., 2022; Shafaei and Nejati, 2023; Suleman et al., 2022a).
Extant literature on Green HRM suggests that for organisations to sustain and survive, they
need to pay attention to their social, environmental, economic and financial factors (Acquah et al.,
2021; Huang et al., 2023; Rizvi and Garg, 2021; Yusliza et al., 2019). In that regard, Anaman et al.
(2023) assert that forward-looking organisations need to ultimately balance their industrial
growth with ensuring a well-preserved environment within which they operate. Consequently,
the United Nations formulated 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets built on
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals are unified and integrated into three
perspectives of sustainable development (i.e. economic, social, and environmental). According to
Taylor et al. (2012, p. 790), “HRM is a core partner in organizational environmental sustainability”;
therefore, the linkbetweenGreenHRMandSDGs is perceived as a “means to an end” (Chamsand
Garc
ıa-Bland
on, 2019). In this context, the fundamental task ofGreenHRM is the supervision and
utilisation of human resources towards sustainable performance. In line with this, Freitas et al.
(2020) perceive Green HRM as the managerial control of human capabilities and skills to achieve
not only economic gains but also social and environmental sustainability.
Previous studies indicate that the focuson specific SDGs relevant to organisational contexts (e.g.
SDGs; 8–decentwork and economic growth, 12 – responsible consumption andproduction, and 13
– climate change) has led to improvement in both organisational and individual outcomes (Chams
and Garc
ıa-Bland
on, 2019; Ren et al., 2018; Shafaei et al., 2020). In this regard, several studies have
examined the relationship between Green HRM and organisational citizenship behaviour
(Aboramadan and Karatepe, 2021), sustainable performance (Raza and Khan, 2022), enhanced
corporate image (Yusliza et al., 2019) and employee green commitment and creativity (Leidner et al.,
2019). Despite this progress, there is a dearth of literature on the nexus between Green HRM and
employee turnover intentions (Shafaei et al., 2020; Yong et al., 2020), especially from developing
countries of which Ghanaian is no exception (Acquah et al., 2021; Anlesinya and Susomrith, 2020).
According to Hancock et al. (2013), employee turnover intentions correlate positively to the actual
voluntary turnover rate, and that turnover intentions in the manufacturing industry are largely
dependent on employees’ commitment to their work environment. In line with this, Pham et al.
(2019b) revealed that Green HRMPs predict employee environmental commitment and employee
turnover intentions. Furthermore, recent research by KPMG (2023) has revealed that almost one in
every two UK workers (46%) want the company they work for to demonstrate a commitment to
environmental sustainability,while one in every five (20%)has turneddowna joboffer ormayhave
an intention to leave when the company’s environmental commitments are not in line with their
values. Therefore, this study was guided by two objectives. First, the study sought to investigate
the relationship betweenGreenHRMPsand employee turnover intentions aswell as environmental
sustainability among manufacturing companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The
second objective was to assess themediating effect of employee environmental commitment (EEC)
in the relationships between Green HRMPs and environmental sustainability (ES) as well as
employee turnover intentions (ETI) to augment the existing literature on Green HRM (Islam et al., Employee
2020; Suleman et al., 2022a). Regarding philosophical basis, the tenets of the current research environmental
associatewith four areas that constitute positivism (Denscombe, 2002)– search for cause and effect, commitment as
independence of the research, standardisation and use of neutral research tools, and empirical
observation.The studyof the constructsunder revieware of social andnatural phenomena in terms a mediator
of cause and effect, and they have been objectively examined and assessed by the researchers
through the use of standardised tools. This is an empirical study and throughout, the researchers
have been neutral in assessments and interpretation of outcomes of analysis.
The subsequent sections look at the literature review and hypotheses formulation,
methods, data analysis, results and findings, discussions of findings, theoretical and practical
implications, and lastly, limitations of the study and future research.
2. Literature review and hypotheses formulation
2.1 Legitimacy theory
The legitimacy theory is premised on the fact that “Businesses are part of the society within
which they operate, and hence they owe the society a duty of care as good corporate citizens”
(Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975, p. 122). Dowling and Pfeffer (1975, p. 122) assert that legitimacy
theory is the result of the concept of organisational legitimacy, which they define as “. . . a
condition or status which exists when an entity’s value system is congruent with the value
system of the larger system of which the entity is a party”. According to them, when there is
an actual or potential disparity between the two value systems then, there is a tendency for
the entity’s legitimacy to be revoked. Thus, an organisation that seeks to create and maintain
legitimacy with its society would have to voluntarily report its activities and their impact on
the environment within which they operate (Jijelava and Vanclay, 2017; Zhang et al., 2019).
Legitimacy theory focuses on the concept of a social contract, which implies that a firm’s
survival is contingent on how well it operates within the bounds and standards of its society
(Suleman et al., 2022a). Against this background explanation of the theory, Jijelava and
Vanclay (2017) argue that the society fulfils its part of the contract by providing businesses
with their legal standing, attributes, and the authority to own and use natural resources and
to hire its members as employees. From the discussions above, it is evident that this study
finds support with the legitimacy theory, in the light of firms attracting, training, and
maintaining prospective employees who are environmentally conscious via the
implementation of Green HRMPs to ensure ES and subsequently justify their existence.
Based on this, the study employs the legitimacy theory as grounds for the relationship
between Green HRMPs and ES at the organisational level.
2.2 Social identity theory
In explaining the understudied relationships at the individual level, the Social Identity
Theory (SIT) as propounded by Tajfel et al. (1979) was employed as the theoretical basis.
Specifically, SIT provides a resilient foundation for explaining the relationship between
Green HRMPs and ETI. The theory posits that people develop a positive self-concept by first
classifying themselves into groups and then identifying themselves as members of that
particular group (Hogg, 2020; Stets and Burke, 2000). Thus, individuals tend to associate
themselves with high-status groups to enhance their self-esteem. In line with SIT, the
enhanced prestige of an organisation is likely to induce prospective and existing employees to
seek and maintain their membership with it to boost their self-esteem and hence, self-concept
(Chaudhary, 2019; Turner and Tajfel, 1986).
Rubel et al. (2021) assert that employees as members of a responsible organisation, take
pride in the organisational activities, support its values and are loyal to the organisation. In this
BIJ view, it is expected that by reflecting the ecological attitude of an organisation, Green HRMPs
would differentiate the organisation from the others and make it a more favourable place to
work, as compared to its competitors (Chaudhary, 2018; Pham et al., 2019a). Thus, going by the
assumption of SIT, employees would want to be associated with an ecologically responsible
organisation to experience pride and enhanced self-concept. Based on the above explanations,
the researchers argue that when employees are attracted to an eco-friendly organisation, they
are more likely to be committed and thereby reduce their turnover intentions, as theymay find
their current engagement as prestigious and worth protecting, especially in this era of climate
quitting (KPMG, 2023). As far as this study is concerned, employee environmental
commitment refers to: commitment to an eco-friendly organisation or work environment.
2.3 Green human resource management
Green HRM is a significant emerging area in the business and management context (Yusoff
et al., 2020). It is characterised as a comprehensive approach to ensure that an organisation’s
operational processes, functional practices, and complete human resource management
systems are friendly environmentally, and ecologically balanced (Bangwal and Tiwari, 2015).
For instance, Acquah et al. (2021) defined Green HRM as the firm’s policies, procedures, and
strategies that benefit the firm, the natural environment, the employees, and the society by
making employees of the organisation green-oriented.
Yu et al. (2020) define Green HRM as aligning HR policies and procedures (i.e. recruiting,
training, developing, compensating, and employee interactions) with the organisational
ecological goals. As a result, Green HRM is directly responsible for ensuring that the firm’s
green objectives are met throughout the HRM processes of recruiting, hiring, training,
compensating, developing, and advancing its human capital, as well as developing a green
workforce that understands, values, and practices green initiatives (Suleman et al., 2022a).
2.4 Green HRMPs and ES
In an attempt to empirically establish the relationship between Green HRMPs and ES,
Bangwal et al. (2017) reported that Green HRM significantly and positively affects
environmental performance. Likewise, Hadjri et al. (2019) revealed a significant direct
relationship between green recruitment and selection, green training, green compensation,
and the environmental performance of the hospitals they studied. Similarly, Likhitkar and
Verma (2017), in a systematic review of the literature, reported that the Green HRMPs result
in greater efficiencies, lower cost and ultimately ensure ES in the organisational context.
Moreover, Afum et al. (2020) indicated that green manufacturing practices have a significant
and positive effect on sustainable (i.e. economic, environmental, and social) performance.
On the other hand, Malik et al. (2020) found that out of the five dimensions of Green
HRMPs, only two dimensions (i.e. green rewards and green recruitment and selection) had a
significant positive effect on the firms’ sustainability. Jer
onimo et al. (2020) reported that
green hiring and green training play significant roles in organisations’ rationale for
sustainability, whereas green compensation was deemed irrelevant. Based on the legitimacy
theory as the theoretical foundation for explaining the relationship between Green HRMPs
and ES and inferences from the above mixed, inconsistency and fragmented empirical
evidence, this study hypothesised that:
H1. Green HRMPs will positively and significantly predict ES.
2.5 Green HRMPs and ETI
Warner and Zhu (2018) argued that for the current generation of employees to be committed
to an organisation and stay longer in the organisation, it depends on diverse value systems,
beliefs and attitudes based on current business trends and processes. Thus, the current crop Employee
of employees are committed to organisations that are open to new technologies, processes and environmental
innovation. Consequently, Ren et al. (2018) reiterate that Green HRMPs are the means by commitment as
which organisations get employees to be committed due to the current global demands for ES.
Thus, due to the current global warming concerns and technological advancement and its a mediator
integration into business processes (i.e. HRM practices), employees are more willing to be
associated with green employers. Even though there are limited studies that have examined
the direct relationship between Green HRMPs and ETI, the few available are presented in the
subsequent paragraphs.
In the quest to examine the effect of Green HRMPs on organisational outcomes, Bangwal
and Tiwari (2015) concluded that implementing Green HRMPs enhance the organisational
image, improve the productive and efficient use of resources which eventually leads to the
retention of employees. Similarly, Sarode and Patil (2016) reported that integrating green
initiatives like online training, e-filing, ride-sharing, e-recruitment, teleconferencing and
virtual interviews, building more energy-efficient office spaces into the traditional HRM
practices and job designs results in greater efficiencies and employee retentions.
Moreover, Likhitkar and Verma (2017) observed that Green HRMPs positively predict
organisational sustainability and employee retention. Again, Islam et al. (2020) examined the
effect of Green HRMPs on millennial turnover intentions and found that Green HRMPs had a
significant negative effect on turnover intentions. Furthermore, Qadri et al. (2022)
investigated the impact of GHRM practices (e.g. green pay attention and rewards, green
performance management, green involvement, green recruitment and selection, and green
training role) on millennial employees’ turnover intention (METI) in the Malaysian hotel
industry and found that only green rewards and green involvement have a significant impact
on METI. Finally, Karatepe et al. (2022) reported that Green HRM enhances employees’
perceptions of organisational support for the environment, while perceived organisational
support for the environment fosters work engagement and task-related pro-environmental
behaviour and reduces quitting intentions in the Taiwan hotel industry. Inferring from the
above-discussed empirical studies and adopting the SIT as theoretical support for explaining
the nexus between Green HRMPs and ETI, this study hypothesised that:
H2. Green HRMP will significantly predict Employee Turnover Intention negatively.
2.6 EEC as a mediator between green HRMPs and ES
Although the relationship between EEC and ES has been scantly examined empirically, this
study identified and critically reviewed the few pieces of evidence available. In the view of
Tang et al. (2017), organisations with employees who are highly committed to the
environment exhibit higher tendencies of adopting green initiatives that ultimately result in
ES. Yusliza et al. (2019) contend that EEC is crucial in the quest to ensure that business cases
for ES are achieved. Likewise, Colwell and Joshi (2013) postulated that when internal
stakeholders (i.e. business owners, top management, and employees) are dedicated and
willing to support environmentally friendly practices, they are motivated to ensure the
conservation and protection of the natural environment.
Tilleman (2012) examined the relationship betweenEEC andES practices at the individual
level. The findings indicated a positive and significant relationship between employees’ level
of environmental commitment and their firms’ ES practices. Similarly, Liu et al. (2018) found
that a perception of clear political commitment to environmental protection across multiple
governmental levels and units positively affects business efforts towards sustainable
environmental practices regardless of the enforcement intensity.
Furthermore, Sendawula et al. (2020) examined the effect of environmental commitment
on ES as a dimensional construct in the manufacturing context. The findings revealed that
BIJ environmental commitment positively and significantly influenced all the dimensions of ES,
thus, eco-friendly packaging, energy efficiency, waste management, and water conservation.
Again, Saputro and Nawangsari (2021)observed that Green HRMPs had an indirect effect on
the firm’s environmental performance through green organisational citizenship behaviour of
the employees. Drawing inferences from the above studies, and drawing on the legitimacy
theory, it is hypothesised thus:
H3. EEC will significantly mediate the relationship between Green HRMPs and ES.
2.7 EEC as a mediator between green HRMPs and ETI
Generally, employee commitment has been reported to negatively predict ETI (Ashar et al.,
2013; Kim et al., 2017). According to Park and Min (2020), turnover intention among
employees is dependent on numerous factors, including perceived organisational support
(Dawley et al., 2010), job stress (Shin and Cho, 2013), work-life balance (Suifan et al., 2016),
availability of “better” alternative offers (Kim et al., 2017) among others. However, the most
contributing factor is employee commitment because all other factors contribute to it.
Ashar et al. (2013) examined the effect of affective commitment on employee turnover
intentions with employees from the telecommunication and banking sector. The study found
that affective commitment negatively and significantly predicts ETI. Similarly, Suliman and
Al-Junaibi (2010) revealed that employee commitment had a significant negative effect on
employees’ intention to quit. Likewise, Salleh et al. (2012) reported that organisational
commitment and ETI are negatively and significantly related.
Moreover, Riaz et al. (2017) reported from their study that effective leadership had an indirect
significant and negative effect on turnover intentions through employee commitment.
According to Islam et al. (2020), Green HRMPs tend to reduce employees’ intention to leave
an organisation significantly. Seeking support from SIT andmaking reference to the findings of
the above-discussed studies, it is imperative to indicate that when top managers and the
leadership of organisations ensure the effective implementation of Green HRMPs, there is the
possibility of enhancing the commitment levels of their employees towards the environment and
thereby reduce their intentions to quit. Therefore, this study hypothesised that:
H4. EEC will significantly mediate the relationship between Green HRMPs and ETI
3. Methods
This study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. To collect data in a cross-
sectional field survey, questionnaires were used to collect data from a representative sample
of the research population in an office situation (Creswell, 2009; Malik et al., 2020).
The scope of the study was limited to Greater Accra Region-based manufacturing
companies listed on the GSE. The rationale for choosingmanufacturing companies is that the
Ghanaian manufacturing industry contributes a lot to national development as it provides
about 85% of employment in the private sector (Afum et al., 2020). However, the
environmental cost of the sector was about 10% of GDP and it was also considered the
highest contributor of greenhouse gas in Ghana (UNEP, 2013). Also, Greater Accra Region
was chosen because the companies selected have their headquarters where critical policies
are formulated. These companies are regulated by recognized national bodies like the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), among others (Suleman et al., 2022a).
In all, the study’s target population consisted of both managerial and non-managerial
employees of five listed manufacturing companies. Enquiries from the participating companies
showed that the totalworkforce (i.e.managers and employees)workingat their head officeswere
estimated at one thousand and ninety-two (1,092). The study initially adopted the stratified Employee
technique to put all managers in one stratum and all non-managerial employees in another environmental
stratum. Subsequently, the study adopted a probability sampling technique, precisely, the commitment as
simple random samplingmethod to collect data from each stratum. This technique was selected
because it gives respondentswithin each stratumor the selected samplean equal chance of being a mediator
selected and aids in carrying out valid analysis and producing accurate results (Saunders et al.,
2019). Based on the Miller and Brewer (2003) sample size determination formula, a total sample
size of 293 was estimated. However, the researchers were able to retreive data from 296
respondents electronically and in-person which was used for the analysis (see Table 1).
3.1 Instrumentation
The constructs outlined in Figure 1 conceptual framework were measured with existing
measuring scales (see Appendix) found in the reviewed literature; this was to ensure content
validity. Thus, Green HRMPs were assessed using a nineteen-item instrument developed by
Tang et al. (2017) with a sample item including “Our organisation attracts green job
candidates who use green criteria to select organisations”. Also, EEC and ES were measured
Variable Frequency Percentage
Gender
Male 164 55.4
Female 132 44.6
Age
20–29 years 155 52.3
30–39 years 76 25.7
40–49 years 36 12.2
50–59 years 27 9.1
60 years and above 2 0.7
Educational qualification
Diploma 24 8.1
Higher National Diploma (H.N.D) 39 13.2
Bachelor’s Degree 184 62.2
Master’s Degree 45 15.2
Doctorate Degree 4 1.4
Marital status
Single 171 57.8
Married 116 39.2
Divorced 6 2.0
Widowed 1 0.3
Separated 2 0.7
Length of service
1–5 years 157 53.0
6–10 years 96 32.4
11–15 years 28 9.5
16–20 years 8 2.7
Above 20 years 7 2.4
Table 1.
Role Summary of
Managerial 83 28.0 respondents’
Non-managerial 213 72.0 background
Source(s): Field Survey (2022) information
BIJ Environmental
Sustainability
Green HRMPs Employee
Environmental 
Commitment
Employee
Turnover Intention
Figure 1.
Conceptual framework
Source(s): Authors’ Construct (2022)
using seven-item scales developed by Raineri and Paill
e (2016) and Bangwal et al. (2017) with
sample items including “I feel a sense of duty to support the environmental efforts of this firm”
and “We prefer to buy or produce environmental-friendly products to the others”, respectively.
Finally, ETI was measured using a three-item scale developed by Mobley et al. (1979) with a
sample item “As soon as possible, I will leave this organisation”. Subsequently, a five-point
Likert scale where 1 5 strongly disagree, 2 5 disagree, 3 5 neutral, 4 5 agree, and
55 strongly agreewas used to obtain responses for all constructs because of its accuracy and
reliability (Adu et al., 2020; Tang et al., 2017). It is worth noting that apart from ESwith which
data was sourced from managers (managerial), data was sourced from employees (non-
managerial) for all the other constructs.
4. Data analysis, results and findings
The structural equation modelling (SEM) in SMART PLS 3.3.5 was utilised in testing the
direct and indirect relationships between the latent constructs because it provides the
researchers with the ability to reduce possible measurement errors through Confirmatory
Factor Analysis (CFA) (Brown and Moore, 2012; Zaman et al., 2019). Again, SEM allowed the
researchers to concomitantly assess the multiple hypothesised relationships rather than
individually assessing them, hence, greater accuracy in estimating the path coefficients is
assured. The analysis and interpretations were done in two distinct phases.
First, preliminary tests were conducted to check the reliability and validity of the
measurement instrument used in assessing the model’s fitness via CFA. Thus, the
Standardised Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) and the Normed Fit Index (NFI) were
within the recommended threshold (i.e. SRMR5 0.078 < 0.08, NFI5 0.687 > 0.5) see Table 2.
Also, the results as summarised and presented in Table 3 show that the factor loadings,
Fitness indices Recommended thresholds Author (s) Final CFA model
SRMR <0.08, excellent, 0.08–0.10 acceptable Hu and Bentler (1999) 0.078
Bagozzi (2010)
Henseler et al. (2015)
NFI >0.5, acceptable, 0.70–1.0 excellent Bentler and Bonett (1980) 0.687
Sivo et al. (2006)
Table 2. Dijkstra and Henseler (2015)
Summary of model Note(s): NB: SRMR 5 Standardised Root Mean Square Residual, NFI 5 Normed Fit Index
fitness indices Source(s): Field Survey (2022)
Employee
Factor Cronbach’s Composite Average variance
Latent variable Items loadings alpha reliability (CR) extracted (AVE) environmental
commitment as
Green Human Resource GRS1 0.682 0.944
Management Practices GRS2 0.599 a mediator
GRS3 0.592
GT1 0.616 0.938 0.573
GT2 0.672
GT3 0.680
GPR1 0.637
GPR2 0.761
GPR3 0.694
GPM1 0.740
GPM2 0.677
GPM3 0.704
GPM4 0.648
GI1 0.732
GI2 0.752
GI3 0.687
GI4 0.781
GI5 0.712
GI6 0.661
Employee Environmental EEC1 0.623
commitment EEC2 0.691
EEC3 0.716
EEC4 0.655 0.848 0.885 0.525
EEC5 0.788
EEC6 0.797
EEC7 0.783
Environmental ES1 0.553
Sustainability ES2 0.754
ES3 0.773
ES4 0.781 0.849 0.886 0.528
ES5 0.729
ES6 0.741
ES7 0.729
Employee Turnover ET1 0.950 Table 3.
Intentions ET2 0.939 0.933 0.957 0.882 Summary results of
ET3 0.928 measurement scales
Source(s): Field Survey (2022) and model indicators
composite reliability (CR), Cronbach’s alpha and average variance extracted (AVE) values
affirm reliability in measuring each of the latent constructs, the existence of internal
consistency and convergent validity among the model’s constructs. Thus, all the factor
loadings and AVE values exceeded the minimum accepted value of 0.5 (Hair et al., 2012) as
well as the CR and Cronbach’s alpha values were above 0.7 (Henseler et al., 2015; Sarstedt and
Cheah, 2019). Likewise, the discriminant validity of the constructs was assessed by
conducting the Fornell-Larcker and Hetrotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) Ratio tests. As presented
in Table 3 the results demonstrated discriminant validity since the square roots of AVE
coefficients were higher than the inter-correlations of the latent variables (Fornell and
Larcker, 1981) and the HTMT values were below 0.85 (Henseler et al., 2015). Finally, the
results as presented in Table 4 show that the data collected was free from common method
bias (CMB) as all the inner variance inflation factors (VIFs) resulting from the collinearity test
were less than the recommended threshold of 3.3 (Kock, 2015; Suleman et al., 2022b).
BIJ
Fornell-Larcker Test Results
1 2 3 4
1 Green HRMPs 0.725
2 EEC 0.665 0.726
3 ES 0.572 0.605 0.688
4 ETI 
0.194 
0.071 
0.055 0.939
Hetrotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) Ratio Test Results
1 Green HRMPs –
2 EEC 0.762 –
3 ES 0.225 0.108 –
4 ETI 0.622 0.654 0.124
Common Method Bias (Inner VIF Values)
1 Green HRMPs – 1.829 1.691 1.945
Table 4.
Discriminant validity 2 EEC 2.635 – 1.763 2.648
tests and common 3 ES 2.534 1.833 – 2.887
method bias 4 ETI 1.066 1.007 1.056 –
(inner VIFs) Source(s): Field Survey (2022)
Second, the relationships between the variables were established by conducting Pearson’s
product-moment correlation analysis in SPSS. Subsequently, the structural model was
generated and used to test the hypothesised relationships, as shown in Figure 2. The
bootstrapping method was used to generate standard errors, t-statistics and significance
in defining the precise paths effect level in the structural model (Adu et al., 2020;
Wong, 2013).
As shown in Table 5, Green HRMPs has a significant positive relationship with EEC
(r5 0.554, p < 0.01) and ES (r5 0.588, p < 0.01). However, there is an insignificant negative
relationship betweenGreenHRMPs andETI (r5
0.040, p>0.05). In the case of EEC andES,
there was a significant positive relationship (r 5 0.649, p < 0.01). Lastly, the results show a
significant negative correlation between EEC and ETI (r 5 
0.198, p < 0.01). The
demographic variables were not controlled for in the model because there was no significant
relationship between any of them with the dependent variables (Becker, 2005).
Evident from Table 6, Green HRMPs significantly predicted ES (β 5 0.334, p < 0.01) and
EEC (β5 0.572, p< 0.001) positively providing support for H1 and H3 respectively. However,
Green HRMPs had an insignificant negative effect on ETI (β 5 
0.082, p > 0.05), indicating
non-support for H2.
4.1 The mediation analysis
To test the mediation effect of EEC in the relationships between Green HRMPs and the
outcome variables (i.e. ES and ETI), the causal-effect model of mediation analysis by Baron
and Kenny (1986) was considered based on the results from PLS-SEM. As presented in
Table 7, the results reveal a significant indirect effect between Green HRMPs and ES through
EEC (i.e. Green HRMPs→EEC→ES: β5 0.271, p < 0.01). Thus, EEC is proven to be a partial
mediator in the relationship between Green HRMPs and ES. Likewise, Green HRMPs
predicted ETI significantly through EEC (i.e. Green HRMPs→ EEC→ ETI: β 5
0.137, p <
0.05). Thus, EEC is proven to be a full mediator in the relationship between Green HRMPs
and ETI.
Employee
environmental
commitment as
a mediator
Figure 2.
The CFA model
measurement with
standardised item
loadings
5. Discussion of findings
The current study set out to the relationship between Green HRMPs and ETI as well as ES.
Subsequently, the study sought to assess the mediating effect of EEC in these relationships
among listed manufacturing companies on the GSE. The study’s results provide support for
almost all the hypotheses formulated. Particularly, we found that Green HRMPs is a
significant predictor of ES at the organisational level. Thus, Green HRMPs play a crucial role
in improving ES. Theoretically, this finding lends support to the legitimacy theory which
states that firms and the society within which they operate are inextricably linked, resulting
in a “social contract” between them (Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975). That is, firms do not operate
in a vacuum hence, whatever firms do has a direct and indirect effect on the society
(environment). Therefore, when organisations are environmentally sensitive and implement
Green HRMPs, negative outcomes like environmental depletion, air pollution, and land
degradation, would be minimised which would significantly improve ES. Likewise, the
finding is consistent with an empirical study by Bangwal et al. (2017) who found a significant
positive effect of Green HRMPs on environmental performance in the Indian energy sector.
They argued that when firms include green initiatives in their HRM practices, it eliminates
environmental pollution and helps improve environmental performance. This finding is also
consistent with that of Hadjri et al. (2019) who reported that Green HRMPs predict
environmental performance significantly and positively in the Indonesian health sector.
Similarly, the finding is in line with a systematic review by Likhitkar and Verma (2017), who
BIJ
Table 5.
Summary results of the
correlational analysis
among study variables
Variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Gender 1.45 0.498 –
2 Age 2.70 1.090 0.042 –
3 Educational Qualification 2.89 0.807 
0.066 0.211** –
4 Marital Status 1.47 0.626 0.098 0.486** 0.134* –
5 Green HRMPs 3.8810 0.63736 
0.010 0.242** 0.112 0.081 –
6 EEC 3.6312 0.72434 
0.061 0.236** 0.116* 0.031 0.554** –
7 ES 3.9025 0.69081 
0.075 0.117 0.056 0.082 0.588** 0.649** –
8 ETI 2.8604 1.30161 
0.047 
0.083 
0.144 0.043 
0.040 
0.198** 
0.078
Note(s): NB: **, * Correlation is significant at 1% and 5% respectively (2-tailed)
Source(s): Field Survey (2021)
j EmployeeOriginal Sample mean Standard deviation T-statistics ( O/ P
Path sample (O) (M) (STDEV) STDEVj) values environmental
commitment as
Green HRMPs 0.572 0.580 0.056 10.134 0.000 a mediator
→EEC
Green HRMPs 0.334 0.336 0.072 4.629 0.000
→ES
Green HRMPs 
0.082 
0.098 0.097 0.851 0.395
→ETI
EEC→ES 0.474 0.474 0.067 7.107 0.000 Table 6.
EEC→ETI 
0.241 
0.257 0.085 2.828 0.005 The summary results
Source(s): Field Survey (2022) of the direct effects
Standard
Original Sample deviation T-statistics
Path2 sample (O) mean (M) (STDEV) (jO/STDEVj) P values
Green HRMPs 0.271 0.276 0.055 4.917 0.000 Partial
→EEC→ES Mediation Table 7.
Green HRMPs 
0.137 
0.152 0.058 2.368 0.018 Full Mediation effects
→EEC→ETI Mediation through specific
Source(s): Field Survey (2022) indirect effects
reported that Green HRMPs such as recruitment and selections, induction, rewards and
recognitions, organisational culture, employment relations, and compensation result in
greater efficiencies, lower cost and ultimately ensures ES in the organisational context. This,
in essence, suggest that when organisations are proactive and sensitive towards
environmental concerns by implementing Green HRMPs then eco-destruction would be
significantly reduced which will ultimately warrant improvement in ES.
However, we found that Green HRMPs negatively but insignificant predict ETI. Hence,
the study’s second hypothesis was not supported statistically. This is more so in the
Ghanaian context because of the high rate of unemployment and most employees usually do
not want to risk their current employment for non-financial reasons (Adu et al., 2020).
Nonetheless, the negative effect of GreenHRMPs onETI finds support with the social identity
theory which is based on the primary assumption that individuals tend to associate
themselves with high-status groups to enhance their self-esteem (Tajfel et al., 1979). In line
with this, Rubel et al. (2021) assert that employees as members of a responsible organisation,
take pride in the organisational activities, support its values and are loyal to the organisation.
Thus, it is expected that by reflecting the ecological attitude of an organisation, GreenHRMPs
would differentiate the organisation from the others and make it appear a more favourable
place to work, as compared to its competitors. Hence, employees would want to be associated
with an ecologically responsible organisation to experience pride and enhanced self-concept.
This finding is consistent with that of Nasurdin et al. (2018) who reported that HRM practices
had no significant direct effect on Malaysian nurses’ turnover intentions except through
organisational commitment. Also, Islam et al. (2020)found that two of the five dimensions of
BIJ Green HRMPs had a significant negative effect on turnover intentions. Qadri et al. (2022)
revealed that only green rewards and green involvement have a significant impact on
millennial ETI. Contrary to the findings of this study, Sarode and Patil (2016) noted that
integrating green initiatives results in greater efficiencies and significantly reduces ETI.
Again, Bangwal and Tiwari (2015) noted that the implementation of Green HRMPs would
significantly reduce the rate of turnover intentions of employees.
The results also showed that Green HRMPs positively and significantly predict EEC. This
outcome of the study is in line with that of Ren et al. (2018) who reported that Green HRMPs
are the means by which organisations get employees to be committed due to the current
global demands for ES. Thus, due to the current global warming concerns and technological
advancement and its integration into business processes (i.e. HRM practices), employees are
more willing to be associated with green employers. Similarly, the findings of this study
support that of Pham et al. (2019b) who revealed that Green HRMPs predict EEC positively
and that there is a two-way interaction of green training and green organisational culture
which enhances EEC more. Mandip (2012) advanced that paying attention to the
development of an environmentally sensitive management system can help nurture and
reinforce employees’ green attitudes and thereby make them environmentally committed.
Warner and Zhu (2018) further argued that for employees to be committed to an organisation
and stay longer depends on diverse value systems, beliefs, and attitudes based on current
business trends and processes. Organisations that are open to new technologies, processes,
and innovation attract the best talents, and employees’ regular and active participation in an
organisation’s environmental activities strengthen their understanding of corporate
environmental targets and policies, which in turn result in their sense of attachment,
responsibility, and commitment towards the environmental issues (Yusoff et al., 2020). For
example, Green training provides employees with an environmental understanding and
assists them in absorbing and adopting green attitudes and abilities, resulting in long-term
employee commitment to the environment (Suleman et al., 2022a).
Furthermore, we found that EEC mediates the relationship between Green HRMPs and ES.
Thus, EEC is a partial mediator in the Green HRMPs and ES nexus, which indicates that the
integration of environmental concerns into HRM practices induces employees’ commitment
towards green behaviours and subsequently improves ES. Our results corroborate the findings
of a study by Sendawula et al. (2020), who found that environmental commitment positively and
significantly influenced all the dimensions of ES. Also, the present results are consistent with
that of Tilleman (2012), who indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship
between employees’ level of environmental commitment and their firms’ ES practices. Likewise,
Saputro andNawangsari (2021) found that Green HRMPs had a significant indirect effect on the
firm’s environmental performance through green organisational citizenship behaviour of the
employees in the Indonesian manufacturing sector. Consequently, Colwell and Joshi (2013)
postulated that when internal stakeholders (i.e. business owners, top management, and
employees) are dedicated and willing to support environmentally friendly practices, they are
motivated to ensure the conservation and protection of the natural environment. This aligns
with the idea that employees who are genuinely committed to environmental concerns are more
likely to engage actively in sustainable practices, thereby amplifying the impact of
organisational green initiatives on environmental outcomes.
Finally, an intriguing discovery emerges as EECwas found to be a complete mediator in the
link between Green HRMPs andETI. This implies that the extent to which Green HRMPs affect
ETI is entirely mediated through the level of employee commitment towards environmental
issues. This finding is consistent with that of Pham et al. (2019b) who revealed that Green HRM
also plays a vital role in the commitment levels of employees towards the environment, as they
examined the relationship between Green HRMPs and EEC in the Vietnamese hospitality
industry. Again, our results corroborate a prior study by Karatepe et al. (2022), who found that
Green HRM enhances employees’ perceptions of organisational support for the environment, Employee
while perceived organisational support for the environment fosters work engagement and task- environmental
related pro-environmental behaviour and reduces quitting intentions in the Taiwan hotel commitment as
industry. Also, this finding is in support of that of Islam et al. (2020) who examined the effect of
Green HRMPs onmillennial employees’ intention to quit in theMalaysian tourism industry. The a mediator
researchers reported that Green HRMPs tend to reduce employees’ intention to leave an
organisation significantly. Therefore, organisations that successfully foster a culture of
environmental commitment among their workforce are more likely to mitigate turnover
intentions. This could be attributed to the perception that employees who align with an
organisation’s environmentally sustainable practices are more inclined to stay with the
company, believing in its broader mission and values.
6. Contribution to theory
Our study helps us to better understand that indulging in Green HRMPs would enhance the
environmental commitment of employees thereby promoting ES at the organisational level
and employee stability at the individual level. It significantly contributes to the existing
literature in the area of Green HRMPs in the manufacturing industry by providing new
evidence from an emerging economy (Ghana). Also, our research is one of the few studies that
extend knowledge by employing legitimacy theory (Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975) in a Green
HRM and ES context. Thus, our findings indicate that EEC plays a critical role in predicting
ES through Green HRMPs, unlike the usual environmental disclosures tenet of the theory
employed in sustainability studies (Welbeck et al., 2017). We argue that firms may fulfil part
of their social contract with stakeholders by attracting, training, andmaintaining prospective
employees who become environmentally conscious via the implementation of Green HRMPs
to ensure ES and subsequently justify their existence. Finally, previous studies have
established that Green HRMPs predict employees’ intentions to quit (see Likhitkar and
Verma, 2017; Qadri et al., 2022; Karatepe et al., 2022). However, our study serves as additional
empirical evidence, especially from Africa, which confirms that the implementation of Green
HRMPs reduces ETI, exclusively highlighting the role of EEC. This contributing card is
relevant, especially in this era of climate quitting (KPMG, 2023).
7. Contributions to practice and policy
This study has a number of interesting implications for practice and policy. First, it is evident
from the findings that Green HRMPs improve ES and employee stability. This implies the
urgency for HR managers to integrate ecological concerns into their functional processes by
adopting green practices like online tools and platforms for attracting, selecting, involving,
measuring, paying, and rewarding the performance of employees. These practices contribute
significantly to employee well-being at the workplace, thereby reducing ETI. Second, higher
education institutions and professional bodies must inculcate green concerns in their
curricula, teaching pedagogy and delivery. This will help develop potential employees who
are more environmentally conscious, committed to green practices, environmentally
knowledgeable and pro-environmental managers for the future. Finally, the government as
a policymaker should formulate and strengthen the enforcement of already-existing
environmental management and sustainability policies that promote the integration of green
practices and initiatives in HRM functions in both private and public entities. Awell-thought-
out policy would help companies to be committed to upholding, preserving, and cultivating
the culture of environmental management and sustainability thereby contributing to the
achievement of relevant SDGs.
BIJ 8. Limitations of the study and future research directions
Regardless of the insightful findings and contributions of this study, it is not free fromdrawbacks.
First, this study cannot provide causal evidence due to its research design. Thus, the current study
adopted the cross-sectional survey approach and this did not allow the researchers to assess the
changes in the responses of researchparticipants because of changes in time. Consequently, future
studies could carry out experimental research or collect data at different times (longitudinal) to
establish these casual effects. Second, the findings of this study are limited to onlymanufacturing
companies listed on theGSEandhence theymaynotbe applicable in other contexts, restricting the
generalisation of the study’s findings to other sectors.Therefore, future researchers can explore the
same or similar studies in other manufacturing sectors in other developing countries or other
sectors. Finally, the studymodel included both organisational and individual-level outcomes all in
one. Even though data was taken from two sources (i.e. managerial and non-managerial
employees) to verify these outcomes, there is still a tendency for CMB threat. To effectively
minimise CMB threat, future studies can source data in phases from different sources to examine
the relationship between Green HRMPs and both organisational and individual level outcomes
such as operational firm performance and employee green behaviours separately.
9. Conclusion
In sum, this study advances our understanding of the intricate dynamics between Green
HRMPs, EEC, ES and ETI. Themediation effects observed underscore the pivotal role of EEC
in shaping the outcomes of Green HRM initiatives at both the organisational and individual
levels. These insights offer valuable directions for organisational practice, educational
institutions and policy formulation, thereby contributing to the overall pursuit of
sustainability in the business landscape.
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(The Appendix follows overleaf)
BIJ Appendix
SECTION A: PERSONAL BACKGROUND 
NB: Please, after Section A, kindly proceed to Section E (on page 3) if you are a managerial 
staff. Thank you
SECTION B: GREEN HRM PRACTICES
Please indicate your response to the following statements by circling an option from 1 
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
1 2 3 4 5
Green Recruitment and Selection
Green Training 
Green Performance Management
Green Pay and Reward Employee
environmental
commitment as
a mediator
Green Involvement
SECTION C: EMPLOYEE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT
Please indicate your response to the following statements by circling an option from 1 
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
1 2 3 4 5
BIJ SECTION D: EMPLOYEE TURNOVER INTENTION  
Please indicate the extent to which these statements correspond to your work by circling an 
option from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 
1 2 3 4 5 
 
 Employee Turnover Intention      
 
 
SECTION E: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 
(MANAGERIAL EMPLOYEES ONLY) 
Please indicate your response to the following statements by circling an option from 1 
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 
1 2 3 4 5 
 
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
Corresponding author
Abdul-Razak Suleman can be contacted at: abdulrazaksuleman10@gmail.com
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