Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM) through Leadership Development

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Volume Title

School of Business | Bachelor's thesis

Date

2023

Department

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

(Mikkeli) Bachelor’s Program in International Business

Language

en

Pages

77+3

Series

Abstract

Objectives The main objectives of this study were to (1) ascertain what sustainable-HRM is, through investigating the contextual factors that impact the definition of sustainable-HRM. (2) the study also looked at investigating how leadership development is a key component to sustainable-HRM, and (3) the learning processes that best enable leadership development. Summary The research objectives were compiled after an extensive examination of the existing literature on the phenomena. In order to investigate the research objectives, a set of interview questions was compiled taking inspiration from the existing literature. 11 HR experts were selected as interview respondents. These experts were managers from firms that worked across various industries such as fast-moving consumer goods, gaming, courier, excavation, and technology amongst other industries. These experts also varied in experience and responsibilities within the firm. Their responses were cross referenced with the existing literature to develop new conclusions. Conclusions The exploratory research found that the experts generally agreed with the definition of sustainable-HRM, however there was disagreement in the role that HR played when it came to social and environmental sustainability. These differences in perspectives are hypothesized to be due to contextual factors such as firm culture, experience, and role in said firms. The research found that leadership development is a key and necessary component of sustainable-HRM. Finally, the research showed that community-based leadership development on its own is not the best learning process to enable leadership development. However, the findings showed that if CoP was implemented within the 70/20/10 model alongside other leadership development strategies, then this combination of approaches could create a more holistic approach to enable leadership development as a key component of sustainable-HRM.

Description

Thesis advisor

Warhurst, Russell

Keywords

sustainablity, leadership development, environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility, sustainable business practices, sustainable leadership, sustainable organizations, human resource management

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