The role of New Forms of Work Organization in developing sustainability strategies in operations

This paper aims to study whether Human Resource Management and the organizational practices related to New Forms of Work Organization (NFWO) (e.g., teamwork, training, and employee involvement) should be implemented to attain higher environmental and social sustainability performance. This potential connection is analyzed using the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey 2009 database containing data on the assembly industry. Several hierarchical regression models are used to study the direct impact of the considered practices on sustainability performance and their interactions with sustainability action programs. The results show that some of the practices related to NFWO are linked to sustainability performance. In particular, training has a direct positive effect on environmental and social sustainability performance and creates a positive interaction between social sustainability action programs and performance. Additionally, employee involvement and incentives have a direct positive impact on social sustainability performance. Finally, teamwork is a relevant practice for the successful implementation of environmental sustainability action programs. This paper contributes by empirically extending the knowledge on the role of organizational practices and the understanding of environmental and social sustainability achievement at the operational level. Moreover, we highlight the complexity of these relationships within different sustainability dimensions, showing the need for more qualitative studies about this topic. •Positive relationships between NFWO and sustainability are identified.•Training has direct positive impact on environmental and social sustainability.•Involvement and incentives have direct positive effects on social sustainability.•Teamwork has a positive interaction effect with environmental programs.•Training has a positive interaction effect with social sustainability programs.