International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

line decor
  
line decor

 Volume 12, Issue 7 (July 2025), Pages: 1-11

----------------------------------------------

 Original Research Paper

Impact of human resource management on fostering sustainable behavior among employees: The moderating role of managerial awareness

 Author(s): 

 Tayseer Said Zatar *, Mohamed Hassan Jaouadi

 Affiliation(s):

 HRM Department, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5654-1218

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.07.001

 Abstract

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 outlines a strategic commitment to economic transformation by diversifying income sources and promoting sustainable development. This study examines the moderating role of managerial awareness in the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices—recruitment and selection, training and development, leadership, communication and engagement, work environment, and facilities—and employees' sustainable behavior. A quantitative methodology was adopted, using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to HR managers in the Saudi mining and quarrying sector. A simple random sample of 281 individuals was selected, and data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), with Cronbach’s Alpha used to assess reliability. The findings indicate that HRM practices positively influence employees’ sustainable behavior and that managerial awareness moderates this relationship. The study recommends further exploration of how HRM practices contribute to sustainability and highlights the role of managerial engagement in shaping employees’ environmental responsibility. The research is expected to contribute theoretically by deepening understanding of the link between managerial awareness and sustainable behavior and practically by providing insights into effective HRM strategies for fostering sustainability in organizations.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Managerial awareness, Human resource practices, Sustainable behavior, Mining and quarrying, Employee engagement

 Article history

 Received 18 October 2024, Received in revised form 14 February 2025, Accepted 5 June 2025

 Funding

This work was funded by the University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under grant No. (UJ-24-SHR-20405-1). Therefore, the authors thank the University of Jeddah for its technical and financial support. 

 Acknowledgment

No Acknowledgment. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

All participants provided informed consent prior to their participation in the study, and their responses were collected anonymously to ensure confidentiality.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Zatar TS and Jaouadi MH (2025). Impact of human resource management on fostering sustainable behavior among employees: The moderating role of managerial awareness. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(7): 1-11

  Permanent Link to this page

 Figures

  Fig. 1  

 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3  Table 4  Table 5  Table 6 

----------------------------------------------   

 References (40)

  1. Aboramadan M, Kundi YM, and Becker A (2022). Green human resource management in nonprofit organizations: Effects on employee green behavior and the role of perceived green organizational support. Personnel Review, 51(7): 1788-1806.  https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2021-0078    [Google Scholar]
  2. Aldhafeeri ZM and Alhazmi H (2022). Sustainability assessment of municipal solid waste in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the framework of circular economy transition. Sustainability, 14(9): 5093.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095093    [Google Scholar]
  3. AlKhars M, Masoud M, AlNasser A, and Alsubaie M (2024). Sustainable practices and firm competitiveness: An empirical analysis of the Saudi Arabian energy sector. Discover Sustainability, 5: 146.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00347-7    [Google Scholar]
  4. Almulhim AI, Bibri SE, Sharifi A, Ahmad S, and Almatar KM (2022). Emerging trends and knowledge structures of urbanization and environmental sustainability: A regional perspective. Sustainability, 14(20): 13195.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013195    [Google Scholar]
  5. Almuqrin A, Mutambik I, Alomran A, and Zhang JZ (2023). Information system success for organizational sustainability: Exploring the public institutions in Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 15(12): 9233.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129233    [Google Scholar]
  6. Alqahtany A and Aravindakshan S (2022). Urbanization in Saudi Arabia and sustainability challenges of cities and heritage sites: Heuristical insights. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 12(4): 408-425.  https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-07-2020-0108    [Google Scholar]
  7. Alreahi M, Bujdosó Z, Kabil M, Akaak A, Benkó KF, Setioningtyas WP, and Dávid LD (2022). Green human resources management in the hotel industry: A systematic review. Sustainability, 15(1): 99.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010099    [Google Scholar]
  8. Beusch P, Frisk JE, Rosén M, and Dilla W (2022). Management control for sustainability: Towards integrated systems. Management Accounting Research, 54: 100777.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2021.100777    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bhattacharya CB, Sen S, Edinger-Schons LM, and Neureiter M (2023). Corporate purpose and employee sustainability behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(4): 963-981.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05090-5    [Google Scholar]
  10. Cao C, Tong X, Chen Y, and Zhang Y (2022). How top management's environmental awareness affect corporate green competitive advantage: Evidence from China. Kybernetes, 51(3): 1250-1279.  https://doi.org/10.1108/K-01-2021-0065    [Google Scholar]
  11. Darvishmotevali M and Altinay L (2022). Green HRM, environmental awareness and green behaviors: The moderating role of servant leadership. Tourism Management, 88: 104401.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104401    [Google Scholar]
  12. Demir A, Budur T, Omer HM, and Heshmati A (2023). Links between knowledge management and organisational sustainability: Does the ISO 9001 certification have an effect? Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 21(1): 183-196.  https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2020.1860663    [Google Scholar]
  13. Dey M, Bhattacharjee S, Mahmood M, Uddin MA, and Biswas SR (2022). Ethical leadership for better sustainable performance: Role of employee values, behavior and ethical climate. Journal of Cleaner Production, 337: 130527.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130527    [Google Scholar]
  14. Ebaid IES (2022). Sustainability and accounting education: Perspectives of undergraduate accounting students in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(4): 1371-1393.  https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-05-2021-0183    [Google Scholar]
  15. Ercantan O and Eyupoglu S (2022). How do green human resource management practices encourage employees to engage in green behavior? Perceptions of university students as prospective employees. Sustainability, 14(3): 1718.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031718    [Google Scholar]
  16. Faeni D (2024). Green practices and employees' performance: The mediating roles of green human resources management policies and knowledge development. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(8): 4924.  https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i8.4924    [Google Scholar]
  17. Faisal S (2023). Green human resource management: A synthesis. Sustainability, 15(3): 2259.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032259    [Google Scholar]
  18. Farrukh M, Ansari N, Raza A, Wu Y, and Wang H (2022). Fostering employee's pro-environmental behavior through green transformational leadership, green human resource management and environmental knowledge. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 179: 121643.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121643    [Google Scholar]
  19. Greenland S, Saleem M, Misra R, and Mason J (2022). Sustainable management education and an empirical five-pillar model of sustainability. The International Journal of Management Education, 20(3): 100658.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100658    [Google Scholar]
  20. Hashem T and Khalaf E (2023). Examining the moderating role of e-marketing: Creative leadership as a source of intrapreneurship within marketing. Journal of System and Management Sciences, 13(2): 83-100.  https://doi.org/10.33168/JSMS.2023.0206    [Google Scholar]
  21. Katz IM, Rauvola RS, Rudolph CW, and Zacher H (2022). Employee green behavior: A meta‐analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(5): 1146-1157.  https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2260    [Google Scholar]
  22. Kramar R (2022). Sustainable human resource management: Six defining characteristics. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 60(1): 146-170.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12321    [Google Scholar]
  23. Latif B, Ong TS, Meero A, Abdul Rahman AA, and Ali M (2022). Employee-perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee pro-environmental behavior (PEB): The moderating role of CSR skepticism and CSR authenticity. Sustainability, 14(3): 1380.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031380    [Google Scholar]
  24. Li Y, Al-Sulaiti K, Dongling W, Abbas J, and Al-Sulaiti I (2022). Tax avoidance culture and employees' behavior affect sustainable business performance: The moderating role of corporate social responsibility. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10: 964410.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.964410    [Google Scholar]
  25. Lu Y, Zhang MM, Yang MM, and Wang Y (2023). Sustainable human resource management practices, employee resilience, and employee outcomes: Toward common good values. Human Resource Management, 62(3): 331-353.  https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22153    [Google Scholar]
  26. Mohiuddin M, Hosseini E, Faradonbeh SB, and Sabokro M (2022). Achieving human resource management sustainability in universities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2): 928.  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020928    [Google Scholar] PMid:35055753 PMCid:PMC8775848
  27. Mukhuty S, Upadhyay A, and Rothwell H (2022). Strategic sustainable development of Industry 4.0 through the lens of social responsibility: The role of human resource practices. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(5): 2068-2081.  https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3008    [Google Scholar]
  28. Polas MRH, Tabash MI, Bhattacharjee A, and Dávila GA (2023). Knowledge management practices and green innovation in SMES: The role of environmental awareness towards environmental sustainability. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 31(5): 1601-1622.  https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-03-2021-2671    [Google Scholar]
  29. Rahman HU, Zahid M, Ullah M, and Al-Faryan MAS (2023). Green supply chain management and firm sustainable performance: The awareness of China Pakistan Economic Corridor. Journal of Cleaner Production, 414: 137502.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137502    [Google Scholar]
  30. Richards J (2022). Putting employees at the centre of sustainable HRM: A review, map and research agenda. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 44(3): 533-554.  https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2019-0037    [Google Scholar]
  31. Sabbir MM and Taufique KMR (2022). Sustainable employee green behavior in the workplace: Integrating cognitive and non‐cognitive factors in corporate environmental policy. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(1): 110-128.  https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2877    [Google Scholar]
  32. Schaltegger S, Christ KL, Wenzig J, and Burritt RL (2022). Corporate sustainability management accounting and multi‐level links for sustainability: A systematic review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 24(4): 480-500.  https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12288    [Google Scholar]
  33. Schulte J and Knuts S (2022). Sustainability impact and effects analysis-A risk management tool for sustainable product development. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 30: 737-751.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.01.004    [Google Scholar]
  34. Sharma M, Luthra S, Joshi S, and Kumar A (2022). Analysing the impact of sustainable human resource management practices and Industry 4.0 technologies adoption on employability skills. International Journal of Manpower, 43(2): 463-485.  https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-02-2021-0085    [Google Scholar]
  35. Taha R and Taha N (2023). The role of human resources management in enhancing the economic sustainability of Jordanian banks. Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development, 3(2): 180-193.  https://doi.org/10.1108/JBSED-04-2022-0045    [Google Scholar]
  36. Tuan LT (2022). Promoting employee green behavior in the Chinese and Vietnamese hospitality contexts: The roles of green human resource management practices and responsible leadership. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 105: 103253.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103253    [Google Scholar]
  37. Usman M, Rofcanin Y, Ali M, Ogbonnaya C, and Babalola MT (2023). Toward a more sustainable environment: Understanding why and when green training promotes employees' eco‐friendly behaviors outside of work. Human Resource Management, 62(3): 355-371.  https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22148    [Google Scholar]
  38. Van Buren III HJ (2022). The value of including employees: A pluralist perspective on sustainable HRM. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 44(3): 686-701.  https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2019-0041    [Google Scholar]
  39. Yusuf N and Lytras MD (2023). Competitive sustainability of Saudi companies through digitalization and the circular carbon economy model: A bold contribution to the Vision 2030 agenda in Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 15(3): 2616.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032616    [Google Scholar]
  40. Zacher H, Rudolph CW, and Katz IM (2023). Employee green behavior as the core of environmentally sustainable organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10(1): 465-494.  https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-050421    [Google Scholar]