The role of green HRM in driving a firm's green competitive advantage: the mediating role of green organizational identity

Despite the significant contribution made by green human resource management (GHRM) towards the firm's green performance, scholars have not given adequate attention to how GHRM contributes to the green competitiveness of a firm. This situation, therefore, presents a major gap for scholars in green management to fill. We draw on the Ability Motivation Opportunity theory to examine how GHRM drives GCA in a firm. Grounded on this theory, we develop a hypothetical model that is tested by survey data collected from the Chinese manufacturing sector. The results reveal that firms can capitalize on GHRM to build a green competitive advantage (GCA). The findings further illuminate the necessary conditions of green organizational identity (GOI) and green leadership (GL). We believe that the utility and originality of this paper provides a nuanced understanding of how firms can derive GCA from GHRM.