Green talent management and employees’ innovative work behavior: the roles of artificial intelligence and transformational leadership

Purpose This study aims to investigate the significance of an emerging concept – green talent management (TM) and its influence on employees’ innovative work behavior, together with the moderating roles of transformational leadership and artificial intelligence within the context of higher educational institutions. Design/methodology/approach Two hundred and thirty-five structured questionnaires were administered to the academic staff in five universities located in Northern Cyprus, and the data was analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling with the aid of WarpPLS (7.0). Findings This study provides evidences that green hard and soft TM exerts significant influence on employees’ innovative work behavior. Similarly, transformational leadership and artificial intelligence were confirmed to have a significant impact on employees’ innovative work behavior. Moreover, the study found transformational leadership and artificial intelligence to significantly moderate the relationship between green hard TM and employees’ innovative work behavior. Research limitations/implications The study provides theoretical and managerial implications of findings that will assist the leaders in higher educational institutions in harnessing the potential of green TM in driving their employees’ innovative work behavior toward the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage in the market where they operate. Originality/value The attention of researchers in the recent time has been on the way to address the challenge facing organizational leaders on how to develop and retain employee that will contribute to the sustainability of their organization toward the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage in the market they operate. Meanwhile, the studies exploring these concerns are limited. In view of this, this study investigates the significance of an emerging concept – green talent management and its influence on employees’ innovative work behavior, together with the moderating roles of transformational leadership and artificial intelligence within the context of higher educational institutions.