Identifying and Prioritizing the Challenges of Implementing Green Human Resource Management in Iraqi Universities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study aimed to identify, classify, and prioritize the challenges associated with implementing green human resource management in Iraqi universities and to develop a comprehensive evidence-based framework. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Relevant studies were identified through systematic searches of Scopus and Web of Science, supplemented by searches in Google Scholar, reputable publishers’ websites, and the reference lists of key articles. Following duplicate removal and the screening of titles, abstracts, full texts, and methodological quality, 34 eligible articles were included in the final analysis. Study quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist, and articles achieving more than 70% of the total quality score were retained. The extracted evidence was analyzed through systematic content analysis, conceptual categorization, and narrative synthesis. The synthesis indicated that implementation challenges could be classified into ten overarching categories: cultural and behavioral barriers; managerial and leadership barriers; structural and institutional barriers; training and human resource development barriers; performance evaluation, reward, and motivational barriers; recruitment and human resource integration barriers; financial and infrastructural barriers; knowledge and research barriers; technological and innovation barriers; and contextual barriers. The evidence suggested that insufficient senior management support and commitment, inadequate specialized environmental training and awareness, weak green organizational culture and employee resistance, the policy–implementation gap, and limited financial and infrastructural resources were the highest-priority barriers. The absence of context-specific models, ineffective green performance evaluation and reward systems, and poor alignment between human resource practices and institutional sustainability strategies further constrained implementation effectiveness. Implementing green human resource management in Iraqi universities requires an integrated, multilevel approach that simultaneously strengthens managerial commitment, institutional structures, green competencies, resource allocation, organizational culture, and technological capacity. The proposed framework provides an evidence-based foundation for policymaking, intervention design, and the development of context-sensitive implementation models within Iraqi higher education.