Green HRM and Servant Leadership: Driving Competitive Advantage and Environmental Performance in Higher Education

Abstract

The fast-changing landscape of organizations is driving a move toward environmental performance. Higher education now prioritizes sustainability. This study examines the moderating role of environmentally specific servant leadership (ESSL) from the resource-based view (RBV) and conservation of resources (COR) theories to understand how green human resource management (GHRM) practices affect environmental performance and competitive advantage in Saudi Arabian higher education institutions (HEIs). This study introduces an innovative variable’s structure that has never been implemented in Saudi Arabian higher education. A random sampling method was used to survey 408 faculty and non-faculty members from 58 Saudi higher education institutions. Two direct and one interaction PLS-SEM models tested the framework and associated hypotheses using AMOS and SPSS. Significant and positive relationships are demonstrated among GHRM, environmental performance, and competitive advantage. Furthermore, ESSL had a significant positive effect on the relationship between GHRM and environmental performance, whereas there was a significant negative relationship between GHRM and competitive advantage. Both theoretical and practical implications, as well as various suggestions for future research, are provided.