Embracing green technology innovation through strategic human resource management: a case of an automotive company

Abstract

What makes a technological innovation successful for an industry? This study examines how green technology innovation is impacted by strategic management of the human resource in firms. The value of this study lies in its intention to explain the needs to effectively blend people matters first before endeavouring technologies. We focus on Malaysia’s leading automobile manufacturer, Proton which currently embarks on smart green initiatives in its product development. The quantitative survey identifies potential challenges of Proton’s human resource management that may infringe green technology process. Our findings confirm the effects of strategic human resource management system on adopting the green technology innovation. The most important factors affecting the implementation of green technology include knowledge application, team development, knowledge sharing, performance-based reward and training of before and during the process of embracing the new technology.