Role of employee relations and HRM in driving commitment to sustainability in MSME firms

Top-down internal communication and its importance for the sustainability of agricultural organizations from the perspective of Tomas Bata´s management philosophy

The benefits of internal communication not only can be associated with higher performance, but also with increased awareness of the values within an organization, setting and achieving objectives, getting involved in beneficial activities, encouraging employees' personal development and, last but not least, educating and motivating employees to take responsibility. A responsible working environment facilitates effective internal communication, which is in line with the principles of the Bata Management System. The aim of this paper is to evaluate whether setting top-down internal communication is in line with the sustainable principles of Tomas Bata in organizations in the Czech Republic. The article assesses workplace communication and relationships, including social sustainability and social responsibility, focusing on their added value for corporate practice in all areas of business. The study is based on quantitative research in organizations across sectors and qualitative research in agricultural organizations (questionnaire survey n1 = 183; focus group n3 = 5), using the tools of descriptive statistics, logistic regression and cluster analysis. The results have shown that combining methods of top-down communication is crucial for communicating information efficiently, stimulating employees and achieving the organization´s objectives and that Tomas Bata´s philosophy concerning communication setting can be implemented even more easily in the current digital age than it was in the past if organizations are interested. The research contributes to a better understanding of how the Bata Management System can be applied within each organization, how effective communication settings will help prevent conflicts that workers are engaged in, increase their stabilization, and facilitate the application of Bata's sustainable legacy in the international space. Research makes a significant contribution to advancing knowledge of effective communication from the perspective of Bata for the sustainability of agricultural organizations where the principles have not yet been explored. This is evidenced by the zero overlap with previously published articles despite the rapid progress of research and technology.

Green cement production in India: prioritization and alleviation of barriers using the best-worst method

Cement is a fundamental building and construction material for societies around the world. However, its manufacturing process is exceptionally energy intensive and has a substantial contribution to the man-made global warming potential which calls for immediate reduction. In this context, the implementation of green production practices and technologies in the Indian cement sector is of particular interest and global impact given that the country is the second biggest producer worldwide. Furthermore, the literature reveals that although the implementation of green practices in the cement manufacturing sector faces barriers across a variety of aspects, there is only limited research focussing on developing countries. This research covers this gap by concentrating on the barriers encountered by the cement sector of India and proposes strategies for their alleviation based on input from five experts and the use of the multi-criteria decision making method (MCDM) best-worst method (BWM). The results show that the lack of conducive corporate environment is the most important barrier, inadequate skills and attitudes are the second, while capital-related limitations come third. The experts highlight the need for mechanisms promoting cost effective environmental research and training as well as appropriate funding instruments and procurement rules from the government. Furthermore, a clear vision and plan from the management's part are fundamental for the effective incorporation of green practices in the organisational identity and the required employee engagement.

Mediating and moderating variables of employee relations and sustainable organizations: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

Purpose

This study aims to perform a systematic literature review to organize the abundance of information on employee relations (ER) and sustainable organizations. Moreover, this study identifies the research gaps by investigating the review of ER’ mediating and moderating variables and the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on the systematic literature review methodology involving 257 studies in the final stage. The Scopus and Google Scholar databases with search criteria “employee relations” and “employee relations and sustainable organization” were used to achieve the research objective. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, researchers come to the distribution of the articles based on the subthemes, geographical region, types of methods, top authors with affiliation and complete research articles based on the citation. In the final stage, this study concluded with the conceptual model comprising mediators and moderators of ER as well as the mediating and moderating variables of the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations.

Findings

The reviewed literature shows that employee relation is an optimal strategy for retaining employees via proper disclosure of human resources (HRs) and ER Index. This study included the top six publishers, namely, Emerald, Elsevier, Sage, Springer, Taylor and Francis and Wiley Online Library, to do an exhaustive review on a specific topic. The findings indicate that after COVID-19, the ER index, HR disclosures and the sustainability of ER are among the new and required paradigm shifts needed to manage a crisis impact and perform productively. The mediator and moderator variables that can improve employee–employer relationships are organizational trusts, organizational justice, perceived job satisfaction, organizational structure and firm ownership. On the other hand, variables that mediate and moderate the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations are organizational climate, organization trust, organization culture, perceived organization support, psychological empowerment, firm ownership, leadership behavior and attitude, respectively. The findings concluded that harmonious and cordial ER are pertinent in building sustainable organizations and accomplishing organizational goals.

Practical implications

The mediating and moderating variables that have been identified can be helpful for enthusiastic researchers in contributing to empirical research. Practitioners and managers can use the findings in making an effective organizational model that develops good employee–employer relationships and helps create a culture of trust and harmony. This study focuses on exploring the variables of ER, which strengthens employee–employer relationships and supports organizations to stay agile and attain sustainability to endure in the future.

Originality/value

This study insights on the specific mediating and moderating variables of ER and sustainable organizations. Till date, studies exploring constructs of ER and sustainable organizations are still in deficit. Better employee relation reflects and leads to a more resilient organization. Future researchers should explore the connection between pandemics and ER which is done insufficiently in the present time.