Driving environmental stewardship: Exploring the impact of green HRM on voluntary green behaviors in higher education institutions

The rise in business activities comes at the cost of environmental degradation. Past research endorses the implementation of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) to encourage sustainability in organizations. This study assesses the influence of GHRM on employees’ voluntary workplace green behavior (VWGB) with the mediating role of environmental awareness (EA) and green perceived organizational support (GPOS). To achieve our objectives, we surveyed 186 employees working in Indian private and government Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) using a closed-ended structured questionnaire. The structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicate no direct impact of GHRM on VWGB; however, an indirect relationship through EA and GPOS was established. Specifically, GPOS was found to be a strong predictor of VWGB compared to EA. The study provides a roadmap to HR managers and top management in HEIs on how GHRM can lead to VWGB and thus contribute to greening the organization. Further, the study provided evidence of the key role of GPOS in enabling discretionary green behavior; therefore, policymakers should prioritize and invest in developing GPOS through relevant green practices. The study investigates the novel underlying psychological and social mechanisms (i.e., GPOS and EA) and contributes to the green corpus.