The Crucial Role of Green Soft Skills and Leadership for Sustainability: A Case Study of an Italian Small and Medium Enterprise Operating in the Food Sector
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2023
Citazione:
The Crucial Role of Green Soft Skills and Leadership for Sustainability: A Case Study of an Italian Small and Medium Enterprise Operating in the Food Sector / C. Farao, C. Bernuzzi, C. Ronchetti. - In: SUSTAINABILITY. - ISSN 2071-1050. - 15:22(2023), pp. 15841.1-15841.25. [10.3390/su152215841]
Abstract:
Increasing concerns about the human impact on the environment are leading to new
challenges for companies and their employees. Specifically, the food industry is facing the need to
provide sustainable services, requiring a specialized and skilled workforce. This article presents
a case study of an Italian sustainable Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) operating in the food
sector in order to determine the drivers of working for this company, the key skills needed, and the
Green Human Resource Management practices adopted. A total of 13 semi-structured interviews
were conducted with employees and thematically analyzed. The findings showed that soft skills
were perceived as more relevant than hard skills, although the food sector is characterized by high
technical complexity and subjected to several national and international regulations. Moreover, the
crucial role of organizational culture in determining the relevance of soft skills within the company
and in fostering the implementation of the holacracy organizational management method emerged.
Finally, by detecting the relevance recognized to values and soft skills during the recruitment and
selection process, our findings provided some evidence of Green Human Resource Management in
sustainable SMEs.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
green skills; soft skills; sustainability; corporate social responsibility; green human resource management; green leadership; thematic analysis
Elenco autori:
C. Farao, C. Bernuzzi, C. Ronchetti
Link alla scheda completa: