HR leaders and scholars acknowledge
that the HR function too often has
been shunted aside when strategic
issues are identified and addressed. Recent
studies show little change in the last decade in
this peripheral status (Lawler & Boudreau,
2009; Ulrich, Brockbank, & Johnson, 2009).
For the transformational change to sustainability
management, there is little research on
whether HR executives can seize a place in the
discussion and exert powerful influence. The
types of people and change-management
challenges associated with developing and
executing sustainability strategies would
appear to offer HR leaders a great opportunity
to enhance their strategic roles. However,
results from our study suggest they are not yet
capitalizing on that opportunity, even as their
organizations progress toward sustainability