Understanding the Connection between Sustainable Human Resource Management and the Hotel Business Outcomes: Evidence from the Green-Certified Hotels of Egypt

Abstract

Sustainable human resource management (SHRM) practices are extensively believed to cause a strategic advantage for the hotel industry. However, while a growing body of evidence indicates that SHRM practices are related to superior organization-level outcomes, it is rather unclear as to how these practices could affect such outcomes and whether they result in desirable hotel outcomes. This paper aimed to examine the moderation effect of hotels’ environmental strategy (ES) on the relationship between SHRM practices and hotel business outcomes: operational performance (OP), competitive advantage (C), and corporate performance (CP). Following a positivism philosophy, a proposed hypothesised model was validated through a survey strategy. Data were obtained from 247 green-certified hotel managers based in Egypt’s top-two major cities involving green-certified hotels. Structural equation modelling was used to test the model relationships. The findings lent credence to the significant connectedness between SHRM practices and hotel business outcomes. The moderation effect of ES was positively confirmed by 83.4% of the SHRM practices, demonstrating that ES is a crucial driver of hotel business outcomes through the optimal usage of SHRM. Negatively, it was revealed that only sustainable promotion practice (16.6%) does not moderate its impact on the hotel business outcomes. This research is the first empirical study to examine the moderation effect of ES on the nexus between the SHRM and hotel business outcomes in the green-certified hotels of Egypt.

Human Resource Development within the Sustainability Science Framework

“…It affects the communication system, organizations' practice in recruiting, how organizations engage and retain employees, how they train employees and communicate with customers, and the brand and value proposition. Therefore, HR ought to be necessary for any organization's sustainability initiatives (Salama et al, 2022). As an emerging field of research and practice, HRD focuses on the human side of organizations, as it cares about employees' careers and organizational development (Kola-Olusanya, 2013).…”

Green Human Resources Management in the Hotel Industry: A Systematic Review

“…Many studies have discussed the forms of the relationship between GHRM practices and how they interact positively with CSR to achieve an organization's environmental goals [106,[108][109][110][111]. In the hotels industry, there are many types of relationships whereby GHRM has affected CSR [56] and vice versa [67], with an interactive relationship between the two [67,78].…”

“…The objective of the practice of green performance evaluation and appraisal [41,62,69,82] is not only to measure the environmental performance of employees [69] but to work on identifying gaps, if they exist, correcting errors and compensating for shortfalls by modifying green training programs in the future [41]. Environmental performance is based on criteria and indicators that guarantee a certain level of performance, ensuring a competitive advantage for the organization [78].…”

“…Many studies [38,49,79,116] have referred to the important role of the green rewards and promotion function, which is the main motivator for employees and is associated different types of motivation, whether tangible or non-tangible [49]. Employees obtain promotions and rewards that are commensurate with the work they have accomplished, enhancing their confidence in the organization in which they work and pushing them to do more and motivating them to raise the level of their environmental performance, develop their skills and increase their loyalty [79], which is reflected in the organization as a whole and enhances its competitiveness [78].…”

“…The environmental strategy adopted by an organization reflects its vision and objectives [131]. GHRMp are practices that support the achievement of the strategic environmental goals of an organization [78], indicates the organization's environmental orientations and the level of their necessity, which is ultimately reflected in the achieved environmental performance [131].…”