Examining the influence of employee engagement in supporting the implementation of green supply chain management practices: A green human resource management perspective

How implementation of environmental practices is supported by employee engagement remains underexplored in the literature. Based on the natural resource-based view (NRBV), this study examines the role of employee engagement in supporting successful implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. Specifically, we theorise and test the mediating role of employee engagement on the relationship between GSCM practices and environmental performance. Survey data from 394 manufacturing firms were used to test the model and hypotheses. Our findings show that employee engagement plays an important role in supporting the implementation of most GSCM practices. Non-significant results in relation to eco-design practices suggest that employee engagement is not as important for supporting product design-based GSCM practices. Our study provides insights for managers and scholars seeking to address important questions around ‘how’ GSCM practices can be implemented effectively.