Exploring the impact of green human resource management on environmental performance: the roles of perceived organizational support and innovative environmental behavior

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between green human resource management (GHRM) practices and the environmental performance (EP) of firms belonging to industries that may lean toward environmental pollution (e.g. oil and gas). The authors propose a holistic (serial mediation) model based on the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) theory and the social exchange theory (SET) and integrate organizational, i.e. perceived organizational support (POS), and individual, i.e. innovative environmental behavior (IEB), factors as explanatory mechanisms. The authors then test the model in a developing country context. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from white collar workers in the oil and gas industry in Pakistan. A structural equation modeling (SEM) technique and the PROCESS model 6 were used to analyze the hypothesized serial mediation model. Findings The authors found support for the fully meditating serial mediation model. Although the direct effects of GHRM and EP were insignificant, the total effects and indirect effects through POS and IEB were significant. Similarly, the research also found support for organizational and individual factors as explanatory mechanisms in the relationship between GHRM and EP. Originality/value This research adds to the existing literature on GHRM and the corporate EP link through proposing and testing a model of the mediating effects of POS and IEB. Furthermore, it provides empirical evidence of this model in the oil and gas sector using an Asian developing country as the context of study.