ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1651550
This article is part of the Research TopicGreen Jobs and Sustainable Employment Transitions: Navigating the Complexities of a Changing Work LandscapeView all 5 articles
Achieving Sustainable Development in China: A Moderated Mediation Model of Guanxi HRM Practices, Organizational Trust, and Green Behaviors
Provisionally accepted
- Benxi Iron and Steel Co. General Hospital, Benxi, China
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This study examines how guanxi-based human resource management (HRM) practices influence employees' green behaviors in China's renewable energy sector, which is critical context for achieving sustainable development. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, this study proposes a moderated mediation model where organizational trust mediates the relationship between guanxi HRM practices and green behaviors, with organizational transparency moderating this mediation. Using a three-wave survey of 280 employees from renewable energy firms, this study finds that guanxi HRM practices negatively affect green behaviors by eroding organizational trust. However, high organizational transparency weakens this negative effect, fostering trust and promoting sustainable behaviors. These findings contribute to understanding how HRM practices impact environmental sustainability in China and offer practical implications for fostering green behaviors through transparent HR systems.
Keywords: Guanxi HRM practices, Organizational trust, Green behaviors, organizationaltransparency, sustainable development, China
Received: 22 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abass. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Naeem Abass, Benxi Iron and Steel Co. General Hospital, Benxi, China
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