Green HRM and STARA capabilities in higher education: the mediating roles of green innovation and green passion in sustainable performance

Purpose This study aims to examine how Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) and Smart Technology–AI–Robotics–Algorithms (STARA) capabilities operate as concurrent human- and digital-capability domains associated with sustainable performance in higher education institutions (HEIs). It further tests whether green innovation (GI) and green passion (GP) explain these relationships as parallel mediating mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Using a three-wave, one-month time-lagged survey of employees from 10 HEIs in Sindh, Pakistan, this study analysed 424 matched responses. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Predictive performance was assessed using PLSpredict and complementary machine-learning models, with SHAP used for predictive interpretation. Findings Both GHRM and STARA capabilities are positively associated with sustainable performance, and GI and GP each significantly mediate these relationships. The GI-mediated pathways are stronger than the corresponding GP-mediated pathways, indicating that innovation routines constitute the dominant capability-conversion mechanism. GP operates as a complementary and potentially more context-sensitive motivational pathway. Machine-learning analysis provides complementary predictive evidence and identifies GI as the leading predictor, converging with the structural ordering observed in the PLS-SEM results. Practical implications University leaders should integrate sustainability into HR practices, deploy STARA responsibly through smart-campus monitoring and data-enabled decision support, and prioritise eco-innovation. Resource-constrained HEIs can begin with phased, low-cost initiatives such as staff training, green committees, basic sustainability dashboards and pilot eco-innovation projects. Social implications The findings may inform institutional efforts to strengthen employee participation and employee-evaluated social sustainability outcomes relevant to internal stakeholders. Originality/value This study advances HEI sustainability research by positioning GHRM and STARA as dual human- and digital-capability antecedents – an underexamined theoretical configuration in higher education – and GI and GP as parallel mediating mechanisms. It therefore offers a more integrated, mechanism-based explanation of how sustainability capability deployment becomes performance-relevant in an emerging-economy HEI context.