The challenges of Green Human Resource Management and their impact on employees’ green beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours: The case of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Abstract

Green Human Resource Management is increasingly recognised as essential for integrating environmental concerns into organisational strategies. Drawing on qualitative data from 30 professionals in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, this study explores how inconsistencies between employees’ environmental values and GHRM practices influence employees’ green beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. Using multiple perspectives in cognitive consistency theory (balance, congruity, dissonance, and self-consistency), it examines how employees seek to restore coherence between personal values and organisational practices. Findings reveal that while green beliefs remain resilient, attitudes and behaviours diverge along two pathways: indifference and inaction; constructive advocacy, each representing efforts to achieve cognitive consistency. The study advances theory by demonstrating differentiated responsiveness across cognitive domains and highlighting employee agency as a mechanism for resolving dissonance. Practically, it recommends integrating GHRM within HR functions, developing HR managers’ competencies, aligning appraisals and rewards with environmental objectives, and supporting employee-led advocacy to promote meaningful environmental commitment.