Green talent management as a driver of public sector well-being: insights from civil servants’ job satisfaction in China

TL;DR

This study explores how green talent management boosts job satisfaction among Chinese civil servants, with organizational identity and AI playing key roles.

Contribution

The study empirically demonstrates the role of green talent management in public sector job satisfaction, mediated by organizational identity and moderated by AI.

Findings

Green hard and soft talent management significantly enhance civil servants' job satisfaction.

Green organizational identity mediates the relationship between green talent management and job satisfaction.

AI moderates the effect of green hard talent management on green organizational identity.

Abstract

Enhancing public service quality and societal well-being increasingly relies on the strategic development of human capital within the public sector. Although green talent management (GTM) has been widely applied to promote sustainability and performance in for-profit organizations, its mechanisms and effects in public administration remain insufficiently examined. This study investigates how GTM influences civil servants’ job satisfaction, highlighting the roles of green organizational identity and artificial intelligence (AI).

Data were collected from 347 civil servants in China’s public administration sector using a structured survey. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the mediating effect of green organizational identity and the moderating effect of AI.

Both green hard talent management and green soft talent management significantly enhanced civil servants’ job satisfaction. Green organizational identity mediated these relationships. In addition, AI moderated the effect of green hard talent management on green organizational identity.

The findings offer empirical evidence that GTM contributes to improving job satisfaction by strengthening organizational identity among public sector employees. They further suggest that AI can amplify certain GTM effects, providing deeper insight into how sustainability-oriented talent practices can support human capital development and public sector modernization.

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