Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
1.9
Journals
World
Special Issues
Green Human Resources Management and Innovation
share announcement

Green Human Resources Management and Innovation

A special issue of World (ISSN 2673-4060).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 September 2026 | Viewed by 1272

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kleanthis K. Katsaros

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science & Technology, University of Patras, 30100 Rio, Greece
Interests: HRM; change management; change leadership; OB
Dr. Aspridis George

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Forestry, Wood Sciences and Design, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece
Interests: administrative science; management; business communication; HRM; public administration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue seeks to explore the intersection of Green Human Resources Management (GHRM), innovation, and change management in organizational contexts. As sustainability has become a strategic imperative, organizations increasingly recognize the importance of embedding environmentally responsible practices into their human resource policies and aligning them with broader organizational change and innovation agendas. The focus of this issue is to examine how GHRM practices foster organizational learning, stimulate innovative capabilities, and enable effective change management processes that contribute to long-term sustainability and competitive advantage.

The scope of the Special Issue includes, but is not limited to:

  • Green Human Resource Management practices and their role in fostering organizational sustainability.
  • The link between GHRM, employee engagement, and pro-environmental behavior.
  • Innovative HRM strategies for enhancing environmental performance.
  • The role of leadership in driving sustainable HRM and organizational change.
  • Change management models and frameworks in the context of sustainability and innovation.
  • Integration of green practices into talent acquisition, training, and performance management.
  • Organizational culture and its influence on green innovation adoption.
  • Cross-industry and cross-country studies on GHRM and sustainable innovation.
  • Digital transformation, Industry 4.0, and their intersection with GHRM practices.
  • Measuring the impact of GHRM and change management on organizational performance.
  • Case studies highlighting successful green HRM and innovation initiatives.
  • Future trends and emerging challenges in sustainable HRM and organizational change.

In addition to these proposed topics, we also welcome contributions that critically review and question the existing research and practices of GHRM in the context of constantly changing work settings. Both conceptual and empirical papers employing diverse methodological approaches are encouraged.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions and submissions to this Special Issue on Green Human Resources Management and Innovation.

Dr. Kleanthis K. Katsaros
Dr. Aspridis George
Guest Editors

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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. World is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1200 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

  • change management
  • GHRM
  • innovation
  • leadership
  • organizational culture
  • performance

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 1604 KB  
Article
Aligning Green Human Resource Practices and Adaptive Change Management: A Pathway to Sustainable Innovation Performance
by Rsha Ali Alghafes
World 2026, 7(4), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/world7040063 - 7 Apr 2026
Viewed by 430
Abstract
Environmental sustainability has emerged as a strategic requirement of those organizations that want to remain competitive in the long run, but most companies continue to adopt green human resource management (GHRM) practices and organizational change initiatives individually, thus restraining their potential transformation. This [...] Read more.
Environmental sustainability has emerged as a strategic requirement of those organizations that want to remain competitive in the long run, but most companies continue to adopt green human resource management (GHRM) practices and organizational change initiatives individually, thus restraining their potential transformation. This paper constructs and confirms a combined approach of how the fit between GHRM practices and adaptive change management processes results in high performance in sustainable innovation. In this study, 83 organizations from both the manufacturing and service sectors were selected using a purposive sampling method, to ensure diversity across developed and developing countries and varying levels of GHRM integration (low, moderate, and high). The sample was chosen to represent a broad spectrum of sustainability maturity levels, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of how GHRM practices influence green product, process, and business model innovation. This selection, alongside 30 peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025, underpins the conceptual framework used to activate change preparedness and link GHRM dimensions with innovation outcomes. I demonstrate that organizations with a high GHRM–change management fit have much higher levels of innovation performance—both in terms of the number of green product innovations (485%) and more sustainable performance improvement (90.5 on average)—than low-integration organizations. Findings also reveal that leadership commitment, employee engagement, organizational learning, and systemic reinforcement are key mediating processes that enhance the effect of GHRM activities. Temporal trajectory analysis demonstrates that integrated organizations go through deployment, consolidation, and optimization phases, as well as increasing returns to performance, with an accelerating trend of 36 months. This paper is important in management research as it fills in gaps in the literature, providing an explanation of how human resource practices facilitate organizational change at the system level. In practice, this study offers evidence-based recommendations to managers who want to establish sustainability-oriented innovation capability by implementing a coordinated GHRM and adaptive change management approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Human Resources Management and Innovation)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 376 KB  
Article
What Makes Employees Innovate Green? A Multi-Source Examination of HRM, Leadership, and Psychological Mechanisms
by Vera Lazanaki, Evdokia Tsoni and Kleanthis Katsaros
World 2026, 7(4), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/world7040061 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 364
Abstract
Organizations increasingly invest in sustainability, yet limited knowledge exists regarding the psychological and leadership mechanisms through which Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) fosters employees’ green innovative behavior. This study addresses this scientific problem by examining how GHRM relates to green innovation through sequential [...] Read more.
Organizations increasingly invest in sustainability, yet limited knowledge exists regarding the psychological and leadership mechanisms through which Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) fosters employees’ green innovative behavior. This study addresses this scientific problem by examining how GHRM relates to green innovation through sequential psychological processes and under which leadership conditions these relationships become stronger. Using multi-source data from 300 employee–supervisor dyads across three industries in the Greek private sector, the study tests a serial mediation model linking GHRM to green innovative behavior through psychological safety and work engagement, as well as the moderating role of Green Transformational Leadership (GTL). Structural equation modelling supports all hypothesized associations: GHRM is positively related to psychological safety, which predicts work engagement, which in turn strongly predicts green innovative behavior. GTL strengthens the relationship between GHRM and psychological safety, resulting in a stronger indirect effect on green innovation. The findings provide an integrative understanding of how HR systems, psychological conditions, and leadership jointly support employee-driven environmental innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Human Resources Management and Innovation)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop