<\/span><\/h3>\nThe first theoretical framework guiding this research is informed by an ethics of care. Environmental ethics can be studied using a feminist care ethics paradigm. During environmental decision-making, care ethics shed light on the deep relationships and moral commitments between non-humans and humans (Whyte & Cuomo, 2016). As a moral value, care includes the concept of not causing harm, which is subsumed by a measure of proactive behaviour aimed at preventing damage (Pettersen, 2011). The definition of care is described as an ethic that characterises the global socioeconomic landscape (Parvati, 2016), establishing a standard of expected and normative conduct. Care, as encapsulated by Ubuntu from an African philosophical perspective, places greater focus on relational power and how power translates into beneficial conduct in society, rather than valuing material wealth, money, and individual strength (Tavernaro-Haidarian, 2019). This approach to green talent management values human input and individual agency at the sub-systemic level of organisations, which can in turn curb employee burnout during organisational citizenship dissonance. Tronto (1993: 103) defined care as “everything that we do to maintain, continue, and repair our world so that we can live in it as well as possible” (Fedock, 2015: 11). However, Fedock (2015: 11) points out that Tronto’s original definition of care has been criticised for being too broad. Furthermore, “maintain” does not encompass the moral essence of care to reflect commitment and genuine intent.<\/p>\n
Care ethics, stemming from feminist and indigenous theories, encompasses a relational ontological perspective and moves away from viewing the individual as solely independent, accounting instead for the interdependent and relational nature of individuals (Pettersen, 2011). The preservation of the globe’s natural environment and resources has taken foreground focus in the 21st century and subsumes a strong component of caring not just for oneself, but also for future generations (Rizvi & Garg, 2017). Johanns-Purta (2013) notes that care is a strong driving force behind sustainability, highlighting that caring about future descendants is a driving force in caring for the environment. Environmental ethics also aims to empower individuals and communities to be environmentally conscious and self-sufficient while remaining socially linked through shared social experiences and interests (Whyte & Cuomo, 2016). This theory becomes especially important when considering that green behaviour represents organisational citizenship behaviour (Luu, 2019).<\/p>\n
The second framework informing this paper is the Ability\u2013Motivation\u2013Opportunity Theory (AMO). This theory has proven useful in examining how human resource management affects organisational outcomes, with employee success attributed to three factors: skill, motivation, and opportunity to participate (Anwar et al., 2020; Jiang et al., 2012). Jia et al. (2018) noted, in their study framed through AMO, that transformational leadership and the effective influencing of green human resource management in organisations hold a moderating effect on employees’ green motivation, passion, and creativity. Human resource management, according to Kellner, Cafferkey, and Townsend (2019), plays a critical role in shaping individual ability, motivation, and opportunity. Training improves capacity, performance-based rewards and compensation improve motivation, and self-directed team membership influences opportunity. As a result, training, the incentives provided, and the shaping of a conducive environment promoting environmental collaboration have become key to developing effective green human resource management practices (Yu et al., 2020). Sibian and Ispas (2021) explored employee green behaviour through an AMO lens. They found a significant lack of knowledge surrounding environmental issues among employees, with extrinsic motivation being the dominant driver in employees’ approach to resource consumption. Accordingly, shaping an organisational culture that promotes environmentally sensitive understanding and behaviour among employees becomes a cornerstone of achieving the green objectives of an organisation.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Talent Management in the Face of the Fourth Industrial Era<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/span>Talent Management<\/span><\/h4>\nTalent is recognised as a determining factor in organisations gaining a competitive edge (Mey, Poisat & Stindt, 2021). Attracting and retaining talent has become an important feature of modern human resource management (Du Plessis et al., 2015). Forster (2015) notes that talent management is context- and perception-specific, reflecting a complexity that defies a universally accepted description. Talent management can be described as the method of developing and implementing plans to boost organisational effectiveness by leveraging the human capital and motivating factors already in place (Mupete, 2017). Talent management strategies take a human-centred approach to recognising employee needs and, by responding thereto, aim to increase both productivity and employer branding (Urbancova & Vnouckova, 2015; Van Zyl, Mathafena & Ras, 2017). This is especially true considering job mobility, the changing nature of work, and the uncertainty of what the world of work of tomorrow will entail (Cappelli & Keller, 2014; Jonck & Swanepoel, 2015).<\/p>\n
Mey et al. (2021) highlight that leadership plays a fundamental role in turnover intentions. Accordingly, leadership should cultivate a talent mindset through a human-centred approach that fosters an environment of belonging, respect, empowerment, and humane connection with employees. Alzgool (2020) notes that leaders are called upon to motivate employees to adopt more environmentally friendly behaviour. This has been proposed to be achieved by instilling self-motivating behaviour in employees, enabling them to respond autonomously within the new boundaries of expected best-practice norms.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Green Talent Management (GTM)<\/span><\/h4>\nGreen People Management reflects a shift in the human resource domain integrating environmental issues into human resource management approaches, focusing on the principles of employee engagement and awareness in terms of environmentally responsible best practice (Fawehinmi et al., 2019; Ren et al., 2018). Green human resource management and the promotion of green behaviour in the workplace are important elements of modern business practice. Recruiting, performance management, training and development, and rewards and recognition linked to green behaviour have been shown to be significantly associated with an organisation’s environmental performance (Ababneh, 2021; Anwar et al., 2020).<\/p>\n
Organisations are encouraged to promote green values through ethical branding and to integrate environmentally friendly HR initiatives to strengthen employee engagement and overall efficiency in the workplace according to those standards (Nel et al., 2017; Swanepoel, 2020). Interestingly, Alzgool (2020) found that opportunities created by the employer to promote green behaviour led to more optimal environmental performance compared to providing incentives, reflecting strong self-motivation behaviour. The researchers note that this may be due to employees perceiving environmental performance enhancement through incentives as extra-role behaviour.<\/p>\n
A key nexus enabling cross-digital communication resides in information systems (IT). To align public branding with internal organisational culture and behaviour, green talent promotes intra-organisational use of “green systems”. Green IT is discussed below as a mediating component of systemic green behaviour.<\/p>\n
<\/span>IT as a Mediating Agent across the Digital Realm<\/span><\/h4>\nGreen Information Technology (Green IT) is a practical function underscoring organisational change in adopting environmentally friendly technological and digital solutions and innovations (Lei & Ngai, 2013). The 21st century is characterised by “big data”, with a resource-intensive focus placed on computing power within a technologically complex environment (Dastbaz, Pattinson & Akhgar, 2015). This is further evidenced by the rapid influence of Industry 4.0 on organisations to adjust to modern standards of activity based on technological and machine input, necessitating a renewed focus on employee behaviour and group dynamics that align with both organisational-level green outcomes and global benchmarks of environmental ethics of practice. As such, strategic decisions surrounding green information technology play an important role in sustaining organisational environmental objectives (Bai & Sarkis, 2013). The strategic process of green IT involves supporting organisations in reducing their carbon footprint, lowering operating costs, and leading the market through innovation (Zheng, 2014). Promoting green IT skillsets and attitudes among employees is in turn an important component of establishing long-term and meaningful behavioural change (Deznar, 2017), with green talent management serving as a key mediator of innovative workplace behaviour (Odugbesan et al., 2022). The integration of systems and knowledge about systems related to energy and resource preservation is becoming increasingly accessible. Cloud computing has proven especially effective in preserving resources, as information technology and systems move online, vastly reducing infrastructural and resource needs (Sarkis, Koo & Watson, 2013).<\/p>\n
<\/span>Green Behaviour, Climate Change, and Environmental Sustainability<\/span><\/h4>\nOrganisational leadership and green human resource management (GHRM) represent a pertinent area in fostering green talent among employees and improving environmental performance (Aggarwal & Agarwala, 2022; Farrukh et al., 2022; Ojo et al., 2022). Recruiting and retaining talented employees are cornerstones of organisational sustainability and climate action, especially given Fourth Industrial Revolution pressures such as globalisation, digitisation, and the introduction of artificial systems (Mujtaba & Mubarik, 2022; Ogbeibu et al., 2021). Leadership therefore also plays an important role in cultivating talent within the organisation toward self-motivated behaviour among employees to achieve organisational priorities (Swanepoel, 2020; Umair et al., 2023). Ogbeibu et al. (2021) reflect that human-centred leadership cultivates increased job satisfaction and commitment and engagement toward climate change priorities. Furthermore, green human resource practices have been shown to have a strong influence on employees’ green innovation and environmental performance (Kuo et al., 2022).<\/p>\n
Pollution and climate change are priority areas of concern for sustaining economic viability (Vakouftsis, 2024). Rampant industrialisation, driven by rapid economic development, results in the depletion of natural resources and the degradation of environmental quality, exposing the population to increasingly dangerous environmental hazards (Chaudhary, 2019). As a result, the reduction of our carbon footprint through industrial practices takes central focus in creating sustainable organisational practices that simultaneously promote environmentally conscious behaviour (Farooq, Zhang, Talwar & Dhir, 2021). These practices promoting green behaviour are of central importance during the Fourth Industrial Era (4IE), especially in establishing organisational branding that responds effectively to trending customer preferences, policy requirements, and other ethical standards impacting present organisational dynamics (Ababneh, 2021).<\/p>\n
Recent trends show that organisations encompassing green policies enjoy better brand recognition (Dumon, Shen & Deng, 2016), further reflecting the importance of aligning an organisation’s human resource strategies with present societal responsibilities, sustainability goals, and priorities. To avoid “greenwashing”, where the branding of an organisation includes “eco-friendly services”, the internal dynamics, organisational culture, and behaviour should function as a mirrored, unspoken rule \u2014 unless eco-friendly practices are explicitly integrated into policy. This becomes especially important as the leader should not only mirror appropriate behaviour, but also serves as a mediator between social, digital, and organisational boundaries. The leader plays a central role in modelling pro-eco-friendly practices in mediating between the social realm and the public. With this in mind, the leader plays a central role in behaving ethically in accordance with a company’s “green” policy to enhance self-motivated and autonomous behaviour among employees (Swanepoel, 2020; Umair et al., 2023). A possible solution resides in human resources training managers on leadership skillsets such as cultural intelligence (Jonck & Swanepoel, 2015; Swanepoel, 2020), which in turn carries value for enhancing employee emotional intelligence. Enacting a visible pro-green ethos as a leader thus carries importance at the social\u2013organisational boundary, as well as in enabling a pro-green ethos among employees within whose boundaries they conduct themselves. There must therefore be ethical internal and external behaviour.<\/p>\n
<\/span>The Link between Emotional Intelligence and GHRM<\/span><\/h3>\nThe ability to motivate an employee body to reach organisational priorities through self-motivation contributes to efficient employee dynamics in the workplace (Jabbar & Abid, 2014; Swanepoel, 2020). In today’s globalised workforce, the relationship between emotional management and human resource management has become an important area of research regarding modern organisational dynamics (Cu\u00e9llar-Molina et al., 2019; Drigas & Papoutsi, 2019; Srivastava, 2013). Emotional intelligence (EI) is described as the ability to recognise and effectively manage emotions, as well as the ability to assimilate emotions through thought and to better regulate one’s own emotions and those arising in communication with others (Adeoye & Torubelli, 2011). Emotional intelligence subsumes adapting behavioural responses to promote a harmonious working context and emotional well-being.<\/p>\n
Literature indicates a significant link between emotional intelligence (EI) and green human resource management. The concept of EI has drawn considerable attention in current research trends for its importance in effectively managing diverse teams and problem-solving (Wu, 2011). Emotional intelligence can be viewed as the impetus behind self-motivated behaviour within the organisation (Swanepoel, 2020). This is aligned with the ability\u2013motivation\u2013opportunity theory model in relation to self-motivated behaviour. Letam (2016) found a positive relationship between EI, organisational policies, technology, culture, and GHRM. This further requires training in cultural knowledge as a primary resource to enhance employee psychological resources (Jonck & Swanepoel, 2015; Swanepoel, 2020).<\/p>\n
Employing and training the emotional management skillsets of the workforce becomes a central feature of human resource practitioners (Mattingly & Kraiger, 2019). There is a complementary and synergistic relationship between HR and managers in nurturing both individual and group green behaviour in the workplace. While the attraction and selection of green-oriented employees can play a central part in sustaining a green organisational climate, the integration of emotional intelligence programmes allows for the transition of current employees to better adapt to new initiatives and expected outcomes.<\/p>\n
Emotional intelligence activates employee motivation and ability by continuously promoting self-motivation toward adhering to best-practice green organisational norms. However, in addition to enhancing self-motivating, autonomous behaviour, values should align with \u2014 and be driven by \u2014 a green organisational culture and green branding policies and public representation. Employees must be competent and motivated to acquire and respond to green practices across the digital boundary. Specifically, employee interactions must portray organisational cultural values toward green practices; however, the employee needs to be motivated to behave according to the organisation’s green policies and boundaries while interacting across the digital boundary (Swanepoel, 2020). Employee behaviour at this systemic level should thus reflect external branding priorities and standards.<\/p>\n
It is evident that internal dynamics, leadership, management, and governance policies must align. Changes in policy toward climate change and social responsibility do not automatically translate into long-term employee behavioural change or shifts across organisational culture. It is therefore both necessary and possible to instil knowledge and skillsets through human resources that align with governance policies on a green organisational approach. This is required, as external branding must reflect the public profile of the company \u2014 transparent and conscientious of the internal dynamics of the organisation.<\/p>\n
Organisational culture is defined as the standards (the governing principles) that guide interpretation and behaviour within the workplace, constituting the shared assumptions regarding appropriate behaviour within a given organisation (Chen, 2011; Swanepoel, 2020). In turn, an organisational culture promoting green behaviour adds value to integrating green strategies that effectively translate into meaningful behaviour within the workplace (G\u00fcrlek & Tuna, 2017).<\/p>\n
Chen (2011) posits two antecedents to establishing a green organisational identity: namely, environmental organisational culture and environmental leadership, which in turn lend an organisation its green competitive advantage. The incorporation of a green mentality into an organisation’s culture paves the way for meaningful green engagement by employees in the long term and better public branding. Employee involvement can specifically be fostered by HRM policies and activities that shape a workplace context promoting green behaviour as a habit rather than a rule (Haddock-Millar, Sanyal & M\u00fcller-Camen, 2016).<\/p>\n