Avaliação do efeito da implementação da gestão de recursos humanos verdes
no desempenho sustentável com respeito ao papel mediador da responsabilidade
social corporativa no setor bancário

Evaluation of the Effect of Implementing Green Human
Resource Management on Sustainable Performance concerning the Mediating Role of
Corporate Social Responsibility in the Banking Industry

Neda Madani

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6269-0260

M.A in Human
Resource Management, Agricultural Bank of Iran staff member, Tehran, Iran.

Email:
[email-masked]

RESUMO

O objetivo principal deste estudo foi
avaliar o efeito da implementação da gestão de recursos humanos verdes (GHRM)
no desempenho sustentável no que diz respeito ao papel mediador da
responsabilidade social corporativa (CSR) no setor bancário do Irã. Este é um
estudo aplicado e é um estudo descritivo-pesquisa em termos de método. Para a
coleta dos dados da pesquisa, foi utilizado um questionário. A população
estatística do presente estudo incluiu os gerentes seniores da equipe de 27
bancos que operam no Irã. As estimativas iniciais indicaram que o número total
de membros da comunidade estatística era igual a 1452 pessoas. Considerando um
grande número dessas pessoas, a fórmula de Cochran foi utilizada para
identificar o tamanho da amostra do estudo. Finalmente, 304 pessoas foram
selecionadas como o tamanho da amostra. Para a análise dos dados da pesquisa, o
método de modelagem de equações estruturais (SEM) foi empregado no software Smart PLS. Os resultados representaram que a gestão de
recursos humanos verdes tem um impacto positivo e significativo no desempenho
sustentável e na responsabilidade social corporativa. Além disso, os resultados
demonstraram que a responsabilidade social corporativa no setor bancário tem um
papel mediador influente na relação entre a gestão de recursos humanos verdes e
o desempenho sustentável. Nesse sentido, pode-se dizer que a aplicação de
medidas de gestão de recursos humanos verdes teve um impacto significativo no
desempenho sustentável. Entretanto, o papel dos componentes da responsabilidade
social corporativa e, especificamente, da responsabilidade moral é muito
importante e decisivo.

Palavras-chave:
Gestão de Recursos Humanos Verde (GHRM), Desempenho Sustentável,
Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (CSR), Setor Bancário.

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of
implementing green human resources management (GHRM) on sustainable performance
with respect to the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in
the banking industry of Iran. This is an applied study by purpose and is a
descriptive-survey study in terms of method. In order to
collect the research data, a questionnaire was exploited. The statistical
population of the present study included the staff senior managers of 27 banks
operating in Iran. Initial estimates indicated that the total number of members
of the statistical community was equal to 1452 people. Considering a large number of these people, Cochran's formula was used
to identify the sample size of the study. Finally, 304 people were selected as
the sample size. For the research data analysis, the structural equation
modeling (SEM) method was employed in Smart PLS software. The results
represented that green human resource management has a positive and significant
impact on sustainable performance and corporate social responsibility.
Moreover, the results demonstrated that corporate social responsibility in the
banking industry has an influential mediating role in the relationship between
green human resource management and sustainable performance. Accordingly, one
can say that the application of green human resource management measures has
had a significant impact on sustainable performance. In the meantime, the role
of the components of corporate social responsibility and specifically moral
responsibility is very important and decisive.

Keywords: Green Human Resources Management (GHRM), Sustainable
Performance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Banking Industry.

Recebido
em 02/03/2021.  Aprovado em 31/03/2021.
Avaliado pelo sistema double blind peer review. Publicado conforme normas da APA.

https://doi.org/10.22279/navus.2021.v11.p01-13.1549

1
INTRODUCTION

A literature study suggests that focusing on
green management can improve organizational performance in all dimensions (Kasser & Singh, 2019). Green management emphasizes the
integration of the relationship between the environment and management. Paying
attention to green measures can help organizations achieve new market margins
through the supply of environmentally friendly products and high sales of
products to customers aware of environmental issues, innovation in product
design, lowering costs by saving resources, reducing transportation costs,
removal of waste, enhancing company profitability, improving productivity,
increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty to the company's products and
better satisfying social needs, better image for suppliers and manufacturers,
better feeling and improving the quality of life for customers (Kim, Kim, Han,
Jackson, & Ployhart, 2017; Ren, Tang, &
Jackson., 2018). Intense competition in today's global markets, rising customer
expectations and the rapid advancement of information technology, the
uncertainty of environmental conditions and environmental regulations have led to
shortening of the product life cycle and dynamic behaviour
of customers in terms of selection and demand. Sustainability is recognized as
a normative concept of how humans interact with the natural environment and how
to fulfil responsibility for future generations (Laari, Töyli,
Solakivi, & Ojal,
2015). One of the main pillars of green management for the institutionalization
of organizational green values, in order to achieve a
sustainable performance of the organization, is green human resource management
(GHRM), which affects all its actions (Masri & Jaaron, 2017). Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is
the most fundamental factor in creating organizational sustainability (Margaretha & Saragih, 2013).
Sustainable performance as a sustainable competitive advantage in an
organization is created by a unique combination of organizational resources and
skills(Bazrkar,2020). Creation and development of green human resource
management in an organization can be associated with benefits. One of the
advantages is the use of a green performance appraisal system that analyzes the
behaviour and work procedures of individuals within
the organization and based on the results, offers solutions to remove behavioural barriers to employees in the way of
organizational development. Overall, this evaluation system leads to the
promotion of the environmental behaviour of employees
and facilitates the achievement of sustainable performance of the organization,
provided that other dimensions influencing the sustainable performance of the
organization are taken into account as well (Gholami, Rezaei, Saman, Sharif & Zakuan,
2016). Green human resource management is the use of human resource policies
for the sustainable utilization of organizational resources. Green Human
Resources Management (GHRM) is responsible for creating awareness, information,
and interaction among employees of the organization about the environment and
environmental factors. By making policies and green policies, it creates social
responsibility among them and guides them to fulfil their duties and
obligations to the environment (Ahmad, 2015). Social responsibility is regarded
as one of the essential elements of the existential philosophy of organizations
such that the importance of its observance by organizations strengthens the
satisfaction of stakeholders outside the organization to legitimize the
organization (Wu, Fang, Liao, Xue, Li, & Wang,
2015). Moreover, organizations face a challenge called legitimacy in a dynamic
and unpredictable environment on the path to sustainable performance, which
they can strive for through social responsibility (Asrar, Peter, & Anam, 2017). The banking industry is one of the main
sources of investment financing for commercial projects. The projects are among
the most important economic activities for the economic growth of any country.
Thus, the banking industry can play an important role in promoting sustainable
environmental investment and social responsibility. Additionally, environmental
impacts may affect the quality of assets as well as the rate of return of banks
in the long run. Hence, banks are required to move towards green banking and
thus play an active and effective role in protecting the environment. Banks
operating in the country's banking industry are no exception and, in recent
years, have taken measures in this regard, but it has not been enough. By
upgrading their actions in areas such as implementation, development, and
strengthening of green human resource management, these banks can seek to
achieve a higher goal, i.e., sustainable performance. Accordingly, addressing
this issue, i.e. the relationship between the
sustainable performance of the organization and green human resource management
in a situation where attention to the social responsibility of the organization
is one of the main priorities of banks, in order to fill this research gap
seems essential. According to the above items, the main question that this
study seeks to answer is what implementation of green human resource management
has an impact on the sustainable performance of banks operating in the Iranian
banking industry with regard to the mediating role of
corporate social responsibility?

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT OF
HYPOTHESES

2.1 Green Human Resource Management and Sustainable
Performance

Green human resource management is the most
critical pillar of green management and has attracted the attention of many
human resource management researchers in recent years. Green human resource
management is an activity that seeks to optimize the use and conservation of
scarce environmental resources (Goswami & Ranjan, 2015). The success of
green management and, subsequently, green human resource management relies on
the effective implementation of green human resource management measures
(Ahmad, 2015). The idea of greening human resources through green empowerment
of employees is of great importance since the role of employees in the
implementation of measures is very crucial (Tariq, Jan, & Ahmad., 2016).
Green human resource management is directly responsible for creating a work
environment that understands, performs, and honours
green measures and also protects green objectives in
the process of human resources, including recruitment, training, compensation,
development, and advancement of human capital (Mathapati,
2013). As one of the measures of the main dimensions of green management, green
human resource management can lead to the sustainable performance of
organizations (Rayner & Morgan, 2018). Study of previous investigations demonstrated
that green human resource management through measures such as green recruitment
and employment, green training and development, and green payments and rewards
influence the sustainable performance of the organization (Saeed, Afsar, Hafeez, Khan, Tahir, & Afridi, 2018, Zaid, Jaaron, & Talib, 2018, and Jovita, Chibuzor & Onyemachi, 2019). Accordingly, the first hypothesis of the
research is defined as follows:

First Hypothesis: Green human resource
management (GHRM) has a positive and significant impact on the sustainable
performance of the banking industry.

2.2 Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) and
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Social responsibility comprehensively looks at
the customer and even considers his/her environmental problems or long-term
well-being. Social responsibility is a way of management, according to which
organizations perform activities that positively impact society. Indeed, social
responsibility seeks to eliminate the negative effects of the organization on society.
Paying attention to green human resource management and greening human resource
activities is a step towards increasing the Corporate Social Responsibility (Opatha & Arulrajah, 2014).
One of the social responsibilities defined for organizations is to take into account environmental issues. An organization is
responsible for the community and strives to perform tasks that guarantee the
survival and viability of the organization. This requires the organization to
provide certain conditions and take action in this
regard. Some of these conditions and practices within the organization are
carried out through green human resource management activities to inform and
empower employees about environmental issues (Norton, Stacey, Hannes, &
Neal, 2015). The results of many studies in the last decade have demonstrated
that the activities of organizations in the field of green human resource
management will lead to increased quality of performing Corporate Social
Responsibility (Dashwal et al., 2015; Masri & Jaroon, 2017, and
Roscoe, Subramanian, Jabbour, & Chong, 2018).
Accordingly, the second hypothesis of the research is defined as follows:

Second Hypothesis: Green human resource
management (GHRM) has a positive and significant impact on corporate social
responsibility (CSR) in the banking industry.

2.3 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and
Sustainable Performance

The study of literature review indicates that
companies increasingly come to believe that considering the Corporate Social
Responsibility and taking related measures as a key strategy can have a huge
impact on sustainable organizational performance (Larri
et al., 2015). The responsibility of organizations is not to be merely
effective, but it is their responsibility to serve the community in which they
operate. Examples of direct benefits from social responsibility for a company
include increasing business value and brand, more access to financial
resources, healthier and safer workforce, enthusiastic employees, customer
loyalty, improving trust and confidence of interested parties and strengthening
public image in order to achieve sustainable
organizational performance (Kum, Yuen, & Ming, 2016). Social responsibility
is recognized as one of the most important elements of the philosophy of
organizations so that the importance of its observance by organizations
strengthens the satisfaction of stakeholders outside the organization to
legitimize the organization (Kibler, Matthias,
Richard, Pablo, 2015). Social responsibility is a managerial commitment to take
action to maintain and improve the welfare of society as a
whole, that corporate social responsibility activities are often
positively justified in terms of business in response to resource constraints
(Harwood, Humby, & Harwood, 2011) and are introduced
as an important activity in the sustainable development of organizations to
achieve sustainable performance (Zeng, Ma, Lin, Zeng, & Tam, 2014).
Accordingly, the third hypothesis of the research is defined as follows:

Third Hypothesis: Corporate Social
Responsibility has a positive and significant impact on sustainable performance
in the banking industry.

2.4 Mediating Role of Corporate Social
Responsibility

In green organizations, Green Human Resources
Management (GHRM) is responsible for creating awareness, information, and
interaction among employees of the organization about the environment and
environmental factors. By making policies and green policies, it creates social
responsibility among them and guides them to fulfil their duties and obligations
to the environment (Nejati, Rabiei
& Jabbour, 2017). In addition to leading to
efficiency and effectiveness, reducing costs and
building collaboration among employees, these activities will ultimately result
in sustainable performance (Mandip, 2012). Green
human resource management actions in greening the organization can pave the way
for creating the sustainable performance of the organization. In this respect,
what encourages organizations to take green steps to achieve sustainable
performance is social responsibility. This causes organizations to lose part of
their profits due to the cost of environmental safety practices and in order to fulfil social responsibility in the process of
upgrading environmental attitudes (Bangwal &
Tiwari, 2015). Some of these measures are in line with the fulfilment of
Corporate Social Responsibility. However, the most important achievement is to
create a perfect image of social responsibility and business, which may attract
and increase the support of stakeholders in the environment in various ways and
then lead to the sustainable performance of the organization (Asrar et al.,
2017).. Accordingly, the fourth hypothesis of the
research is defined as follows:

Fourth hypothesis: Green human resource
management (GHRM) through corporate social responsibility has a positive and
significant impact on the sustainable performance of the banking industry.

With regard to the theoretical foundations of the research, objective, and hypotheses
stated, the conceptual model of this research is illustrated in Figure 1.

Green human resource management

Sustainable performance

Corporate
social responsibility

H1

H4

H2                                                                                                                                                                H3

Figure 1. Conceptual model of the research

Source: Author (2021).

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This is an applied study by purpose
and is a descriptive-survey of correlational type with
regard to the procedure, data collection, and examination of relationships
between constructs. The statistical population of this study included the staff
senior managers of 27 banks operating in Iran. There are 27 banks operating in
various sectors, both public and private, in the country. Initial estimates
indicated that the total number of members of the statistical community was
equal to 1452 people. Considering a large number of
these people, Cochran's formula was used to identify the sample size of the
study. Given that it was expected that we would face problems in collecting the
questionnaires, 350 questionnaires were sent. After collecting the completed
questionnaires, 304 questionnaires were finally entered into the software for
data analysis. In this study, a questionnaire was exploited to collect data.
All the questions in the questionnaire were evaluated based on the five Likert
scales, the values of which were defined from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree). On the basis of the research
conceptual model, which indicates that the model has an exogenous variable,
namely green human resource management, to measure this variable, based on
three components: green recruitment and employment, green training and development,
and green payments and rewards from the items of the questionnaires used in the
studies of Nejati et al. (2017), Zaidet
al. (2018), Saeid et al. (2018), the number of
questions was equal to 9. In order to collect data
related to the endogenous variable of research, i.e., sustainable performance
based on three components: economic performance, social performance, and
environmental performance from the items of the questionnaires, which adapted
in the research of Abdullah et al. (2015) and Zaid et al. (2018), the number of
questions was equal to 9. Moreover, to collect data in relation to the
mediating variable, i.e., Corporate Social Responsibility, based on three
components: economic responsibility, moral responsibility, environmental
responsibility adapted from the questionnaires used in the research of Mandy
Geon et al. (2020), the number of questions was equal to 6. Cronbach's alpha
test was used to assess the reliability of components related to each of the
research constructs. The results of this test are displayed
in Table 1.

Construct

Symbol in the model

Components

Symbol in the model

Number of items

Cronbach's alpha

Green human resource management (GHRM)

GHRM

Green recruitment and employment

GRS

3

0.84

Green training and development

GDT

3

0.76

Green payments and rewards

GPR

3

0.88

Sustainable performance

SP

Economic performance

ECP

3

0.81

Social performance

SOP

3

0.86

Environmental performance

ENP

3

0.80

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

CSR

Economic responsibility

ECR

3

0.79

Moral responsibility

ETR

3

0.77

Environmental responsibility

ENR

3

0.85

The whole
questionnaire

24

0.89

Table 1. Reliability
values of components

Source: Research results (2021).

The results of this test demonstrate that the
value obtained for each of the components is more than 0.7. Therefore, one can
say that the reliability of the research components is confirmed.

In this study, in order to
analyze the data, fit the conceptual model of the research and test the
hypotheses, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM)
was exploited. Structural equation modeling has many applications in various
fields like management (Wen, 2010). LISREL approach focuses on the maximization
of covariance and PLS modeling on the maximization of variance. PLS is a
variance-based approach that requires fewer conditions compared to similar
techniques of structural equations such as LISREL and AMOS (Liljander,
Polsa, & van Riel, 2009). PLS modeling is done in
three stages. In the first stage, the measurement model is examined through
validity and reliability analysis and confirmatory factor load analysis. In the
second stage, the structural model is checked by estimating the path between
variables and determining the fit indices of the model (Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2014).

4 RESULTS

In the current study, descriptive statistics
were applied to analyze and describe the collected data and inferential
statistics were used to fit the conceptual model and test the research
hypotheses.

4.1 Results of Descriptive Statistics: In the
descriptive statistics section, the components of each research construct were
analyzed by indicators of mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis
based on five-point Likert scale. The results
of this study are represented in Table 2.

Construct

Component

Mean

Standard deviation

Skewness

Kurtosis

Green human
resource management (GHRM)

Green recruitment
and employment

3.82

0.647

-1.254

0.557

Green training and
development

3.22

0.551

-1.345

0.981

Green payments and
rewards

3.38

0.487

-1.110

0.776

Sustainable
performance

Economic
performance

3.76

0.683

-0.587

-0.889

Social performance

3.58

0.610

0.339

1.490

Environmental
performance

3.66

0.880

0.874

-0.889

Corporate social
responsibility (CSR)

Economic
responsibility

3.81

0.771

-1.39

0.679

Moral
responsibility

3.74

0.910

-0.749

1.212

Environmental
responsibility

3.71

0.754

0.910

0.834

Table 2. Statistical description of the research components

Source: Research results (2021).

In accordance with the results achieved from
the values of skewness and kurtosis indices, considering that these values are
in the range of 2- to +2, it can be concluded that the collected data
associated with the studied components follow a normal distribution.

4.2 Results of Inferential Statistics

4.2.1 Results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
(KMO) Test

In this study, before applying the
structural equation modeling (SEM) method in Smart PLS software, KMO test and
Bartlett test were exploited to ensure the sufficient sample size. In
performing factor analysis, one must first make sure that the existing data can
be used for analysis or not. Therefore, this test is used. If the value
obtained for the KMO index is higher than 0.7 and close to one, the desired
data (sample size) is suitable for factor analysis. Otherwise, the KMO index is
less than 0.7, the results of factor analysis are not very suitable for the
desired data. Moreover, if the significance level of the Bartlett test is less
than 5%, it indicates that factor analysis is appropriate to identify the
factor model. The results of this test are provided in Table 3, which
represents that the sample size and the relationship between the variables are
in desirable condition.

Value of KMO
index

0.871

Value of Bartlett
test

8452.3647

Degree of freedom

303

Significance level

0.001

Table 3. Results of KMO and Bartlett tests

Source: Research results (2021).

4.2.2 Results of Partial Least Squares
Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)

- Results of Fitting the Measurement Model

On the basis of the PLS-SEM algorithm, the measurement models were evaluated in the
first stage. The results of the evaluation of reliability criteria (Cronbach's
alpha and composite reliability), convergent validity and the results of
measuring the factor loadings of research variables in Table 4 represent that
the values obtained for factor loadings are higher than 0.5, Cronbach's alpha
is higher than 0.7, and the composite reliability is higher than the set
criterion, i.e. 0.7. Besides, the result gained from
the convergent validity criterion shows that the convergent validity values of
all research constructs are higher than the standard value of 0.5. To assess
the divergent validity of constructs, Fornell & Larcker (1981) method was exploited. The results of Table 5
reveal that the divergent validity of the research constructs is confirmed
considering that the square of the average variance extracted (AVE) for each
construct is greater than the correlation between the construct.
These results demonstrate the appropriate internal consistency for the
measurement model and report the model fitting. Thus,
the measurement model is confirmed.

Variable

Question (Item)

Factor loading

Cronbach's alpha

Composite reliability

Convergent validity

Green human resource management (GHRM)

GRS1

0.585

0.847

0.899

0.510

GRS2

0.791

GRS3

0.886

GDT1

0.825

GDT2

0.782

GDT3

0.851

GPR1

0.807

GPR2

0.852

GPR3

0.675

Sustainable performance

ECP1

0.737

0.895

0.915

0.548

ECP2

0.827

ECP3

0.821

SOP1

0.814

SOP2

0.763

SOP3

0.792

ENP1

0.527

ENP2

0.608

ENP3

0.712

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

ECR1

0.694

0.881

0.895

0.590

ECR2

0.614

ETR1

0.803

ETR2

0.848

ENR1

0.836

ENR2

0.786

Table
4. Results of measurement model fit

Source: Research results (2021).

Green human
resource management (GHRM)

Sustainable
performance

Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)

Green human
resource management (GHRM)

0.714

Sustainable
performance

0.638

0.740

Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)

0.527

0.540

0.768

Table 5. Results of divergent validity

Source: Research results (2021).

- Results of Fitting Structural Model

• T-Value Coefficient s' Significant Level: If
t-values are greater than 1.96, it indicates the accuracy of the relationship
between the constructs and thus confirms the research hypotheses at the 95%
level. Figure 2 represents the t-values to evaluate the structural model. Given
that all the numbers on the paths are higher than 1.96, this suggests the
significance of the paths, the suitability of the structural model of the
research and also the confirmation of the research
hypotheses.

Figure 2. Results of t-value coefficient significant level

Source: Research
results (2021).

• Criterion R2:
The second essential criterion for checking the fitting of a structural model
is to examine the coefficients of determination (R2) for the
endogenous latent (dependent) variables of the model. The values of this
coefficient are visible in Figure 3. According to the value obtained for the
variables of sustainable performance and corporate social responsibility is
equal to 0.603 and 0.367, respectively, the suitability of the structural model
is confirmed considering the three values of 0.19, 0.33, and 0.67 that show the
weak, medium, and strong criteria of R2.

Figure 3. Results of values of factor loadings, path coefficients, and R2

Source: Research results (2021).

- Results of Research Hypotheses Testing

In this section, research hypotheses are tested
by examining t-value, p-value, and path coefficients. If the significant
t-value of each path is more than 1.96, the relevant path is significant at the
95% confidence level, and the associated hypothesis is confirmed. The results
of testing the hypotheses are reported in Table 6.

Hypotheses

Path

Path coefficient

t-value

p-value

Result

First

The impact of green
human resource management on sustainable performance

0.576

4.338

0.000

Confirmation

Second

The impact of green
human resource management on corporate social responsibility

0.549

3.645

0.002

Confirmation

Third

The impact of
corporate social responsibility on sustainable performance

0.679

5.435

0.001

Confirmation

Fourth

The impact of green
human resource management on sustainable performance through corporate social
responsibility

0.563

3.569

0.003

Confirmation

Table 6. Results of testing the research hypotheses

Source: Prepared by the author (2021).

Regarding the values gained from Table 6, it
can be concluded that green human resource management (GHRM) has a positive and
significant effect on sustainable performance and corporate social
responsibility (CSR) among the banks under study. Moreover, the result of
testing the fourth hypothesis indicates that the variable of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) has a mediating role in the relationship between green
human resource management and sustainable performance, and green human resource
management (GHRM) through corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a positive
and significant impact on sustainable performance.

5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

In this study, the impact of implementing green
human resource management on sustainable performance with respect to the
mediating role of corporate social responsibility of banks operating in the
banking industry of Iran was investigated. On the basis of
the obtained results, one can say that the surveyed companies can improve their
sustainable performance by implementing green human resource management
measures such as green pay and reward, green recruitment and employment, green
development and training and with emphasis on corporate social responsibility.
Then, the results of the research hypotheses will be analyzed.

The first hypothesis test result indicated that
green human resource management (GHRM) has a positive and significant impact on
the sustainable performance of the banking industry and the green human
resource management variable directly explains 0.576 of the changes related to
the sustainable performance variable. Accordingly, it can be stated that the
banks examined in this study can strengthen their sustainable performance and
move towards sustainable organizational development by implementing measures
such as green recruitment and employment, green training
and development, as well as green pay and rewards. Although the achieved
results were consistent with the results of research by Zaid et al. (2018), Guerci, Longoni, & Luzzini (2016), Renwick, Redman, & Maguire (2013), Bangwal & Tiwari (2015), the results obtained in this
study demonstrated that the measures of green development and training and
green payment and rewards have a higher factor loading and play a more critical
role in the expression of green human resource management among the
investigated banks. Thus, it is proposed that more emphasis be placed on these
measures to sustain performance in the industry under study.

The second hypothesis test result revealed that
green human resource management (GHRM) has a positive and significant impact on
corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the green human resource management
variable directly explains 0.549 of the changes related to the corporate social
responsibility variable. Accordingly, it can be expressed that human resource
management with a focus on human capital and environmental management programs
and their integration in their activities employs green human resource
management in order to achieve environmental goals.
All green human resource management measures are taken in line with the
long-term goals of the organization and in order to
improve the practices related to corporate social responsibility. Although the
results were consistent with the results of research by Opatha
& Arulrajah (2014) and Dashwal
et al. (2015), the results obtained in the present study represented that the
measures of green development and training and green recruitment and employment
have higher factor loadings and play a decisive role in the influence of green
human resource management on corporate social responsibility among the surveyed
banks. Hence, it is suggested that more emphasis be placed on these measures to
promote the quality of corporate social responsibility in the studied industry.

The third hypothesis test result showed that
the corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a positive and significant impact
on the sustainable performance of the banking industry, and the corporate
social responsibility variable directly explains 0.679 of the changes related
to sustainable performance. Accordingly, one can say that corporate social
responsibility and compliance with related factors can ensure the survival of
organizations in complex and competitive environments. In fact, today's
organizations seek to use social responsibility to improve their performance so
that they can increase their market share and gain a competitive advantage to
ensure their survival. Although the results were consistent with the findings
of research by Harwood et al. (2011), Larri et al.
(2015), Kum et al. (2016), the results obtained in this study illustrated that
moral responsibility has a higher loading compared to other components of corporate
social responsibility and plays an essential role in influencing the corporate
social responsibility on sustainable performance among the studied banks.
Therefore, it is recommended to emphasize the components of corporate social
responsibility and particularly the component of moral responsibility in order to achieve sustainable performance in the examined
industry, and the corporate social responsibility should be considered as a
competitive advantage.

The fourth hypothesis test result suggested
that green human resource management (GHRM) has a positive and significant
impact on the sustainable performance of the banking industry by mediating role
of the components of corporate social responsibility, and the human resource
management variable indirectly explains 0.563 of the changes related to
sustainable performance through the corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Therefore, one can argue that this is the task of the organizational human
resource management to lead the employees to green so that the goals of the
organization are met and ultimately the preservation of the environment to be
significantly helped. One of the outcomes of environmental protection for the
organization is to achieve sustainable performance. In the meantime, what helps
organizations work to strive to preserve the environment through green human
resource management measures is the issue of corporate social responsibility.
Indeed, social responsibility requires organizations to meet certain community
expectations, including environmental issues, in order to
be taken into account in society.

Like other studies, this research is faced with
some limitations. Since this is an exploratory study, the research findings are
limited to the sample size, and the results may vary in the case of changing
the sample size. Besides, the existence of different opinions on the subject of research among members of the statistical
community can somewhat affect the results. The population of this study
consisted of banks operating in the banking industry of Iran. Accordingly, the
results are dedicated to these banks and cannot be generalizable to all
organizations and companies. It is recommended researchers to carry out the
subject of this study in other organizations and manufacturing and service companies
in further investigations. With regard to the review
of research literature, it can be imagined that variables such as resistance to
employee change and environmental knowledge of the organization can have a
mediating role in influencing green human resource management on sustainable
performance. Hence, it is proposed researchers to consider these variables as
mediating variables and compare the obtained results with the results of this
survey in future studies.

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