Comparative Green HRM
Final Report Abstract
Addressing sustainability issues, which comprise social, environmental, and economic objectives alike, is one of the greatest challenges that society today is facing on a global scale. Confronted with increasing pressures to tackle these challenges, organizations not only seek to find responses by committing to sustainability objectives but also increasingly promote employee engagement in sustainability issues and activities. In order to encourage employees to engage in environmental issues, many organizations draw on practices inherent in human resource management (HRM), such as volunteer programs, training, and recruiting. This aspect of HRM is referred to as Green HRM and deals exclusively with the environmental aspects of HRM. In this context, the DFG- and FWF-funded project jointly led by Prof. Marcus Wagner (University of Augsburg) and Prof. Michael Müller-Camen (WU Vienna) analyzed various strategies for implementing environmentally friendly policies in organizations. In addition, the way employees deal with obstacles and challenges in the context of ecological requirements was of interest. Under certain circumstances, competing ecological and economic objectives can lead to the emergence of tensions or create paradoxical situations for employees. For example, restricting business travel for environmental reasons may challenge a salesperson to find new ways to successfully maintain customer contact without face-to-face visits. Similarly, a company-wide requirement to use the train instead of the airplane can be accompanied by a considerable additional expenditure of time. The goal was to explore which strategies employees use in different situations to reduce these tensions or to deal with corresponding contradictory situations. This yields valuable insights into challenges in integrating Green HRM with corporate strategy. For example, the results show that tensions arise in teams when employees encourage each other to behave green, and that these tensions are indicative of a substantial commitment to sustainability in organizations. This is because tensions are most likely to occur in those companies that are strongly committed to sustainability, as they consciously address conflicting goals rather than ignoring them.
Publications
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Green HRM: Mit nachhaltiger Personalarbeit Unternehmen voranbringen
Müller-Camen, M., Wagner, M. & Breitenfeld, V.
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Luft nach oben: Studie untersucht grüne Personalarbeit in Unternehmen
Wagner, M., Obereder, L. & Geuenich, B.
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Paradox theory and sustainable organizing: a multi-level and multi-method study. Paper presented at 15th Organization Studies Summer Workshop, Chania, Greece (online).
Löw, J. & Wagner, M.
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Dynamics of paradox salience: Objectives and tensions in organizing sustainably. Paper presented at 37th EGOS Colloquium (PDW), Amsterdam, Netherlands (online).
Löw, J., Wagner, M. & Berti, M.
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Unlevelling the impact of culture on experiencing paradoxes in the context of corporate sustainability. Comparative Green HRM – final project report Paper presented at 37th EGOS Colloquium, Amsterdam, Netherlands (online).
Löw, J., Prinz, J., Spiess, S. & Wagner, M.
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Das Paradoxon der Nachhaltigkeit. [The paradox of sustainability]. Personalwirtschaft, 6/2022.
Wagner, M., Löw, J. & Müller-Camen, M.
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Dynamics of paradox salience: Objectives and tensions in organizing sustainably. Paper presented at 10th GRONEN Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Löw, J., Berti, M. & Wagner, M.
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Employee Green Behavior and sustainability-related tensions. Evidence from a multi-company, international study. Paper presented at 10th GRONEN Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Löw, J., Prinz, J., Spiess, S. & Wagner, M.
