A Bibliometric Analysis of Organization-Based Self-Esteem Integrating Sustainable Human Resource Management Perspectives

Abstract

This study addresses a research gap in the organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) literature: the limited integration of sustainability concepts, particularly across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. As the first bibliometric analysis on OBSE, this research systematically reviews 333 publications contained in the Web of Science Core Collection, dated from 1989 to 2024, using VosViewer software version 1.6.20 (0). Citation analysis identifies the most influential authors, institutions, and countries, and assesses the extent to which their work engages with corporate sustainability or sustainable human resource management—encompassing practices that promote social equity, environmental responsibility, and long-term organizational viability. Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals that sustainability-related concepts are embedded within the OBSE domain to a limited extent. The findings indicate that while the OBSE literature is evolving to incorporate these topics, this integration remains limited and fragmented. Opportunities for further research, particularly on the intersection of OBSE and sustainability practices, are highlighted, as are practical implications for human resource professionals.

1. Introduction

Currently, companies operate in an environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. In this context, integrating sustainability into corporate strategies can lead to a competitive advantage. In fact, research shows that strategies covering sustainability concerns positively correlate with superior performance and improved conditions in surrounding communities [1], improve reputation [2], and promote innovation [3]. Sustainable human resource management (SHRM) is a key enabler for the integration of sustainability in companies’ strategies, being defined as the bundle of strategies and activities designed to enable the attainment of economic, social, and ecological goals [4]. Sustainable human resource management also has advantages for employees: it increases work engagement and employability [5] as well as performance [6].

Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), on the other hand, is defined as a work-specific form of self-esteem [7]. OBSE has also been shown to have a wide array of benefits, including the promotion of job engagement [8], performance [9], and a reduction in intentions to quit [10] and burnout [11]. Additionally, this construct has the potential to guarantee the successful implementation of SHRM; in fact, the literature on this subject has confirmed the close link between OBSE and sustainability-oriented human resource (HR) practices. Based on cognitive consistency theory, green human resource management (GHRM), an environment focused form of SHRM, increases employees’ OBSE. Consequently, employees with high OBSE are more likely to feel accountable for the environment and encourage others to behave pro-environmentally [12]. The current study wishes to expand the focus from green human resource management to the higher order construct of sustainable human resource management which encompasses not only the environmental dimension but also the social and financial ones [4]. We assume that, similarly to green human resource management, SHRM can increase OBSE. High OBSE employees would therefore feel more accountable towards sustainable goals. Thus, we regard OBSE as the means to achieve sustainable objectives. Despite the wide array of OBSE benefits, the link between OSBE and SHRM remains largely unexamined.

To fill this research gap, the objective of this study is to verify to what extent the thematic content of OBSE-related literature is evolving in tandem with SHRM or corporate sustainability concerns. To this end, a bibliometric tool will be employed to answer the following research questions:

• Who are the most influential authors, universities, and countries in the field?
• Do their main contributions cover SHRM or corporate sustainability?
• How did research topics related to OBSE evolve over time?
• Did OBSE literature incorporate corporate sustainability or SHRM-related concepts?
• What are the opportunities to expand OBSE literature in line with corporate sustainability or SHRM?

This study offers several significant contributions. First, to date, no existing bibliometric study of OBSE literature is available. Through the bibliometric tool, a substantial corpus of the literature can be analyzed over an extended timeframe. Additionally, bibliometric tools provide the means for an objective analysis, leading to reproducible and objective results. Second, this study provides a comprehensive view of the OBSE field’s structure, revealing how it has evolved and its key themes and trends. Lastly, the study highlights potential avenues for future research. By highlighting potential research gaps, this study aspires to stimulate scholarly discourse and encourage further investigations that bridge OBSE and sustainability concepts.

The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides the conceptual foundations, followed by the methodology in Section 3. Section 4 presents the results in terms of the authors’ landscape, main publishing universities, countries, and keyword analysis, and it suggests avenues for future research. Section 5 summarizes the findings. Section 6 concludes the paper, pointing out the study’s limitations.

2. Conceptual Foundations and Theoretical Perspectives

The definition of sustainability finds its roots in the World Commission for Environment and Development’s Brundtland Report from 1987, which defined the term sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [13]. In other words, sustainability can be defined as “the capacity to maintain or improve the state and availability of desirable materials or conditions over the long term” [14]. Subsequently, the triple bottom line approach was coined that defined sustainability in its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, all of which should be in harmony with companies’ operations [15]. Applying this definition of sustainability to corporate settings, we can define corporate sustainability as a “management paradigm that still acknowledges the need for growth and profitability but places a much greater emphasis on the triple bottom line results” [16]. SHRM practices are intended as the means for organizations to refocus and situate the roles of human resource management in corporate sustainability [17]. In other words, SHRM acts as a bridge between corporate sustainability and HR practices and helps to embed sustainability into the core business strategy [18]. This paper adopts the three-dimensional conceptualization of sustainability [15], the corresponding definition of corporate sustainability [16], and the respective SHRM conceptualization [4], according to which sustainable human resource management enables the attainment of social, financial, and ecological goals.

SHRM practices have several positive externalities, beyond the attainment of goals pertaining to the triple bottom line; these practices have been proven to influence organizations, making them more competitive while securing their economic prosperity, social wellbeing, and generally favorable outcomes for their stakeholders [17], while at the same time emphasizing training, development, and fair pay for employees [19]. In fact, SHRM practices positively affect employees’ resilience, work engagement, and performance [20]. In this paper, OBSE is regarded as a key factor for SHRM practices to be successfully implemented and maintained.

The definition of OBSE was coined by Pierce et al. [7]. The authors defined it as a work-specific form of global self-esteem (GSE), or, in other words, as the degree to which organizational members believe that they can satisfy their needs by participating in roles within the context of an organization. Further studies, defined OBSE as being shaped by work environment structures, messages received from significant others, and employees’ direct experiences [21,22,23]. Addressing the first source (i.e., work environment structures), the authors [22] theorized that highly controlled workplaces lead to lower levels of OBSE, whereas workplaces characterized by the higher involvement of employees and less controlling and hierarchical structures tend to increase employees’ organization-based self-esteem. Messages received from significant others can also influence OBSE: employees’ OBSE can increase if other members of the organization communicate, via verbal and non-verbal means, that an individual is capable and competent [21,23]. Lastly, individuals who have successful experiences, and who attribute that success to themselves, are more likely to experience an increase in self-efficacy, which in turn raises OBSE over time [24]. Successive studies proposed a different categorization of the antecedents of OBSE [25]: OBSE can be influenced by intrinsic job characteristics (e.g., job complexity and participatory management), which appear to be more influential than extrinsic ones (e.g., job security and co-worker support), as well as individual characteristics. More recently, the literature [26] offered an alternative view: OSBE can be defined AS starting from the global self-esteem construct, intended as a composite of self-competence (defined as the evaluation of self as someone who can successfully manage or succeed in the various roles in their life) and self-liking (the evaluation of oneself as a social object that is acceptable to others). Self-perceived competence and the presence of satisfying social relationships at work allow employees to perceive that they have successfully adjusted to the social and task requirements of their organizational roles, and these components represent the bases for OBSE [26,27]. In summary, throughout the literature, OSBE antecedents have been categorized according to different frameworks. However, the core definition of OBSE remains unchanged: it is a work-specific form of the higher-level construct of global self-esteem [7].

The literature dedicated equal attention to the consequences of OBSE and showed that it can influence employees’ behavioral responses; according to cognitive consistency theory, people are motivated to seek coherent attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, values, behaviors, and feelings, and are motivated to reduce any tension caused by inconsistencies. This framework, applied to workplace behavior, shows that employees with high OBSE perceive themselves as valuable contributors to organizational goals [21]. The interplay between OBSE and self-consistency theory has been explored in various contexts. For example, studies have shown that when employees perceive a mismatch between their self-concept and their organizational experiences, they experience negative emotional responses and decreased motivation [28]. This theory was used to explain how consistency motivations link OBSE to beneficial workplace behaviors, such as job performance and altruism [29]. The literature [12] also showed that green human resource management can enhance employees’ OBSE by aligning organizational values with personal beliefs about environmental responsibility. This alignment fosters a positive self-image and motivates employees to engage in green advocacy, thereby maintaining cognitive consistency. The findings suggest that when employees perceive their organization as supportive of their values, their OBSE increases, leading to proactive behaviors that align with both personal and organizational goals. As green human resource management is a sub-set of SHRM practices, we assume that, based on cognitive consistency theory, employees would also be motivated to align their behaviors with SHRM practices, and with the sustainability-oriented objectives that such practices promote, to maintain consistency with their self-image. In fact, organization-based self-esteem has already been proved to mediate the relationship between sustainable organizational practices and organizational effectiveness [30], confirming that OSBE can be a key resource for the success of SHRM practices in achieving sustainability-oriented objectives. However, to date, a significant literature gap exists, as studies investigating the relationship between OBSE and SHRM appear to be scarce. This bibliometric review can fill in the gap by mapping out the existing literature and suggesting avenues for future development.

3. Method

A bibliometric analysis applies quantitative statistical analysis to publications through an objective, quantitative, systematic, transparent, and reproducible process [31]. To perform such an analysis, we follow Donthu et al.’s [32] procedure.

3.1. Step 1: Definition of the Scope

Donthu et al. [32] advise researchers to first determine the objective and scope of their research. Bibliometric analyses usually have two main uses: performance analysis and science mapping. The first seeks to evaluate individuals’ and institutions’ research and publication performance, whereas the second seeks to reveal the structure and dynamics of a research field [33]. Consistent with these ends, this study first conducted a performance analysis to identify the most influential authors, institutions, and countries; subsequently, it analyzed how OBSE-related topics evolved over time.

The scope of the research included all OBSE documents publicly available to date on the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database. Web of Science was chosen due to its focus on humanities and social sciences. The Core Collection database was selected because the additional coverage provided by the alternative “All databases” would have included subjects which are not related to the discipline of this manuscript (e.g., Food Science and Technology, Zoological records [34]).

3.2. Step 2: Selecting the Technique for the Bibliometric Analysis

The second step entails choosing the appropriate bibliometric analysis techniques consistent with the objectives of the study. In this study, citation analysis was employed to identify the most influential authors, institutions, and countries. Then, a keyword co-occurrence analysis was performed to analyze how topics evolved over time. These analyses were performed using VosViewer, a bibliometric tool for creating maps based on network data from various sources. Based on the data uploaded, VosViewer creates visual representations of scientific landscapes by clustering-related items, which can be researchers, research organizations, countries, or keywords. Items in the network can be connected by different link types, depending on the selected bibliometric analysis [35]. VosViewer was selected for its ease of use, coupled with the generation of objective and visually easy to understand maps. While alternative tools are available, VosViewer was the preferred choice for a first bibliometric analysis on OBSE, based on a sample size of a comparatively limited dimension.

3.3. Step 3: Data Collection

The first steps of this phase entail selecting the search term and database. Data were extracted from the WoS database, a widely accepted database for analyzing scientific publications that is supported by VosViewer. The search query was launched in the Core Collection, based on “Topic” and on the term “Organi?atio* Based Self-Esteem”. Through the operator, “OR”, the acronym OBSE was included in the search, as well as the term “Organi?ation* Self-Esteem” (excluding the word “based”). The special character ? was used to cover possible spelling variations of the word “Organization” in British- and American-style English, while the character * was used to cover its possible terminations (i.e., Organization or Organizational). Regarding the hyphen, WoS automatically includes this in the search results whether the words are spelled with and without it (i.e., both “self esteem” and “self-esteem” would be retrieved). Inverted commas were used for each search item to ensure that the results were as accurate as possible. No timeframe filters were applied, as the aim of this paper was to analyze all the scholarly production about OBSE from the moment that the OBSE construct was defined to today. Only documents in English were maintained in Web of Science prior to extracting the datafile. A total of 376 results covering a timeframe from 1989 to 2024 were downloaded in a tab-delimited file and manually assessed for relevance. The data were cleaned by manually removing 40 documents where the acronym “OBSE” was included with a different meaning than intended in this research. Such papers pertained to areas of knowledge which are not related to the construct at hand, such as agricultural engineering, immunology, and nutrition. The manual filtering led to a remaining sample of 336 documents. Moreover, 3 additional documents marked as Document Type “Corrections” or “Meeting Abstract” were removed, being defined, respectively, as “Correction of errors found in articles that were previously published, and which have been made known after that article was published” and “Abstract or extended abstract of completed papers that were or will be presented at a symposium or conference” [36]. The former were removed because, being corrections, they were duplicates of titles that were already contained in the sample, while the latter, “Meeting Abstracts”, were not linked to any published paper. The resulting sample comprised 333 documents between the earliest publication year, 1989—when the OBSE construct was defined [7]—and 2024, when the data were extracted. While Donthu et al. [32] suggest performing bibliometric studies with a sample of at least 500 documents, this study employed a bibliometric tool rather alternative methods, such as a systematic analysis, due to several considerations. First, systematic reviews share similarities with bibliometric studies, such as their scientific and objective approach; however, their purposes differ. Systematic reviews often aim to answer specific research questions [37], whereas this study adopts an exploratory approach to investigate the extent to which sustainability concerns are incorporated into OBSE literature. Given that OBSE research has only recently begun to grow, the sample of studies focusing on both OBSE and corporate sustainability or SHRM was expected to be limited. A systematic review based on a constrained sample would have struggled to generate robust findings. Furthermore, as OBSE literature is rapidly expanding, this paper can serve as a foundation for future bibliometric analyses that could track the evolution of this field over time. Bibliometric tools in fact offer an efficient and objective mean for capturing the current state of a literature field. Systematic analyses, in contrast, are less adaptable to rapidly evolving research domains [38]. Any systematic review conducted today may quickly become outdated if new OBSE research continues to rapidly emerge. Finally, the sample size of 333 documents remains considerable: bibliometric tools provide a swift and precise alternative for screening significant volumes of papers, ensuring reliable results in an evolving area of research.

3.4. Step 4: Bibliometric Analysis and Results

The fourth and last step of the methodology entails the analysis and reporting the results. As mentioned above, in this study, we aim to conduct a performance analysis covering authors, institutions, and countries, as well as a science-mapping analysis to unveil the evolution of the themes treated in this academic field over time. The results of the performance analysis are displayed in dedicated tables and maps at the beginning of each subsection. In the networks, each node is an author, a university, a country, or a keyword, depending on the analysis being performed. The size of a node is proportional to the number of associated documents or occurrences (for the keyword analysis). In the citation map, nodes are linked if the two entities cite each other. In the keyword co-occurrence network, nodes are linked if two keywords appear jointly in a study. In each map, the color of the nodes reflects the average publication year [35]. The threshold of 5 occurrences was applied to all the citation maps of this study: only authors, universities or countries that produced at least 5 papers on OBSE will be displayed, as well as keywords that appeared at least 5 times. This threshold is the default one suggested by the software. It has not been modified in order to keep the analysis as objective as possible, minimizing authors’ intervention.

4. Results

The 333 documents covering the period from 1989 to 2024 were sorted and the result is displayed in Figure 1.

At the very beginning of this timeframe, Pierce et al. [7] elaborated the definition of OBSE and published a scale to measure it. However, towards the beginning of the timeframe, the yearly scholarly production remained limited. Publications began to gradually increase only later, with more than 10 studies in a single year published for the first time in 2014. In the last 5 years, OBSE yearly production has seen a constant increase. The peak is reached in 2024, with 40 documents published. This indicates that the OBSE literature is developing and that OBSE is a topic of central attention for the modern literature.

4.1. Authors’ Landscape

The illustration in Figure 2 displays authors who published at least five papers on OBSE; this is also displayed in

Table 1. Authors’ performance analysis.

Author	Documents
Pierce, Jl	16
Gardner, DG	14
Kwan, HK	9
Lee, C	9
Beehr, TA	6
Kim, M	6
Restubog, SLD	5

.

“Pierce, Jl” and “Gardner, DG” published the highest number of documents on OBSE. In the citation map, they are in fact centrally positioned and linked to all the other researchers. They published the very first paper on OBSE [7] in which they coined the definition and elaborated the scale for this construct. Throughout their careers, they have explored a diverse set of OBSE-related topics, such as the effects of pay levels on OBSE [9], the relationship between OBSE and personality [39], OBSE as a team phenomenon [40], and OBSE in relation to effective organizational socialization [26]. Focusing on the rest of the map, we can identify two additional clusters. The first one is formed by “Kwan, HK” and “Lee, C”. They researched a variety of topics, including a joint study on the detrimental effects of workplace ostracism [41] or the effects of job insecurity [42]. The second cluster instead is formed by “Kim, M” and “Beehr, TA”. The closeness between these authors reflects their active engagement in similar research topics: they studied the effects of environmental resources on employees’ crafting behaviors through organization-based self-esteem [43], the positive effects of empowering leadership on OBSE and meaningful work [44], and the positive effect of challenge stressors on OBSE, which is in turn positively related to perceptions of meaningful work [45]. Lastly, “Restubog, SLD” is in a peripheral position in the network, although they worked on popular topics in OBSE research. For example, they published on leadership [46,47], promotability [48], and work-group mistreatment and inclusion [49,50], with inclusion being a key concern of SHRM [51].

This analysis identifies the significant contributors to the field, based on the number of papers. Although their production is diverse and covers a wide timespan, none of them produced papers directly related to SHRM nor on the wider topic of corporate sustainability. However, topics such as inclusion at the core of SHRM were discussed.

4.2. Main Publishing Organizations

To further investigate the network structure of the literature on OBSE, a performance analysis of universities was performed.

Figure 3 shows a citation map of organizations that published at least five documents; in total, the map displays 18 universities (as listed in

Table 2. Universities’ performance overview.

University	Documents	Citations
univ minnesota (University of Minnesota System)	16	3268
univ colorado (University of Colorado System)	15	2136
hong kong baptist univ (Hong Kong Baptist University)	10	751
northeastern univ (Northeastern University)	10	863
shanghai univ finance & econ (Shanghai University of Finance & Economics)	10	607
australian natl univ (Australian National University)	8	939
renmin univ china (Renmin University of China)	8	548
hong kong polytech univ (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)	7	711
univ queensland (University of Queensland)	7	787
cent michigan univ (Central Michigan University)	6	260
china europe int business sch ceibs (China Europe International Business School)	6	137
shandong univ (Shadong University)	6	171
univ int business & econ (University of International Business & Economics)	6	146
brock univ (Brock University)	5	41
huazhong univ sci & technol (Huazhong University of Science & Technology)	5	142
miami univ (Miami University)	5	42
peking university (Peking University)	5	216
univ hong kong (University of Hong Kong)	5	267

).

The main institutions (University of Minnesota and University of Colorado System) are those where the main researchers were active—as shown in Figure 3, these entities are centrally positioned in the network, linked to all other institutions, and associated with the highest number of publications. These universities mostly cover the production of the two main researchers identified above. Out of the remaining universities, the Hong Kong Baptist university shows a diverse production, with most papers focused on leadership styles: for instance, research there investigates the detrimental effects of abusive supervision [52]; the consequences of authoritarian leadership [53] on OBSE and work outcomes; and the positive effects of empowering leadership for work and family outcomes [54]. The Northeastern University also displays a diverse production, with the most cited studies focusing on the detrimental effects (on OBSE) of workplace ostracism [41], on the influence of OBSE on the relationship between perceived organization support and its work outcomes [55], and on the effect of leadership on OBSE [56]. We note that universities associated with a recent production are located toward the borders of the network, indicating that they have not yet acquired a central influence, consistent with the recent production year. Among these, we focus on studies produced in the Miami University, where a single author focuses on leadership as well as inclusion matters (see for instance [57]). Overall, the analysis of leading universities publishing on OBSE extends the focus from being solely on the authors. Also, in this case, there is no study openly addressing SHRM nor corporate sustainability concerns. However, we note the contribution of the Miami University, whose studies on inclusion extend the literature on organizational diversity, thereby touching themes which are at the core of the social dimension of SHRM.

4.3. Main Publishing Countries

The following section focuses on the most influential countries, as shown in

Table 3. Countries performance overview.

Country	Documents	Citations
People’s Republic of China	117	4184
United States of America (USA)	114	8909
Australia	25	2290
England	20	1199
Pakistan	16	252
South Korea	16	552
Taiwan	16	249
Canada	12	342
India	11	117
Iran	7	138
France	6	59
Italy	6	33
Turkey	6	93
Finland	5	769
Germany	5	199
New Zealand	5	50

.

The citation map showing the connections amongst these countries is presented below.

As shown in Figure 4, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America (USA) dominate research output in this field, demonstrating high publication volumes. The two countries are connected to all other nodes, indicating their widespread impact on global research in this area. Additionally, the two countries are well connected to each other, indicating a strong citation and potentially collaboration tie. Due to their significant research volumes, an overarching research trend can hardly be identified. Countries in a peripheral position are linked to recent productions, such as Italy, India, and Pakistan. In Italy, almost the entire production has been published by authors affiliated with the University Sapienza of Rome and focuses on the relationship between global self-esteem and OBSE (see, for instance, [58]). In India, the authors and universities publishing on OBSE are diverse; however, the topics treated appear to be uniform. Most of the production focuses on OBSE and leadership [59,60,61], workplace bullying [62], and psychological capital [63,64]. The scenario in Pakistan is similar: most of the documents are about leadership [65,66,67,68] or performance [69,70,71]. Overall, this analysis identifies the countries linked to the highest production on OBSE. Also in this case, the production is diverse, but with a tendency to focus on leadership. SHRM or corporate sustainability do not appear to be key topics, even considering production on a country level.

4.4. Keywords Analysis

The keyword co-occurrence analysis facilitates a visual representation of research themes and their temporal evolution. In constructing the network, a Thesaurus file was used to consolidate semantically equivalent keywords that would differ in spelling (e.g., Organization-Based Self-Esteem and Organisation-Based Self-Esteem) or due to the use of plurals or singular forms (e.g., behavior and behaviors). This process resulted in a network map comprising 132 nodes (Figure 5).

To analyze the evolution of keywords, the network’s nodes were divided into three clusters, notably theoretical frameworks, consequences, and antecedents of OBSE.

Table 4. Keywords with the highest number of occurrences: theoretical frameworks.

Keyword	Average Publication Year	Occurrences
Resources	2021	37
Leader Member Exchange	2017	36
Conservation	2022	23
Social-Exchange	2015	22
Job Demands	2018	13

shows the top keywords related to theoretical frameworks, based on the occurrence frequency.

At the inception of literature on OBSE, the Social Exchange Theory appeared to be a popular framework: this theory explains the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships in terms of the reciprocation of valued resources between two interacting individuals [72]. This theory was used, for instance, to determine the relationship between OBSE and burnout [73].

Moving from the Social Exchange Theory, the Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) became popular shortly after. High-quality Leader–Member Exchange has been shown to positively influence OBSE and drive subsequent outcomes. For instance, LMX can contribute to work effort via OBSE [74] as well as to organizations’ sustainable development [75]. Chronologically, the Job Demand Resources (JD-R) model [76] appears to be popular, on average, in conjunction with LMX. This model explains the stress outcome as an imbalance between job demands and job resources. The highest number of occurrences is associated with the keyword “Resources”, which can refer to both “Conservation of Resources” (COR) theory, as well as to JD-R, which are the theories investigated in the most recent times. In the context of COR, OBSE is mostly presented as an individual resource that can minimize the effect of adverse phenomena depleting individuals of their other resources.

Generally, we note that theoretical frameworks used in more recent times (such as the Conservation of Resources Theory) are not connected to the topics which were common at the inception of OBSE literature (e.g., trust, power, feedback, values, culture, role conflict, aggression) which may preserve research potential. For instance, “trust” has been shown to be a key component of SHRM practices: the literature shows that this HR approach enhances organizational trust and fosters performance [6]. Therefore, we expect this scholarly field to gain from re-exploring topics which were popular at the beginning of the OBSE literature through the lenses of more recently employed theoretical frameworks. On the other hand, the Social Exchange Theory could be revisited and connected to SHRM practices: both approaches are based on mutual benefits and are oriented toward creating lasting relationships, in which employees can experience and deliver long-term, added value. Additionally, according to the Social Exchange Theory, sustainable HR practices could the foundation of a social exchange which is perceived as fair for both employees and employers. The literature could also be expanded by linking this theory with other topics that are popular in modern OBSE literature to explore whether, according to Social Exchange Theory, high-OBSE employees would feel compelled to reciprocate SHRM via sustainability oriented behaviors and initiatives.

Overall, the terms which can be identified as consequences of OBSE are well connected with nodes across the full timeframe displayed, as is also proved by most of the average publication years shown in

Table 5. Keywords with the highest number of occurrences: consequences of OBSE.

Keyword	Average Publication Year	Occurrences
Performance	2017	126
Organizational Citizenship Behavior	2017	64
Satisfaction	2014	36
Job Satisfaction	2017	52
Commitment	2013	37
Work Engagement	2020	32

, which fall in the middle of the timeline. The literature initially investigated commitment and satisfaction in relation to OBSE, and proved that OBSE is an antecedent of affective commitment to organizations and supervisors [77] and of job satisfaction [78]. In more recent times, performance [70] was also shown to be a consequence of OBSE as well as Organizational Citizenship Behavior [79]. Recently, the literature has started to focus on work engagement [80], showing that attributions of substantive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are positively related to work engagement via work meaningfulness, psychological safety, and organization-based self-esteem. Similarly, OBSE and work engagement mediate the positive relationship between CSR perceptions and extra or in-role safety behaviors [81]. We note that the literature on OBSE’s consequences evolved to incorporate, especially in recent times, studies focused on corporate sustainability, and more specifically CSR. However, except for the aforementioned papers, the analysis of OBSE consequences is not sufficiently rich in words related to SHRM nor to the wider theme of corporate sustainability. As a remediation, we suggest a further investigation of the relationship between SHRM, OBSE, and specific types of employees’ experiences; we suggest focusing on voice behaviors, creativity, and meaningful work. These terms gained increased popularity in modern times and can enrich the literature on OBSE consequences with matters of contemporary interest. Voice behavior is defined as the discretionary or formal expression of ideas, opinions, suggestions, or alternative approaches directed to a specific target inside or outside an organization with the intent to change an objectionable situation and to improve the current functioning of the organization, group, or individual [82]. Recently, a new type of voice behavior has earned increased scholarly attention, i.e., green voice behavior, defined [83] as the act of making innovative suggestions for environmentally friendly practices, and advocating for changes that promote sustainability within organizations. The correlation between OBSE and this type of voice behavior could be examined in the context of SHRM to determine whether voice behavior would be encouraged by such practices. Future research may also examine the relationship between OBSE and other prosocial behaviors, redefined in terms of their green or sustainable aspects.

Creativity is another consequence of OBSE [84], which has recently started to gather scholarly attention. Future studies could investigate how SHRM impacts creativity in a sustainable direction, considering the triple bottom line definition of sustainability [15]. The existing literature already shows that green human resource management promotes green creativity [85], including the mediating role of self-efficacy [86]. The future literature may expand such line of research by including the mediating role of OBSE in the paradigm, and determining if SHRM practices, having a broader focus compared to green human resource management practices, contribute to creativity in a wider sense.

As shown in

Table 6. Keywords with the highest number of occurrences: antecedents of OBSE.

Keyword	Average Publication Year	Occurrences
Self-esteem	2018	129
Personality	2017	29
Abusive supervision	2020	27
Leadership	2020	24
Transformational leadership	2018	20

, the earliest, highly occurring antecedent of OBSE is personality. Different authors rely on different definitions of “personality”. For instance, research found that proactivity leads to job performance and organizational citizenship behavior via the mediating role of OBSE [87]. A further study instead focuses on narcissism as a personality trait that can moderate the relationship between being recognized as a talent and OSBE [88]. Maintaining the focus on individual factors, the literature also focused on self-esteem as an antecedent of OBSE: self-esteem is defined as the attitude of approval (or disapproval) that an individual holds towards themselves [89]. Research proposed that self-esteem could be conceptualized as a hierarchical structure, suggesting that individuals may have different perceptions of their worth and competence in various roles [90]. Starting from the higher-order construct of global self-esteem, OBSE refers to one’s belief about their self-worth and competence as an organizational member [7]. In other words, OBSE is a domain specific form of global self-esteem, and the two (OBSE and GSE) should be understood as two different but related constructs. The recent literature studied the relationship between global self-esteem and OBSE, and found that the two are positively correlated. However, OBSE and GSE trajectories differently predict changes in job satisfaction, commitment, work engagement, and burnout [58].

The remaining, highly occurring, antecedents of OBSE are linked to leadership. Considering leadership as an antecedent of OBSE, the literature shows consistent findings. For instance, transformational leadership increases OBSE [91]. We also note a contribution that shows that not only may transformational leadership increase work-specific self-esteem, but that it may also lead to increased inclusion [92], with inclusion being a key concern of sustainable human resource management. Except for this study related to inclusion, the analysis of keywords related to antecedents of OBSE does not appear sufficiently rich in themes related to SHRM (nor to the wider theme of corporate sustainability).

Generally, for the antecedents of OBSE, we note a tendency that characterizes the full keyword map: there are well-connected nodes with a similar average publication year, appearing in green towards the center of the map. Keywords related to recent timeframes (nodes in yellow) or to the inception of literature on OBSE (nodes in purple) appear towards the borders of the map, indicating that they are not fully integrated in the literature. The literature on OBSE can be expanded, incorporating modern keywords such as meaningful work. Meaningful work is defined as the degree to which employees view their work as significant [93]. Meaningful work is jointly examined with OBSE and the effects of different types of leadership on employees’ response [44,47,93,94]. Meaningful work has also been proved to guarantee organizational sustainability by encouraging employees to stay [95]. The literature on meaningful work and OBSE appears limited and can be expanded by linking meaningful work with SHRM practices, ensuring that OBSE is employed as a mediator in these models.

Investigating the role of culture in relation to OBSE was more popular at the inception of the literature production, but this area could benefit from additional research as organizations have become increasingly global and hence multicultural over the past decades. Hofstede [96] describes culture as a system of shared values. The previous literature [97] confirms that cross-cultural differences can profoundly affect motivations, cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. In other words, culture as a contextual factor can influence the way employees respond to work-related stimuli, including HR practices. For instance, Ref. [98] show that different cultural traits determine how individuals respond to SHRM practices and hence influence the outcomes of such practices. Similarly, research [79] proved that OBSE has different outcomes depending on the culture of the population of reference (in the study at hand, this may depend on the importance culturally attributed to work). The literature on OBSE goes beyond the definition of culture as a national or social factor, and integrates the importance of organizational culture [99], showing that when a company’s values closely match the values of the local society, employees are more likely to have positive attitudes and behaviors because of their shared values. However, the study warns that changing a company’s own established culture to match the local culture can be a mistake, especially if it means giving up values that have made the company successful. This introduces an additional layer of analysis, which is the company culture, defined as “collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one organization from others” [100]. In summary, previous work about culture underscores the importance of this contextual element on a national and organizational level for both SHRM and OBSE; however, to date, the literature has not fully integrated these perspectives.

Overall, such research directions are expected to expand the OBSE literature in tandem with corporate sustainability and SHRM. To date, there has been no mention of OBSE in direct relation with these themes, except for a limited number of papers produced in the last decade.

5. Discussion

The literature on OBSE is expanding rapidly, prompting this paper to examine whether this growth aligns with corporate sustainability concerns. To this end, the present study aimed to determine who are the most influential authors, universities, and countries producing literature on OBSE, and whether their scholarly production included corporate sustainability or SHRM concerns. Overall, no specific author, university, or country appears to be specialized on SHRM nor on the wider theme of corporate sustainability. Additionally, the number of nodes appearing in each network, and especially in the authors citation map, is limited. This leads to the conclusion that literature on OBSE has the potential to expand further, integrating SHRM practices and corporate sustainability. The map of universities and countries also shows a clear tendency: the countries associated with the highest literature outcomes are the United States of America and The People’s Republic of China, where the former preserves a central position, indicating its lasting influence in the field, while the latter is associated with more recent production. Enhancing collaborations between established and additional, nascent research centers (across universities and countries) can expand this academic field while incorporating SHRM practices.

Additionally, through a keywords analysis, this study identified the key antecedents and consequences of OBSE, as well as theoretical frameworks used to study this construct. The findings show that the antecedents and consequences of OBSE cover themes which are related to corporate sustainability, insofar that they cover employees’ wellbeing. However, no direct linkage with corporate sustainability or SHRM practices emerged, showing a potential to expand literature incorporating these topics more explicitly. Additionally, when it comes to the interplay between OBSE and corporate sustainability matters, the findings are mixed: for instance, Ref. [81] showed that perceptions of CSR led to sustainable extra-role safety behaviors via OBSE (for reference, extra-role safety behaviors are defined as proactive participation in safety programs during off hours). In other words, OBSE is a mediator between CSR and its outcome. However, a recent study conducted in the hospitality sector [101] reports different findings, showing that OBSE does not play a mediating role between CSR and the outcome of customer service performance. These findings are inconclusive, as they leave open the question on whether OBSE is a mediating factor between CSR and its outcomes. Such a question remains open also due to the limited number of papers shedding light on this relationship. Additional research focused on OBSE as a mediator between CSR, or SHRM, and its outcomes could bring additional clarity. When it comes to the theoretical frameworks, we note a pre-dominance of the Conservation of Resources Theory. This framework is deemed suitable for the incorporation of SHRM concerns in OBSE literature. For instance, existing literature already uses the Conservation of Resources Theory to study the effect of green human resource management on employees’ outcomes, assuming that green human resource management provides employees with increased resources [102]. However, a study covering SHRM practices according to the same theoretical framework is, to date, missing.

Based on the outcomes of the analysis, guidelines for the implementation of SHRM practices based on cognitive consistency theory can be suggested. The framework elaborated by [103] could act as a blueprint for this, whereby the following division of HRM functions is proposed: recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, compensation, training and development, and HR flow. This blueprint would ensure that employees feel valued along the full HR lifecycle; cognitive consistency needs would thus lead employees with heightened OBSE to embrace the company’s goals and behave so as to maintain their image. In other words, SHRM practices would thus increase employees’ OBSE, enabling them to embrace and pursue sustainable values along the full HR lifecycle. Multinational organizations should be mindful of cultural differences when designing OBSE-enhancing strategies: OBSE-related behaviors are culture specific [78]. Therefore, practitioners should be aware of the influence of the cultural contexts where SHRM strategies are implemented. Academic production could serve as a means to increase cultural awareness; this objective can be reached by increasing research on OBSE in countries where research output is, to date, limited. Beyond the cognitive consistency theory, our findings also suggest the practical relevance of the LMX theory: organizations should invest in leadership development programs that focus not only on the attainment of sustainable goals according to the triple bottom line [15], but also on techniques for building high-quality LMX relationships. This can help create an environment where leadership fosters OBSE, thereby effectively driving their employees towards sustainable change.

Lastly, SHRM should promote aspects such as creativity and work meaningfulness to ensure the long-term fulfillment of sustainable objectives [15]. Designing jobs that enhance employees’ sense of meaningful work can positively contribute to organizational sustainability by improving employee retention [95]. Meaningful work has also been shown to be a key mediator between knowledge sharing and organizational sustainability [104]. While the literature acknowledges the primary role of this construct in promoting corporate sustainability, there is a lack of studies covering SHRM, meaningful work, and OBSE. Meaningful work and OSBE have also been shown to be antecedents of creativity [105]. Similarly, human resource practices can promote creativity [106]. Creativity and HR practices have been shown to be an antecedent of sustainability [107]. Therefore, we conclude that SHRM has the potential to create an environment that nurtures creativity, particularly in areas related to environmental, social, and financial sustainability.

6. Conclusions

6.1. Core Conclusions

This study is the first bibliometric analysis to map all existing literature on OBSE, identifying its key contributors on an author, university, and country-level, as well as its thematic evolution. Based on the findings, there is an opportunity to further integrate corporate sustainability and SHRM into OBSE literature. Only a very limited number of studies cover both OBSE and corporate sustainability, and the studies that cover SHRM mostly focus on the environmental dimension. As a solution, this study suggests avenues for future research, and, based on the results of the keyword analysis, provides recommendations for practitioners.

6.2. Limitations

The limitations of this study should be acknowledged. Concerning the selected materials and methods, this bibliometric analysis relies on the Web of Science database and its Core Collection, which may not encompass all the relevant literature on OBSE. Additionally, in this study, only documents in English were retrieved. When it comes to the sample size, Donthu et al. [32] recommend having at least 500 documents to justify the choice of a bibliometric analysis. Although the volume of papers analyzed here is below this threshold, the selected method is well-suited for the research at hand. Firstly, alternative methods (e.g., manual reviews or meta-analyses) would not have been aligned with the objectives of this research. On the other hand, the chosen approach is well suited to answer the research questions. Secondly, the bibliometric analyses led to objective and reproducible findings, laying the foundations to potentially repeat the same study in the future, analyzing a volume of papers which is and will remain significant. Lastly, while the applied filters (e.g., WoS Core Collection, English language) reduced the scope of papers, such filters were necessary to ensure the inclusion of relevant data and minimize manual interventions.

6.3. Future Research Directions

We encourage others to repeat this study at a different point in time to ensure an up-to-date and comprehensive outlook of this rapidly evolving field, based on a higher number of documents. This study can also be repeated using a different database and/or including documents in different languages. When it comes to the method, the latest meta-analysis in the field was performed several years ago [108]. As such, re-using this technique now, after a steep increase in publications, may unveil additional findings. Future literature reviews could also classify or filter existing publications depending on the sector where the studies were performed to understand if any industry is more inclined to embrace corporate sustainability, and whether interdisciplinary research would be beneficial. Moreover, because OBSE literature is still in a developing phase, this manuscript employed a broad definition of sustainability (encompassing environmental, social, and economic aspects). Future research may however narrow such a definition (e.g., focusing on the environmental dimension only)—a focused scope could lead to even more actionable insights.