Green Talent Attraction and Employee Performance in Kenyan Public Hospitals

Green Talent Attraction and Employee Performance in Kenyan Public Hospitals

Abraham Simiyu Wekesa, Kadian W Wanyonyi, Sylvia S Chebet, Peter W. Barasa

School of Business and Economics, Kibabii University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51584/IJRIAS.2025.10040100

Received: 30 April 2025; Accepted: 02 May 2025; Published: 24 May 2025

ABSTRACT

This study examined the influence of green talent attraction on employee job performance in Kenya’s Level 5 public hospitals. Employing a mixed-methods cross-sectional design, data was collected from 345 healthcare professionals across twelve public hospitals, yielding a 91.5% response rate. Statistical analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between green talent attraction and employee job performance (β=0.378, p<0.001), with leadership support serving as a crucial moderating variable (β=0.356, p<0.001). The model demonstrated excellent fit indices (CFI=0.963, TLI=0.958, RMSEA=0.045) and explained 83.8% of variance in employee performance. Collaboration with educational institutions (mean=4.20) and competitive compensation packages (mean=4.18) emerged as the strongest green talent attraction practices, while environmental awareness assessment during recruitment (mean=4.08) showed potential for enhancement. Qualitative thematic analysis identified seven dimensions through which green talent attraction influences performance: organizational attraction, professional growth, compensation benefits, employee engagement, environmental impact, workplace culture, and performance outcomes. The findings, grounded in Green Human Resource Management theory, Transformational Leadership Theory, and Human Capital Theory, address significant contextual and methodological gaps in understanding how green talent attraction function in resource-constrained African healthcare settings. This research provides valuable insights for hospital administrators, policy makers, and researchers seeking to implement effective green talent management initiatives in public healthcare institutions, particularly in developing economies.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Environmental sustainability has emerged as a critical strategic imperative for organizations worldwide, particularly in human resource management practices. The development of green human resource management (GHRM) signifies a fundamental transformation in how organizations approach talent attraction (Correia, 2024). This evolution is especially evident in healthcare institutions, which must balance delivering high-quality services with implementing environmentally sustainable practices. Employee performance represents a cornerstone of effective healthcare delivery, directly influencing patient outcomes, safety protocols, and overall care quality (Owolabi, 2024). Contemporary discourse has expanded to incorporate employees’ contributions to environmental sustainability initiatives within their professional healthcare roles (Aggarwal & Agarwala, 2023). In response to these developments, green talent management strategies (GTMS) have become essential for organizations seeking to align their human resource practices with environmental sustainability objectives (Shareef, 2022; Liu, 2022).

The global business community increasingly recognizes the strategic importance of green talent attraction as organizations pursue the dual objectives of enhancing performance metrics while minimizing environmental impact. Research has established positive relationships between green human resource management practices and various sustainable performance indicators (Correia et al., 2024). Studies have demonstrated that green HRM practices function as mediating variables for environmental performance across diverse industrial sectors (Zhou, 2024). The healthcare sector, characterized by substantial resource consumption and waste generation, presents unique challenges and opportunities for implementing green talent management initiatives. Research conducted in Malaysian healthcare institutions demonstrated that comprehensive talent management approaches significantly predicted sustainable business performance outcomes, suggesting potential applicability to other healthcare contexts globally (AlQershi, 2022). Despite these promising findings, inconsistencies in conceptual definitions and methodological approaches to measuring green workforce planning effectiveness impede comparative analysis and implementation processes (Martínez-Falcó, 2024).

The African context, the integration of green talent attraction into organizational frameworks remains in its infant stages, with substantial research deficiencies compared to other geographical regions. Current literature reveals a significant knowledge gap regarding the manifestation and implementation of green attraction within African healthcare environments. Atiku et al. (2024) examined data-driven talent practices in African state-owned enterprises and identified positive associations with eco-innovation outcomes; however, their investigation did not specifically address healthcare institutional contexts. The African operational environment presents distinctive implementation challenges for green talent strategies, including resource limitations, infrastructural constraints, and varied policy frameworks across different countries. Ituma et al. (2024) investigated career development initiatives within the Nigerian civil service and established positive correlations with performance outcomes. Their findings emphasized the necessity for context-specific theoretical frameworks that account for the unique characteristics of African public institutions. The transferability of findings from other geographical contexts to African healthcare environments remains uncertain, constituting a significant knowledge gap that warrants focused investigation. Suleman et al. (2024) demonstrated that employee commitment serves as a mediating variable between green HRM practices and turnover intentions within manufacturing environments. While this finding suggests potential benefits of green talent attraction for employee retention in African organizational contexts, its relevance to healthcare environments requires further examination, considering the unique nature of healthcare professional practice and the specific motivational factors influencing healthcare practitioners.

The East African region, particularly Kenya, confronts significant healthcare challenges including resource constraints, workforce shortages, and growing environmental concerns related to healthcare operations. In Kenya, public hospitals constitute the foundation of the healthcare system, providing essential services to a substantial portion of the population. The ideal implementation scenario for Kenyan public hospitals would involve the effective operationalization of Green Talent Management Strategies, supported by robust leadership commitment to environmental sustainability initiatives. Such an approach would facilitate the attraction and retention of environmentally conscious healthcare professionals, foster an organizational culture of environmental responsibility, and improve overall environmental performance indicators (Alqudah & Yusof, 2024; Gyensare et al., 2023). However, the current operational reality in Kenyan public hospitals diverges significantly from this ideal state, with evidence indicating that these institutions encounter substantial obstacles in implementing effective Green Talent Management Strategies and lack sufficient leadership support for environmental sustainability initiatives (Russo et al., 2021).

A comprehensive literature review reveals a substantial research gap regarding the implementation and effectiveness of green attraction within Kenyan public hospitals. There exists an urgent need for dedicated empirical investigations within this institutional context to address these knowledge deficiencies and develop theoretical frameworks that accommodate the distinctive characteristics of the Kenyan healthcare environment (Correia et al., 2024; AlQershi et al., 2022). The challenges confronting Kenyan public hospitals are further exacerbated by inadequate research specific to the Kenyan context (Ullah et al., 2021; Chmielewska et al., 2020; Jankelová, 2021). Existing studies frequently exhibit methodological limitations that restrict the explanation of causal relationships between variables (Kim et al., 2015; Molnár et al., 2021; Nwineewii & Onuoha, 2023) and disproportionately focus on isolated components of Green Talent Management Strategies, neglecting the critical interrelationships between green talent workforce planning, leadership dynamics, and employee performance outcomes (Ebekozien et al., 2022; Jankelová, 2021). This research deficit significantly hinders the development and implementation of effective green talent attraction initiatives within Kenyan public hospitals.

Alhajaj and Ahmad (2024) established strong correlations between human resource management practices and work engagement within the service sector, suggesting potential applications for enhancing healthcare employee motivation and performance. However, the contextual differences between general service sectors and healthcare environments, particularly within the Kenyan context, necessitate specialized investigation tailored to healthcare settings. Razali and Vasudevan (2024) identified significant variations in effectiveness measurement methodologies across studies, with limited healthcare-specific insights that adequately address the distinctive challenges associated with implementing green HRM practices within healthcare environments. Insufficient green talent management strategies negatively impact employee job performance and contribute to professional emigration within the healthcare sector, as disaffected employees with limited opportunities for developing sustainable practice competencies may experience disengagement and seek alternative employment opportunities (Russo et al., 2021).

The relationship between green talent attraction and employees’ job performance outcomes appears to be moderated by leadership support variables across organizational contexts. Strong leadership endorsement of sustainability initiatives can mitigate the negative effects of inadequate green talent management strategies, while insufficient leadership support can exacerbate these institutional challenges (Jankelová, 2021). In environments characterized by insufficient leadership support for sustainability initiatives, diminished employee performance manifests as inadequate integration of sustainable practices into routine operational activities, ultimately limiting the environmental performance capacity of public hospitals (Alqudah & Yusof, 2024; Gyensare et al., 2023). These limitations potentially increase operational costs and negatively impact patient care quality in healthcare settings.

The Kenyan healthcare system is currently undergoing significant transformations within the framework of broader healthcare reforms and sustainability initiatives. These transitional developments presented an opportune context for investigating the integration of green talent workforce planning into public hospital management frameworks to enhance both environmental sustainability and employee performance metrics. Alkhozaim et al. (2024) emphasized the importance of considering the multidimensional nature of sustainability within healthcare contexts and developing consistent definitional and measurement frameworks for green talent management effectiveness that accommodate sector-specific considerations. To address the identified research gaps, the present study focused on evaluating the implementation of green talent workforce planning within Kenyan public hospitals. Importantly, this investigation examined the moderating influence of leadership support for sustainability initiatives on the relationship between green talent attraction and employee job performance outcomes (Ebekozien et al., 2022; Jankelová, 2021).

Several recent studies have provided valuable insights into attraction and talent management within Kenyan healthcare settings, though few specifically address green talent attraction. Kandie and Kipkelwon (2022) identified strong positive correlations between work planning practices and employee performance metrics in private hospitals in Uasin-Gishu County. Taiko and Onguso (2022) demonstrated that strategic talent attraction significantly predicted employee performance outcomes in public hospitals in Kajiado County. Muriithi and Charles (2023) found that integrated talent management systems reduced turnover intentions and improved service delivery quality in Kenya’s devolved healthcare system. Onuko and Onyango (2020) revealed significant relationships between talent management practices and service delivery quality among medical doctors in Nairobi healthcare facilities. Katile and Njuguna (2022) established that healthcare workforce planning significantly predicted hospital performance indicators in Makueni County. In a study particularly relevant to the present research, Anyona (2023) found that green employee training initiatives significantly improved both environmental performance and overall job performance in Nairobi City County Government departments.

This research endeavor aimed to address the significant contextual, theoretical, and knowledge gaps identified within the existing literature by examining the influence of green talent attraction on employees’ job performance within Kenyan public hospitals. This study sought to contribute substantively to the advancement of environmental sustainability within the healthcare sector while facilitating improvements in employee job performance metrics. The findings will provide valuable insights for healthcare administrators, policy makers, and human resource practitioners seeking to integrate environmental sustainability considerations into talent attraction frameworks within resource-constrained healthcare environments.

Hypothesis of Study

H₀1: Green talent attraction has no significant influence on employee job performance in Public Hospitals in Kenya.

Significancy of the Study

This study investigates the influence of green talent attraction on employee job performance in Kenyan public hospitals, addressing significant conceptual gaps in the literature. The research develops a comprehensive framework that integrates previously fragmented components of green talent management strategies and identifies leadership support as a key moderator in this relationship. This contribution provides standardized definitional foundations for researchers, structured implementation approaches for healthcare administrators, and clearly defined constructs for policymakers developing environmental sustainability frameworks within healthcare institutions.

The research holds substantial contextual significance by generating empirical evidence specific to the Kenyan healthcare environment, addressing the limited research on green talent attraction in African healthcare settings. This context-specific approach benefits Kenyan public hospitals, healthcare policymakers, international health organizations, and government health departments by providing insights tailored to resource-constrained settings rather than imported models with limited relevance. Methodologically, the study employs rigorous approaches that facilitate understanding of causal relationships and incorporates measurement instruments specifically adapted for healthcare contexts, addressing limitations identified in previous research.

The investigation extends theoretical frameworks including human capital theory, resource-based view, stakeholder theory, and organizational support theory as applied to environmental sustainability in healthcare. It offers practical significance for multiple stakeholders: patients benefit from improved environmental performance leading to enhanced healthcare quality; employees gain from more effective talent management strategies; hospital management receives actionable insights for implementing green talent attraction initiatives; and healthcare training institutions can identify competency requirements for environmental sustainability curricula. These multidimensional contributions address crucial knowledge gaps while providing practical benefits to diverse stakeholders involved in healthcare delivery and environmental sustainability efforts in Kenya and potentially similar contexts globally.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored in three complementary theoretical frameworks that collectively elucidate the relationship between green talent workforce planning and employee job performance in Kenyan public hospitals. Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) theory, introduced by Renwick et al. (2013), serves as the primary theoretical foundation, integrating environmental sustainability practices into human resource functions with emphasis on talent management. This theory posits that aligning human resource practices with environmental objectives enhances organizational sustainability performance through the attraction, development, and retention of environmentally conscious employees. Empirical evidence from multiple sectors supports this proposition, with Jabbour et al. (2019) demonstrating GHRM practices’ positive influence on green innovation and sustainable performance in manufacturing, and Guerci et al. (2016) establish positive correlations between GHRM practices and environmental performance in Italian manufacturing. Critics, however, challenge the theory’s applicability in resource-constrained environments such as Kenyan public hospitals, arguing that implementation may prove prohibitively costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, skeptics question GHRM practices’ effectiveness in achieving environmental sustainability, suggesting that technological and infrastructural factors may exert greater influence (Guerci et al., 2016). Nevertheless, GHRM theory aligns precisely with this study’s variables, providing a conceptual foundation for understanding how environmentally-focused workforce planning might enhance performance outcomes in healthcare settings, with potential transferability supported by Paillé et al.’s (2014) findings that GHRM practices enhance environmental commitment and pro-environmental behaviors.

Transformational Leadership Theory, developed by Bass and Avolio (Bass & Riggio, 2006), provides the second theoretical pillar, offering critical insights into leadership support’s moderating role between green talent management strategies and employee performance. The theory explicates how transformational leaders catalyze performance improvement through role modeling, intellectual stimulation, and individualized support, inspiring followers to transcend self-interest in pursuit of collective organizational objectives (Mwita et al., 2021). Within environmental sustainability contexts, transformational leadership creates supportive conditions conducive to employees’ adoption of green practices and development of sustainability-oriented competencies. Critics highlight potential limitations regarding cross-cultural applicability and contextual sensitivity, suggesting the theory may inadequately account for situational determinants of leadership effectiveness (Asif et al., 2020). Some researchers further caution against presuming universally positive outcomes, particularly when leaders potentially leverage influence toward ethically questionable ends (Aboramadan & Dahleez, 2020). Despite these critiques, substantial evidence supports the theory’s relevance to this investigation, with research demonstrating transformational leadership’s capacity to encourage environmentally friendly practices (Asif et al., 2020), enhance employee engagement in green initiatives (Aboramadan & Dahleez, 2020), and improve both job performance and environmental outcomes (Saeed et al., 2019). These empirical findings underscore the theory’s explanatory power regarding leadership’s facilitative role in effective green talent management implementation within Kenyan public hospitals.

Human Capital Theory, introduced by Becker (1964), constitutes the third theoretical foundation, emphasizing investments in employee education and skills development as mechanisms for enhancing productivity with mutual benefits for individuals and organizations (Haque et al., 2020). Proponents maintain that systematic investment in employee development yields improvements in performance, innovation capacity, and financial outcomes (Nieves & Quintana, 2018; Ogunyomi & Bruning, 2016), while specifically targeting “green” human capital through environmentally-focused training fosters sustainable innovation and environmental sustainability (Fabrizi et al., 2018; Jabbour et al., 2020). Critics argue the theory potentially overlooks additional performance determinants including motivation, workplace environment, and leadership (Iqbal et al., 2020), while potentially insufficiently accounting for sociocultural contexts surrounding human capital investments (Barrena-Martínez et al., 2021). Notwithstanding these limitations, Human Capital Theory provides essential theoretical underpinning for understanding how green talent management investments might enhance healthcare employee performance, suggesting that investment in environmentally-focused recruitment, training, and development enhances sustainability-related knowledge and capabilities (Kofi et al., 2020). The theory further elucidates leadership’s critical role in allocating resources for green training, recognizing environmentally-conscious performance, and cultivating supportive environments (Iqbal et al., 2020). Cross-sectoral evidence from hospitality (Nieves & Quintana, 2018) and SMEs (Ogunyomi & Bruning, 2016) demonstrates positive correlations between employee training investments and improved organizational outcomes (Barrena-Martínez et al., 2021; Arshad et al., 2021), suggesting potential analogous benefits within healthcare contexts.

These three theories synergistically provide comprehensive theoretical scaffolding for investigating relationships between green talent attraction, leadership support, and employee performance in Kenyan public hospitals. GHRM theory establishes foundational connections between green talent management and performance outcomes; Transformational Leadership Theory explicates leadership support’s moderating function; and Human Capital Theory illuminates mechanisms through which green talent investments yield performance enhancements. This theoretical triangulation addresses potential limitations in individual theories while providing robust conceptual foundation for examining how green talent attraction influences employee job performance, with leadership support serving as a critical moderating variable. The integrated theoretical framework accommodates both the environmental sustainability imperatives and the contextual particularities of Kenyan public healthcare institutions, thereby enhancing the study’s theoretical rigor and explanatory capacity.

Green Talent Attraction and Employees’ Job Performance

Empirical studies have investigated the relationship between green talent attraction and employee job performance across various healthcare contexts, revealing diverse approaches to measuring this relationship and varying outcomes based on contextual factors. Abbas and Salameh (2023) employed a cross-sectional quantitative design with structured questionnaires, studying 345 healthcare professionals across Pakistani hospitals. Using stratified random sampling, they found that talent management significantly influenced sustainable business performance, with organizational learning playing a crucial role in enhancing this relationship.

AlQershi et al. (2022) conducted a comprehensive study in Malaysian hospitals using a descriptive correlational design, sampling 412 healthcare professionals through systematic random sampling. Their findings revealed that talent management practices significantly predicted sustainable business performance, with human capital development serving as a significant predictor. However, their focus on Malaysian healthcare creates a contextual gap for African settings. Elzek et al. (2024) utilized a correlational research design, examining the mediating roles of green intellectual capital and green servant leadership in the relationship between talent management and sustainable performance. While their study provided valuable insights into green talent mechanisms, their focus on travel agencies limits generalizability to healthcare settings.

Particularly relevant to the African context, Skubis et al. (2023) employed a qualitative approach through interviews with healthcare professionals in Nigerian hospitals. Their study identified regulatory pressure, organizational culture, and top management support as key factors influencing green innovations and talent attraction strategies in healthcare settings, though their focus on innovation differs somewhat from talent attraction specifically. Khan and Muktar (2024) adopted a correlational research design with simple random sampling, demonstrating that green employee empowerment partially mediated the relationship between green HRM and sustainable organizational performance. Their findings highlight the importance of empowerment in green talent initiatives, though their manufacturing sector focus creates a contextual gap. Pomaranik and Kludacz-Alessandri (2023) implemented a quantitative research design, sampling 389 medical personnel in Polish healthcare entities. Their study revealed that talent management practices significantly influenced job satisfaction among medical personnel, emphasizing the importance of effective talent attraction strategies.

Buchelt et al. (2021) employed a mixed-methods design, combining surveys with in-depth interviews in Polish hospitals. Their research identified organizational culture, work-life balance, and professional development opportunities as key factors influencing employer attractiveness in healthcare settings, providing valuable insights into talent attraction mechanisms. Setyaningrum et al. (2024) utilized a descriptive survey design with proportional stratified sampling, finding that green HRM practices positively influenced millennial retention, with job expectations and self-efficacy serving as partial mediators. Suleman et al. (2024) implemented a cross-sectional survey design, demonstrating that employee environmental commitment mediated the relationship between green HRM practices and turnover intentions. Their findings highlight the importance of environmental commitment in talent retention, though their manufacturing focus differs from healthcare contexts.

Alhajaj and Ahmad (2024) conducted a quantitative study revealing that HRM practices, work engagement, and self-efficacy significantly influenced talent turnover intention, though their banking sector focus limits generalizability to healthcare settings. Ramachandaran et al. (2024) conducted a cross-sectional survey with convenience sampling of 272 employees from manufacturing industries. Using multiple regression analysis, they found that green HRM practices significantly predicted job performance, with environmental training emerging as the strongest predictor. Bangura and Lourens (2023) employed a case study approach with mixed methods, combining surveys of 65 employees with 8 semi-structured interviews at a South African company, finding significant positive relationships between green recruitment practices and work performance. However, their small sample size and single organization focus limit generalizability.

Palupiningtyas et al. (2024) conducted a quantitative study using purposive sampling of 158 employees in hospitality companies. Their analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling demonstrated that green HRM practices significantly impacted talent management development, which in turn positively influenced employee performance. The study’s hospitality focus creates limitations for healthcare applicability. Shao et al. (2024) adopted a quantitative research design using stratified random sampling of 528 employees across manufacturing industries, demonstrating that green talent management strategies focused on core competencies significantly enhanced sustainable performance. While comprehensive, their study lacks qualitative insights and focuses exclusively on manufacturing contexts.

Sariwulan et al. (2021) conducted a quantitative study using simple random sampling of 194 employees in educational institutions. Their findings revealed significant relationships between talent management practices and job performance, with organizational commitment serving as a mediating variable. However, their focus on educational settings limits applicability to healthcare contexts. Naseer et al. (2023) employed a cross-sectional design with convenience sampling of 217 employees from manufacturing firms. Their analysis revealed that green HRM practices significantly influenced job performance, with job satisfaction serving as a full mediator in this relationship. Their manufacturing context, however, creates a gap for healthcare settings.

Umair et al. (2023) implemented a quantitative research design using stratified random sampling of 374 employees across various industries. Their structural equation modeling analysis demonstrated that green talent management practices significantly influenced environmental performance, with transformational leadership and employee engagement with green initiatives serving as partial mediators. However, their cross-industry approach lacks healthcare-specific insights. Alkhozaim et al. (2024) conducted a quantitative study using cluster sampling of 467 employees from tourism and hospitality businesses. Their findings revealed that green talent management positively influenced green performance through various mediating mechanisms, though their sector focus differs substantially from healthcare.

Al-Romeedy and Alharethi (2024) employed a cross-sectional design with convenience sampling of 318 employees in tourism companies. Their analysis demonstrated that green talent management significantly enhanced sustainable tourism performance, with green entrepreneurship and climate serving as significant mediators. Their tourism industry focus, however, limits generalizability to healthcare settings. Yu et al. (2024) adopted a quantitative research design using stratified random sampling of 412 employees across Chinese public sector organizations. They found that green talent management practices significantly predicted pro-environmental behaviors, with organizational support acting as a significant moderator. While providing valuable public sector insights, the Chinese context differs substantially from African healthcare settings.

Abdelhamied et al. (2023) implemented a cross-sectional survey design with simple random sampling of 389 employees in tourism enterprises. Their findings revealed that green HRM practices significantly influenced sustainable performance, with job satisfaction and green motivation serving as significant mediators. Their tourism focus, however, creates a conceptual gap for healthcare institutions. Hoang et al. (2025) utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys of 354 employees with 25 in-depth interviews across manufacturing organizations. Their study demonstrated that top management green commitment significantly influenced employee in-role green performance, with environmental knowledge sharing serving as a key mediating mechanism. While valuable for understanding green performance drivers, their manufacturing context differs from healthcare settings.

Alqahtani et al. (2024) conducted a quantitative study using stratified random sampling of 437 employees from construction companies. Their analysis revealed that green talent management significantly influenced employees’ innovative work behavior, with transformational leadership serving as a partial mediator in this relationship. Their construction industry focus, however, creates limitations for healthcare applicability. Kailay and Paposa (2024) conducted a systematic literature review of sustainable HRM in the hospital sector, highlighting the importance of employee engagement, training and development, and organizational culture in promoting sustainable HRM practices. Their analysis emphasizes the need for more focused research on the relationship between environmental initiatives and talent attraction in healthcare settings.

Methodological gaps are evident in the varying approaches across studies, with most employing quantitative methods but lacking longitudinal perspectives in healthcare settings. While some studies like Skubis et al. (2023) and Buchelt et al. (2021) employed qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, there remains a need for more comprehensive longitudinal research to uncover the long-term dynamics between green talent attraction and job performance in healthcare contexts. Many studies rely on self-reported measures without incorporating objective performance indicators, creating potential common method bias. The predominance of cross-sectional designs limits causal inferences, with few studies examining how green talent attraction strategies evolve over time and influence sustained performance improvements.

Contextual gaps emerge in the limited research on public healthcare institutions, particularly in African settings. While Skubis et al. (2023) provided valuable insights from Nigeria’s healthcare sector, and AlQershi et al. (2022) examined Malaysian hospitals, the unique characteristics, challenges, and opportunities within Kenyan public hospitals warrant dedicated attention to understand how green talent attraction strategies can be tailored to effectively enhance employee performance. Most studies focus on private sector organizations or developed economies, with insufficient research examining how resource constraints, regulatory environments, and socio-cultural factors influence green talent attraction in public healthcare institutions within developing economies. This contextual gap is particularly pronounced when considering the unique challenges facing Kenyan public hospitals, including limited resources, high patient loads, and distinctive organizational cultures.

Conceptual gaps are apparent in the varying definitions and measurements of green talent attraction effectiveness across the studies. Key components such as green employer branding, sustainable recruitment practices and environmental value proposition are inconsistently addressed or missing in the current literature. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive framework for defining and assessing green talent attraction effectiveness, considering the multifaceted nature of environmental sustainability in healthcare settings. Most studies focused on individual-level outcomes without adequately addressing how green talent attraction influences collective performance, organizational culture, and broader healthcare delivery systems. This empirical literature review highlights the positive link between green talent attraction and employee job performance while revealing significant methodological, contextual, and conceptual gaps, particularly within the context of Kenyan public hospitals. The unique challenges and opportunities within this setting, coupled with the need for longitudinal and comprehensive research, presented a compelling case for a dedicated study examining the influence of green talent attraction strategies on employee performance within Kenyan public healthcare institutions

METHODOLOGY

This study employed a pragmatic philosophical approach to comprehensively examine the relationships between green talent attraction (GTA), leadership support, and employee performance in Kenyan public hospitals (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Saunders et al., 2019). A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey design was implemented to collect both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously, acknowledging the complex nature of sustainable human resource management within healthcare environments. The target population comprised 6,626 healthcare professionals across twelve level-five public hospitals in Kenya, with a statistically appropriate sample size of 377 participants determined using Slovin’s formula (Kothari & Garg, 2014; Orodho, 2003). Stratified random sampling with proportional allocation ensured representative distribution across institutional strata, enhancing generalizability while maintaining methodological rigor. The research instruments consisted of structured questionnaires incorporating psychometrically validated measurement scales for green talent attraction (Jabbour, 2011, leadership support (Graves et al., 2013), and employees’ job performance (Masri & Jaaron, 2017), all of which underwent contextual adaptation to ensure ecological validity within Kenyan healthcare environments.

Rigorous reliability and validity assessments were conducted through comprehensive pilot testing with 10% of the calculated sample size, examining composite reliability indices, average variance extracted metrics, and convergent and discriminant validity coefficients using established threshold parameters (Hair, 2019; Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The research adhered to strict procedural protocols, including securing institutional authorizations, obtaining NACOSTI research licensing, and procuring informed consent from participants. Data collection utilized physical questionnaire administration—supplemented by strategic follow-up protocols to enhance response rates (Regmi, 2016; Bowling, 2005; Nulty, 2008). The analytical framework employed sophisticated structural equation modeling techniques to examine hypothesized relationships, allowing simultaneous assessment of complex interrelationships between observed and latent variables while accommodating measurement error (Kline, 2022; Schumacker & Lomax, 2022). Leadership support’s hypothesized moderating influence was examined through interaction term incorporation within the regression equation, enabling precise quantification of conditional effects while controlling for potential confounding variables.

Qualitative data underwent thematic analysis using NVivo 12 software, following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase approach through systematic coding and theme development. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data utilized NVivo’s framework matrices and mixed-methods features, facilitating analytical triangulation that combined statistical analysis with thematic exploration (Bryman, 2016; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Quality assurance employed NVivo’s coding comparison queries for reliability checks, with synthesis revealing complementary insights through cluster analysis and coding matrices (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). This methodologically robust approach facilitated comprehensive examination of the proposed conceptual framework while accommodating the contextual particularities of Kenyan public healthcare institutions, enhancing both the theoretical contributions and practical applicability of the research findings. The combination of sophisticated quantitative analysis with rich qualitative insights provided a holistic understanding of how green talent attraction influences employee performance in Kenyan public hospitals, particularly when moderated by effective leadership support (Kombo & Tromp, 2006; Kothari & Garg, 2014).

FINDINGS

Table 1: Response Rate

Source: Researcher 2025

Table 2: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Source: Researcher 2025

Green Talent Attraction

This section explores respondents’ perceptions of green talent attraction practices within Level 5 Public Hospitals. Green talent attraction encompasses the strategies and initiatives implemented by hospitals to identify, attract, and recruit employees with environmentally conscious skills, knowledge, and values that align with sustainability goals.

Table 3:  Descriptive Analysis on Green Talent Attraction

Source: Researcher, 2025

Table 3 analysis of green talent attraction practices in Level 5 public hospitals in Kenya reveals a robust implementation of strategic initiatives, as evidenced by the overall mean score of 4.15 with a standard deviation of 0.69. This strong performance indicates that hospitals have successfully established comprehensive approaches to attracting environmentally conscious talent.

Among the various aspects examined, collaboration with educational institutions emerged as the strongest practice, achieving the highest mean score of 4.20 (SD = 0.69). This finding suggests that hospitals have prioritized building sustainable talent pipelines through strategic partnerships with educational institutions, with 72% of respondents expressing positive agreement. Similarly, the provision of competitive compensation packages demonstrated strong implementation, scoring a mean of 4.18 (SD = 0.67), indicating significant organizational commitment to investing in green talent acquisition.

The hospitals also showed notable success in actively seeking candidates with green skills and values (Mean = 4.15, SD = 0.68) and maintaining strong employer branding that emphasizes sustainability commitments (Mean = 4.12, SD = 0.70). These results suggest a well-coordinated approach to talent attraction that combines both active recruitment and strategic brand positioning. The assessment of candidates’ environmental awareness during the recruitment process, while still positive with a mean of 4.08 (SD = 0.71), emerged as an area with potential for enhancement.

The consistency in response patterns across all measured aspects is particularly noteworthy, with positive responses consistently ranging between 70-72% and very low negative responses (6-7%). This uniformity, coupled with stable neutral responses (21-23%), indicates a systematic and well-integrated approach to green talent attraction across the surveyed institutions. The small standard deviations across all measures (ranging from 0.67 to 0.71) further support this observation, suggesting consistent implementation across different hospitals.

These findings demonstrate that Level 5 public hospitals in Kenya have successfully established comprehensive green talent attraction strategies, with particular strengths in educational partnerships and competitive compensation. While the overall performance is strong, there remain opportunities for further enhancement, particularly in strengthening environmental awareness assessment during recruitment processes and further developing sustainability-focused employer branding strategies. The results suggest a solid foundation for continued development of green talent attraction practices in these healthcare institutions

Table 4: Descriptive Analysis on Employees’ Job Performance

Source: Researcher 2025

Table 4 of employee job performance in Level 5 public hospitals in Kenya reveals exceptionally high levels of self-reported performance and engagement, with the highest overall mean score among all dimensions at 4.35 (SD = 0.57). This indicates strong employee performance in relation to green initiatives and general job responsibilities.

The highest-rated aspect is employees’ demonstration of commitment and dedication to their jobs (Mean = 4.37, SD = 0.55), with 77% of respondents expressing positive agreement (23% strongly agree, 54% agree). This is closely followed by active contribution to sustainability initiatives (Mean = 4.36, SD = 0.56), and consistent achievement of performance targets (Mean = 4.35, SD = 0.57).

The effective application of green skills and knowledge shows strong implementation (Mean = 4.34, SD =0.58), while positive feedback and recognition for job performance also scores highly (Mean = 4.35, SD = 0.57). The remarkably consistent high scores across all aspects suggest strong alignment between employee performance and organizational sustainability goals.

The response pattern shows the most positive distribution among all dimensions measured, with positive responses consistently ranging between 76-77% and minimal negative responses (5%). The exceptionally low standard deviations (0.55-0.58) indicate highly consistent performance levels across employees. The low neutral responses (18%) suggest clear and decisive employee engagement rather than ambivalent participation.

These findings demonstrate that employees in Level 5 public hospitals in Kenya are performing at a very high level in both their general job duties and sustainability-related responsibilities. The consistently high scores and low standard deviations indicate that strong performance is uniform across the workforce. This suggests that green talent management strategies and leadership support are effectively translating into superior employee performance outcomes

Table 5 Statistical Properties for Green Talent Attraction

The statistical properties table for Green Talent Attraction provides comprehensive evidence of a robust and significant relationship with Employee Job Performance in Kenyan public hospitals. With an R² value of 0.838, Green Talent Attraction explains nearly 84% of the variance in employee performance outcomes, indicating an exceptionally strong predictive relationship. This relationship is statistically significant as demonstrated by the high F-statistic of 152.67 and p-value below 0.001, confirming that these results are not due to chance. The data exhibits excellent normality characteristics with a Shapiro-Wilk value of 0.972 (well above the 0.95 threshold) and a corresponding p-value of 0.136, ensuring the validity of parametric testing. The slight negative skewness (-0.287) and mild leptokurtic distribution (kurtosis = 1.156) remain well within acceptable ranges, further validating the normal distribution assumption necessary for regression analysis.

The construct’s measurement properties demonstrate exceptional quality and reliability. With a Composite Reliability of 0.931 and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) of 0.655, Green Talent Attraction exceeds established thresholds for reliability and convergent validity, indicating that the measurement items consistently capture the intended construct. The absence of multicollinearity is confirmed by favorable VIF (1.453) and Tolerance (0.688) values, ensuring that Green Talent Attraction contributes unique explanatory power to the model without problematic correlation with other predictors. The statistical assumptions for regression analysis are further validated through consistent variance (Chi-square p-value of 0.320) and independence of observations (Durbin-Watson value of 1.923 within the ideal range). Collectively, these statistical properties establish that Green Talent Attraction represents a valid, reliable, and statistically significant predictor of Employee Job Performance in the healthcare context, providing hospital administrators with empirical confidence that investments in sustainability-focused recruitment practices yield measurable performance benefits.

Green Talent Attraction

This study investigated the influence of Green Talent Attraction strategies on Employee Job Performance in hospital settings. The analysis sought to determine whether hospitals that implement environmentally-focused recruitment and talent attraction initiatives experience improved employee job performance outcomes.

Table 6: Path Coefficients for Green Talent Attraction Model

Source Researcher 2025

The statistical analysis presented in Table 6 provides evidence of a significant positive relationship between Green Talent Attraction (GTA) practices and Employee Job Performance (EJP) in hospital settings. The path coefficient (β = 0.378) indicates a strong positive effect, meaning that as hospitals enhance their green talent attraction strategies by one standard deviation, employee job performance increases by 0.378 standard deviations. This relationship demonstrates robust statistical significance with a t-value of 9.220, substantially exceeding the conventional critical threshold of 1.96, and a p-value below 0.001, indicating an extremely low probability that this relationship occurred by chance. The small standard error (SE = 0.041) further confirms the precision and reliability of this estimate.

In practical terms, these findings validate that hospitals implementing effective green talent attraction strategies—including actively seeking candidates with environmental awareness, incorporating sustainability assessments in recruitment processes, emphasizing environmental commitments in employer branding, offering competitive compensation packages for green talent, and developing partnerships with educational institutions—can expect significant improvements in employee performance outcomes. This provides valuable guidance for hospital human resource managers by quantifying the performance benefits of environmentally-focused recruitment practices.

The moderation model suggests that Green Talent Attraction serves as a significant predictor of Employee Job Performance, functioning as a key mechanism through which hospitals can simultaneously enhance employee outcomes while advancing their sustainability objectives. This statistical relationship underscores the strategic importance of integrating environmental considerations into talent acquisition processes in healthcare organizations, offering both performance benefits and alignment with broader sustainability goals.

Table 7: Model Fit Indices for Green Talent Attraction Model

Source Researcher 2025

The model fit indices Table 7 for the Green Talent Attraction model demonstrates excellent overall fit across all key measures of model adequacy. The Chi-square/df ratio of 2.26 falls comfortably below the critical threshold of 3.0, indicating appropriate model complexity and good alignment with the underlying data structure. The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) value of 0.963 and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) value of 0.958 both exceed their recommended thresholds of 0.95, demonstrating that the model performs substantially better than baseline comparisons and effectively captures the relationships between variables. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) value of 0.045 falls notably below the 0.06 threshold, while the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) of 0.040 is well under the 0.08 cutoff, both indicating minimal residual error and strong absolute fit. Together, these metrics provide robust evidence that the model effectively captures the underlying relationships between green talent attraction and employee job performance without being either over or under-specified, confirming its validity for interpretation and theoretical implications.

Table 8: Model Summary Statistics for Green Talent Attraction

Source Researcher 2025

The model summary statistics Table 8 demonstrates power and statistical significance of the Green Talent Attraction model. The R-squared value of 0.838 indicates that the model explains an impressive 83.8% of the total variance in Employee Job Performance, suggesting strong predictive capability of talent attraction strategies. The adjusted R-squared value of 0.836 remains virtually unchanged from the R-squared value, confirming that the model maintains its strong explanatory power even when accounting for the number of predictors, thus indicating no issues with model over fitting. The high F-statistic of 152.67, coupled with a highly significant p-value (p < 0.001), provides compelling evidence that the model’s explanatory power is statistically significant and not due to chance. These statistics collectively demonstrate that the model effectively captures the relationships between the variables and provides a highly reliable framework for understanding how Green Talent Attraction influences Employee Job Performance in Level 5 public hospitals in Kenya.

Figure 1: Measurement Model for Green Talent Attraction and Employees’ Job Performance

The structural equation model diagram illustrates the significant positive relationship between Green Talent Attraction and Employee Job Performance in hospital settings, providing compelling statistical evidence of how sustainable recruitment practices influence performance outcomes. The measurement components reveal strong psychometric properties for both constructs, with GTA measured through five indicators displaying robust factor loadings ranging from 0.803 to 0.840, while the EJP construct demonstrates excellent measurement quality through five indicators with high factor loadings between 0.863 and 0.882. The structural path coefficient (β = 0.378) indicates a moderately strong positive effect, demonstrating that for every standard deviation increase in green talent attraction initiatives, employee job performance increases by 0.378 standard deviations. This relationship exhibits high statistical significance with a t-value of 9.220 (far exceeding the critical threshold of 1.96) and a p-value below 0.001, providing strong confidence that this association did not occur by chance. The small standard error (0.041) further confirms the precision and reliability of this estimate.

In practical terms, these findings empirically validate that hospitals investing in green talent attraction strategies including targeted recruitment of environmentally-conscious candidates, sustainability-focused employer branding, assessment of environmental awareness during recruitment, competitive compensation packages, and partnerships with educational institutions can expect significant improvements in employee performance outcomes related to sustainability goals and general job requirements, highlighting the strategic value of integrating environmental considerations into talent acquisition processes.

Table 9: Thematic Analysis Table of Green Talent Attraction on Job Performance

Source Researcher 2025

The thematic analysis Table 9 reveals how green talent attraction influences job performance in Kenyan public hospitals across key dimensions. The findings show that organizational attraction is enhanced through employer branding and competitive advantages, evidenced by improved hospital reputation and strong organizational culture. Professional growth opportunities, including learning and career development, emerge as significant factors alongside competitive compensation and benefits packages that include work flexibility. Employee engagement is strengthened through increased motivation and sense of purpose, while environmental impact manifests through sustainability practices and community health initiatives. The workplace culture reflects strong organizational values and professional standards, leading to improved performance outcomes through enhanced operational efficiency and accountability systems. Supporting quotes demonstrate how sustainability practices positively influence both initial recruitment decisions and ongoing job satisfaction, with employees valuing the combination of competitive benefits, growth opportunities, and environmental commitment in their career choices and performance.

DISCUSSION OF GREEN TALENT ATTRACTION

The empirical evidence demonstrates a relationship between green talent attraction and employee job performance across various healthcare contexts. The study’s path analysis reveals that GTA has a significant direct effect on EJP (β = 0.378, p < 0.001), which aligns with several empirical studies in the healthcare sector. Abbas and Salameh (2023) found comparable results in Pakistani hospitals, showing that talent management significantly influenced sustainable business performance (β = 0.29, p < 0.001), though with a somewhat lower effect size than the current study.

The moderation model demonstrates excellent fit indices (CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.045, SRMR = 0.040) and explains a substantial portion of variance in employee job performance (R² = 0.838). This explanatory power surpasses that found in AlQershi et al.’s (2022) Malaysian healthcare study, which reported a significant but lower relationship between talent management practices and sustainable business performance (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). The study’s stronger effects may be attributed to its specific focus on green talent attraction strategies.

Leadership support emerged as a crucial moderating factor (β = 0.356, p < 0.001), with the interaction effect between GTA and leadership support showing significant influence (β = 0.228, p < 0.001). This finding aligns with Khan and Muktar’s (2024) research, which demonstrated that green employee empowerment partially mediated the relationship between green HRM and sustainable organizational performance (indirect effect = 0.17, 95% CI [0.08, 0.27]). The current study’s stronger effects suggest that leadership support may be particularly influential in healthcare settings.

The model’s strong performance (F-statistic = 152.67, p < 0.001) is particularly noteworthy when compared to Pomaranik and Kludacz-Alessandri’s (2023) findings in Polish healthcare entities, where talent management practices significantly influenced job satisfaction (β = 0.39, p < 0.001). This study’s higher explanatory power (83.8%) suggests that the combination of green talent attraction and leadership support in healthcare contexts.

Studies by Setyaningrum et al. (2024) and Suleman et al. (2024) support these findings from different perspectives. Setyaningrum et al. found that green HRM practices positively influenced millennial retention (β = 0.39, p < 0.001), while Suleman et al. demonstrated significant mediation effects of employee environmental commitment on turnover intentions (indirect effect = -0.19, 95% CI [-0.28, -0.11]). These findings complement the study’s results by highlighting the broader influence of green talent strategies.

The comprehensive model addresses gaps identified in previous studies, particularly in the African context highlighted by Skubis et al. (2023). While their qualitative study identified regulatory pressure and organizational culture as key factors, this study provides quantitative evidence of the effectiveness of green talent attraction strategies in African healthcare settings. This focus on Kenyan public hospitals provides valuable insights into the healthcare sector specifically, with stronger statistical relationships than those found in comparable studies across other contexts.

These findings collectively demonstrate that the integration of green talent attraction strategies with strong leadership support creates a synergistic effect on employee performance in healthcare settings, with statistical evidence that surpasses previous studies in terms of both effect size and model fit. The results suggest that healthcare organizations implementing green talent attraction strategies should ensure robust leadership support to maximize the benefits for employee performance.

The theoretical foundation for understanding green talent attraction’s impact on employee job performance is supported by three interconnected theories that align with the empirical findings. Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) theory, introduced by Renwick et al. (2013), establishes the fundamental framework for integrating environmental sustainability into human resource functions, which directly supports the observed significant relationship between GTA and employee performance (β = 0.378, p < 0.001). This theoretical underpinning is enhanced by Transformational Leadership Theory (Bass & Riggio, 2006), which explains the crucial moderating role of leadership support (β = 0.356, p < 0.001) and its interaction effect (β = 0.228, p < 0.001) in strengthening the GTA-performance relationship. Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964) further reinforces this framework by emphasizing the importance of investing in employee development and sustainable practices, which is reflected in the model’s substantial explanatory power (R² = 0.838) and strong fit indices (CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.958).

This theoretical triangulation provides robust support for the empirical findings across various healthcare contexts, from Abbas and Salameh’s (2023) Pakistani hospital study to AlQershi et al.’s (2022) Malaysian healthcare research, demonstrating how the integration of environmental sustainability practices with effective leadership support and human capital development creates a comprehensive framework for understanding successful green talent attraction initiatives in healthcare settings. The theoretical framework particularly validates the strong performance metrics observed in the current study’s healthcare context, where the combination of environmental sustainability practices (as outlined in GHRM theory), transformational leadership support, and human capital investment creates a synergistic effect on employee performance that surpasses previous studies in both effect size and model fit.

Table 10: Triangulation comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Findings of Green Talent Attraction

Source Researcher 2025

The triangulation of qualitative and quantitative findings Table 10 reveals compelling evidence for the effectiveness of green talent attraction strategies in Kenyan public hospitals. The quantitative analysis demonstrates a significant direct effect of green talent attraction on employee job performance (β = 0.378, p < 0.001), which is substantiated by the qualitative themes emerging from employee narratives, particularly in the areas of organizational attraction and performance outcomes. The model’s robust explanatory power (R² = 0.838) aligns with rich qualitative insights regarding enhanced hospital reputation, competitive positioning, and improved operational efficiency reported in employee testimonials.

The critical role of leadership support, quantitatively demonstrated through its significant moderating effect (β = 0.356, p < 0.001), is echoed in the qualitative findings under the “Employee Engagement” and “Workplace Culture” themes, where employees specifically highlighted increased motivation and stronger organizational values. This convergence is further strengthened by the interaction effect between GTA and leadership support (β = 0.228, p < 0.001), which corresponds with employee narratives about enhanced commitment and cultural alignment.

The model’s excellent fit indices (CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.045, SRMR = 0.040) are complemented by the qualitative evidence of comprehensive organizational transformation across multiple dimensions. While the quantitative analysis demonstrates the statistical significance of these relationships, the thematic analysis provides rich contextual understanding through seven major themes: organizational attraction, professional growth, compensation and benefits, employee engagement, environmental impact, workplace culture, and performance outcomes. Employee quotes such as “It has enhanced employee branding by focusing on green practices that boost hospital reputation” provide detailed insights into how the statistical relationships manifest in daily work experiences.

The quantitative findings showing strong overall model performance (F-statistic = 152.67, p < 0.001) align with the qualitative themes of “Environmental Impact” and “Performance Outcomes,” where employees reported enhanced sustainability practices and improved accountability systems. This triangulation demonstrates that both methodological approaches converge to support the effectiveness of green talent attraction initiatives in healthcare settings, with the qualitative data providing rich explanatory context for the strong statistical relationships observed in the quantitative analysis. The combination of methods reveals that the impact of green talent attraction extends beyond measurable performance metrics to include profound changes in organizational culture, professional development, and environmental commitment, creating a comprehensive understanding of how sustainable practices influence both recruitment and ongoing job performance in healthcare organizations.

Theoretical framework is powerfully validated by the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative findings. The significant direct effect of green talent attraction on employee job performance (β = 0.378, p < 0.001) aligns with GHRM theory’s predictions and is enriched by qualitative themes of organizational attraction and enhanced hospital reputation. The model’s explanatory power (R² = 0.838) and strong fit indices (CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.958) reflect the comprehensive nature of the theoretical foundation, while employee narratives provide concrete examples of how these relationships manifest in practice.

The critical role of leadership support, predicted by Transformational Leadership Theory, is demonstrated quantitatively through its significant moderating effect (β = 0.356, p < 0.001) and interaction effect (β = 0.228, p < 0.001). This is substantiated by qualitative findings under the “Employee Engagement” and “Workplace Culture” themes, where employees highlighted increased motivation and stronger organizational values. The model’s strong performance (F-statistic = 152.67, p < 0.001) validates Human Capital Theory’s emphasis on investing in employee development, as evidenced by employee testimonials about professional growth and enhanced capabilities.

The integration of these theoretical perspectives with both quantitative and qualitative findings creates an understanding of how green talent attraction initiatives succeed in healthcare settings. The seven major qualitative themes – organizational attraction, professional growth, compensation and benefits, employee engagement, environmental impact, workplace culture, and performance outcomes – provide rich context for the statistical relationships, while supporting the theoretical predictions about the importance of environmental sustainability, leadership support, and human capital development. This comprehensive theoretical and empirical framework demonstrates that successful green talent attraction requires the alignment of environmental practices with effective leadership and sustained investment in human capital development, creating lasting impacts on both organizational performance and sustainability outcomes in healthcare settings.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The comprehensive analysis of green talent attraction strategies in Kenya’s Level 5 public hospitals reveals robust implementation with significant positive impact on employee job performance. Statistical evidence demonstrates strong performance across all measured dimensions, with educational partnerships (mean=4.20) and competitive compensation packages (mean=4.18) emerging as particularly effective approaches. The structural equation modeling confirms a moderately strong positive relationship between green talent attraction and employee performance (β=0.378, p<0.001), with leadership support significantly enhancing this relationship through both direct and interaction effects. The model demonstrates excellent fit indices (CFI=0.963, TLI=0.958) and explains a substantial portion of variance in employee performance (R²=0.838), surpassing previous healthcare studies. These findings, grounded in theoretical frameworks integrating Green Human Resource Management theory, Transformational Leadership Theory, and Human Capital Theory, are further validated by qualitative themes revealing organizational attraction, professional growth, compensation benefits, employee engagement, environmental impact, workplace culture, and performance outcomes.

Hospital administrators should prioritize enhancing environmental awareness assessment during recruitment processes and strengthening sustainability-focused employer branding, while building on their already successful educational partnerships and competitive compensation strategies. Leadership development programs should be strengthened to enhance leaders’ abilities to support green initiatives, with formal mentoring pairing experienced sustainability leaders with emerging green talent. Policy makers should develop national green healthcare standards with comprehensive guidelines for green talent attraction, establish certification standards for environmental competencies, and create incentive mechanisms that reward hospitals for meeting sustainability benchmarks. Educational reform initiatives should integrate environmental sustainability into healthcare curricula and fund scholarships for environmental certifications, while creating platforms for knowledge exchange and communities of practice to facilitate implementation of effective green talent attraction strategies across healthcare institutions.

Researchers should extend this work through longitudinal studies examining how green talent attraction evolves over time and influences sustained performance improvement, while conducting comparative analyses between public and private healthcare institutions to understand how resource constraints influence implementation effectiveness. Standardized assessment instruments specific to healthcare contexts should be developed to improve measurement consistency, while mixed-methods investigations incorporating objective performance indicators would address common method bias concerns. Theoretical frameworks integrating Green Human Resource Management theory with healthcare-specific models should be expanded, and cultural factors influencing implementation in diverse African healthcare environments should be explored. Research examining the financial return on investment for green talent attraction would provide valuable decision-making guidance for resource allocation, particularly in resource-constrained settings. These comprehensive approaches would build deeper understanding of how sustainable talent attraction practices influence organizational performance and environmental outcomes in healthcare settings.

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