Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Green Human Resource Management Research: A Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is an emerging management approach that integrates environmental sustainability into human resource policies and practices. GHRM enables organizations to align workforce management with environmental objectives through green recruitment, training, performance appraisal, and reward systems. As sustainability becomes a global priority, research on GHRM has increased rapidly, particularly between 2016 and 2025. However, despite the growing number of publications, there is limited understanding of the intellectual structure, collaboration patterns, and thematic development of this field. To better understand the evolution of GHRM research, it is important to systematically map and analyze existing publications using bibliometric techniques. Currently, there is no recent bibliometric study focusing specifically on the 2016–2025 growth phase of GHRM research. Realizing the importance of identifying research trends and influential contributors, this study aims to review and analyze GHRM publications indexed in Scopus between 2020 and 2025. It addresses the following questions: 1) What are the publication and citation trends of GHRM research? 2) Who are the most productive and influential contributors? 3) What themes dominate contemporary GHRM scholarship? This study employed a bibliometric methodology to investigate the development of GHRM research. A total of 1,601 documents were retrieved from the Scopus database and analyzed. The screening process followed the PRISMA 2020 Statement to ensure systematic identification and transparency. Through this bibliometric analysis, the most recent structure and trends of GHRM research are presented. The findings may assist researchers and policymakers in understanding the development of sustainability-oriented HRM practices.