From Green Hiring to Green Habits: Examining Green Transformational Leadership Mediation Between Green Talent Management and Sustainable Business Performance in the Software Industry of Pakistan

Abstract

This study explores the growing pressure on the software industry in Pakistan and how it can achieve growth while aligning with environmental sustainability initiatives, but there is little empirical data on how green human resource practices in business translate into sustainable business performance. This paper builds on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory, which focuses on the impact of Green Talent Management (GTM), which has two parts: Green Hard Talent Management (GHTM) (e.g., green recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, and rewards) and Green Soft Talent Management (GSTM) (e.g., values-based development, employee engagement, green commitment, and empowerment) on the Sustainable Business Performance (SBP) in the software industry of Pakistan. The mediated model suggests that Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) is a behavioral and motivational process that links Green Hard Talent Management and Green Soft Talent Management to Sustainable Business Performance, and that the controlled variables Work Environment and Organizational Culture affect sustainable business performance. Based on survey data collected from employees and managers in software companies in Pakistan and estimated using structural equation modeling, the framework hypothesizes that GTM facilitates the relationship between SBP and the development of green capabilities, promotes green abilities among employees, and motivates and creates opportunities at the workplace. The research provides a theoretical contribution by synthesizing RBV and AMO to find the relationship between GTM and sustainable business performance and sheds light on the mediating role of green transformational leadership by translating sustainability results. In practice, the findings should help software companies in Pakistan design a balanced green hard and soft talent system and a transformational green leadership, which can enhance sustainable performance in the long run.