Vol. 8 No. 1 (2026)

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 5629

Green leadership and digital innovation in enhancing environmental performance: Evidence from Ghanaian SMEs through the lens of institutional theory

by Junhui Han , Joshua Kojo Bonzo, Philip Adu Sarfo , Vivian Amoako Osafo , Nathan Awelama Atigah, Sackey Naa Adjeley, Maclean Kwasi Fiati

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 568 Views

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a critical role in achieving environmental sustainability, particularly in developing economies where regulatory enforcement and resource constraints remain significant challenges. Drawing on Institutional Theory, this study examines how green leadership influences environmental performance in Ghanaian SMEs, with digital innovation as a mediating variable and environmental culture as a moderating variable. Institutional Theory provides the conceptual foundation for explaining how normative pressures embedded in leadership values and organizational culture, alongside mimetic pressures associated with digital innovation adoption, shape firms’ environmental outcomes. Using survey data collected from SMEs in Ghana and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the results revealed that green leadership has a significant positive effect on both digital innovation and environmental performance. Digital innovation also significantly enhances environmental performance and partially mediates the relationship between green leadership and environmental performance. Notably, the findings demonstrated that environmental culture significantly moderates the relationship between digital innovation and environmental performance, with the effect stronger in organizations with a well-developed environmental culture. This indicates that internalized environmental values amplify the effectiveness of digital innovation initiatives. The study contributes to the sustainability and organizational literature by extending Institutional Theory to the SME context in a developing economy and by clarifying the conditional role of environmental culture in translating digital innovation into superior environmental performance. Practically, the findings suggest that SME leaders and policymakers should promote environmentally oriented leadership, invest in digital innovation, and cultivate strong environmental cultures to enhance sustainability outcomes.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 5632

How does perceived global talent management shape host-country national retention in foreign subsidiaries?

by Xiaoyuan Li

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 21 Views

Retaining talented host-country nationals (HCNs) in foreign subsidiaries is a key success factor for multinational enterprises. The purpose of this study is to shed light on whether and how HCNs’ perceived global talent management (GTM) contribute to their retention. This study developed a multilevel model based on social identity theory to examine how perceived GTM diminishes host-country nationals’ turnover intentions by enhancing their organizational identification, and how this relationship is moderated by the level of internal consistency. Using survey data from 786 HCNs working for 30 foreign subsidiaries in China, results showed that HCNs’ perceived GTM and their turnover intention have a negative relationship and organizational identification mediates this relationship. In addition, the positive influence of host-country nationals’ perceptions of GTM on their organizational identification becomes stronger when these practices exhibit a high degree of internal consistency.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 5639

The teachers’ change management competency in educational human resource management and organizational development: Evidence from the Mekong delta, Vietnam

by Lang Nguyen Trong

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 140 Views

Amid accelerating educational reforms and growing organizational complexity, change management competency has emerged as a key determinant of leadership effectiveness in educational institutions. This study examines the current state of change management competencies across five dimensions: awareness and motivation for change, planning and implementation, communication and commitment building, management of resistance, and evaluation, adjustment, and sustainability of change. A quantitative research design was employed, with data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to educational leaders and practitioners. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to assess competency levels and internal consistency across dimensions. The findings indicate that respondents demonstrate relatively strong competencies in communication, commitment building, and openness to change. However, comparatively lower levels were observed in strategic planning, proactive handling of barriers, and evidence-based evaluation for sustaining change over time. These results reveal a gap between positive attitudes toward change and the capacity to institutionalize change sustainably. The study highlights the need for targeted professional development focusing on adaptive leadership, systematic evaluation, and long-term change sustainability. The findings contribute empirical evidence to the literature on educational change management and provide practical implications for leadership development in reform-oriented educational contexts. This study specifically focuses on educational administrators as the key agents responsible for initiating, implementing, and sustaining change processes in schools

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 5624

Business ethics, technology use, and workplace happiness: Gender-based differences

by Mario Alberto Salazar-Altamirano, Orlando Josué Martínez-Arvizu, Víctor Mercader, Esthela Galván-Vela

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 71 Views

This study investigates the relationship between business ethics and workplace happiness, explicitly examining the role of technology use as a potential mediator and the moderating effect of gender within organizational contexts in an emerging economy. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional, and non-experimental research design, data were collected from a sample of 367 employees working in Mexican organizations across diverse sectors. The proposed theoretical model was tested through covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM), complemented by multi-group analysis to explore gender-based differences in the structural relationships. The findings provide robust evidence that business ethics exerts a significant and positive effect on workplace happiness, with this relationship being notably stronger among women, thereby underscoring the relevance of ethical organizational climates for employee well-being. In contrast, technology use neither demonstrated a significant direct effect on workplace happiness nor functioned as a mediating mechanism between ethics and happiness, suggesting that technological tools alone are insufficient to enhance subjective well-being in the absence of a strong ethical foundation. These results indicate that, in emerging organizational contexts, ethical culture and values outweigh the instrumental role of technology in shaping employees’ happiness at work. From a theoretical perspective, the cross-sectional nature of the study constrains causal inference, highlighting the need for future longitudinal and cross-cultural research to assess temporal dynamics and contextual generalizability. Practically, the findings emphasize that organizations seeking to enhance workplace happiness should prioritize ethical leadership, fairness, and integrity, while adopting gender-sensitive approaches to digital transformation. Socially, fostering ethical organizational cultures may contribute to more inclusive, emotionally sustainable, and human-centered workplaces. Overall, this research offers original value by proposing and empirically validating an integrative model that links business ethics, technology use, and workplace happiness, incorporating gender as a moderating factor within the organizational behaviour literature.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 5623

Technology acceptance and strategic role transformation: Human technology interaction among millennial HR professionals

by Subbulakshmi Somu, Mary Metilda Jayaraj, Jayavel J

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 20 Views

This research paper examines the influence of technology acceptance by HR professionals on HRM effectiveness and how Millennial HR professionals contribute significantly to it. Organisations invest heavily in adopting advanced technology to strengthen their operations. The most important question still remains: would the incorporation of technology by HR professionals result in quantifiable improvements in HRM effectiveness through performing strategic roles in their function? Moreover, how do Millennials, with their proficiency with technology, influence this dynamic? By incorporating role theory and the Technology Acceptance Model, this study examines these critical questions. In order to determine the connections between these variables, the study has used structural equation modelling (SEM) and hierarchical regression on a sample of 384 HR professionals employed in the construction industry. The results indicate that technology acceptance has a significant effect on HRM effectiveness by helping HR professionals become strategic business partners. Moreover, the impact is greater among Millennials who are more willing to adopt technological innovations. This study contributes to the growing body of interdisciplinary research at the intersection of technology adoption and strategic HRM.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 5679

Psychological safety and affective commitment: A dual-pathway model of job satisfaction and rumination

by Sina Eslamdoust, Sevincgul Ulu, Tahmineh Borhani, Bei Lyu

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 39 Views

This study examines how psychological safety fosters employee affective commitment by examining the serial mediating roles of job satisfaction and rumination, and the moderating influence of abusive supervision. Grounded in Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) theory and enriched by Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the study conceptualize psychological safety as a foundational job resource that initiates a resource gain process, enhancing job satisfaction and enabling adaptive cognitive regulation. Abusive supervision, in contrast, functions as a resource-depleting demand that alters these dynamics. Data from a two-wave, time-lagged survey of U.S. employees support the proposed model. Psychological safety significantly increases job satisfaction, which subsequently reduces rumination and strengthens affective commitment. Notably, the findings suggest that rumination may function differently depending on employees’ resource conditions; when preceded by higher job satisfaction, it may reflect more adaptive, reflective processing that reinforces emotional attachment to the organization. Contrary to expectations, abusive supervision strengthens, rather than weakens, the positive effect of psychological safety on job satisfaction and its indirect effect on affective commitment, indicating a compensatory or buffering dynamic under high-demand conditions. These findings advance JD-R theory by integrating cognitive-affective mechanisms and applying COR principles to explain dynamic resource trajectories. the study highlight how the interplay of leadership behavior and psychological safety shapes employee commitment and offer actionable insights for building resilient, high-commitment workplaces.

Open Access

Review

Article ID: 5634

Enhancing leadership effectiveness through artificial intelligence adoption: A literature review and exploratory research in the Egyptian manufacturing sector

by Attia Hussien Gomaa

Human Resources Management and Services , Vol.8, No.1, 2026; 35 Views

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping leadership effectiveness in manufacturing by enabling data-driven decision-making and enhancing collaboration with AI systems. In emerging economies such as Egypt, however, AI adoption remains uneven across organizational functions, limiting its potential to strengthen leadership practices. Empirical research on AI adoption in developing manufacturing contexts is scarce. This study addresses this gap through a literature review and exploratory research involving 60 senior leaders from 15 manufacturing firms across eight industries, including automotive, electronics, home appliances, glass and crystal, steel, chemicals, textiles, and food processing. Findings show that AI adoption is highest in strategic planning (21–25%) and customer analytics (16%), moderate in operational areas such as production, quality, and supply chain management (10–18%), and lowest in workforce analytics (3%) and innovation/R&D (2–5%), revealing a fragmented adoption landscape that limits leadership integration. Key barriers include legacy systems, limited data infrastructure, fragmented governance, and organizational resistance. To address these challenges, a structured brainstorming process engaged executives, managers, and AI experts to generate, refine, and prioritize initiatives, resulting in a phased, KPI-driven framework for AI-enabled leadership that integrates digital capabilities, organizational alignment, ethical practices, and strategic governance. The study demonstrates that cross-functional collaboration, ethical oversight, and iterative implementation can transform isolated AI initiatives into sustainable strategic enablers, enhancing leadership effectiveness, operational efficiency, workforce engagement, and long-term competitiveness. These findings provide actionable guidance for advancing AI adoption in manufacturing and highlight directions for future research.