The relationship between the degree of adopting human resource change leadership role and human resource attribution in sustainable enterprises

Building positive employee beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes is critical for successful change interventions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationship between human resource change leadership role and employee human resource attribution in sustainable enterprises, which relates to the changes in institutional logic and works. The study builds the research model by drawing from attribution theory (Weiner, 1985) and HR attribution (Nishii et al., 2008). It explores this relationship by employing the mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative methods (in-depth interviews) adjust the scales, while quantitative methods test scales, researching hypotheses and models. Utilizing a sample of 1,058 employees from 24 sustainable enterprises in Viet Nam, the study employs the PLS-SEM method for analysis. The findings show that HR change leadership roles significantly positively affect the well-being of HR attribution. At the same time, the degree of adoption of HR change leadership roles hurts performance HR attribution. In addition, it explores a U-shaped relationship between the adoption of HR change leadership roles and performance HR attribution, highlighting the complex nature of HR attribution in sustainable organizations. This implies that employees may interpret the same sustainable policies or programs differently based on their characteristics and experiences. Therefore, HR departments should tailor their sustainable practices according to employees’ diverse needs and perceptions to foster positive attributions and minimize negative attribution, contributing to sustainable progress.