Green human resource management practices: a hierarchical model to evaluate the pro-environmental behavior of hotel employees

Purpose This paper examines the impact of green human resource management (GHRM) practices on employees’ pro-environmental behavior in Pakistan’s hospitality industry. It attempts to identify the critical success factors involved in promoting GHRM and pro-environmental behaviors at the workplace using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) approaches. Later, based on the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) model, the study also categorizes the identified critical factors into three categories: ability, motivation and opportunity. Design/methodology/approach The ISM approach was applied to determine the contextual relationship among the identified critical success factors responsible for promoting GHRM. MICMAC, a structural technique to analyze and validate the ISM-based model, was used to determine the autonomous, dependent, linkage and independent factors based on expert opinions and judgments. The goal was to determine the role of GHRM in transforming the pro-environmental behavior of employees. Findings The study’s findings show that the proper integration of effective GHRM practices significantly impacts pro-environmental employee behavior. The hierarchical model introduces innovation in the field of GHRM because ISM-based hierarchical models are flexible enough to include or exclude practices according to the green organizational objectives in the hospitality industry within the context of Pakistan. The results offer a comprehensive illustration of the importance of GHRM practices in facilitating, encouraging and promoting employees to take green initiatives and achieve business sustainability. Research limitations/implications The study utilizes the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) technique to identify key success criteria for GHRM, while the innovative approaches of ISM and MICMAC techniques were used to investigate employee pro-environmental behaviors. This novel method gives GHRM research an analytical direction by providing an organized framework for evaluating the impact of GHRM initiatives on environmental outcomes. Additionally, by focusing on developed economies rather than emerging ones, our study within Pakistan’s hospitality sector fills a knowledge vacuum on the dynamics of GHRM in a developing nation. Practical implications This study highlights the significance of managers in the hospitality sector serving as role models for implementing GHRM practices to encourage pro environmental behavior among employees. Prioritizing green structural capital, establishing standard environmentally friendly criteria for hiring and evaluating prospective employees and initiating green projects to promote a psychologically green environment are some of the key recommendations. Improving environmental performance, employee satisfaction and loyalty in the hotel industry requires constant communication, training and employee participation in sustainability decision-making. Originality/value The GHRM practices have been extensively discussed by academics and researchers. However, there is a notable absence of discussion on the key factors that play a role in transforming employees’ attitudes and behaviors.