A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Human Resource Management: Integrating Green Practices, Ethical Leadership, and Digital Resilience to Advance the SDGs

This article develops a conceptual framework of Sustainable Human Resource Management (Sustainable HRM) by integrating three critical dimensions: Green HRM practices, ethical and responsible leadership, and digital resilience in HR systems. Positioned within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the study addresses the lack of theoretical integration across the fragmented literature. The framework highlights employee well-being as the central mediating construct linking HRM practices to sustainability outcomes, connecting micro-level engagement, meso-level HR systems and leadership ethics, and macro-level policy and ESG alignment. This explicitly demonstrates the multi-level (micro–meso–macro) nature of the framework. The proposed model advances theory by extending HRM beyond organizational boundaries, offering Sustainable HRM as a boundary-spanning and original perspective that links people management to global sustainability agendas. Using a five-stage conceptual development process including literature synthesis, construct definition, integrative framework building, formulation of conceptual propositions, and the design of a future research agenda—this study explicitly acknowledges its conceptual nature to set appropriate reader expectations and ensures methodological transparency in framework development. The study further contributes (1) to theory by clarifying how Green HRM, ethical leadership, and digital resilience interact through employee well-being to advance sustainability; (2) to practice by providing HR leaders with pathways to embed sustainability into core processes; and (3) to policy by informing regulators on HRM’s role in achieving SDGs. Ultimately, the framework positions HRM as a strategic enabler of sustainable development.