The relationship between strategic human resource management, green innovation and environmental performance: a moderated-mediation model

The study addresses how strategic human resource management (SHRM) can drive green innovation and improve environmental performance in the Asia-Pacific electronics manufacturing sector amid growing competition and stringent environmental expectations. It posits that SHRM equips employees with psychological and social resources that support environmentally oriented innovative behavior. The research focuses on two key mechanisms: self-efficacy as a mediator between SHRM and green innovation, and person-organization fit as a moderator of the link between green innovation and environmental performance. Grounded in social exchange theory and the intellectual capital perspective, the study explores how aligning organizational practices and values with employees’ capabilities and motivations can enhance green innovation and environmental outcomes.

The literature review integrates social exchange theory (SET) and intellectual capital theory to explain how SHRM influences green innovation. SET suggests that organizational investments (training, support, positive climate) engender reciprocal employee behaviors, including green innovation. Intellectual capital (human, structural, social) underpins innovation capacity, with human capital’s skills and knowledge crucial for green initiatives. Prior work links SHRM and high-performance work systems to innovation but highlights limited focus on green innovation specifically; green HRM (GHRM) is discussed as an extension of SHRM integrating environmental aims. The review articulates four hypotheses: H1, SHRM positively affects green innovation; H2, green innovation positively affects employees’ environmental performance; H3, self-efficacy mediates the SHRM–green innovation relationship; and H4, person-organization fit moderates the green innovation–environmental performance relationship. It details the roles of self-efficacy (from social cognitive theory) in enabling innovative behavior and person-organization fit in aligning individual and organizational environmental values to amplify innovation outcomes.

Design: Cross-sectional survey using purposive sampling of employees in electronics manufacturing firms in mainland China, primarily export-oriented firms in coastal regions. A pilot study refined the instrument with expert input. Data collection occurred January–March 2021. Sample: 498 responses received; 11 excluded; final N=487. Departmental distribution: R&D 20%, Logistics 26%, Business 21%, Others 33%. Gender: 36% male, 64% female. Median age 38.25 years (SD 6.64); median tenure 5.44 years (SD 5.53). Measures: - SHRM measured as a bundle of seven practices (Ali et al., 2018): empowerment (4 items), staffing (3), training (4), performance appraisal (3), promotion (5), employment security (4), compensation (3). - Self-efficacy: Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (Rigotti et al., 2008; adapted by Alisic & Wiese, 2020). - Green innovation: six items adapted from Rego et al. (2007) and Barczak et al. (2010), operationalized as successful implementation of environmentally oriented creative ideas. - Person-organization fit: three items from Cable & DeRue (2002). - Employees’ environmental performance: four items from Judge & Douglas (1998). All items used a 5-point Likert scale (1 to 5). Analysis: Data cleaning, descriptive statistics, and correlations were followed by PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4.0). Measurement model assessed reliability, convergent and discriminant validity (loadings, Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, AVE, HTMT). Model fit compared first-order vs second-order SHRM representations using SRMR, d_ULS, d_G. Structural model evaluated path coefficients, R², and moderated-mediation via bootstrapping. Reported fit indices included RMSEA, SRMR, and NFI.

Measurement model: All constructs met reliability and validity thresholds. Cronbach’s alpha > 0.842; composite reliability > 0.901; AVE > 0.717; item loadings > 0.7. Discriminant validity supported via Fornell-Larcker and HTMT (all HTMT < 0.9). Model fit: First-order model fit better than second-order model. First-order SRMR = 0.046 (<0.08); d_ULS and d_G of the saturated model were less than bootstrapped HI 95% of estimated models. Structural model: R² values: self-efficacy = 0.384; green innovation = 0.583; environmental performance = 0.492. Global fit: RMSEA = 0.043; SRMR = 0.047; NFI = 0.973. Hypotheses: - H1 supported: SHRM → green innovation β = 0.312, p < 0.001; SHRM → self-efficacy β = 0.396, p < 0.001. - H2 supported: green innovation → environmental performance β = 0.275, p < 0.001. - H3 supported: self-efficacy → green innovation β = 0.385, p < 0.001; indirect effect (SHRM → self-efficacy → green innovation) β = 0.153, p < 0.001. - H4 supported: interaction green innovation × person-organization fit → environmental performance β = 0.126, p < 0.05; the positive effect of green innovation on environmental performance is stronger at higher levels of person-organization fit.

Findings show that SHRM enhances self-efficacy and green innovation, which in turn improves employees’ environmental performance. This aligns with social exchange theory: supportive HR practices elicit reciprocal innovative behaviors. The mediating role of self-efficacy emphasizes the psychological mechanism by which SHRM translates into green innovative actions. The moderating role of person-organization fit indicates that alignment of employee and organizational environmental values strengthens the translation of green innovation into environmental outcomes. In the Chinese electronics manufacturing context, results underscore the centrality of human capital and organizational alignment in advancing environmental sustainability. The study extends prior work by specifying individual-level mechanisms and boundary conditions governing the SHRM–innovation–performance nexus.

The study demonstrates that SHRM significantly promotes green innovation and environmental performance through enhanced employee self-efficacy and that person-organization fit strengthens the impact of green innovation on environmental performance. It contributes theoretically by integrating social exchange and intellectual capital perspectives to clarify mediating and moderating mechanisms, and practically by guiding managers to align HR practices with environmental goals, build employee confidence, and foster value alignment. Future research should broaden contexts beyond Chinese manufacturing, employ longitudinal designs to infer causality, and incorporate qualitative approaches to capture cultural nuances influencing green innovation and SHRM.

- Causality cannot be firmly established due to the cross-sectional design; longitudinal and staged data collection are recommended. - Sample focused on product designers and production staff in mainland China’s manufacturing sector, limiting generalizability to other regions, industries, and roles. - Asia-Pacific cultural heterogeneity was not fully explored; qualitative studies could deepen understanding of cultural influences on SHRM and green innovation. - Findings represent a temporal snapshot within electronics manufacturing; future work should examine other industries and evolving regulatory/technological contexts to enhance external validity.