بررسی اقدامات مدیریت سبز منابع انسانی در بخش تولیدی فلسطین: یک مطالعه تجربی Assessing green human resources management practices in Palestinian manufacturing context: An empirical study

1. Introduction Recently, both developed and developing countries became more concerned about the importance of environmental issues and sustainable development (Sharma and Gupta, 2015), this came as a result of the industrial revolution which caused an increment in degradation of the environment (Jabbour and Santos, 2008a). These concerns generated more pressure and inculcated business and industry to develop and use green management by adopting environmentally friendly practices and products (Marcus and Fremeth, 2009; Prasad, 2013). This requires an increased organizational focus on their environmental impact, considered both from the perspective of its interaction with the firm’s financial and social growth and in terms of its stand-alone virtues. To achieve this evolution, many companies seek to develop and deploy a formal Environmental Management System (EMS). Since the 1990s, EMSs have stood out as one of the most effective tools to achieve sustainable development (Chan, 2011) through integrating aspects of Environmental Management (EM) into corporate decision-making processes (Wagner, 2013). EM has been included in many departments such as marketing, supply chain, finance and others (Soo Wee and Quazi, 2005; Rehman and Shrivastava, 2011; Mittal and Sangwan, 2014). Recently, HRM joined the green movement (Prathima and Misra, 2013). Since HRM plays a vital part in shaping organizational culture, structure, strategy, and policy development (Paauwe and Boselie, 2005; Schuler and Jackson, 2014), HR is regarded as a key player in achieving sustainable development in the organization (Mandip, 2012). In response to this, several researchers (e.g. Daily and Huang, 2001; Jackson et al., 2011; Renwick et al., 2013) directed their attention towards the relation between HRM and EM. They have emphasized the importance of employees’ green activities in the workplace. This integration of EM into HRM practices is known as Green Human Resource Management (GHRM), which aims to help organizations to improve Environmental Performance (EP) through increasing positive employees’ involvement and commitment towards environment (Renwick et al., 2008; Jackson et al., 2011). However, the manufacturing sector is considered to be a source of various forms of environmental pollution in both developed and developing countries, which need its managerial activities to be critically assessed, monitored and rectified (Rehman et al., 2016). Because of the important role and effects of manufacturing sector on economic growth of nations (Szirmai and Verspagena, 2015; Marconi et al., 2016), there is an increasing need for adopting effective environmentally friendly practices that can mitigate environmental impacts of this vital sector. Adopting green practices is not limited to specific organizational department. In fact, employees in all organization’s functions are equally responsible to keep their organization’s environment green (Jabbour et al., 2008; Opatha and Arulrajah, 2014). Thus, managers should include their employees at all levels in the environment preservation practices. Therefore, a clear guide is needed to help HR managers in applying and developing GHRM for the improvement of EP.