Sustainable HRM as a bridge in the relationship between trust, job performance and commitment: evidence from the hotel industry

Purpose The present study investigates the relationships among perceived organizational trustworthiness, triple bottom line (TBL) sustainable human resource management (HRM), organizational commitment and job performance in the hotel industry through the lenses of social exchange theory (SET) and paradox theory. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 198 hotel employees in Greece using a self-administered questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the research hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that TBL sustainable HRM practices partially mediate the relationship between perceived organizational trustworthiness and both organizational commitment and job performance. Therefore, it underscores the importance of TBL sustainable HRM in boosting the impact of perceived organizational trustworthiness on tangible employee-level outcomes such as organizational commitment and job performance. Originality/value This study is among the first to integrate SET with paradox theory to examine sustainable HRM practices within the high-pressure context of the hotel industry. By combining these theoretical lenses, the study offers a novel framework for understanding how organizations simultaneously manage competing demands – such as operational efficiency and employee well-being. The research also provides original empirical evidence from the underexplored Greek hospitality sector, contributing fresh insights to the sustainable HRM literature.