Received: 20 July 2020 Revised: 23 October 2020 Accepted: 6 November 2020

DOI: 10.1002/bse.2685

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Sustainable manufacturing and green human resources: Critical

success factors in the automotive sector

Vidyadhar V. Gedam1 | Rakesh D. Raut2 | Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour3 |

Balkrishna E. Narkhede4 | Oksana Grebinevych5

1
Department of Environmental Engineering
and Management, National Institute of Abstract
Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, India This study aims to identify critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing sustain-
2
Department of Operations and Supply Chain
ability in organizational human resources management (OHRM) within the automo-
Management, National Institute of Industrial
Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, India tive sector (AS). A literature review was carried out to identify the OHRM factors
3
Lincoln International Business School, that are instrumental for the significant adoption of sustainable practices (SP) in the
University of Lincoln. Brayford Pool, Lincoln,
Lincolnshire, UK sector. Based on the outcomes from the literature review, an expert team composed
4
Department of Industrial Engineering and of 17 experts from the AS, academia, and consultancy firms were consulted in order
Management Systems (IEMS), National
to identify cause–effect relationships among CSFs using a multi-criteria decision
Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE),
Maharashtra, India making tool. Data were gathered in India from November 2019 to April 2020. The
5
Department of Management, results revealed that top management support and environmental auditing for sup-
Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Montpellier
Business School, Montpellier, France
pliers are the two most important CSFs to be prioritized among the factors studied,
which implies that by managing these factors first, automotive manufacturers may
Correspondence
Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Professor
deal better with the adoption of SP. As a result of prioritizing these two factors, other
of Supply Chain Management for Sustainable CSFs related to OHRM (e.g., organizational culture, environmental training, rewards,
Development, Lincoln International Business
School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool,
and incentives) will also positively affect the adoption of SP. The novelty of this study
Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK. comes through raising the importance of environmental auditing for suppliers as a
Email: blopesdesousajabbour@lincoln.ac.uk
factor that can facilitate not only the adoption of SP in the AS, but the other OHRM
factors as well.

KEYWORDS

critical success factors, developing economy, green human resources management,

sustainability, sustainable operations

1 | I N T RO DU CT I O N
The consideration of environmental, social, and governance factors
has nowadays become a core criterion of investors' analyses and deci-
sions, which in turn implies that investors are taking into account
broad aspects of sustainability, such as procurement policy, labor
issues, and climate change when deciding on where to invest
(PwC, 2019).
In order to implement sustainable practices (SPs) in the
manufacturing industry, the role of organizational human resources
management (OHRM) is paramount (Jabbour, de Sousa Jabbour,
Govindan, Teixeira, & de Souza Freitas, 2013; Jabbour, Santos,
Fonseca, & Nagano, 2013; Kumar, Mangla, Luthra, & Ishizaka, 2019).
Earlier studies argue that manufacturing companies perform well,
becoming more productive and sustainable and gaining competitive
advantage when there is a focus on OHRM (Roscoe, Subramanian,
Jabbour, & Chong, 2019). In addition to this, OHRM helps to manage
critical success factors (CSFs) to succeed in the adoption of SPs
(Jabbour, Mauricio, & Jabbour, 2017).
The automotive sector (AS) is a primary manufacturing sector that
creates jobs and provides mobility to millions of people worldwide.
The AS often has a significant share in countries' gross domestic
product and is considered an essential pillar for the economic
growth of countries where it operates (Thirupathi, Vinodh, &

1296 © 2020 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bse Bus Strat Env. 2021;30:1296–1313.
GEDAM ET AL.
Dhanasekaran, 2019). At the same time, the Indian AS is one of the
most polluting sectors in the country, requiring accelerated efforts
toward adopting sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
Furthermore, this industry is facing sustainability challenges due to
significant environmental damage and makes significant contributions
to air pollution and climate change (Ahmed, Ahmed, Shumon,
Falatoonitoosi, & Quader, 2016). To respond to these challenges and
ensure the widespread adoption of SPs, the AS must identify CSFs for
implementing SPs.
As a result, manufacturing sectors, and particularly the AS, need
to focus on various OHRM aspects such as environmental training,
employee engagement, green teams, developing skill sets, reward and
incentive systems, top management support, and commitment
(Jabbour et al., 2017; Muduli et al., 2020; Yadav et al., 2019). Such
focus on OHRM aspects will facilitate the AS to overcome the sustain-
ability roadblocks it faces. Recent studies highlight that there remains
little research exploring the effect of OHRM aspects on achieving
environmental sustainability (Paillé, Valéau, & Renwick, 2020).
Studies related to sustainability and CSFs in the AS have mainly
occurred in the domain of the green supply chain (Luthra, Garg, &
Haleem, 2015; Wu, Liao, Tseng, & Chiu, 2015). However, few studies
have explored the role of OHRM and sustainability, particularly in the
AS (Ahuja et al., 2019). Furthermore, the need for a comprehensive
understanding of OHRM aspects in order to successfully adopt SPs in
the AS is rarely discussed.
As a result, there is limited knowledge of how the manufacturing
sector in developing economies can improve sustainability by focusing
on OHRM. Like several other industries, the AS is one of the most
critical and relevant sectors for embracing SPs, particularly regarding
the OHRM dimension (Roscoe et al., 2019; Yadav et al., 2019). Identi-
fying and prioritizing the most critical CSFs for the adoption of SPs
will help the AS to attain greater sustainability. Additionally, this
understanding of CSFs will be useful for the AS to develop a clear
understanding of issues related to implementing sustainability. Thus,
there is a need to identify and analyze CSFs in order to implement
SPs in the AS. This work fills this literature gap by examining the CSFs
of sustainability in OHRM in the developing economy context.
The research proposed in this work is underpinned by the classic
theoretical perspective of human resource management (HRM), as
well as the emerging green HRM (GHRM). The latter highlights that
organizational human resources can improve firms' sustainability per-
formance (Jabbour et al., 2017; Roscoe et al., 2019). Both of these
theoretical perspectives assume that organizations may become com-
petitive if their focus is on greening human resources (Guest, 2011).
From the starting point of this assumption, the present study iden-
tifies CSFs for implementing SPs in the AS in order to fill the research
gap mentioned previously.
This study uses the DEMATEL method to rank the CSFs and their
cause–effect relationships. The proposed research model constitutes
a unique attempt to understand the cause–effect relationships among
CSFs contributing toward sustainability in OHRM using a multicriteria
decision making (MCDM) tool, that is, DEMATEL. The study offers
answers to the following research questions:
1297
RQ1. : What are the CSFs in OHRM for the adoption of SP in the
context of AS in a developing country?
RQ2. : What are the most important CSFs and the cause–effect rela-
tionships among the identified CSFs?
Among the different means of assessing SPs in the AS, DEMATEL
is the most preferred method. However, use of the DEMATEL method
to evaluate the CSFs of sustainability in OHRM within the
manufacturing industry has so far had minimal previous discussion in
the literature (Gupta, 2018).
A literature review was performed to identify the OHRM factors
that are instrumental for the effective adoption of SP (Table 2).
Primary data from executives working in the AS in India was collected
in order to proceed with the DEMATEL-based MCDM method.
Furthermore, the causal relationships among the different factors
were also analyzed.
The article is structured as follows. Section 2 comprises a litera-
ture review of related work on sustainability and OHRM. Section 3
focuses on the research methodology and a detailed explanation of
the DEMATEL method. Section 4 includes the study, demographic
details, and findings of the research. And, finally, Section 5 covers the
study's main analysis, whereas Section 6 presents a discussion of this
analysis along with final considerations.
2 | LI T E RA T U R E RE V I E W
2.1 | Sustainability and OHRM: An overview
Yadav et al. (2019) suggest that firms implementing SP are expected
to give the Triple Bottom Line benefits to organizations, that is, envi-
ronmental, economic, and social benefits.
The majority of relevant studies have analyzed factors contribut-
ing to the adoption of SPs, such as green supply chain management,
within manufacturing companies. For instance, according to Luthra,
Qadri, Garg, and Haleem (2014) and Luthra, Garg, and Haleem (2016),
the regulatory framework, internal management, and competitiveness
are CSFs for supporting SPs in the Indian AS. Mathivathanan, Kannan,
and Haq (2018) studied sustainable supply chain (SSC) management in
the AS and supported the view that management commitment is
essential for achieving sustainability.
Internal management and management commitment, as men-
tioned above, are examples of OHRM aspects. OHRM aspects are
composed of both hard and soft aspects of human resources. The
“hard” skills focus on technical competencies, whereas “soft” skills
build resilience for navigating the adoption of sustainability (Dubey &
Gunasekaran, 2015). Technical competencies, such as knowledge
about carbon footprints and green production practices, as well as
green logistics, are significant for building a sustainable ecosystem in
supply chain networks (Jabbour & de Sousa Jabbour, 2016). Others
include a knowledge of green sourcing, green packaging, and green
accounting for SSC skills. Aside from hard skills, soft skills are equally
1298
important and play a crucial role in implementing sustainability.
Leadership, teamwork, and learning ability (Jabbour & de Sousa
Jabbour, 2016; Jabbour, de Sousa Jabbour, et al., 2013; Jabbour,
Neto, Gobbo, de Souza Ribeiro, & de Sousa Jabbour, 2015) are a few
examples of soft skills that can improve the chances of successfully
implementing SPs. A perfect blend of hard skills and soft skills can cre-
ate a fertile ground for implementing and achieving sustainable goals.
Therefore, HRM is critical in addressing sustainability issues and
needs urgent attention to ensure the effective implementation of SPs.
In recent times, practitioners have realized the importance of
HRM, and particularly GHRM, to understand how organizational
human capital can drive SPs in the manufacturing industry (Jabbour,
de Sousa Jabbour, et al., 2013; Jabbour, Santos, et al., 2013; Paillé
et al., 2020; Pellegrini, Rizzi, & Frey, 2018).
Human factors have been critical for the success of SSC (Jabbour,
Jugend, de Sousa Jabbour, Gunasekaran, & Latan, 2015; Jabbour,
Neto, et al., 2015). Luthra et al. (2015, 2016) and Muduli et al. (2020)
argue that internal management has a crucial role in implementing and
achieving sustainability goals. For instance, support from top manage-
ment, environmental training, and employee empowerment for envi-
ronmental issues are some frequently cited reasons for adopting SPs
(Jabbour, Jugend, et al., 2015; Jabbour, Neto, et al., 2015; Pellegrini
et al., 2018). The overall sensitivity of senior management toward
environmental issues and their active role in sensitizing the whole
organization to SPs make a significant impact. Transformations and
adoption of SPs require a cultural and procedural change at the holis-
tic level in organizations. The support of top management is important
to bring much-needed cultural change at the organizational level to
lead to the adoption of sustainability (Kannan, de Sousa Jabbour, &
Jabbour, 2014). The recent work of Yusliza et al. (2019) also underpins
the importance of top management support to the practice of GHRM
and sustainability in manufacturing organizations. Management sup-
port for implementing the triple bottom line with a commitment
toward sustainability is the most influential factor in building SSC. Top
management drives all organizational processes, and incorporating SP
into organizational functioning is a distant dream without top manage-
ment support (Mathivathanan et al., 2018).
Table 1 displays the results of our literature review, showing the
various tools, techniques, and factors identified, along with research
questions and limitations on the topic of SP and sustainability. The
key takeaways of the information systematized in Table 1 are as
follows:
• There is room for new research into sustainability in OHRM and
SPs in the context of AS.
• An appropriate method is required to make complex decisions and
to explore the different dimensions of sustainability, such as
OHRM.
• The DEMATEL method has not previously been applied to study-
ing CSFs for OHRM aspects regarding SP adoption.
Based on Table 1, there is room to examine the CSFs of sustain-
ability in OHRM in a developing economy context, while the
GEDAM ET AL.
DEMATEL method has had minimal previous application in evaluating
the CSFs of sustainability in OHRM within the manufacturing industry
(Gupta, 2018).
3 | RE SE AR C H ME T H OD
The DEMATEL method has been widely used in previous literature in
different contexts for solving complex problems. The DEMATEL
method is preferred for estimating indirect and direct causal relation-
ships among various parameters. DEMATEL has been widely used for
finding the final solution to a particular problem (Li &
Mathiyazhagan, 2018). The DEMATEL approach has a relative advan-
tage over other MCDM tools such as ANP, AHP, ISM, and Fuzzy-
DEMATEL. Compared with the other methods mentioned, the
DEMATEL method captures the relationships among the factors for
complex problems and portrays the strength of their interrelation-
ships. The DEMATEL method can be used to identify the complicated
cause–effect relationships between various factors (Mathivathanan
et al., 2018).
The combination of wide applicability and generalizability of
results has made DEMATEL a popular choice among researchers for
solving complex problems in different contexts. The model starts with
the formation of a matrix, considering direct impacts among pairs of
parameters, before the development of an influence matrix, which
considers both direct and indirect influences of the relevant factors,
and finally, there is the development of an impact relationship map.
The DEMATEL procedural approach is discussed in the following
steps.
Step 1: Create an initial average matrix
During this step, the expert team/group (m) and factors (n) are
used. Experts are asked to give their opinions based on a rating scale
(0–4) where no significance = 0, low significance = 1, medium signifi-
cance = 2, high significance = 3, and very high significance = 4. They
also identify direct influences through pairwise comparison. For every
expert group, a nonnegative matrix (n n) is formed. The code Xij
shows the degree to which the experts believe that factor i affects
factor j, by using scores between 0 and 1, and the average matrix
score X is calculated using Equation 1.
Z = zij ij == 1…n
1…n
,
1 m
Zij = 1 m xk
i = 1 ij
m 1
m = Experts
k = expert numbers
ijn = no of parameters
Step 2: Create a normalized direct initial relationship matrix