Green Human Resource Management
Green HRM
Related to Human Resource Activities
Open-Ended writing related to Human Resource Management (GREEN HRM)
lable at ScienceDirect
Journal of Cleaner Production 256 (2020) 120401
Contents lists avai
Journal of Cleaner Production
journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/ jc lepro
Green Human Resource Management for organisational citizenship
behaviour towards the environment and environmental performance
on a university campus
Nosheen Anwar a, Nik Hasnaa Nik Mahmood a, Mohd Yusoff Yusliza b, *, T. Ramayah c, d, f,
Juhari Noor Faezah b, Waqas Khalid e
a Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
b Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Management, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
c School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, 11800, Penang, Malaysia
d Internet Innovation Research Center, Minjiang University, A212, Newhuadu Business School, Minjiang University, 200 Xiyuangong Road, Shangjie Town,
Minhou County, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
e School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
f Department of Management, Sunway University Business School (SUBS), No. 5, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, 47500, Selangor, Malaysia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 16 January 2019
Received in revised form
25 December 2019
Accepted 2 February 2020
Available online 7 February 2020
Handling Editor: Dr Sandra Caeiro
Keywords:
Green human resource management
Organisational citizenship behaviour
towards environment
Environmental performance
University
Academic staff
Ability-motivation-opportunity theory
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [emailprotected] (N. A
(N.H. Nik Mahmood), [emailprotected] (M.Y.
(T. Ramayah), [emailprotected] (J. Noor F
nust.edu.pk (W. Khalid).
URL: http://www.ramayah.com
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120401
0959-6526/ 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
a b s t r a c t
The slow and inefficient environmental performance of universities is drawing the attention of scholars
towards behavioural change in employees rather than just relying on technological upgrades. Drawing
upon the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory, the purpose of this study is first to examine the
influence of Green Human Resource Management (HRM) practices (green competence building practices,
green motivation enhancing practices, and green employee involvement practices) on the organisational
citizenship behaviour towards the environment (OCBE) of academic staff and, in turn, its impact on the
environmental performance. Second, the mediating impact of OCBE between each of Green HRM prac-
tices and environmental performance is assessed. The data were collected from September until
November 2017 on two campuses of a renowned public research university in Malaysia. Using quanti-
tative research design, a structured questionnaire was used among the academic staff of the university.
Convenience sampling was used to select the respondents from both campuses, and the Partial Least
Squares (PLS) modelling technique was used to analyse the data, which comprised 122 respondents.
Overall findings showed that three sets of Green HRM practices based on the Ability-Motivation-
Opportunity framework had a significant impact on OCBE. Furthermore, OCBE had a significant rela-
tionship with environmental performance. For the mediation analysis, the results showed that OCBE
exhibited by academic staff acted as a means through which the Green HRM practices of a university can
positively influence the environmental performance of a university campus. The originality of this study
rests in shedding light on Green HRM practices in the higher education sector and highlighting the
critical role of academic staffs environmentally friendly behaviour for improving the environmental
performance of a university.
2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
nwar), [emailprotected]
Yusliza), [emailprotected]
aezah), [emailprotected]
1. Introduction
Globally, researchers and environmental policymakers have
agreed upon the fact that the reasons for environmental deterio-
ration like resource deficits, increasing pollution and the loss of
biodiversity are deep-rooted into human behaviour (Mtutu and
Thondhlana, 2016; Renwick et al., 2013). In response to this,
many organisations are inclined towards ensuring that their daily
operations are less harmful to the environment through the
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
http://www.ramayah.com
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120401&domain=pdf
www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09596526
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120401
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120401
N. Anwar et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 256 (2020) 1204012
implementation of environmental management systems (EMS) or
green initiatives. Hence, an emerging need exists for understanding
and shaping employee behaviour to minimize the negative envi-
ronmental impacts of their activities in organisations.
In response to these concerns, the role of Green Human
Resource Management (HRM) in influencing green employee
behaviour in the workplace has emerged as a topic of study
(Dumont et al., 2016). Green HRM is the inclusion of environment
consciousness within the whole HRM process of hiring, training,
rewarding and developing a greenworkforce that understands and
values environment-friendly values, practices, and initiatives. Be-
sides, contemporary researchers supporting the role of human re-
sources in environmental performance have concentrated on
environment-friendly employee behaviour as a crucial factor in
successfully implementing environmental policies at theworkplace
(Kim et al., 2017).
The pro-environmental behaviours of employees, which are
termed Organisational Citizenship Behaviour towards Environment
(OCBE), are individual voluntary actions that lead to effective
environment performance in an organisation (Boiral and Paille,
2012). The environment-friendly behaviour of employees is
becoming essential for all organisations, no matter the sector,
including the tertiary education sector (Rayner and Morgan, 2017).
Currently, Green HRM studies have focused more on the corporate
sector as compared to educational institutes (Tairu, 2018). To name
only a few, Green HRM has been studied in the context of multi-
national companies (Haddock-Millar et al., 2016), healthcare
(Pinzone et al., 2016), sports complexes (Gholami et al., 2016), and
manufacturing firms (Nejati et al., 2017; Yong et al., 2019a, b;
Yusliza et al., 2019a, b; Yusliza et al., 2017). However, a research gap
in Green HRM research exists in the context of sustainable higher
education institutes, which is an emerging area of research (Dyer
and Dyer, 2017; Rath and Schmitt, 2017). Besides, less attention
has been paid to environmental management in Asian countries
that are more prone to pollution and environmental degradation.
However, owing to economic and environmental sustainability is-
sues in developing Asian countries, studies should be developed to
fill in the literature gap (Renwick et al., 2013).
As an emerging economy, Malaysia has pressing environmental
issues. For example, the country is experiencing a more than 6%
average annual growth of CO2 emissions that is close to Chinas
7.42% emissions annual growth rate. Nonetheless, few studies of
Malaysia have explored the ways to create environmental sus-
tainability through Green HRM (Yusliza et al., 2019a). In addition,
Saadatian et al. (2009) have claimed that Malaysian research uni-
versities have already taken responsibility for environmental sus-
tainability and are engaged in initiating eco-friendly practices in
university campuses, few comprehensive studies have highlighted
the current state of sustainability efforts in institutions of higher
education in the country. Mohamed et al. (2020) posited that in the
higher education sector, employee behaviour is crucial in reducing
environmental degradation and ensuring a successful environ-
mental performance, which has a ripple effect on society.
Although universities are relatively lower in emitting pollution
than the corporate sector, they bear considerable responsibility for
environmental awareness and research and educating current and
future generations about the importance of pro-environmental
behaviour (Rayner and Morgan, 2017). Additionally, the need for
environmental sustainability on university campuses has gained
attention because their activities and operations have direct and
indirect environmental impacts in terms of material consumption,
waste generation, excessive circulation of people and vehicles on
campus and usage of electricity (Alshuwaikhat and Abubakar,
2008). Moreover, with the diversification of academic activities
and the increased use of IT and sophisticated equipment,
universities have becomemajor consumers of resources like energy
and paper (Altan, 2010). Increased environmental pressure and the
rising costs of resource consumption have spurred universities to
promote pro-environmental behaviour for the sustainable use of
resources (Mtutu and Thondhlana, 2016).
Realizing their environmental responsibility, an increasing
number of universities are incorporating environmental manage-
ment aspects into their policies, educational curriculum, research
projects, building design, technology and other campus activities
(Mikulik and Babina, 2009) and have been engaged in environ-
mental declarations. Nonetheless, their progress toward sustain-
ability remains very slow (Lozano et al., 2013). Until recently,
environmental initiatives in universities have placed a greater
emphasis on technical dimensions of environmental performance
like an assessment of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and energy
usage but have paid little attention to the behavioural aspects of
environmental performance management in universities (Levy and
Marans, 2012). The study of Green HRMs role on employee
behaviour remains in its infancy (Yong et al., 2019b) and needs to be
studied in a different organisational context, such as the higher
education institutions. Tairu (2018) has highlighted that the
greening of a campus requires the greening of HRM practices in a
university.
According to Lozano (2006), a globally substantial proportion of
university leaders and faculty member are unaware of sustainable
development concepts and its implementation in universities and
putting little effort in incorporating sustainability principles into
courses, research and outreach programs. Furthermore, Lozano
(2006) highlighted main stakeholders in universities, including
academic directors, professors and students. Ideally, the concepts of
sustainable development should be incorporated into the policies,
procedures and learning of all members of these stakeholders; in
practice, this is almost impossible in the early stages of incorpo-
rating environmental sustainability into the universitys system. In
addition, applying the multiplier effect can help in the early
adoption of sustainability procedures; this can be achieved by
identifying and encouraging some of the individuals involved in
small projects to share their experiences and knowledge. The
multiplier effect can also be achieved by educating educators to
educate other educators and thus create a multiplier effect (Lozano,
2006). Identifying the factors that support sustainable develop-
ment in universities, recently, Fichter and Tiemann (2018)
emphasised that role of key persons in university management
and faculty is of paramount importance as initiators, promoters and
networkers.
In the emerging literature of campus environmental sustain-
ability, some researchers have focused on top-down change from
administrators, and others have emphasized bottom-up student-
led green initiatives. However, these perspectives have neglected
the consideration of an institutions middle-level participants, who
are academic staff, and their roles in campus sustainability
(Brinkhurst et al., 2011). Thompson and Green (2005) stated that
the commitment and involvement of academic staff in university is
an essential factor for institutionalizing environmental sustain-
ability practices in universities. Environmental sustainability in
higher education institutes requires adjustments in teaching
courses and is also highly dependent on the capabilities of aca-
demic staff and their willingness to support such initiatives
(Hegarty, 2008).
The role of academic staff is influential in the process of devel-
oping campus sustainability because of their knowledge, technical
skills, and their direct relationships with the institutions top
(management) and bottom (students). Being potential but oft un-
recognized players in sustainability, a need exists to support and
encourage the pro-environmental behaviour of academic staff for
N. Anwar et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 256 (2020) 120401 3
achieving lasting progress towards campus environmental perfor-
mance (Brinkhurst et al., 2011). Consequently, this current study
focuses on Green HRM practices and academic staff behaviour for
improving sustainability in higher education institutes.
The contributions of this current study are:
No study, to the best of our knowledge, has so far explored the
relationships herein considered;
Examining the role of the tertiary education sector in environ-
mental sustainability, which is a neglected sector;
Examining the role of OCBE of academic staff in improving the
environmental performance of a university;
Examining the mediating influence of academic staff OCBE for
implementing Green HRM practices to improve the environ-
mental performance of a university; and
Providing empirical evidence from Malaysia on the AMO
framework and theoretical model in this study.
1.1. Research objective
The objective of this study was to examine the mediating effect
of OCBE between Green HRM and environmental performance. To
achieve this goal, a survey was conducted from September 2017 to
up November 2017 among 122 academicians from two campuses of
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
The remainder of this paper is organised as follows: Section 2
discusses the theoretical background and outlines the hypothe-
ses. The details of the research methodology will be explained in
Section 3, followed by a presentation of the results and analysis in
Section 4. Section 5 will elaborate on the theoretical and practical
implications, limitations, and possibilities for future research.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development
The greening of HRM and resulting environmental outcomes
can be better comprehended in light of Ability-Motivation-
Opportunity (AMO) theory, which is the most dominant theory in
understanding the impact of HRM practices on organisational
performance in empirical studies (Appelbaum, 2000; Boselie et al.,
2005). AMO theory explains that High-PerformanceWork Practices
(HPWS) are a set of distinct but interrelated HR practices that are
grouped on based of three core aspects: ability, motivation, and
opportunity (Appelbaum, 2000). Abilities are based on a set of
practices including recruitment and selection, and training and
development programs that ensure knowledge and skills required
of employees to perform specific tasks. Similarly, motivation is
based on practices such as performance appraisal and financial and
non-financial incentives that are meant to boost the efforts of
employees for accomplishing performance targets. Lastly, oppor-
tunity is a bundle of practices comprised of involvement, knowl-
edge sharing and autonomy-enhancing practices that foster
employee participation in activities (Marin-Garcia and Tomas,
2016).
The AMO framework that Appelbaum (2000) proposed explains
that HRM practices that enhance employees abilities, their moti-
vation to do work and involvement in available opportunities lead
to the organisational citizenship behaviour of employees, which
further contribute to organisational performance. Hence, organ-
isational citizenship behaviours of employees act as an underlying
mechanism between HPWS and organisational performance
(Appelbaum, 2000; Marin-Garcia and Tomas, 2016).
Using the lens of AMO theory, scholars have investigated Green
HRM in various sectors (i.e., Cheema and Javed, 2017; Pham et al.,
2019; Pinzone et al., 2016; Ragas et al., 2017, 2013; Singh et al.,
2020; Yu et al., 2020). For instance, Fawehinmi et al. studied the
role of GHRM, environmental knowledge and green behaviour of
academics in public research universities. Cheema and Javed (2017)
examined the effects of corporate social responsibility, Green HRM
and sustainable environment in textile sector. Pinzone et al. (2016)
studied Green HRM practices, collective affective commitment to
environmental management change, and collective organisational
citizenship behaviour toward the environment in the health care
sector. Pham et al. (2019) investigated the relationship between
green training, green employee involvement, green performance
management, and OCBE in the hospitality industry. Yu et al. (2020)
conducted a study in automobile industry on GHRM, internal green
supply chain management, environmental cooperation with cus-
tomers and suppliers. Ragas et al. (2017) examined the relationship
between implementation of GHRM practices, green lifestyle, and
job performance in various private industries. Singh et al. (2020)
examined how Green HRM, interplays on to the linkages amongst
green transformational leadership, green innovation, and envi-
ronmental performance in manufacturing sector small and me-
dium enterprises.
Although AMO theory is the most comprehensive in under-
standing Green HRM contribution towards environmental perfor-
mance, scant studies have applied the complete AMO framework in
their researchmodels. The linkingmechanism between GreenHRM
practices and environmental performance through organisational
citizenship behaviour is often neglected. Harvey et al. (2013) and
Ren et al. (2017) have highlighted the need for studying the
mediating processes through which Green HRM can produce long-
term performance outcomes. Thus, this study is addressing two
literature gaps 1) extending Green HRM research to university
context, and 2) examining themediating role of the academic staffs
OCBE between a set of Green HRM practices and environmental
performance of university based on AMO framework.
2.1. The relationship of green competence building practices and
OCBE
Green competence building practices refer to green recruitment
and selection, and green training and development programs for
improving the environmental awareness and skills of employees
(Teixeira et al., 2012) so that employees become able to identify
environmental problems and take necessary actions to reduce
negative environmental impacts at workplace (Vidal-Salazar et al.,
2012).
Tang et al. (2017) said that Green recruitment and selection
comprise three aspects, including employee green awareness,
green employer branding, and green criteria for candidate selec-
tion. Employee green awareness is a core aspect of a green
recruitment process because if an employees environmental values
match with that of the organisation, then he/she is more likely to
respond positively towards the environmental concerns of their
organisation. According to Renwick et al. (2013), job seekers prefer
to work in organisations that have a good environmental reputa-
tion. Similarly, recruiters prefer to hire a candidate with environ-
mental knowledge and positive environmental attitude because he/
she is more willing to engage in eco-initiatives (Jabbour et al.,
2010).
Also, environmental training and development programs are
essential for improving an employees skills and attitudes towards
environment management (Teixeira et al., 2012). Green training
helps improve an employees understanding about the importance
of environmental protection, enhances his/her ability to adapt to
change and helps him/her to learn basic ways of conserving energy
and reducing waste at the workplace (Jabbour, 2015). Green
training provides knowledge management that helps in linking
N. Anwar et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 256 (2020) 1204014
environmental knowledge with environmental behaviour by
providing abilities to solve environmental problems.
Based on the above arguments, the following hypothesis is
posited:
H1. Green competence building practices is positively related to
OCBE.
2.2. The relationship of green motivation enhancing practices and
OCBE
Green motivation enhancing practices, including performance
appraisal and rewards, is aimed at motivating an employee to align
his/her behaviours with an organisations environmental goals
(Harvey et al., 2013). Incorporating environmental responsibilities
in a performance management system provides an employee with
clear information about what he/she is expected to do in environ-
ment management. Providing regular feedback to an employee
about environmental performance helps him/her in improving his/
her knowledge, skills, and ability in environment management
(Jackson et al., 2011). In addition, rewarding an employee for good
environmental performance enhances his/her commitment to-
wards environmental responsibility (Daily and Huang, 2001) and
encourages him/her to engage in organisational citizenship
behaviour towards the environment (Govindarajulu and Daily,
2004).
Green rewards for promoting environmental citizenship
behaviour among employees may include financial and non-
financial benefits such as incentives for recycling, allowing flex-
ible work schedules and telecommuting to reduce travel cost,
providing free bicycles or pollution-free vehicles or linking pro-
motion opportunities with environmental performance (Jackson
et al., 2011). Furthermore, a combination of both monetary and
non-monetary rewards is seen as more effective in boosting
employee engagement in environmental activities (Renwick et al.,
2013). However, for those employees whose performance does
not comply with the green objectives of an organisation, using
disincentives as negative reinforcement can push an employee to
become more responsible towards the environmental concerns of
that organisation (Tang et al., 2017).
Thus, the following hypothesis is posited:
H2. Green motivation enhancing practices is positively related to
OCBE.
2.3. The relationship of green employee involvement practices and
OCBE
Green employee involvement practices refer to providing op-
portunities to foster an employees voice in environment man-
agement and suggest a solution for environmental problems in an
organisation (DuBois and Dubois, 2012). Researchers support that
empowering employees in decision making for environment
management enhances the self-control and problem-solving skills
of an employee (Govindarajulu and Daily, 2004; Renwick et al.,
2008). Involvement opportunities help in developing a pro-
environmental culture in an organisation through open discus-
sions, the exchanging of ideas and the sharing of various viewpoints
on environmental aspects (Alt and Spitzeck, 2016).
Tang et al. (2017), has emphasized that articulating a clear
environmental vision and disseminating information through
various formal and informal communication channels guides em-
ployees to engage in environmental initiatives. In addition, the use
of green teams is also an essential factor for organisations aiming at
improving their environmental management practices. Teamwork
provides an opportunity for employees to work together, share
knowledge, and propose new solutions for complex problems
(Daily et al., 2007).
So, the following hypothesis is posited:
H3. Green employee involvement practices is positively related to
OCBE.
2.4. The relationship between OCBE and environmental
performance
According to Roy et al. (2001), OCBE is an essential factor for the
successful implementation of environmental management systems
and integrating environment policies with workplace practices.
Boiral and Paille (2012) have described pro-environmental behav-
iours under three dimensions, i.e., eco-helping, eco-civic engage-
ment, and eco-initiatives. First, eco-initiatives are personal level
initiatives of employees for reducing negative environmental im-
pacts at the workplace like recycling paper, putting rubbish in
proper dustbins, and avoiding waste of resources. Second, eco-civic
engagement comprises organisational level initiatives of em-
ployees like participating in green events and projects that an
organisation has created, promoting the green reputation of an
organisation and voluntary joining organisations environmental
activities. Finally, eco-helping includes encouraging co-workers to
care about the environment. This type of behaviour is based on
mutual assistance of employees for environmental problems of an
organisation like the voluntary sharing of ideas and expertise with
each other and teamwork for the identification of pollution sources
and preventive solutions.
Researchers have studied the OCBE of employees in different
sectors. For example, Boiral et al. (2015) studied the impact of
managers OCBE in manufacturing companies and found a signifi-
cant relationship between a managers engagement in OCBE and
the environmental management practices of his/her organisation.
Similarly, Paille et al. (2014) examined the pro-environmental be-
haviours of frontline workers in a Chinese manufacturing organi-
sation and empirically proved that OCBE positively influences the
environmental performance of that organisation.
Although the studies mentioned above have examined the
OCBE-Environmental performance relationship in the context of
manufacturing organisations, this link has not been tested for ac-
ademic staffs OCBE for the environmental performance of a uni-
versity. According to Rayner and Morgan (2017), it is unknown
whether employees in universities engage in either more or less
environmental behaviours compared to employees working in the
industrial sector. Thus, based on the aforementioned discussion,
the following hypothesis is formulated for this study.
H4. OCBE is positively related to environmental performance.
2.5. The mediating role of OCBE
In previous literature, researches have argued that organisa-
tional performance does not result directly from applying HR
practices, but rather from the discretionary efforts of employees
(Morrison, 1996). The role of HR practices is to create a context that
fosters organisation citizenship behaviour among employees such
that, when employees go above their role requirements to put forth
an extra effort, help their co-workers and support organisational
activities, then the level of organisational performance should be
high (Messersmith et al., 2011). Similar to the role of OCB between
HR-performance relationship, OCBE is proposed as a linking
N. Anwar et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 256 (2020) 120401 5
mechanism between HR-environmental performance relationship
(Paille et al., 2014).
Paille et al. (2014) studied the relationship between strategic
human resource management, OCBE, and environmental perfor-
mance. The results of the study found that HRM at the strategic
level contributes to the environmental performance of an organi-
sation, while OCBE was found to mediate the relationship between
strategic HRM and environmental performance. Furthermore, Alt
and Spitzeck (2016) collected data from environmental managers
in 170 cross-industry firms and found that high-performance HR
practices such as employee involvement capabilities are translated
into higher environmental performance through the manifestation
of OCBE among employees. Moreover, Pinzone et al. (2016) pro-
posed that Green HRM practices stimulated OCBE, while Daily et al.
(2009) noted that OCBE leads to environmental performance.
Hence, OCBE is advocated as a means to translate Green HRM
practices to improvements in environmental performance.
The above-mentioned studies support the mediating role of
OCBE. However, Paille et al. (2014) tested mediation of OCBE be-
tween strategic HRM and environmental performance rather than
Green HRM and environmental performance. Similarly, Alt and
Spitzeck (2016) focused only on the involvement capabilities of
employees and did not include other HR practices. OCBE has not
been yet tested empirically in relationship between Green HRM
and Environmental performance, specifically in a university
context. Thus, the following hypotheses are posited.
H5. OCBE mediate the relationship between green competence
building practices and environmental performance.
H6. OCBE mediate the relationship between green motivation
enhancing practices and environmental performance.
H7. OCBE mediate the relationship between green employee
involvement practices and environmental performance.
Guided by the AMO framework, the theoretical discussion, the
empirical results of previous studies and the proposed hypotheses
mentioned above, the conceptual model for this study is shown in
Fig. 1 below.
3. Research methodology
3.1. Sample and data collection
The five largest research universities in Malaysia have imple-
mented campus greening initiatives that the Institute for Environ-
ment and Development (LESTARI) manages, which were established
for boosting sustainability in academia and bridging researchers
with policymakers (Reza, 2016). Previous studies have highlighted
the environmental initiatives of Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra
Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia (Hussin and Kunjuraman, 2017; Saadatian et al., 2009,
2011) but neglected the green initiatives at UTM. However, UTM is
also striving best to achieve campus sustainability goals. According
to Zen et al. (2016), UTM is the first university in Malaysia that has
introduced the concept of living laboratories that is meant to
implement sustainability initiatives including green office, sustain-
able food arcade, and sustainable energy management.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with the academic staff
of UTM, and a convenience sampling technique was utilized. Aca-
demic staff members from different faculties who were readily
accessible and willing to participate in this research comprised the
sample for this study. Datawere collected between September 2017
and November 2017.
To determine the sample size for structural equation modelling,
power analysis is the most recommended approach in the PLS-SEM
literature (Hair et al., 2017). According to Hair et al. (2016), the
minimum sample requirement should be calculated using power
analysis based on the constructs in a model with the greatest
number of predictors. Hair et al. (2016) recommended the rule of
thumb that Cohen (1992) developed for statistical power analysis of
multiple regression models and the determination of sample size
based on 80% statistical power, minimum R2 value, significance
level and complexity of path model. In PLS path model for this
study, a minimum sample size of 103 was required to detect a
minimum R2 value of 0.10 at the suggested statistical power of 80%
and 5% significance level.
Three hundred questionnaires were distributed personally to
academic staff at their offices, of which 122 useable responses were
collected. The effective response rate was 40.6% (122 useable re-
sponses). According to Mellahi and Harris (2016), no specific
agreed-upon minimum response rate exists, and different aca-
demic views about the response rate. For example, Malhotra and
Grover (1998) said that a response rate of less than 20% was un-
desirable for research, and Goudy (1976) suggested that an
acceptable range for response rate could vary between 30% and
70%. In this current study, the 122 total responses fulfil the mini-
mum sample size requirement for PLS-SEM analysis, as it is above
the minimum threshold of 103, as Cohen (1992) suggested using
power analysis.
3.2. Measures
The measurement items for all constructs were adapted from
the literature. As the purpose of this study is to identify the rela-
tionship among Green HRM practices, OCBE, and Environmental
performance based on academic staffs perception, the unit of
analysis was at the individual
