The impact of GHRM practices on corporate sustainability dimensions: a mediation and moderation analysis

Purpose This study examines the relationship between green human resource management (GHRM) practices, internal environmental management practices (IEM) and sustainable performance of Tunisian manufacturing firms. Moreover, it considers ethical leadership style (ELS) as a moderator of the relationship between GHRM practices and sustainable performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a survey questionnaire to collect data from 180 Tunisian manufacturing companies; partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the collected data. Findings This study shows that GHRM practices positively influence both IEM practices and environmental performance. In addition, IEM practices positively affect the social and environmental performance of Tunisian companies. IEM practices partially mediate the relationship between GHRM practices and environmental performance and fully mediate the relationship between GHRM practices and social performance. Finally, ELS has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between GHRM practices and environmental performance. Research limitations/implications The results of this study are specific to manufacturing companies in Tunisia and may not be generalizable to other sectors (e.g. services) or countries. Nevertheless, the findings provide valuable insights for manufacturing managers in Tunisia. Originality/value Given the scarcity of research integrating GHRM and IEM practices within manufacturing firms in developing countries, this study offers empirical evidence on the relationship between the above concepts in Tunisian manufacturing firms as well as their combined effect on sustainability, under the lens of resource-based view (RBV) theory.