The role of sustainable human resource management practices to achieve sustainable employee performance – literature review and future research directions

Purpose Sustainable human resource management (SHRM) practices are essential for organisations to achieve sustainable employee performance (SEP). However, academic research currently lacks a coherent conceptualisation and empirical operationalisation of SEP. Moreover, few studies have explored the relationship between SHRM practices and SEP. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a systematic overview of the literature and outline the gaps that exist in this domain of investigation. This study also outlines promising avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric and deep content analysis of 180 articles published between 2015 and 2025 was conducted. The Scopus and Google Scholar databases were used to extract articles. The study used the VOSviewer software to examine publishing patterns and themes underpinning SHRM and SEP. Findings The bibliometric analysis identified five clusters including high-performance work system, employee green behaviour, job crafting, transformational leadership and artificial intelligence. The study first highlights the significance of sustainable leadership in adopting socially responsible HRM, green HRM and common good HRM practices to achieve SEP. Additionally, together with learning and vitality, this study adds job crafting as a new determinant of SEP. Furthermore, the importance of a learning organisation has been highlighted as a fundamental driver for SEP. Practical implications This study unveils meaningful insights that can help human resource managers and practitioners to have enriching knowledge on the importance of sustainable leadership and SHRM practices. In turn, this will help to boost the SEP, promote job satisfaction and retain high-performing employees. Originality/value This study provides a novel theoretical contribution by conceptualising sustainable leadership, SHRM and SEP.