Vol. 13 No. 4 (2025)
December 2025

Articles

Green buys more than gold: Pollution, pay, and attractiveness of small and medium-sized enterprise employer brand

Published 2025-12-28

  • Xia Chen
    • ,
  • Michal K. Lemanski
    • ,
  • Michał Staszków
    • ,
  • Casey Watters

Xia Chen
Ningbo University

Michal K. Lemanski
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Michał Staszków
Poznan University of Economics and Business

Casey Watters
Bond University

Abstract

Objective: The objective is to examine how signals about the environmental pollution of a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise affect its perceived attractiveness as an employer, and whether higher pay can offset the negative effect of such signals.

Research Design & Methods: To test our hypotheses, which required investigation of causal relationships, we used an experimental research design. The participants were Gen Z business students (N = 125). We operationalised employer attractiveness as the intention to recommend the firm as an employer. To analyse data, we used one-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post-hoc tests after verifying normality and homogeneity of variance.

Findings: As expected, pollution information significantly lowered the intention to recommend (ANOVA: F(3, 121) = 11.433, p < 0.001). All three ‘polluting’ conditions scored significantly below the non-polluting control. Even a +50% wage premium did not restore attractiveness to control levels, and pay differences among polluting conditions were not statistically significant.

Implications & Recommendations: Environmental harm is a strong negative labour-market signal that compensation alone cannot neutralise. Managers should prioritise real, measurable pollution reductions in employer branding, align HR policies with sustainability and operations to avoid ‘mixed signals’, and account for a hidden ‘recruitment tax’ when environmental performance is poor.

Contribution & Value Added: The study extends signalling theory and employer branding research by documenting the ‘dark side’ of environmental signals: negative environmental impact depresses employer attractiveness, and higher pay, even substantial premiums, cannot compensate for this impact. The article offers causal, experimental evidence that clarifies the magnitude of these effects among young job seekers’.

Keywords

environmental sustainability, pollution, employer attractiveness, employer brand, signalling theory, quantitative research, experimental research

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Author Biography

Xia Chen

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Aviation Service Art and Management, College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, China. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, human resource management, and international business. She is a member of the Academy of International Business and belongs to the Academy of Management.

Michal K. Lemanski

Deputy Head of Institute for Human Resource Management at Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. Lemański’s current research interests rest at the intersection of international management and sustainability, with particular focus on the impact of new technologies on the environmental and social responsibility of firms and individuals in the international context.

Michał Staszków

Assistant Professor at the Department of International Management, Institute of International Business and Economics, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland. His research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, communication, and leadership. He co-founded the Academy of International Business Central and Eastern Europe (AIB-CEE) Chapter and served as its Vice-Chair till 2024. Apart from being a member of the Academy of International Business , he belongs to the European International Business Academy.

Casey Watters

Assistant Professor at Bond University’s faculty of law on the Gold Coast, Australia. He previously held positions with the University of Nottingham and Singapore Management University. His research focus is corporate law, with an emphasis on cross-border law and comparative research. In particular, he examines how laws create inconsistent rights and obligations for companies operating in multiple jurisdictions.

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