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Green Human Resource Management

Research: Issues, Trends, and


Challenges Pascal Paillé
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Sustainable Development Goals Series Connecting the Goals

Green Human Resource


Management Research
Issues, Trends, and Challenges
Edited by
Pascal Paillé
Sustainable Development Goals Series
The Sustainable Development Goals Series is Springer Nature’s inau-
gural cross-imprint book series that addresses and supports the United
Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. The series fosters
comprehensive research focused on these global targets and endeavours to
address some of society’s greatest grand challenges. The SDGs are inher-
ently multidisciplinary, and they bring people working across different
fields together and working towards a common goal. In this spirit, the
Sustainable Development Goals series is the first at Springer Nature to
publish books under both the Springer and Palgrave Macmillan imprints,
bringing the strengths of our imprints together.
The Sustainable Development Goals Series is organized into eighteen
subseries: one subseries based around each of the seventeen respective
Sustainable Development Goals, and an eighteenth subseries, “Con-
necting the Goals,” which serves as a home for volumes addressing
multiple goals or studying the SDGs as a whole. Each subseries is guided
by an expert Subseries Advisor with years or decades of experience
studying and addressing core components of their respective Goal.
The SDG Series has a remit as broad as the SDGs themselves, and
contributions are welcome from scientists, academics, policymakers, and
researchers working in fields related to any of the seventeen goals. If you
are interested in contributing a monograph or curated volume to the
series, please contact the Publishers: Zachary Romano [Springer; zachary.
romano@springer.com] and Rachael Ballard [Palgrave Macmillan; rachael.
ballard@palgrave.com].
Pascal Paillé
Editor

Green Human
Resource
Management Research
Issues, Trends, and Challenges
Editor
Pascal Paillé
Rouen campus
NEOMA Business School
Rouen, France

ISSN 2523-3084 ISSN 2523-3092 (electronic)


Sustainable Development Goals Series
ISBN 978-3-031-06557-6 ISBN 978-3-031-06558-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06558-3

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
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© 2020 United Nations. Used with the permission of the United Nations.
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Cover illustration: © Barbara Boensch/Alamy Stock Photo

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents

1 Green Human Resource Management: Introduction


and Overview 1
Pascal Paillé
2 Green Employability: Re-Shaping Individual Career
Perspective 7
Gunjan Joshi
3 Modeling Green Human Resource Management
and Attraction to Organizations 27
Richa Chaudhary and Mantasha Firoz
4 Connecting Green Human Resource Management
to Performance: Pathways Toward Sustainability 53
Jing Yi Yong, Mohd-Yusoff Yusliza,
and Noor Hazlina Ahmad
5 A Systematic Literature Review of Green Human
Resource Management Practices and Individual
and Organizational Outcomes: The Case
of Pro-environmental Behaviour at Work 79
Adolfo Carballo-Penela, Emilio Ruzo-Sanmartín,
Paula Álvarez-González, and Nailya Saifulina

v
vi CONTENTS

6 Green Human Resources in Latin American


Organizations: A Review of the State of the Art
and Future Directions 117
Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour, Adriano Alves Teixeira,
Nelson Oliveira Stefanelli, and Abbas Mardani
7 GHRM in Sustainability Reporting: An Exploratory
Analysis Across Six Countries Using the AMO
Framework 141
Lisa Obereder, Michael Müller-Camen,
and Douglas W. S. Renwick
8 Green Human Resource Management and Employee
Green Behavior: Trends, Issues, Challenges and the Way
Forward 167
Olawole Fawehinmi, Mohd-Yusoff Yusliza,
and Kahlid Farooq
9 What’s Next for Green Human Resource Management? 203
Susan E. Jackson

Index 227
Notes on Contributors

Ahmad Noor Hazlina is Professor and currently the Dean of the


School of Management Universiti Sains Malaysia. She is also the Board
of Director of Penang Youth Development Corporation Strategies Sdn.
Bhd., an establishment that aims to develop the youth to achieve their full
potential in life. She has served as the President of the Asian Academy of
Management (AAM) from 2015 to 2020. She is an active researcher who
has published more than 100 articles as well as research books and mono-
graphs. Her research areas are Organisational Behaviour, Entrepreneur-
ship and Innovation. Hazlina also led several consultation projects funded
by the government agencies and industries including Malaysia Tech-
nology Development Corporation, Northern Corridor Implementation
Authority, MARA, and Penang Young Entrepreneurs Cooperatives. She
is a Certified Trainer for Human Resources Development Fund under the
Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia.
Álvarez-González Paula, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor at the Faculty
of Economics and Business Studies at the University of Santiago de
Compostela (Posmark group). Her research interest includes corporate
social responsibility, green human resource management, business perfor-
mance, relationship marketing, consumer behavior and employability.
She has published in academic journals such as International Journal of
bank marketing, Management letters, Career development international,

vii
viii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Journal of retailing and consumer services and Business Ethics, the Envi-
ronment and Responsibility. She has also participated in various national
and international conferences on business strategy.
Carballo-Penela Adolfo, Ph.D. is Associate professor in human resource
management at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where he
received his Ph.D. after obtaining a B.A. in Business Administration.
His current research interests include corporate sustainability issues, with
emphasis in sustainable and green human resource management. He
has published on these topics in journals such as Business Strategy and
the Environment, Journal of Cleaner Production, Business Strategy and
Development, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Sustain-
able Development, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management,
Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Sustainability, Journal of
Sustainability Research and Social Sciences. This research includes some
recent articles about the role of Green HRM in influencing employee
pro-environmental behavior at work (Journal of Sustainability Research),
green recruitment and selection (Sustainability) and antecedents of
workplace environmentally friendly behavior of employees (Sustainable
Development ).
Chaudhary Richa is Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour
in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Patna.
She obtained her Ph.D. from Department of Management Studies, IIT
Roorkee and holds an M.B.A. with specialization in human resource
management. She is a prolific researcher and has published a number of
research papers in international journals of repute like Journal of Busi-
ness Ethics, Personality and Individual Differences, International Journal
of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Human Resource
Management, Personnel Review, Journal of Cleaner Production, etc.
She was awarded with the best young women management research
award by AIMS International for the year 2018. Her current research
interests include green human resource management, corporate social
responsibility, authentic leadership, and sustainability.
Farooq Kahlid received the M.B.A degree in human resource manage-
ment from the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan,
in 2008, the M.S. degree in human resource management from the
University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2012. He is currently
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS ix

pursuing a Ph.D. degree in human resource management at Univer-


siti Malaysia Terengganu. He has 7 years of entrepreneurial experience
with an emphasis on marketing and developing strategies for business.
Since 2019, he has been a Graduate Research Assistant with the Faculty
of Business, Economics, and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu. His areas of interest are green human resource management,
employee ecological behavior, pro-environmental behavior, organizational
and behavioral studies, and human resource management.
Fawehinmi Olawole, Ph.D. received his doctoral degree from the
Faculty of Business, Economics, and Social Development, Universiti
Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. He has worked as a graduate research
assistant with the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Social Devel-
opment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. His areas of research interest
include green human resource management, Employee Green Behaviour,
Employee engagement, Career Adaptability, and Employee Retention.
He has published articles in highly ranked journals such as the Journal
of Cleaner Production, Benchmarking: An International Journal, and
International Journal of Manpower. He has an H-index (Scopus) of 4
and an H-Index (Web of Science) of 4. Furthermore, he has reviewed
manuscripts for prestigious journals such as Sage Open, Business strategy
and the Environment, International Journal of Manpower, and Journal of
Cleaner Production.
Ms. Firoz Mantasha is a doctoral scholar in the Department of Human-
ities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India.
She is doing her doctoral work in the area of workplace loneliness. Her
work has been published in reputed journals such as Personnel Review,
International Journal of Conflict Management, Evidence-based HRM,
and Management Research Review. She has also presented her papers in
reputed conferences such as Academy of Management Annual Meeting
and European Group of Organization Studies.
Jabbour Charbel José Chiappetta is Full Professor at EM Lyon Business
school. He teaches sustainable transformation of organizations and supply
chains from a socio-technical perspective, including: sustainable value
creation by organizations and supply chains; ‘soft’ and ‘technology’ sides
of greening supply chains; and circular economy. He conducts interdisci-
plinary multi-method research capable of making an impact. His research
x NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

has been published in journals such as Business & Society, Journal of Busi-
ness Ethics, Ecological Economics, and International Journal of Produc-
tion Economics. In 2019 he received a British Academy of Management
Best-Paper Award in Sustainable and Responsible Management. He serves
as Associate Editor of Journal of Cleaner Production.
Jackson Susan E., Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of human resource
management in the School of Management and Labor Relations at
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She received her B.A. in
psychology and sociology from the University of Minnesota, master’s
and doctoral degrees in organizational and social psychology from the
University of California at Berkeley, as well as an honorary doctorate (Dr.
h.c.) from the University of Zürich. Prior to joining Rutgers, she was a
member of the faculties at New York University, University of Michigan,
and University of Maryland.
Joshi Gunjan did her Ph.D. in Management at the Indian Institute
of Technology, Roorkee. Her research area is Industrial Relations and
human resources management, specifically: skill development, compe-
tency development, employability, green training, GHRM, and career
success.
Mardani Abbas, Ph.D. is graduated in the field of operation manage-
ment; his master’s and bachelor’s degrees were in industrial management
(operation and production management), and he has been Postdoc,
Researcher, and Senior Lecturer at the USF and UTM. His main inter-
ests are SCM, sustainable development, fuzzy decision making, operation
management, HRM, industry 4.0, circular economy, and big data.
Müller-Camen Michael is Full Professor and Head of the Institute of
Human Resource Management at WU Vienna. His research interests
include Sustainable HRM, Green HRM, and Common Good HRM.
Obereder Lisa is Post Doc Researcher at the Institute of Human
Resource Management at WU Vienna with psychological background and
a doctoral degree in social and economic sciences. Her research interests
are green behavior at the workplace and Green HRM.
Paillé Pascal is Full Professor in People & Organisations department
at NEOMA Business School. Before joining NEOMA Business School,
Pascal was Full professor at Laval University (Canada), where he acted as
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xi

Director of the Ph.D. program. He holds a Doctorat en Sciences deges-


tion, and a Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches en Sciences humaines.
His research concerns the greening of the workplace at the micro-level
of consideration. He has published four books, one essay, 15 chapters
and more than 80 papers in leading journals, including Journal of Busi-
ness Ethics, Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Human
Resource Management, Organization and Environment, and Journal of
Cleaner Production. He teaches green human resource management,
sustainable human resource management, and organizational theory.
Renwick Douglas W. S. is Associate Professor at Nottingham Business
School U.K. where he undertakes research in green HRM and sustain-
able workforce management. His key edited research text on green HRM
is published by Routledge in 2018 (Hardback) and 2020 (Paperback).
He has over 25 years of teaching experience in some of the UK’s leading
business schools and undertakes research collaborations globally. He is
Editorial Board Member of Employee Relations & The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, and Visiting Professor at WU,
the Vienna University of Economics & Business in Austria.
Ruzo-Sanmartín Emilio, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Marketing at
the University of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia-Spain). His research
interest includes international marketing, sales management, supply chain
management, corporate social responsibility, competitive market structure
analysis, electronic commerce, family business, and entrepreneurship. He
has published on these topics in a variety of journals such as Journal of
International Marketing, Journal of World Business, European Manage-
ment Journal, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Management
Research Review, International Journal of Market Research, Sustainability,
and Journal of Sustainability Research.
Saifulina Nailya, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in Accounting and Finance
at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain) where she
received her Ph.D. on the topic of sustainable human resource manage-
ment with focus on employee green behavior and its possible antecedents.
During Ph.D. stage, she stayed at Hamburg Universität (Germany) as
a visiting researcher at the School of Business, Economics and Social
Sciences. Her research stream lies in the area of sustainable human
resource management, particularly focusing on employees’ voluntary
pro-environmental behavior at work. Nailya’s works on the mentioned
xii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

topics were published in some international journals such as Sustainable


Development and Journal of Sustainability Research.
Stefanelli Nelson Oliveira is Associate Professor at FUCAPE Business
School, Brazil. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the
University of Sao Paulo (USP). His research areas are: green HRM,
Sustainability, and Net Zero Organizations.
Teixeira Adriano Alves is Professor at the Federal University of
Mato Grosso do Sul, Câmpus de Três Lagoas—Business School, Brazil
and Permanent Professor in the postgraduate program in Production
Engineering at São Paulo State University—FEB-UNESP-Bauru. He is
co-founder and one of the leaders of the Circular Economy—USP and
GEPAS—UFMS research group. He received his doctoral degree from
the University de São Paulo (USP) and master’s degree from the São
Paulo State University (UNESP).
Yong Jing Yi is a Senior Lecturer of the School of Management and
Marketing at Taylor’s University. She has received her Doctorate degree
from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She teaches mainly courses in Strategic
Human Resource Management, Strategic Management, International
Business, and Entrepreneurship at the undergraduate and postgraduate
levels. She has published in various scholarly journals, and serves as
a reviewer of international journals and international conferences. Her
area of research interest includes green human resource management,
intellectual capital, sustainability, small business, and family business.
Yusliza Mohd-Yusoff graduated with a B.B.A in human resource
management from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 1999, before pursuing
an M.B.A. at Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2005, and finally obtaining
her Ph.D. in administrative science from Universiti Teknologi MARA in
2009. From 2009 to 2016, she was Lecturer at the Graduate School of
Business in Universiti Sains Malaysia. In 2016, she joined the Faculty
of Business, Economics & Social Development of Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu. Her research interests include organizational and behavioral
studies, human resource management (HRM), green HRM, interna-
tional HRM (international students’ adjustment), electronic HRM, line
managers’ involvement in HRM, empowerment, and human resource
roles and competencies.
List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Approaches to employability 12


Fig. 2.2 Dimensions of green employability 18
Fig. 3.1 Hypothesized research model 34
Fig. 5.1 SLR: Developing a database of articles 85
Fig. 6.1 Methodological aspects 120
Fig. 6.2 Number of articles per year 130
Fig. 6.3 Research type 132
Fig. 6.4 Research method 133
Fig. 6.5 Sector 133
Fig. 6.6 Economic activity 134
Fig. 6.7 Focus 134
Fig. 8.1 The incremental change in carbon emission level
from 2005 till 2021 (Source climate.nasa.gov) 169
Fig. 8.2 The change in sea level from 1993 till 2021 (Source
climate.nasa.gov) 169

xiii
List of Tables

Table 3.1 Demographic characteristics of student (Study 1)


and employee (Study 2) samples 36
Table 3.2 Means, Standard Deviations and Correlations
among variables in Study 1 and Study 2 38
Table 3.3 Results of Confirmatory factor analysis 40
Table 3.4 Direct effects of GHRM 42
Table 3.5 Indirect effects of GHRM on JPI 43
Table 3.6 Moderation effect of Environmental orientation 44
Table 4.1 Functional dimensions of HRM: Importance
in the context of environmental management 62
Table 5.1 Direct Supported Hypothesis Percentage (SHPd )
for categorized green human resource management
practices: types of outcomes 91
Table 5.2 Direct Supported Hypothesis Percentage (SHPd )
per green human resource management practice
and outcome 93
Table 5.3 Mediation Supported Hypothesis Percentage (SHPm )
per green human resource management practice
and pro-environmental behaviour at work 102
Table 5.4 Mediation Supported Hypothesis Percentage (SHPm ):
types of mediating variables 104
Table 6.1 The Benefits of Human Resource Management
dimensions for Environmental Management 120
Table 6.2 Scopus database research summary 121
Table 6.3 Classification and codification 126

xv
xvi LIST OF TABLES

Table 6.4 Title of the article, authors and year of publication 128
Table 6.5 International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), impact
factor and number of papers published by the journal 129
Table 6.6 Classification and coding of the analyzed studies 131
Table 7.1 Coding scheme for the content analysis of sustainability
reports 149
Table 7.2 Reporting rates on the dimensions of the AMO
framework 151
Table 7.3 Reporting rates on GHRM practices according
to the AMO framework 152
CHAPTER 1

Green Human Resource Management:


Introduction and Overview

Pascal Paillé

Motivation for This Book


The pre-industrial era was marked by climatic periods of varying intensity,
the most well-known being the Roman Climatic Optimum, the Little Ice
Age, and the Medieval Warm Period (McCormick et al., 2012; Neukom
et al., 2019). Environmental history tells us that these episodes were a
key factor in the rise and fall of kingdoms and even entire civilizations.
Conversely, the excesses of the industrial model on which the modern
world is built have profoundly impacted our natural environment and
are in the process of altering our planet’s climate. The latest report from
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2018, Summary for
Policymakers) clearly points to human activity as the chief cause of climate
disruption. According to the report, “[h]uman activities are estimated to

P. Paillé (B)
NEOMA Business School, Rouen, France
e-mail: pascal.paille@neoma-bs.fr

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1


Switzerland AG 2022
P. Paillé (ed.), Green Human Resource Management Research,
Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06558-3_1
2 P. PAILLÉ

have caused approximately 1.0 °C of global warming above pre-industrial


levels” (p. 4).
Human influence involves the activity of two main agents: organiza-
tions and households. Evidence shows that organizational activities are
generally considered to have a greater impact on the natural environment.
A good example of this is daily waste generation, with the volume of waste
generated by the industrial sector being incomparably higher than the
amount produced by households (source: https://www.futura-sciences.
com/). Conscious of their environmental impact, an increasing number of
organizations are in the process of greening their activities. From finance
to marketing, and from supply chain logistics to accountancy (to cite just
a few examples), few organizational functions now escape greening.1
The publication of a collection edited by Walter Wehrmeyer in (1996)2
entitled Greening People: Human Resources and Environmental Manage-
ment marked the beginning of research on the incorporation of envi-
ronmental matters into human resource management practices. Interest
in the field of green human resource management (GHRM) has grown
significantly in recent years. What was once an exotic area of study
has developed into a research field in its own right supported by an
abundant literature that is increasingly demarcating itself from human
resource management, its natural “parent” field. The field has grown rela-
tively quickly judging from the number of recent publications devoted
to the subject, which doubled between 2016 and 2019 (Amrutha &
Geetha, 2020), in marked contrast to the slow maturation of research on
GHRM practices between the mid-1990s and the 2010s. Nonetheless, it
is important to recognize that the current period of growth highlighted
by Amrutha and Geetha was only made possible by the seminal paper by
Renwick et al. (2013) and the studies published in the 2010s by a particu-
larly productive group of scholars (see, for example, research by Jabbour,
Jackson and Müller-Camen).
The growing interest in GHRM is reflected by the large number
of literature reviews that have appeared in recent years. Some of these
are systematic (Amrutha & Geetha, 2020), while others are narrative

1 The point here is not to consider whether organizational engagement is genuine or


reflects actions or behaviors described as greenwashing. Readers interested in the topic
of greenwashing are referred to the excellent literature review by de Freitas Netto et al.
(2020).
2 The book was reprinted in 2017.
1 GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT … 3

(Ahmad, 2015; Bratton & Bratton, 2015; Ciocirlan, 2018; Ren et al.,
2018). Other publications have focused on specific practices, such as
employee recruitment and selection (Pham & Paillé, 2020), employee
empowerment (Tariq et al., 2016) and environmental training (Jabbour,
2013; Stefanelli et al., 2020). The topic has also been the subject of
three collective volumes (Jackson et al., 2012; Renwick, 2018; Shen et al.,
2019).
In short, huge advances have been made since the Wehrmeyer volume.
However, a closer examination of the development of the new field
shows that while some areas are reaching a degree of conceptual matu-
rity (thus paving the way for a new phase of development focused on
the consolidation of existing knowledge), others have yet to realize their
full heuristic potential. Through the range of topics considered in the
following chapters, this book aims to add substantially to the vast existing
literature.

GHRM and the Sustainable Development Goals


Paulet et al. (2021) argue that the fight against global climate change
begins in organizational settings—i.e., those settings that are assumed
to be most responsible for causing environmental damage. Organiza-
tions can take a wide range of measures to make the world of tomorrow
more viable both socially and environmentally. One option is to meet the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations.
Green HRM provides a means of reaching these goals. One of the aims
of GHRM is to provide organizations that are genuinely committed to
minimizing their environmental impact with the resources and opportu-
nities they need to develop their employees’ environmental competencies
and thereby enable their staff to tackle the challenges of climate change
at their own level.
The potential contribution of GHRM is more obvious in the case
of some SDGs than it is for others. For example, employee training
and education in environmental matters are recognized as key factors,
a point reflected in the nineteenth principle of the report from the
1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm, also
known as the first Earth Summit: “Education in environmental matters,
for the young generation as well as adults, giving due consideration to
the underprivileged, is essential ”. Since then, education and training in
environmental matters have come to be seen as one of the main levers
4 P. PAILLÉ

of the fight against climate change, with the traditional focus being the
acquisition of technical competencies, tacit knowledge and the develop-
ment of environmental skills. In that sense, GHRM directly meets SDG
4 (i.e., Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all). In nurturing and broadening envi-
ronmental awareness, GHRM also partly meets SDG 12 (i.e., Ensure
sustainable consumption and production patterns) by enabling people
to adopt more environmentally responsible behaviors not only in the
course of their day-to-day work but also in non-work settings. GHRM
also provides a basis for meeting SDG 8 (i.e., Promote sustained, inclu-
sive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment
and decent work for all).
One of the functions of GHRM is to enable employees to integrate
environmental matters into their work practices, from the most basic
to the most complex. In other words, by meeting SDG 9 (i.e., Build
resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrializa-
tion and foster innovation), GHRM may also be thought of as a means
to an end. Put differently, GHRM can be seen as an instrument in the
fight against climate change in that it enables organizations to put in
place measures designed to repair the environmental damage caused by
industrial activities and prevent environmental degradation.

Overview
In this book, leading researchers in the field consider a wide range
of issues, examining GHRM from a variety of perspectives. The issues
investigated are addressed in standalone chapters. Although the various
contributions are linked by the same overarching theme, and while refer-
ences to issues discussed in other chapters will be made throughout the
book, each chapter can be read independently of the others.
The book is divided into three parts. The common denominator of
the two chapters in Part I is that they address the process of human
resource acquisition. In Chapter 2, Joshi introduces the concept of green
employability and explores various links with organizational productivity
and individual careers. In Chapter 3, Chaudhary examines organizational
attractiveness from the perspective of predictors of job pursuit intentions.
Part II includes three chapters devoted to examining the effects
induced by green HRM practices. In Chapter 4, Yong, Yusliza and Ahmad
provide a theoretical analysis of the links between GHRM and a set of
1 GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT … 5

performance indicators related to sustainability. In Chapter 5, Fawehinmi,


Yusliza and Farooq show how employees’ pro-environmental behaviors
are influenced by green HR practices. In Chapter 6, Carballo-Penela,
Ruzo-Sanmartín, Álvarez-González and Saifulina report the results of a
meta-analysis in seeking to identify the underlying mechanisms linking
GHRM practices and employee environmental behavior.
The two chapters in Part III approach GHRM from an international
perspective. In Chapter 7, Jabbour presents the current state of research
on GHRM in South America. In Chapter 8, Obereder, Müller-Camen
and Renwick adopt a comparative approach with a view to determining
the similarities and differences arising from the application of GHRM
practices in six countries.
Finally, in Chapter 9, Jackson concludes by offering a summary anal-
ysis of the topics examined throughout the book, articulating a set of
questions designed to pave the way for future research on green HRM.
It is our hope that the essays contained in this volume will add to
the current literature by providing new insights into the topic. It is also
our hope that the arguments set out will be of use to both experienced
researchers and observers and newcomers to the field of GHRM.

References
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(pp. 275–295). Oxford University Press.
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for environmental sustainability (Vol. 32). John Wiley & Sons.
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into green patterns. International Journal of Manpower, 41(3), 258–272.
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research in emergence: A review and future directions. Asia Pacific Journal of
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in Chinese enterprises. Routledge.
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ment: A systematic literature review on state-of-art in green human resource
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Wehrmeyer, W. (Ed.). (1996). Greening people. Greenleaf Publishing.
CHAPTER 2

Green Employability: Re-Shaping Individual


Career Perspective

Gunjan Joshi

Introduction
The worldwide transition toward a ‘green economy’ has disrupted the
labor market affecting individual careers directly or indirectly. In response
to this ‘green’ transition, both developed and developing nations have
shown severe concerns regarding individual and businesses’ impact on the
environment and the collective responsibility toward the planet and future
generations (Jabbour, 2015; Joshi & Dhar, 2020). A report published
by the International Labor Organization in 2019 stated that reskilling
and upskilling of occupational skills is of utmost importance to develop
the right skills for the green transition. Following these academic and
institutional dialogues, it is evident that generating green employment

G. Joshi (B)
Entrepreneurship Government Stewardship Center, Nyenrode Universiteit,
Breukelen, The Netherlands
e-mail: g.joshi@nyenrode.nl

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 7


Switzerland AG 2022
P. Paillé (ed.), Green Human Resource Management Research,
Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06558-3_2
8 G. JOSHI

and facilitating green market growth is one goal that economies want to
achieve globally.
How the changes in employment conditions and transition in the labor
market influence individual employability has been an essential theme of
discussion in the economic and career literature. Researchers like Gazier
(1998) and McQuaid and Lindsay (2005) have discussed in detail the
evolution of employability in the economic literature and explained how
labor market transition influenced employment outcomes. Researchers
like Delva et al. (2021) and Fugate et al. (2004) have extended employ-
ability dialogues in the career literature and explained the importance of
employability for individual and organizational productivity. Therefore, in
light of the green transformation, it is time to progress the employability
dialogue and understand how economic and labor market transitions
influence employability.
First, the dialogue toward environment sustainability and green
approaches toward organization moves progressively across disciplines
like HRM, marketing, supply chain management. The concept of ‘green’
gained so much popularity that fields like green marketing, GHRM, and
green supply chain management emerged. Researchers explored new
dimensions, and contemporary theories were developed and redesigned,
focusing specifically on environmental sustainability. For example, a
significant number of studies on green HRM concentrate on developing
and measuring constructs like green training (Paillé & Valéau, 2020;
Teixeira et al., 2016), green competencies (Cabral & Dhar, 2019), green
employment, and green skills (Bowen et al., 2018; Brown, 2013). These
studies suggest that human resource plays a significant role in the success
of sustainable enterprises and one must not ignore how these green
variables influence individual employability.
Second, according to the resource-based view, corporate-level compe-
tencies support organizations to achieve sustainable competitive advan-
tage. These competencies are described as exceptional, non-substitutable,
and rare (Barney, 1991). An essential element that helps build corporate-
level competencies is the worker’s skill and knowledge, i.e., human assets.
Thereby, when we talk about environmentally sustainable businesses, we
cannot ignore the dialogue on how the workers who are an integral
part of the sustainable enterprises perceive their performance, skill, and
competencies under the green continuum. Research suggests that workers
associate work outcomes with career success and employability is essential
in assessing career success (De Vos et al., 2011). It is necessary to analyze
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 9

how the green concept influences an individual employee’s career success


concerning employability.
Third, following the integrative approach to employability (Delva
et al., 2021), the chapter explains how context and agency shape indi-
vidual employability. Following the agentic view, individuals have to
develop their skills and competencies to compete in the labor market.
If we talk about context, the effects of the green economy have impacted
the employment outcomes of nations globally. For example, green struc-
tural changes, application of green regulations and technology, demand
for environmental training for green jobs to avail the new market
opportunities (ILO, 2019) hints toward green employability.
First, it is essential to understand how employability has continu-
ously evolved and how firms and individual actions toward environmental
sustainability influenced individual employability in light of green career
literature. The section also highlights how employability affects orga-
nizational productivity and shapes respective careers. Next, trends and
research specific to green employability are explained. The section also
offers some practical examples of handicraft organizations driven toward
environmental sustainability. The various dimensions of employability are
also presented. Finally, future research prospects are discussed in light of
the issues and challenges.

Employability
Studies have stated that individual employees tend to choose work that
helps them express and develop their self-concepts . Self-concept is
defined as an individual’s perception of themselves, influencing their
career development and career choices. According to Super (1990), an
individual’s career options can be explained by understanding the self-
concept implementation in that person’s work. In this regard, Super
(1990) suggested that career maturity derived from one’s self-concept
is the central aspect common to career development stages. Fugate et al.
(2004) addressed both career maturity and career adaptability in terms
of employability, describing employability “as a psycho-social construct
that embodies individual characteristics that foster adaptive cognition,
behavior, and effect and enhance the individual-work interface” (pp. 14–
38). The employability construct has gained significant importance in
the individual career literature, and researchers explain employability both
from an individual (agentic perspective) and contextual approach.
10 G. JOSHI

From just a buzzword to a variegated construct, employability has


come a long way in the career literature (Blokker et al., 2019). Origi-
nated in the west, the concept of employability has marked its importance
globally. Literature acknowledges that employability has particular signif-
icance as a future resource for employees with varied employability skills
(De Cuyper & De Witte, 2009; Van den Broeck et al., 2014). Qualita-
tive and empirical studies conducted in the past give enough theoretical
evidence that employability helps individuals maintain current employ-
ment and overcome job-related insecurities (Fugate et al., 2004; Wille
et al., 2013).
The evolution of employability can be traced back to the mid-1950s
(McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005). However, due to a lack of suitable and valid
operationalization, the concept was not tested empirically till the 1990s
(Heijde & Van Der Heijden, 2006). A significant number of historical
overviews elucidate how employability as a concept has evolved and been
defined over the years. Various dimensions of employability have devel-
oped due to changes in employment and the labor market (e.g., see
Koen et al., 2013; Van der Heijden et al., 2015). In these studies, the
dimensions have either evolved, or researchers added new dimensions to
the concept. This nature of employability gave it the name of a “var-
iegated construct” because it borrows insights from several variables and
extends other constructs (Fugate et al., 2004). It is studied from different
perspectives and at different levels (industrial, individual, organizational),
expanding its scope to academic disciplines like polity and economics,
psychology, and management.
The segmentation and flexibilization of the labor market, the evolution
of new work and human resource practices, and the emergence of a global
economy have fostered novel approaches to the market in general and
the employability literature in particular (Torrent-Sellens et al., 2016).
For example, during the industrialization phase in Europe, widespread
poverty resulted in the evolution of the employment and unemployment
dichotomy (McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005). During this phase emerged the
dichotomic employability approach, where the focus was systematic prob-
lems and not individuals (Datta, 2007). Based on ability, age factor, and
family load, an individual was categorized as employable or unemployable.
Also illustrated in the literature is the emergence of a holistic approach
to employability that offers a more realistic description of the determi-
nants that influence an individual’s employability. This approach defines
the employability concept in a manner that it considers an entire range
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 11

of external and individual barriers impacting the employability of indi-


viduals in work and job seekers (McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005). From the
perspective of new trends in employability, recent research in psychology
and management literature also demonstrates significant progress. Specif-
ically, it notices the impact of individual and organizational initiatives
to improve skills and competencies on employability and marketability.
Workers with high job security have a positive perception about their
future job holdings (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2009). According to the
perceived employability approach, employability is “the individual’s percep-
tion of his or her possibilities to achieve a new job” (Berntson et al., 2006,
p. 225). The different definitions of perceived employability explain two
different approaches; one is an individual’s perception of attaining a new
job, while the other presents an individual’s perception about maintaining
a current position (Sanders & de Grip, 2004). The degree of individual
adaptability to their work environment depends on their proactive and
reactive characteristics. The dispositional employability approach focuses on
personal traits like adaptability, career identity, human and social capital
(Fugate), optimism, work resilience, openness to change, motivation
to work, work identity, and proactivity (Fugate et al., 2004). Disposi-
tional employability also influences the individual perception of managing
and monitoring their work environment. The competence approach views
employability as a continuous process of developing skills, knowledge,
and competence in demand in the labor market. All these approaches
to employability in the psychological and management literature focus on
how individuals can enhance their skills and capabilities to retain current
work or move from one job to other. A diagrammatic representation of all
the approaches can be seen in Fig. 2.1. Therefore, it is crucial to under-
stand how employability is viewed in organizations that focus on green
approaches to development and how individuals develop their green skills
and knowledge compete in the market. The green employability approach
is characterized as an integrative approach wherein the workers enhance
their degree of green skills , green competencies, and attitudes influenced
by the demand in the labor market to remain employable.
12 G. JOSHI

Dichotomic
approach
Economic
Literature
Holistic approach

Approaches to Perceived
Employability employability
approach

Psychological and
Competence based
Managemet
approach
literature

Dispositional
approach

Green approach

Fig. 2.1 Approaches to employability

Introducing Green Employability Approach


The concept of employability evolved as an outcome of the changes in
the labor market and economic conditions in Europe. Increased levels
of poverty categorized individuals as unemployable or employable. As
the labor market evolved and the economies developed, the approaches
to employability also became crucial to understand the changing market
trends. A brief explanation of each approach is mentioned in the
preceding paragraph. Looking at the current scenario, the labor market is
influenced by the transition to ‘green’ economies. Green economies are
characterized as inclusive and environmentally sustainable (ILO, 2019).
Therefore, these economic transitions and changes in the labor market
have influenced the employability of individuals. Green employability is
an outcome of these transitions.
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 13

Green Approach
to Employability---Trends and Research
The transition from ‘economy’ to ‘green economy’ has impacted poli-
cymakers’ decision-making globally to understand how organizations
promote economic growth characterized as ‘green’. One of the essen-
tial characteristics of an organization oriented toward environmental
sustainability is to create green jobs. Defining the nature of green jobs,
researchers state that the degree of ‘greenness’ may vary from one
position to the other, suggesting that rather than representing it as a
binary characteristic, the ‘greenness’ aspect of a job should be seen in
a continuum (Bowen et al., 2018). The individuals working in an orga-
nization driven toward environment management must know how their
skills, attitudes, and competencies contribute to the green goals. It is also
crucial to analyze the gaps in the skill set which should be met to move
toward environmental sustainability. The gap in the skill set can be met by
providing training to the workers directed toward meeting organizational
sustainability.
Organizations driven toward ecological management at the proactive
level provide green training to human resources to maintain a competitive
edge (Jabbour, 2015). Green training is considered “a type of training
related to relevant environmental topics, enabling all staff to integrate
the firm’s performance with environmental issues” (Teixeira et al., 2016,
p. 171). Thus, it can be said that individuals who undergo green training
become more aware of how their efforts to complete the job will impact
the environment. Such individuals are part of an organization that focuses
on providing green employment. Depending on the training content, an
occupation can be defined as green or non-green (Bowen et al., 2018).
Significantly, the increasing scholarly dialogue on green jobs has raised
concern regarding the fragmented literature on green skills and green
competencies required to perform green jobs. Thus, it can be seen that
green transition in employment influences the skill set to perform the
occupation, which eventually impacts individual employability. It is the
right time for scholars to look at employability from a green perspective
via the integrative approach. In this section, I will offer some prac-
tical examples of handicraft organizations driven toward environmental
sustainability. Firstly, there is an urgent need for businesses dependent on
natural resources for their production to contribute to managing envi-
ronmental issues through creative means (Sánchez-Medina et al., 2011).
14 G. JOSHI

Secondly, the significance of green training to enhance the creativity of


handicraft workers has positively influenced the ecological balance and
livelihood of people living in the area (Joshi & Dhar, 2020). Thus, it
can be seen that both context and individual ability to develop skills and
competencies facilitate the need to enhance green employability.

Role of the Handicraft Sector in Environment Management


The role of handicraft in environment management can be explained
by taking examples from the Indian handicraft sector. India embraces
more than 3000 craft forms, and the Indian handicraft sector is one
of the leaders in providing employment and holds a significant share in
the country’s export. Different forms of craft can be seen all across the
country. The diversity in handicraft products helps each state to carve
a niche for their products in the domestic and international markets.
The various handicraft segments include wood, brass products, woolen,
embroidered goods, metal wares, jewelry, crocheted goods, weaving, and
other handmade items (IBEF, 2021). As the handicraft sector is highly
dependent on natural resources for their supply of products, literature
on sustainable development and cleaner production has seen significant
contributions being made by scholars to study how handicraft organiza-
tions are contributing to the conservation of natural resources (Joshi &
Dhar, 2020; Sánchez-Medina et al., 2011). The handicraft sector must
be looked at more carefully by researchers and practitioners due to the
following reasons. Firstly, the handicraft sector has been identified glob-
ally as an essential instrument for sustaining the environment and the local
economy (Dasgupta & Chandra, 2016). Secondly, the handicraft sector, a
part of the tourism industry, has been understudied in core management
literature. A significant amount of research has been done on how hotels,
restaurants, and tourist guides contribute toward environment manage-
ment but handicraft organizations and their influence on environmental
sustainability need more scholarly attention (Joshi & Dhar, 2020).
Many handicraft businesses are established in the Himalayan region
of Uttarakhand, India. Handicraft is one of the leading and traditional
businesses in this mountainous region. Earlier, handicraft products were
manufactured to cater to the local demand of people for woolen products,
home decors, and utility purposes. Tourists also buy handicraft products
as souvenirs when they visited the state of Uttarakhand. The introduction
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 15

of e-commerce and later social media increased the popularity of these


handicraft products nationally.
Further, with the increase in environmental awareness, consumers
became conscious about their carbon footprints, and there was an increase
in demand for environmentally sustainable products, especially in the
fashion industry. Many big fashion houses ventured with local handicraft
organizations to cater to local and global needs. Contrary to this growing
trend toward organic products, a few organizations were ahead of this
transition not because they were market-oriented but because of their
philosophy to co-exist with nature. Research also suggests that the educa-
tion and vision of handicraft owners/managers play a significant role in
the enterprise’s success because the workers are not educated enough to
understand the functioning of the marker and the change in trends.
Few social entrepreneurs in Uttarakhand focus on reviving the tradi-
tional craft and uplifting the rural population. Community development,
capacity building, and preserving local art are the driving forces behind
many successful ventures that focus on enhancing the green creativity
of workers by providing them the resources and green training. The
entrepreneurs believe in their value sets and appreciation for the area,
sheltering them in so many ways. They are conscious about the farmers,
land, forest, water, soil, and all these are embroiled with their business
and form the basis of everything they do. According to them, it is the
‘intent’ that is essential. For example, one of the handicraft firms named
‘Avani’ has developed an organic detergent like a soluble powder. It can
be directly used in washing machines and dishwashers and is entirely eco-
friendly, biodegradable, and pH neutral. The idea behind this was that if
you are manufacturing eco-friendly clothing, then the entire process of
maintaining the life of that product should be sustainable.
Scholars have suggested that handicraft organizations that are old
and big can focus on efforts directed toward environmental sustain-
ability compared to handicraft organizations that are young and small
in size. The big and old organizations have invested in resources. They
can provide an environment for the employees to apply the skills they
have developed or acquired through green training. The level of resource
commitment plays a vital role in organizations striving toward sustainable
goals (Joshi & Dhar, 2020).
16 G. JOSHI

A Green Road to Employability


In the present scenario, job security and employment for the whole life
no longer govern workplace policies (e.g., Hall & Heras, 2010). For
workers, this implies a necessity to continually assess their position to be
aware of the opportunities present in the labor market while constructing
their careers (Tomlinson et al., 2018). As a result, employability has
gained importance as one of the most significant outcomes of existing
jobs (Wille et al., 2013). Scholars suggest that workers should focus
on building and maintaining their employability from the start of their
careers (Bridgstock, 2009; Fugate et al., 2004). The past studies focused
on understanding how new jobs globally have given attention to perceived
employability as an essential determinant of career success (De Vos et al.,
2011). Scholars have studied different dimensions of employability and
factors that contribute to employability orientation (Nauta et al., 2009).
Significant efforts have been made in the past to understand what factors
contribute to the employability of workers from the organization’s point
of view and the individual point of view (Baruch, 2001).
With the increase in measurements of constructs like green training
, green skills and competencies, and green creativity in the manage-
ment and sustainability literature, it is evident that green jobs are in
demand in the market. These green jobs differ in their degree of greenness
and innovation. Many countries, for example China , India , Germany,
South Korea, Estonia, Spain, and Australia, are oriented toward providing
training and vocational education by incorporating green components
(ILO, 2019). The report by ILO highlights the importance of the
carbon–neutral transition. It hints toward the level of attention the green
economy is receiving from both developed and developing nations, taking
an example from how China identified occupations that can be labeled
as green the report also suggests that the process of classifying a job as
green ‘does not constitute an exhaustive compendium’. These studies and
reports by various governments and international organizations indicate
that the green aspect of a job influences the nature of employment. Thus,
an individual receiving green training in an educational institute or an
employee receiving green training in an organization develops or acquires
skills that impact their movement in the labor market. As employability is
defined as an individual’s ability to find a new job or maintain a current
job, green employability can be defined as maintaining current employment
in an organization directed toward environmental sustainability or finding
a green job in the labor market.
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 17

Dimensions of Green Employability


Environmental Awareness
Individuals who respect the environment and are aware of the environ-
mental issues and how their actions in performing a task will impact
nature are driven toward jobs designed toward sustainable development.
Environmental awareness contributes to green organizational perfor-
mance (Pham et al., 2019) and career development (Pinzone et al.,
2019). It enables individuals to perform green jobs, which are in demand
by employers oriented toward green growth. Studies in green HRM liter-
ature have also articulated the importance of environmental awareness
in career success (Joshi & Dhar, 2020). Ecological awareness depends
on the content of green training provided to the individuals to enhance
their green competencies. To be consistent with green employability, the
green competencies developed via green training must enhance individual
occupational expertise. It is evident that when organizations provide envi-
ronmental movement to the workers, they are confident in their skills and
voluntarily offer support in meeting the firm’s sustainable goals (Paillé &
Mejía-Morelos, 2014).

Green Competencies
The second dimension of green employability is green competencies.
Green competencies consist of green skills, green attitudes, green knowl-
edge, and green behavior (Cabral & Dhar, 2019; Pedersen, 1999). An
individual’s ability to benefit from the opportunities in the labor market
is prominently influenced by their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Orga-
nizations and individuals invest in developing their skills and expertise
to build their green competencies. This helps them build resilience and
see through the changes required. More specifically, an individual’s ability
to identify and benefit from career opportunities is influenced by green
competencies. According to Fugate et al. (2004), skills, knowledge, and
attitudes form individuals’ career identity; thereby, it can be said that
green competencies help individuals to identify their careers along the
green continuum, and as a result of this embedding green competen-
cies in green employability . Green competencies help organizations to
achieve sustainable goals by enhancing workers’ green creativity. There-
fore, organizations facilitate training and development activities so that
the workers improve their green skills and abilities. Research in the past
18 G. JOSHI

has suggested that training and development activities positively influence


individual employability. Green competencies positively impact the green
dynamic capabilities inherent in organizations (Joshi & Dhar, 2020). In
green markets, green skills are of utmost importance to perform green
jobs (ILO, 2019).

Ethics
The popularity of green jobs has influenced individuals to seek a
career path that leads to meaningful employment. An ethically driven
worker requires some degree of passion for sustainable living. National
Geographic published an article on the fastest-growing green jobs naming
urban growers, recyclers, clean car engineers, solar technicians, and green
buildings for sustainable living to name a few (National Geographic,
2021). These examples show that personal drive and love for work are
crucial factors when individuals focus on green careers. For instance, few
handicraft owners in Uttarakhand, India, manufactured organic prod-
ucts and used environmentally friendly processes to manufacture goods
and services from the very first day of their operations. The owners
focused on making the local people employable without causing any
harm to their natural surroundings and cultural values. This example
also explains that the philosophy of the organizations is also an impor-
tant aspect when workers are looking for ethical or green jobs. Thereby
suggesting that green organizations are oriented toward enhancing green
employability(Fig. 2.2).

Fig. 2.2 Dimensions


Green
of green employability
competencies

Environmental
Ethics
awareness

Green
employability
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 19

Issues and Challenges


Skill Development for Sustainable Growth of Green Economy
Skill development plays a small but significant role in sustainable devel-
opment. Sustainable development is often linked to the economic devel-
opment of any nation. Green skill development by developed countries is
an attempt to address the ongoing debate of ethical stance and respon-
sibility toward planet earth (McGrath & Powell, 2016). According to a
report by the international labor organization, poverty, informal employ-
ment, and low incomes can force people to perform jobs harmful to
the environment. Such conditions are prevalent in developing or under-
developed nations compared to the developed economies (ILO, 2019).
Therefore, it can be said that individuals in the developed countries are
more oriented toward green employability than individuals in developing
or underdeveloped economies.

Conventional Business Models and Understudied Samples


In the management literature, conventional models and traditional prac-
tices are understudied (Joshi & Dhar, 2022). The determinants of career
development may vary in diverse cultures and among different popula-
tions (Herr & Cramer, 1996; Xu & Lee, 2017). Individuals may prioritize
subjective career success over objective career success, especially when
dealing with environmental management and conservation issues. Taking
the example from the handicraft organizations, Paige and Littrell (2002),
stated that the personal career success of artisans influences the produc-
tivity of the handicraft business. Studies show that non-financial objectives
like independence, creativity, and reinforcing cultural identity are the
governing factors for handicraft workers’ success (Girón et al., 2007).
The employability of employed individuals is improved through their
subjective accounts of employability, or more accurately, their percep-
tion about their current employability (Berntson et al., 2006). Handicraft
work is characterized as low- to medium-skilled occupations. The nature
of change in such occupations during transition is generical.
The handicraft workers can be provided with green training to create
environmental awareness and help them to adapt to the new process
and practices. A simple example is training provided to workers on
washing the fabric after weaving or knitting with minimum water wastage.
In medium-skilled jobs in handicraft organizations, new positions are
20 G. JOSHI

created, and technical skills and knowledge are imparted. For example,
training is being provided to workers to learn computers for stock
entry and making designs and patterns to reduce paperwork. There-
fore, it is essential to understand that the content of green training may
differ based on different contexts. Therefore, green employability can be
perceived differently by workers across diverse cultures. In big organiza-
tions, workers perform jobs ranging from low-skilled to high-skilled jobs.
The nature of training differs depending on the skill set and level of occu-
pation. However, some basic knowledge and skills are essential across the
labor force when performing green jobs. For example, every employee
must be aware of how their actions are impacting the environment; the
employees should adapt and transfer skills when new technologies and
techniques are introduced to perform green jobs

Future Research Prospects


Awareness of climate change and environmental degradation has signif-
icantly influenced consumer preferences and demands for green services
and products, resulting in a green market. The green market prospects
accelerate the creation of green business models and sustainable enter-
prises. Regarding sustainable business models, small-scale corporations
specifically dependent on natural resources for their production are
acknowledged as prospective organizations for sustainable development
(Forero-Montaña et al., 2017). It is of utmost importance that research
and studies focusing on sustainable development and green transitions
consider diverse business models functional in large, medium, and small
enterprises.
Firstly, evidence-based studies focusing on how the age and size of
organizations influence sustainable goals will help young businesses to
allocate funds specifically for environmentally friendly processes. It will
also be interesting to view whether or not and how economies and insti-
tutions provide financial support to young and small businesses directed
toward environmental sustainability.
Secondly, it is evident from various studies and reports that environ-
mental degradation is an ongoing issue, and much harm has already been
done to the planet. Businesses and nations are taking different steps and
measures to compensate for the damage and take preventive actions.
Contrary to this, many companies have always strived to co-exist with
nature. Environmental management has been a part of their company’s
2 GREEN EMPLOYABILITY … 21

philosophy and ethical system. Scholars must study how such organiza-
tions integrate various profitability, ecological conservation, and ethics to
succeed in the market.
Thirdly, government policy, training, and regulations directed toward
environmental sustainability pave the way for green transformation and
green job creation in the developed economies. The development of
proper skills catalyzes these transitory disruptions. Researchers can study
this aspect of employability from a sustainable perspective and measure the
influence of factors that help individuals move toward a higher degree of
the green continuum to perform green jobs.

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CHAPTER 3

Modeling Green Human Resource


Management and Attraction
to Organizations

Richa Chaudhary and Mantasha Firoz

Introduction
Environmental degradation is one of the largest threats facing the world
today. World Economic Forum in its global risk report 2021 positioned
environmental degradation as one of the top risks for the mankind.1
The awareness of the damaging consequences of environmental deteri-
oration has led to a magnified interest in environmental sustainability
among the leaders across the globe. The governments, non-governmental

1 https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2021.

R. Chaudhary (B) · M. Firoz


Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bihta, Bihar, India
e-mail: richa.chaudhary@iitp.ac.in
M. Firoz
e-mail: 1821hs08@iitp.ac.in

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 27


Switzerland AG 2022
P. Paillé (ed.), Green Human Resource Management Research,
Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06558-3_3
28 R. CHAUDHARY AND M. FIROZ

organizations, and business houses throughout the world are searching


for alternative systems and practices that can enhance their potential
to combat the phenomenon of climate change. The business sector
particularly has been at the center stage of the environmental sustain-
ability discussions due to its contribution to the environmental damage
and climate change (Moscardo et al., 2013). As a result, businesses are
expected to play a pivotal role in solving environmental problems. There
is a growing pressure from the stakeholders on businesses to accept the
responsibility for their environmental impacts and adopt a more proac-
tive approach to address the environmental issues (Shafaei et al., 2020).
Besides the stakeholder pressure, businesses are realizing the importance
of environmental sustainability for their own sustenance and economic
growth due to their dependence on natural environment for the essen-
tial inputs. Therefore, business organizations are adopting strategies to
minimize their carbon footprints and create a greener ecosystem. Many
of them have introduced an environmental management system (EMS)
to monitor and minimize the impact of their operations on natural
environment and prevent further damage to it.
Since human resource management plays a crucial role in architecting
organizational culture, structuring and implementing corporate strategy,
and developing policies (Paauwe & Boselie, 2005; Schuler & Jackson,
2014), it may provide the foundation for successful integration of envi-
ronmental sustainability into business models. To this end, green human
resource management (GHRM) has been identified to play a substantial
role in effective implementation of environmental management strate-
gies by closely aligning the HRM practices with the environmental goals
(Jabbour et al., 2013; Shen et al., 2018). GHRM is a philosophy that
links people to environmental strategy and emphasizes upon the role
of human behavior in environmental management. GHRM refers to “a
phenomena relevant to understanding relationships between organiza-
tional activities that impact the natural environment and the design,
evolution, implementation and influence of HRM systems” (Ren et al.,
2018, p. 77). It represents a nexus between environmental manage-
ment and HRM systems of the organization (Renwick et al., 2013)
and involves the formulation and administration of HRM practices, poli-
cies, and philosophies to support organization’s environmental goals
(Ren et al., 2018). HR processes from recruitment to performance and
compensation management are strategically used to foster attitudinal and
behavioral changes in employees. For instance, GHRM practices may
3 MODELING GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT … 29

include giving weightage to environmental awareness in the recruitment


and selection of employees, developing training programs in environment
management to increase environmental awareness, skills and expertise of
employees, setting green goals and responsibilities for employees, linking
green behaviors to reward and compensation, involving employees in
quality improvement and problem-solving on environmental issues, etc.
(Shen et al., 2018; Tang et al., 2018).
Given the potential of GHRM for achieving environmental sustain-
ability, a significant rise in GHRM research has been witnessed in the last
few years (Pham et al., 2019; Shafaei et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2020). Most
of the research on GHRM is centered primarily on examining its effect
on environmental performance of the organization (Pinzone et al., 2016;
Jabbour et al., 2010; Masri & Jaroon, 2017). These studies have mainly
been conducted at the organizational level of analysis thereby limiting the
understanding of the concept of GHRM to the macro-level (Ren et al.,
2018). For a more comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon it’s
important to understand its micro-foundations by researching it at the
micro-level of analysis. A micro-level investigation may advance the under-
standing of the underlying processes and mechanisms that explain the
influence of a construct at the macro-level. Recently, researches conducted
at the individual level of analysis have provided some evidence on the
influence of GHRM on green as well as non-green employee attitudes
and behaviors (Dumont et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2019; Saeed et al.,
2018; Shen et al., 2018). In line with the behavioral science research, it
has been observed that GHRM enhances organizational environmental
performance through its impact on more proximal outcomes mostly
employees attitudes and behaviors. GHRM has been demonstrated to play
an important role in environmental management through facilitating the
right employee job related and discretionary behavior. Thus, the knowl-
edge base on the impact of GHRM on employees is building with studies
coming from some parts of the world. Surprisingly, the evidence on nature
of GHRM influence on potential employee outcomes is non-existent.
Given the war for talent in this highly competitive business landscape,
an understanding of how GHRM affects prospective employees can add
value and provide meaningful insights to the organizations for designing
and implementing their talent management programs.
To address the gaps with regard to information on the influence of
GHRM on prospective employee outcomes, we attempt to examine the
effect of GHRM on three different indicators of organizational attraction,
30 R. CHAUDHARY AND M. FIROZ

i.e. organizational prestige, organizational attractiveness, and job pursuit


intentions (JPI) (Highhouse et al., 2003). Here, organizational prestige
refers to the degree to which the organization is perceived to be well
regarded and reputable (Highhouse et al., 2003). Organizational attrac-
tiveness, on the other hand, reflects individuals’ affective and attitudinal
thoughts about particular companies as potential places for employ-
ment (Highhouse et al., 2003). Organizational attractiveness is indi-
vidual focused whereas organizational prestige reflects social consensus
on whether the company is seen in positive or negative light. Further,
organizational attractiveness is more passive in nature as it does not imply
any behavioral action toward the company. In contrast, JPI represents a
more active pursuit of job and implies action unlike the passivity inherent
in attractiveness (Highhouse et al., 2003). Pro-environmental recruit-
ment messages and different dimensions of corporate environmental
responsibility such as green strategy and culture, green recruitment and
evaluation, and green communication have been reported to enhance
corporate reputation and JPI (Abdelzaher & Newburry, 2016; Behrend
et al., 2009; Dögl & Holtbrügge, 2014). Also, prior studies suggest that
experiences during recruitment and selection processes are a key deter-
minant of organizational attractiveness which, in turn, generates greater
desires among individuals to pursue employment with the firms (Gully
et al., 2013; Turban & Greening, 1997). In addition, as per the person-
job fit perspective, it is likely that individuals with strong environmental
orientation and values are more likely to be influenced by the information
on GHRM efforts of the organizations and vice-versa. Therefore, apart
from examining the direct effects, this study endeavors to look into the
psychological processes and boundary conditions underlying the relation-
ship of GHRM with JPI by assessing the role of organizational prestige
and organizational attractiveness as the mediators and environmental
orientation as a moderator.
This study tests the above propositions in two different studies using
an experimental research design for a comprehensive understanding of
the direct, mediating, and moderating effects of GHRM on prospective
employee outcomes. Study 1 focuses on final year college students as a
proxy for potential employees and Study 2 samples full time employees
employed with various firms as prospective recruits. By conducting this
investigation on potential employees at the micro-level of analysis, we
attempt to contribute to limited understanding on the psychological
foundations of GHRM and provide practitioners with the strategies to
manage their GHRM efforts for optimal benefits.
Another random document with
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with . As will be seen, the latter condition will be satisfied for all
the electrons in the atoms of elements of low atomic weight and for a
greater part of the electrons contained in the atoms of the other
elements.
If the velocity of the electrons is not small compared with the
velocity of light, the constancy of the angular momentum no longer
involves a constant ratio between the energy and the frequency of
revolution. Without introducing new assumptions, we cannot therefore
in this case determine the configuration of the systems on the basis
of the considerations in Part I. Considerations given later suggest,
however, that the constancy of the angular momentum is the principal
condition. Applying this condition for velocities not small compared
with the velocity of light, we get the same expression for as that
given by (1), while the quantity in the expressions for and is
replaced by and in the expression for by

As stated in Part I., a calculation based on the ordinary mechanics


gives the result, that a ring of electrons rotating round a positive
nucleus in general is unstable for displacements of the electrons in
the plane of the ring. In order to escape from this difficulty, we have
assumed that the ordinary principles of mechanics cannot be used in
the discussion of the problem in question, any more than in the
discussion of the connected problem of the mechanism of binding of
electrons. We have also assumed that the stability for such
displacements is secured through the introduction of the hypothesis
of the universal constancy of the angular momentum of the electrons.
As is easily shown, the latter assumption is included in the
condition of stability in §1. Consider a ring of electrons rotating round
a nucleus, and assume that the system is in dynamical equilibrium
and that the radius of the ring is , the velocity of the electrons
the total kinetic energy , and the potential energy . As shown in
Part I. (p. 21) we have . Next consider a configuration of
the system in which the electrons, under influence of extraneous
forces, rotate with the same angular momentum round the nucleus in
a ring of radius . In this case we have , and on

account of the uniformity of the angular momentum and

. Using the relation , we get

We see that the total energy of the new configuration is greater than
in the original. According to the condition of stability in §1 the system
is consequently stable for the displacement considered. In this
connexion, it may be remarked that in Part I. we have assumed that
the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by the systems cannot
be determined from the frequencies of vibration of the electrons, in
the plane of the orbits, calculated by help of the ordinary mechanics.
We have, on the contrary, assumed that the frequency of the radiation
is determined by the condition , where is the frequency,
Planck’s constant, and the difference in energy corresponding to
two different “stationary” states of the system.
In considering the stability of a ring of electrons rotating round a
nucleus for displacements of the electrons perpendicular to the plane
of the ring, imagine a configuration of the system in which the
electrons are displaced by , ,.... , respectively, and
suppose that the electrons, under influence of extraneous forces,
rotate in circular orbits parallel to the original plane with the same
radii and the same angular momentum round the axis of the system
as before. The kinetic energy is unaltered by the displacement, and
neglecting powers of the quantities , .... , higher than the
second, the increase of the potential energy of the system is given by
where is the radius of the ring, the charge on the nucleus, and
the number of electrons. According to the condition of stability in §1
the system is stable for the displacements considered, if the above
expression is positive for arbitrary values of ,.... . By a simple
calculation it can be shown that the latter condition is equivalent to
the condition

where denotes the whole number (smaller than ) for which

has its smallest value. This condition is identical with the condition of
stability for displacements of the electrons perpendicular to the plane
of the ring, deduced by help of ordinary mechanical
considerations[28].
A suggestive illustration is obtained by imagining that the
displacements considered are produced by the effect of extraneous
forces acting on the electrons in a direction parallel to the axis of the
ring. If the displacements are produced infinitely slowly the motion of
the electrons will at any moment be parallel to the original plane of
the ring, and the angular momentum of each of the electrons round
the centre of its orbit will obviously be equal to its original value; the
increase in the potential energy of the system will be equal to the
work done by the extraneous forces during the displacements. From
such considerations we are led to assume that the ordinary
mechanics can be used in calculating the vibrations of the electrons
perpendicular to the plane of the ring—contrary to the case of
vibrations in the plane of the ring. This assumption is supported by
the apparent agreement with observations obtained by Nicholson in
his theory of the origin of lines in the spectra of the solar corona and
stellar nebulæ (see Part I. pp. 6 & 23). In addition it will be shown
later that the assumption seems to be in agreement with experiments
on dispersion.
The following table gives the values of and from
to .
, , ; , ,
1 0 0 9 3.328 13.14
2 0.25 0.25 10 3.863 18.13
3 0.577 0.58 11 4.416 23.60
4 0.957 1.41 12 4.984 30.82
5 1.377 2.43 13 5.565 38.57
6 1.828 4.25 14 6.159 48.38
7 2.305 6.35 15 6.764 58.83
8 2.805 9.56 16 7.379 71.85
We see from the table that the number of electrons which can
rotate in a single ring round a nucleus of charge increases only
very slowly for increasing ; for the maximum value is
; for , ; for , . We see, further,
that a ring of electrons cannot rotate in a single ring round a
nucleus of charge ne unless .
In the above we have supposed that the electrons move under the
influence of a stationary radial force and that their orbits are exactly
circular. The first condition will not be satisfied if we consider a
system containing several rings of electrons which rotate with
different frequencies. If, however, the distance between the rings is
not small in comparison with their radii, and if the ratio between their
frequencies is not near to unity, the deviation from circular orbits may
be very small and the motion of the electrons to a close
approximation may be identical with that obtained on the assumption
that the charge on the electrons is uniformly distributed along the
circumference of the rings. If the ratio between the radii of the rings is
not near to unity, the conditions of stability obtained on this
assumption may also be considered as sufficient.
We have assumed in §1 that the electrons in the atoms rotate in
coaxial rings. The calculation indicates that only in the case of
systems containing a great number of electrons will the planes of the
rings separate; in the case of systems containing a moderate number
of electrons, all the rings will be situated in a single plane through the
nucleus. For the sake of brevity, we shall therefore here only consider
the latter case.
Let us consider an electric charge uniformly distributed along
the circumference of a circle of radius .
At a point distant from the plane of the ring, and at a distance
from the axis of the ring, the electrostatic potential is given by

Putting in this expression and , and using the


notation

we get for the radial force exerted on an electron in a point in the


plane of the ring

where
The corresponding force perpendicular to the plane of the ring at a
distance from the centre of the ring and at a small distance from
its plane is given by

where

A short table of the functions and is given on p. 35.


Next consider a system consisting of a number of concentric rings
of electrons which rotate in the same plane round a nucleus of charge
. Let the radii of the rings be , ,...., and the number of
electrons on the different rings , ,....

Putting , we get for the radial force acting on an

electron in the th ring where

the summation is to be taken over all the rings except the one
considered.
If we know the distribution of the electrons in the different rings,
from the relation (1) on p. 28, we can, by help of the above,
determine , , .... The calculation can be made by successive
approximations, starting from a set of values for the ’s, and from
them calculating the ’s, and then redetermining the ’s by the
relation (1) which gives , and so on.

As in the case of a single ring it is supposed that the systems are


stable for displacements of the electrons in the plane of their orbits. In
a calculation such as that on p. 30., the interaction of the rings ought
strictly to be taken into account. This interaction will involve that the
quantities are not constant, as for a single ring rotating round a
nucleus, but will vary with the radii of the rings; the variation in ,
however, if the ratio between the radii of the rings is not very near to
unity, will be too small to be of influence on the result of the
calculation.
Considering the stability of the systems for a displacement of the
electrons perpendicular to the plane of the rings, it is necessary to
distinguish between displacements in which the centres of gravity of
the electrons in the single rings are unaltered, and displacements in
which all the electrons inside the same ring are displaced in the same
direction. The condition of stability for the first kind of displacements
is given by the condition (5) on p. 31., if for every ring we replace

by a quantity , determined by the condition that is equal to


the component perpendicular to the plane of the ring of the force—
due to the nucleus and the electrons in the other rings—acting on one
of the electrons if it has received a small displacement . Using the
same notation as above, we get

If all the electrons in one of the rings are displaced in the same
direction by help of extraneous forces, the displacement will produce
corresponding displacements of the electrons in the other rings; and
this interaction will be of influence on the stability. For example,
consider a system of concentric rings rotating in a plane round a
nucleus of charge , and let us assume that the electrons in the
different rings are displaced perpendicular to the plane by , ,....
respectively. With the above notation the increase in the
potential energy of the system is given by
The condition of stability is that this expression is positive for arbitrary
values of ,.... . This condition can be worked out simply in the
usual way. It is not of sensible influence compared with the condition
of stability for the displacements considered above, except in cases
where the system contains several rings of few electrons.
The following Table, containing the values of and for
every fifth degree from to , gives an estimate of
the order of magnitude of these functions:—

20 0.132 0.001 0.002


25 0.011
30 0.333 0.021 0.048
35 0.490 0.080 0.217
40 0.704 0.373 1.549
45 1.000 ......... .........
50 1.420 1.708 4.438
55 2.040 1.233 1.839
60 3.000 1.093 1.301
65 4.599 1.037 1.115
70 7.548 1.013 1.041

indicates the ratio between the radii of the rings


. The values of show that unless the ratio of
the radii of the rings is nearly unity the effect of outer rings on the
dimensions of inner rings is very small, and that the corresponding
effect of inner rings on outer is to neutralize approximately the effect
of a part of the charge on the nucleus corresponding to the number of
electrons on the ring. The values of show that the effect of
outer rings on the stability of inner—though greater than the effect on
the dimensions—is small, but that unless the ratio between the radii
is very great, the effect of inner rings on the stability of outer is
considerably greater than to neutralize a corresponding part of the
charge of the nucleus.
The maximum number of electrons which the innermost ring can
contain without being unstable is approximately equal to that
calculated on p. 32. for a single ring rotating round a nucleus. For the
outer rings, however, we get considerably smaller numbers than
those determined by the condition (5) if we replace by the total
charge on the nucleus and on the electrons of inner rings.
If a system of rings rotating round a nucleus in a single-plane is
stable for small displacements of the electrons perpendicular to this
plane, there will in general be no stable configurations of the rings,
satisfying the condition of the constancy of the angular momentum of
the electrons, in which all the rings are not situated in the plane. An
exception occurs in the special case of two rings containing equal
numbers of electrons; in this case there may be a stable configuration
in which the two rings have equal radii and rotate in parallel planes at
equal distances from the nucleus, the electrons in the one ring being
situated just opposite the intervals between the electrons in the other
ring. The latter configuration, however, is unstable if the configuration
in which all the electrons in the two rings are arranged in a single ring
is stable.

§3. Constitution of Atoms containing very few Electrons.

As stated in §1, the condition of the universal constancy of the


angular momentum of the electrons, together with the condition of
stability, is in most cases not sufficient to determine completely the
constitution of the system. On the general view of formation of atoms,
however, and by making use of the knowledge of the properties of the
corresponding elements, it will be attempted, in this section and the
next, to obtain indications of what configurations of the electrons may
be expected to occur in the atoms. In these considerations we shall
assume that the number of electrons in the atom is equal to the
number which indicates the position of the corresponding element in
the series of elements arranged in order of increasing atomic weight.
Exceptions to this rule will be supposed to occur only at such places
in the series where deviation from the periodic law of the chemical
properties of the elements are observed. In order to show clearly the
principles used we shall first consider with some detail those atoms
containing very few electrons.
For sake of brevity we shall, by the symbol , refer
to a plane system of rings of electrons rotating round a nucleus of
charge satisfying the condition of the angular momentum of the
electrons with the approximation used in §2. , ,... are the
numbers of electrons in the rings, starting from inside. By , ,...
and , ,... we shall denote the radii and frequency of the rings
taken in the same order. The total amount of energy emitted by
the formation of the system shall simply be denoted by
.

N=1. Hydrogen.
In Part I. we have considered the binding of an electron by a
positive nucleus of charge , and have shown that it is possible to
account for the Balmer spectrum of hydrogen on the assumption of
the existence of a series of stationary states in which the angular
momentum of the electron round the nucleus is equal to entire
multiples of the value , where is Planck’s constant. The formula
found for the frequencies of the spectrum was

where and are entire numbers. Introducing the values for , ,


and used on p. 29, we get for the factor before the bracket
[29]; the value observed for the constant in the Balmer
spectrum is .
For the permanent state of a neutral hydrogen atom we get from
the formula (1) and (2) in §2, putting
These values are of the order of magnitude to be expected. For
we get , which corresponds to ; the value for the
ionizing potential of a hydrogen atom, calculated by Sir J. J. Thomson
from experiments on positive rays, is [30]. No other definite
data, however, are available for hydrogen atoms. For sake of brevity,
we shall in the following denote the values for , , and
corresponding to the configuration by , and .
At distances from the nucleus, great in comparison with , the
system will not exert sensible forces on free electrons. Since,
however, the configuration:

corresponds to a greater value for than the configuration , we


may expect that a hydrogen atom under certain conditions can
acquire a negative charge. This is in agreement with experiments on
positive rays. Since is only , a hydrogen atom cannot be
expected to be able to acquire a double negative charge.

N=2. Helium.
As shown in Part I., using the same assumptions as for hydrogen,
we must expect that during the binding of an electron by a nucleus of
charge a spectrum is emitted, expressed by
This spectrum includes the spectrum observed by Pickering in the
star Puppis and the spectra recently observed by Fowler in
experiments with vacuum tubes filled with a mixture of hydrogen and
helium. These spectra are generally ascribed to hydrogen.
For the permanent state of a positively charged helium atom, we
get

At distances from the nucleus great compared with the radius of


the bound electron, the system will, to a close approximation, act
on an electron as a simple nucleus of charge . For a system
consisting of two electrons and a nucleus of charge , we may
therefore assume the existence of a series of stationary states in
which the electron most lightly bound moves approximately in the
same way as the electron in the stationary states of a hydrogen atom.
Such an assumption has already been used in Part I. in an attempt to
explain the appearance of Rydberg’s constant in the formula for the
line-spectrum of any element. We can, however, hardly assume the
existence of a stable configuration in which the two electrons have
the same angular momentum round the nucleus and move in different
orbits, the one outside the other. In such a configuration the electrons
would be so near to each other that the deviations from circular orbits
would be very great. For the permanent state of a neutral helium
atom, we shall therefore adopt the configuration

Since

we see that both electrons in a neutral helium atom are more firmly
bound than the electron in a hydrogen atom. Using the values on p.
38, we get
these values are of the same order of magnitude as the value
observed for the ionization potential in helium, assume[31],
and the value for the frequency of the ultra-violet absorption in helium
determined by experiments on dispersion [32].

The frequency in question may be regarded as corresponding to


vibrations in the plane of the ring (see p. 30). The frequency of
vibration of the whole ring perpendicular to the plane, calculated in
the ordinary way (see p. 32), is given by . The fact that
the latter frequency is great compared with that observed might
explain that the number of electrons in a helium atom, calculated by
help of Drude’s theory from the experiments on dispersion, is only
about two-thirds of the number to be expected. (Using
the value calculated is .)

For a configuration of a helium nucleus and three electrons, we


get

Since for this configuration is smaller than for the configuration


, the theory indicates that a helium atom cannot acquire a
negative charge. This is in agreement with experimental evidence,
which shows that helium atoms have no “affinity” for free
electrons[33].
In a later paper it will be shown that the theory offers a simple
explanation of the marked difference in the tendency of hydrogen and
helium atoms to combine into molecules.

N=3. Lithium.
In analogy with the cases of hydrogen and helium we must expect
that during the binding of an electron by a nucleus of charge ,a
spectrum is emitted, given by

On account of the great energy to be spent in removing all the


electrons bound in a lithium atom (see below) the spectrum
considered can only be expected to be observed in extraordinary
cases.
In a recent note Nicholson[34] has drawn attention to the fact that
in the spectra of certain stars, which show the Pickering spectrum
with special brightness, some lines occur the frequencies of which to
a close approximation can be expressed by the formula

where is the same constant as in the Balmer spectrum of


hydrogen. From analogy with the Balmer- and Pickering-spectra,
Nicholson has suggested that the lines in question are due to
hydrogen.
It is seen that the lines discussed by Nicholson are given by the
above formula if we put . The lines in question correspond to
; if we for put , we
get lines coinciding with lines of the ordinary Balmer-spectrum of
hydrogen. If we in the above formula put , we get
series of lines in the ultra-violet. If we put we get only a single
line in visible spectrum, viz.: for which gives
, or a wave-length closely
coinciding with the wave-length of one of the lines
of unknown origin in the table quoted by Nicholson. In this table,
however, no lines occur corresponding to .
For the permanent state of a lithium atom with two positive
charges we get a configuration
The probability of a permanent configuration in which two
electrons move in different orbits around each other must for lithium
be considered still less probable than for helium, as the ratio between
the radii of the orbits would be still nearer to unity. For a lithium atom
with a single positive charge we shall, therefore, adopt the
configuration:

Since , we see that the first two


electrons in a lithium atom are very strongly bound compared with the
electron in a hydrogen atom; they are still more rigidly bound than the
electrons in a helium atom.
From a consideration of the chemical properties we should expect
the following configuration for the electrons in a neutral lithium atom:

This configuration may be considered as highly probable also


from a dynamical point of view. The deviation of the outermost
electron from a circular orbit will be very small, partly on account of
the great values of the ratio between the radii, and of the ratio
between the frequencies of the orbits of the inner and outer electrons,
partly also on account of the symmetrical arrangement of the inner
electrons. Accordingly, it appears probable that the three electrons
will not arrange themselves in a single ring and form the system:

although for this configuration is greater than for .


Since , we see that the outer
electron in the configuration is bound even more lightly than the
electron in a hydrogen atom. The difference in the firmness of the
binding corresponds to a difference of in the ionization
potential. A marked difference between the electron in hydrogen and
the outermost electron in lithium lies also in the greater tendency of
the latter electron to leave the plane of the orbits. The quantity
considered in §2, which gives a kind of measure for the stability for
displacements perpendicular to this plane, is thus for the outer
electron in lithium only , while for hydrogen it is . This may have
a bearing on the explanation of the apparent tendency of lithium
atoms to take a positive charge in chemical combinations with other
elements.
For a possible negatively charged lithium atom we may expect the
configuration:

It should be remarked that we have no detailed knowledge of the


properties in the atomic state, either for lithium or hydrogen, or for
most of the elements considered below.

N=4. Beryllium.
For reasons analogous to those considered for helium and lithium
we may for the formation of a neutral beryllium atom assume the
following stages:
although the configurations:

correspond to less values for the total energy than the configurations
and .
From analogy we get further for the configuration of a possible
negatively charged atom,

Comparing the outer ring of the atom considered with the ring of a
helium atom, we see that the presence of the inner ring of two
electrons in the beryllium atom markedly changes the properties of
the outer ring; partly because the outer electrons in the configuration
adopted for a neutral beryllium atom are more lightly bound than the
electrons in a helium atom, and partly because the quantity , which
for helium is equal to , for the outer ring in the configuration is
only equal to .
Since , the beryllium atom will
further have a definite, although very small affinity for free electrons.
§4. Atoms containing greater numbers of electrons.

From the examples discussed in the former section it will appear


that the problem of the arrangement of the electrons in the atoms is
intimately connected with the question of the confluence of two rings
of electrons rotating round a nucleus outside each other, and
satisfying the condition of the universal constancy of the angular
momentum. Apart from the necessary conditions of stability for
displacements of the electrons perpendicular to the plane of the
orbits, the present theory gives very little information on this problem.
It seems, however, possible by the help of simple considerations to
throw some light on the question.
Let us consider two rings rotating round a nucleus in a single
plane, the one outside the other. Let us assume that the electrons in
the one ring act upon the electrons in the other as if the electric
charge were uniformly distributed along the circumference of the ring,
and that the rings with this approximation satisfy the condition of the
angular momentum of the electrons and of stability for displacements
perpendicular to their plane.
Now suppose that, by help of suitable imaginary extraneous
forces acting parallel to the axis of the rings, we pull the inner ring
slowly to one side. During this process, on account of the repulsion
from the inner ring, the outer will move to the opposite side of the
original plane of the rings. During the displacements of the rings the
angular momentum of the electrons round the axis of the system will
remain constant, and the diameter of the inner ring will increase while
that of the outer will diminish. At the beginning of the displacement
the magnitude of the extraneous forces to be applied to the original
inner ring will increase but thereafter decrease, and at a certain
distance between the plane of the rings the system will be in a
configuration of equilibrium. This equilibrium, however, will not be
stable. If we let the rings slowly return they will either reach their
original position, or they will arrive at a position in which the ring,
which originally was the outer, is now the inner, and vice versa.
If the charge of the electrons were uniformly distributed along the
circumference of the rings, we could by the process considered at
most obtain an interchange of the rings, but obviously not a junction
of them. Taking, however, the discrete distribution of the electrons
into account, it can be shown that, in the special case when the
number of electrons on the two rings are equal, and when the rings
rotate in the same direction, the rings will unite by the process,
provided that the final configuration is stable. In this case the radii
and the frequencies of the rings will be equal in the unstable
configuration of equilibrium mentioned above. In reaching this
configuration the electrons in the one ring will further be situated just
opposite the intervals between the electrons in the other, since such
an arrangement will correspond to the smallest total energy. If now
we let the rings return to their original plane, the electrons in the one
ring will pass into the intervals between the electrons in the other, and
form a single ring. Obviously the ring thus formed will satisfy the
same condition of the angular momentum of the electrons as the
original rings.
If the two rings contain unequal numbers of electrons the system
will during a process such as that considered behave very differently,
and, contrary to the former case, we cannot expect that the rings will
flow together, if by help of extraneous forces acting parallel to the axis
of the system they are displaced slowly from their original plane. It
may in this connexion be noticed that the characteristic for the
displacements considered is not the special assumption about the
extraneous forces, but only the invariance of the angular momentum
of the electrons round the centre of the rings; displacements of this
kind take in the present theory a similar position to arbitrary
displacements in the ordinary mechanics.
The above considerations may be taken as an indication that
there is a greater tendency for the confluence of two rings when each
contains the same number of electrons. Considering the successive
binding of electrons by a positive nucleus, we conclude from this that,
unless the charge on the nucleus is very great, rings of electrons will
only join together if they contain equal numbers of electrons; and that
accordingly the numbers of electrons on inner rings will only be , ,
,.... If the charge of the nucleus is very great the rings of electrons
first bound, if few in number, will be very close together, and we must
expect that the configuration will be very unstable, and that a gradual
interchange of electrons between the rings will be greatly facilitated.
This assumption in regard to the number of electrons in the rings
is strongly supported by the fact that the chemical properties of the
elements of low atomic weight vary with a period of . Further, it
follows that the number of electrons on the outermost ring will always
be odd or even, according as the total number of electrons in the
atom is odd or even. This has a suggestive relation to the fact that the
valency of an element of low atomic weight always is odd or even
according as the number of the element in the periodic series is odd
or even.
For the atoms of the elements considered in the former section we
have assumed that the two electrons first bound are arranged in a
single ring, and, further, that the two next electrons are arranged in
another ring. If the configuration will correspond to a
smaller value for the total energy than the configuration . The
greater the value of the closer will the ratio between the radii of the
rings in the configuration approach unity, and the greater will
be the energy emitted by an eventual confluence of the rings. The
particular member of the series of the elements for which the four
innermost electrons will be arranged for the first time in a single ring
cannot be determined from the theory. From a consideration of the
chemical properties we can hardly expect that it will have taken place
before boron ( or carbon , on account of the
observed trivalency and tetravalency respectively of these elements;
on the other hand, the periodic system of the elements strongly
suggests that already in neon an inner ring of eight
electrons will occur. Unless the configuration
corresponds to a smaller value for the total energy than the
configuration ; already for the latter configuration,
however, will be stable for displacements of the electrons
perpendicular to the plane of their orbits. A ring of electrons will
not be stable unless is very great; but in such a case the simple
considerations mentioned above do not apply.

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