Special Issue "Designing Sustainable HRM"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Asta Savanevičienė
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sustainable management research group, School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, 44239 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: sustainable HRM; strategic HRM; sustainable career; talent management; employee wellbeing
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At present, both employees and employers face many challenges. The 24/7 society, characterized by a perfectionist approach to work, causes emotional strain on employees; an aging society supposes prolonged work-life expectancies and forces organizations to rethink the way human resources are managed. Eventually, Industry 4.0, based on the rapid development of future-creating technologies such as AR, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, etc., assumes the challenge of ‘the future of work’ for both employers and employees while emphasizing the need to pay attention to the design of human resources management in a sustainable way.

This Special Issue aims to collect theoretical knowledge and empirical evidence around designing sustainable HRM. This emerging field of research encourages scientists from different scientific fields to contribute and bring together your ideas and insights on a wide range of issues. Particularly relevant is identifying how to redesign HRM in the face of “future work” challenges. Discourse on key characteristics of sustainable HRM and its contents is still lacking in empirical evidence and practical solutions.

We encourage contributions that address issues related (but not limited) to the following areas:

  • How do emerging technologies affect work processes, and what tensions are caused?
  • What are the challenges of an aging society and how can an organization ensure a sustainable career and high performance?
  • What are the challenges of a 24/7 society and how can an organization ensure a sustainable HRM?
  • What approaches dominate as a theoretical background for sustainable HRM? 
  • What are the main characteristics of a sustainable HRM?
  • How do the characteristics of a sustainable HRM manifest in terms of their content?
  • What is the linkage between sustainable HRM characteristics and employees’ mental and physical health?
  • What is the linkage between sustainable HRM characteristics and organizational performance?
  • How can we measure sustainability in human resource management?
  • What is the role of leaders in designing sustainable HRM?

Prof. Asta Savanevičienė
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainable HRM
  • Designing
  • Characteristics of sustainable HRM

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Article
“Everything Will Be Fine”: A Study on the Relationship between Employees’ Perception of Sustainable HRM Practices and Positive Organizational Behavior during COVID19
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10216; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310216 - 07 Dec 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2264
Abstract
Sustainable human resource management practices represent one of the main organizational strategy to survive and to prosper within the fast-moving current scenario. According to this view, sustainability is strictly linked to the consideration of the unique and distinctive value that each human resource [...] Read more.
Sustainable human resource management practices represent one of the main organizational strategy to survive and to prosper within the fast-moving current scenario. According to this view, sustainability is strictly linked to the consideration of the unique and distinctive value that each human resource means for organizations. The recent COVID19 pandemic is having a serious impact on organizations and on their employees, it is profoundly changing the working modalities, mainly introducing smart working practices that were showed to have significant consequences on workers’ wellbeing. This study aims to investigate employees’ perception of sustainable HRM in the frame of the COVID19 emergency, exploring if and to what extent perceptions of involvement and organizational support together with individual coping strategies associated with organizational change could influence positive organizational behaviors, namely organizational engagement and extra-role behavior. The research involved 549 participants who completed a self-report online questionnaire encompassing psycho-social measures of the abovementioned variables. Results confirmed the important role played by sustainable HRM practices both for the capitalization of human resources and of organizational performance in a time of great uncertainty and global crisis. Implications for theory and HRM practice development were also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable HRM)
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Article
Sustainable HRM as a Pathway to Sustainability—HRMS Relevance on Affective Commitment through Organizational Trust
Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9443; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229443 - 13 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 690
Abstract
Human resource management system (HRMS) is an organizational instrument that sends organizational messages to employees. If we consider that HRMS can be an indicator of organization’s involvement towards employees’ it is relevant to understand its impact in employees’ organizational commitment and study indicators [...] Read more.
Human resource management system (HRMS) is an organizational instrument that sends organizational messages to employees. If we consider that HRMS can be an indicator of organization’s involvement towards employees’ it is relevant to understand its impact in employees’ organizational commitment and study indicators that can help unravel the black box between HRMS and positive results, associating an emerging approach, sustainable HRMS that relates HRMS with sustainability, having as common features the association with positive results for employees. Recent literature has tested organizational trust (OT) as a relevant indicator in the understanding of this process. There have been studies that have debated and tested OT in managers as a mediator or moderator of HRMS on affective commitment (AOC) and support for both have been found. In this study, we attempt to contribute to the development of the field, by considering the terminological, conceptual and statistical distinction between moderator and mediator, testing two alternative models that may elucidate the relationship between these variables. 1328 valid responses with employees and managers from 21 Portuguese organizations were collected. A factor analysis, a cluster analysis, moderation tests using hierarchical linear regression, pos hoc tests and mediation tests with sequential regressions were performed. HRMS dimensions are mediated (partially or totally) by OT in manager towards AOC. HRMS dimensions (HR relationship with employees, comprehensibility, utility, visibility and distributive justice) influences OT in manager, which, in turn, influences AOC. Regarding moderation, the interaction between distributive justice and OT, pos-hoc tests showed that when distributive justice increases and levels of OT in manager is high, OAC increases rapidly. It seems that the importance of the distributive justice of HRMS only becomes relevant on OAC, if OT in manager is present. This empirical test of the HRMS model also suggests its reframing in two meta-dimensions: A. the agents of HR system, the HR relationship with employees based on their competence, consistent behavior, ability to solve problems and listening to people; and B. the effects of the system itself, possibly Visibility is the most relevant attribute. We suggest that these interactions between HR agents and employees are relevant and may lead to generalizations about the HRMS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable HRM)
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Article
Work Flexibility, Job Satisfaction, and Job Performance among Romanian Employees—Implications for Sustainable Human Resource Management
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6086; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156086 - 29 Jul 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4554
Abstract
In light of future work challenges, actual human resource management (HRM) needs to be redesigned, including long-term development, regeneration, and renewal of human resources, passing from consuming to developing human resources by incorporating the concept of sustainability. Thus, sustainable HRM is seen as [...] Read more.
In light of future work challenges, actual human resource management (HRM) needs to be redesigned, including long-term development, regeneration, and renewal of human resources, passing from consuming to developing human resources by incorporating the concept of sustainability. Thus, sustainable HRM is seen as an extension of strategic human resources, presenting a new approach to human resource management. The labor market is constantly changing, atypical work acquiring a significant relevance, especially in these current times of coronavirus crisis restrictions. In Romania, promoting the law of teleworking transformed labor flexibility into a topic of interest, and became an increasingly vital requirement for employment and a motivating factor for Romanian employees. In such a context, this paper aims to investigate the link between employee development and worktime and workspace flexibility as relevant characteristics of sustainable HRM, job satisfaction and job performance among Romanian employees in order to identify how to redesign HRM in the face of “future work” challenges. Additionally, the paper aims to examine the impact of different types of flexibility—contractual, functional, working time, and workspace flexibility—in order to highlight the relevance of employee development and employee flexibility as important aspects of sustainable HRM in increasing the overall level of employee job satisfaction. In order to make this possible, an “employee flexibility composite indicator,” which takes into account different types of flexibility, has been developed using feedback from Romanian employees, which was gathered by a national representative survey using multiple correspondence analysis. Furthermore, the impact of both individual and employee flexibility on overall level of job satisfaction has been quantified using binary logistic regression models. Within the research, there is a particular focus on the impact of new types of workspaces (flex office, co-working, total home office, partial home office—FO, CW, HOT, HOP) on job performance, job satisfaction, organizational performance, professional growth and development, social and professional relationships, and personal professional performance as well as on the overall level of work motivation. The empirical results revealed that these new types of workspaces are highly appreciated by employees, generating a growing interest among them. Partial home working, the mix between working from home and working in a company’s office, has been considered an optimal solution in increasing organizational performance, social and professional relationships, learning and personal development, and the overall level of work motivation. The results of the multiple correspondence analysis highlighted a medium level of flexibility among those Romanian employees interviewed, with only one third of them exhibiting high levels of flexibility. The empirical analysis of logistic regression analysis pointed out the role of functional flexibility, working time, and workspace flexibility along with the flexibility composite indicator in increasing the level of job satisfaction in employees. Therefore, if the challenge is to redesign the actual human resource management in order to include the concept of sustainability, attention needs to be on a combination of employee development-flexible time and flexible places, leading to an increase in both employee job satisfaction and organizational performance as important outcomes of sustainable HRM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable HRM)
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Article
Sustainable HRM as a Driver for Innovative Work Behaviour: Do Respect, Openness, and Continuity Matter? The Case of Lithuania
Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5511; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145511 - 08 Jul 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 917
Abstract
There is a widespread consensus in prior literature that innovative work behaviour is a crucial factor in enabling organisations to adapt to rapid changes, to gain a competitive advantage, and create a sustainable organisation. Despite its importance, knowledge about potential drivers of this [...] Read more.
There is a widespread consensus in prior literature that innovative work behaviour is a crucial factor in enabling organisations to adapt to rapid changes, to gain a competitive advantage, and create a sustainable organisation. Despite its importance, knowledge about potential drivers of this behaviour is fragmented and inconsistent. As such, organisations may be restricted in their ability to innovate because they do not know how to induce the employees in a way that will encourage them to explore, generate, champion, and finally implement the ideas. Recently, human resource management (HRM) has been explored among potential drivers, considering it as primary means by which organisations can influence and shape the behaviours of employees. Despite the notion that HRM predicts innovative work behaviour, there is a lack in the literature of insights into the ways the organisations can stimulate behaviour by offering sustainability-focused HRM. Sustainable HRM refers to a new approach to people management with the focus on external business environment (openness), respect for the employee (respect), and balanced interests of employer and employee (continuity). Relying on the notion that organisations are gradually introducing sustainable HRM and trying to close the gap in the literature, the paper is designed to link a new approach to people management with innovative work behaviour. The aim of the paper is an initial assessment of whether sustainable HRM is a driver for innovative work behaviour. Disentangling four dimensions of innovative work behaviour makes it possible to determine whether sustainable HRM can stimulate different behaviour types linked to idea exploration, idea generation, idea championing, and idea implementation. The results of a preparatory survey of 306 employees working in Lithuanian companies showed that respect-oriented HRM and continuity-oriented HRM were positively related to innovative work behaviour and the appropriate dimensions (except for idea exploration in case of continuity-oriented HRM); meanwhile, there was no support for the relationship between openness-oriented HRM and innovative work behaviour. Overall, sustainable HRM was found to be a driver for enhancing innovative work behaviour and its dimensions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable HRM)
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