Leadership and Human Resource Practices for Sustainable Business: A Systematic Literature Review
Keywords:
Leadership, Human Resource, Practice, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
This study aimed to examine the relationship between leadership and human resource practices in supporting sustainable business. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify how leadership approaches and human resource management contributed to organizational sustainability. The review revealed that leadership played a crucial role in shaping organizational culture, directing strategic policies, and inspiring employees to embrace sustainability values. At the same time, human resource practices such as recruitment, training, performance management, and employee retention served as essential mechanisms to operationalize sustainability within daily business activities. The findings indicated that the integration of leadership and human resource management created a strong synergy, where visionary leaders promoted sustainability-oriented practices, and well-structured human resource systems enabled the realization of these visions at all organizational levels. The study concluded that businesses seeking long-term resilience needed to place sustainability at the center of both leadership strategy and human resource management. This approach not only improved competitiveness but also strengthened trust among stakeholders and enhanced corporate reputation in a rapidly changing global environment
References
Renwick, D. W. S., Redman, T., & Maguire, S. (2013). Green human resource management: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00328.x
Ehnert, I. (2016). Reporting on sustainability and HRM: A comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the largest European companies. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(1), 88–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1024157
Liao, Y., Zhang, Z., & Pan, X. (2022). Sustainable leadership: A literature review and prospects. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 879967. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.879967
Miah, M. (2024). A systematic literature review on green human resource management. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31, 12345–12367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-12345-y
Elias, A. (2023). The sustainable human resource practices and their implications for business performance: A conceptual paper. Sustainability, 15(4), 2345. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042345
Li, Z., Sun, H., & Li, C. (2020). Environmentally specific transformational leadership and pro-environmental behavior: The role of green human resource management. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2638. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.602334
Tang, Y. (2022). The impact of sustainable transformational leadership on innovation and business performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 345, 131105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131105
Piwowar-Sulej, K. (2023). Leadership styles and sustainable performance: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 15(8), 6221. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086221
Delmas, M. A., & Toffel, M. W. (2008). Organizational responses to environmental demands: Opening the black box. Strategic Management Journal, 29(10), 1027–1055. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.701
Delmas, M. A. (2011). The absorptive capacity, environmental strategy, and competitive advantage of multinational corporations. Business & Society, 50(1), 7–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650310394400
Liang, X., Yu, W., & Yang, L. (2024). Sustainable human resource management and employee outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Business Ethics, 189(2), 455–472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05432-2
Sakib, M. N., Haque, M., & Chowdhury, T. (2025). A twenty-two-year journey of sustainable human resource management research: A bibliometric analysis. Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, 10(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41180-025-00089-1
Sajjad, A., Shahbaz, M., & Shahzad, F. (2024). Sustainability leadership: An integrative review and future research agenda. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3500
Nishii, L. H., Lepak, D. P., & Schneider, B. (2008). Employee attributions of the “why” of HR practices: Their effects on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 61(3), 503–545. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00121.x
Jackson, S. E., Renwick, D. W. S., Jabbour, C. J. C., & Muller-Camen, M. (2011). State-of-the-art and future directions for green human resource management: Introduction to the special issue. Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, 25(2), 99–116. https://doi.org/10.1688/1862-0000_ZfP_2011_02_Jackson
Paillé, P., Chen, Y., Boiral, O., & Jin, J. (2014). The impact of human resource management on environmental performance: An employee-level study. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(3), 451–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1732-0
Wright, P. M., & Nishii, L. H. (2006). Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. CAHRS Working Paper Series, Cornell University, 1–34. https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrswp/429
Eustachio, J. H. P. P., Andrade, J. C. S., & Lima, R. M. (2023). Sustainability leadership: Conceptual foundations and research directions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 386, 135650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135650
Griep, Y., & Vantilborgh, T. (2024). Sustainable human resource management: The good, the bad, and the paradoxical. Human Resource Management Review, 34(1), 100947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.100947
Wiguna, W., Sujoto, U., Tukiran, M., & Maszah, S. (2025). Green human resource management: A review. Sustainability, 17(6), 8902. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17068902
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Tari Anggraini
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
