What we do today is what matters: a social identity perspective on green HRM and environmental performance

Purpose Contemporary scholarly literature underscores the significance of green human resource practices towards environmental management. In this line of inquiry, the present study is an attempt to determine if the green HRM–environmental performance nexus could enable employees to form a social identity with the organizations they work for. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research methodology was employed in the present study. Considering common method issues, we employed a time-lagged approach and collected 370 responses from the event management organizations in Pakistan. Findings We proposed a research model grounded in the social identity theory to specifically study the role of OCBI and OCBE as mediating variables and consciousness as a moderating variable on the relationship between green HRM and environmental performance. Our results lend full support to all the hypothesized relationships. Practical implications Given the significance of the study, we propose that hospitality organizations shall prioritize investments in green HRM to cultivate a culture of voluntary service and pro-environmental values among employees. Through these initiatives, organizations can successfully enhance their environmental performance. Furthermore, we suggest hospitality organizations revise their HR policies to align with the fundamental values necessary to implement green HRM practices. This can play an integral role in attracting and retaining high-potential employees. We additionally recommend that hospitality develop a mechanism to recognize and reward individual and environmental citizenship behaviours that contribute to the organization’s environmental performance. Originality/value This study examined the social identity framework to explain a workplace phenomenon. In this attempt, authors empirically demonstrated the influences of social identity on employee orientation towards environmental performance in the hospitality industry. The empirical results presented herein offer valuable insights contributing to theory and practice.