The study was anchored on resource-based theory of Grant in 1991. The theory posits that the main drivers of organizational strategic performance are its resources ( Salman, Ganie & Saleem, 2020 ). Armstrong (2016) suggested three important components of HRM that constitute a resource for the firm. These are: the human capital pool comprising of stock of employee knowledge, skills, motivation and behaviours; the flow of human capital through the firm; and the dynamic processes through which organizations change themselves. The incorporation of environmental concerns into the culture of the organization may deliver environmental capabilities that competitors would find hard to imitate, which would give a firm an advantage over competitors ( Russo & Fouts, 1997 ). Resource-based theory and green employee resourcing are interconnected concepts that focus on leveraging the hospital’s human resources to achieve competitive advantage while promoting sustainability. For Level Five hospitals to achieve sustained competitive advantage in performance, they should adopt green employee resourcing practice that emphasize on environmental management issues, particularly green recruitment methods such as advertising jobs in hospital websites and other electronic media, and receiving email applications. Selection method should be online video interviews, Selection criteria should be based on green skills and awareness of the prospective employee. Green employee resourcing increases number of green employees who are inimitable to drive competitive advantage and support enhanced performance of devolved healthcare services. This also improves reputation of the hospital on matters of environmental management.

Green employee resourcing requires that corporate environmental culture of a company to be integrated with the recruitment process. Interviews should be designed in such a way that one should evaluate the applicant’s qualifications with the firm’s greening strategies ( Rawashdeha, 2018 ). Razab et al. (2015) recommended that when interviewing prospective job candidate, environmentally-related questions should be asked as an important interview criterion. During short-listing of job candidates, the best environmentally committed applicants who have shown concern with firms’ greening programs should be chosen ( Jabbour et al., 2013) . The candidates should also possess environmental awareness skills that may enhance a positive relationship between human resource recruitment and labor productivity to exist. Establishing employer brand as a green employer is an effective way to attract applicants and businesses apply advertisement to promote their environmental and organizational performance, environmental policy, and environmental image, which helps persuade people to apply for such positions. Job descriptions should be designed in a way that includes abilities and information that candidates require, along with explanation of the environmental duties and responsibilities of candidates should possess to fulfil those roles ( Chaudhary, 2020 ).

Green employee resourcing (GER) practice is very important component in the entry of human resources in the organization as both influence organization’s performance and sustainability. Green employee resourcing comprises of green recruitment and selection. Green recruitment is defined as the process of advertising to attract a pool of individuals with knowledge, skills and behaviors that are related with environmental management system ( Shoeb & Tahir, 2015 ). Recruiting candidates who are green makes it easy for firms to attract and select for induction professionals who are aware of sustainable processes and are already familiar with environmental initiatives like recycling, conservation, and creating a more sustainable world. Green recruitment includes environmental management criteria in the advertisement messages; it is usually paper-free recruitment process with reduced environmental impact ( Opatha, 2013 ).

Ragas et al. (2017) asserted that process of recruitment can assist firms in producing effective performance, including performance related to the environment by ensuring that newly hired staff is aware and able to maintain environmental culture of the organization. Mishra (2017) suggested that green activities comprise of video recruiting and use of online and video interviews, which are meant to minimize travel requirements of job candidates. The best HR practice in greening a company is the use of online applications to reduce paper usage and costs through computerized human resource information systems, and applicant tracking systems that streamline hiring efforts. Under green recruitment, applications are usually invited through online media like e-mail, online application forms. If possible, telephone or video-based interviews are conducted to minimize any travel-related environmental effect. Priya and Kamlesh (2016) argue that in materializing the established environmental policies and practices, companies should put in place environmentally-oriented workforce. In developing environmentally-oriented workforce, companies should focus on green recruitment and provision required environmental protection-related awareness, education, training and development to the current organization workforce.

Jose Chiappetta Jabbour (2019) states that greening is the process of linking environmental management initiatives into functional dimensions of human resource management such as recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, rewards, employee involvement, job description and job analysis among others. Multi-national companies are marketing themselves as Green HRM practitioners so as to attract employees who have a great knowledge and understanding of green practices and environmental sustainability issues ( Bhutto & Auranzeb, 2016 ). Halawi and Zaraket (2018) argue that when recruiting, companies need the following tasks: green environmental management, role descriptions for managers and employees; green targets and goals; recruitment of candidates who are Green aware; and green employer of choice.

An Independent variable is the presumed cause of the dependent variable, while the dependent variable is the presumed effect thought of as consequence of the change in the independent variable ( Kothari, 2019 ). According to this study, green employee resourcing is the independent variable operationalized using three indicators and performance of devolved healthcare services is the dependent variable operationalized using three indicators, as shown in Figure 1 .

Green employee resourcing practices are very important components in the entry of human resources in the organization as both influence organization’s performance and sustainability. Green recruitment can be defined as the process of advertising to attract a pool of individuals with knowledge, skills and behaviors that are related to environmental management system ( Shoeb & Tahir, 2015 ). In green recruitment, the individuals are required to have interest and passion about working for an organization that is environment friendly. Recruiting candidates who are green makes it easy for firms to attract and select for induction professionals who are aware of sustainable processes and are already familiar with environmental initiatives like recycling, conservation, and creating a more sustainable world. Green recruitment includes environmental management criteria in the advertisement messages; it is usually paper-free or online recruitment process with reduced environmental impact ( Opatha, 2013 ).

High quality job candidates who share environmental management values are attracted by organizations that are adopting green business practices ( Shah, 2019 ). Successful organizations attract their prospective employees through environmental-related messages they communicate to the public. Ragas et al. (2017) asserted that process of recruitment can assist firms in producing effective performance, including performance related to the environment by ensuring that newly hired staff is aware of the environmental culture of the organization and he/she can maintain the environmental values followed by the organization. Mishra (2017) suggest that green activities comprise of video recruiting and use of online and video interviews, which are meant to minimize travel requirements of job candidates. Further, the best HR practice in greening a company is the use of online applications to reduce paper usage and costs through computerized human resource information systems, and applicant tracking systems that streamline hiring efforts ( Mishra, 2017 ). If possible, telephone or video-based interviews are conducted to minimize any travel-related environmental effect.

To attract and retain talent efficiently and effectively is one of the ways to be greener in people management practices. The advertisement for vacant posts at the Level Five Hospitals are usually reviewed to determine which media outlet the advertisement should be published in order to ensure wide coverage. For cost effectiveness, a link directing the applicants to the County website where the job vacancies and job requirements are posted should be made use of. Jose Chiappetta Jabbour (2019) states that greening is the process of linking environmental management initiatives into functional dimensions of human resource management, such as recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, rewards, employee involvement, job description and job analysis, among others.

According to Arulrajah et al. (2015) , companies have environmental policies that help them attract environmentally aware talent and they also brand themselves as organizations of green employer of choice. In addition, these organizations usually prepare job advertisements that express certain environmental values so as to attract potential employees who are green aware. Halawi and Zaraket (2018) argue that when recruiting, companies need the following tasks: green environmental management, role descriptions for managers and employees; green targets and goals; recruitment of candidates who are Green aware; and green employer of choice. Additionally, organization green activities should include the minimum use of stationery in recruitment and interview process, performance appraisals, and learning and development. Green employee resourcing is the process of hiring services of prospective employees with required skills that promote corporate environmental culture and performance of a company. Interviews should be designed in such a way that one should evaluate the applicant’s qualifications with the firm’s greening strategies ( Rawashdeha, 2018 ).

Adjei-Bamfo et al. (2020) opine that selection is the process of choosing the best applicant for the job and the process comprises sifting through the applications, drawing a short-list of candidates whose qualifications match closely with job description (screening), inviting and interviewing these candidates, making selection decision based on selection criteria, conducting background check from referees, making an attractive job offer to selected candidates and inducting them into the organization. Razab et al. (2015) recommended that when interviewing prospective job candidate, environmentally-related questions should be asked as an important interview criterion. During short-listing of job candidates, the best environmentally committed applicants who have shown concern with firms’ greening programs should be chosen ( Jose Chiappetta Jabbour, 2019 ).

Organizations should evaluate their job applicants during interview to determine if they have the necessary environmental competences needed in performing a specific job ( Wehrmeyer, 2017 ). Managers of organizations must employ certain screening methods which ensure that only job applicants who are sensitive and committed to environmental concerns are shortlisted for interview. Establishing employer brand as a green employer is an effective way to attract applicants and businesses might apply advertisement to promote their environmental performance, environmental policy, and environmental image, which can help persuade people to apply for such positions.

Green selection refers to the picking or hiring individuals who are likely to be committed to service delivery while being sensitive to environmental issues that have potential to environmental sustainability ( Wehrmeyer, 2017 ). Therefore, organizations should ensure that green selection method is used to screen job applicants to establish if they possess required competences for the performance of specific jobs. Green induction is about using technology such as Webcams to induct new employees. This is green technology that may be used to save time, energy and carbon emissions associated with travels to employer’s premises for interview. The selection criterion should be based on ranking the candidates’ performance and the high-quality individual with key environmental skills requite to perform specific job and has demonstrated commitment and sensitivity to environmental issues should be considered for employment and contacted through e-mail or telephone. Green selection is a method used to identify, evaluate and verify a job applicant’s eco-friendly values and sensitivity to environment-related concerns ( Masri & Jaaron, 2017 ). Therefore, job applicant’s overall suitability criteria for the job should be based on the candidate’s green qualifications.

Huma et al. (2017) conducted a study on the impact of green human resource management practices on job seekers’ attraction in Pakistan. The study findings indicated that green HRM practices had positive impact on job seekers’ attraction and employer good reputation was found to increase positive effect of green HRM practices on job seekers’ attraction. A study was conducted by Guerci et al. (2016) to explore the impact of green recruitment practices on attraction of job seekers in Italian context. The study found that the amount and quality of green information provided on the website of an organization regarding green recruitment practice play a major role in attracting qualified job applicants. The information about jobs and relevant conditions of employment provided on organization website usually reduces ambiguity about the employer and jobs available to the job applicants.

Hameed and Mohamed (2016) investigated the influence of HRM Practices on performance of Hospitals in India. This study used a sample of 250 nurses drawn from the population of 600 nurses. The research concluded that when there are healthy HRM practices in Hospitals, it will result in the development of individual productivity and organizational performance in hospitals. Javed and Cheema (2017) investigated the impact of adoption of green human resource management in the agricultural industry and the results indicated a positive relationship with organizational outcomes. Green resourcing of employees in agricultural sector was found to help in conserving the environment and attaining superior performance. Research was conducted by Rawashdeha (2018) about the impact of green HRM on environmental performance of health service organizations in Jordan. Data was collected from a sample of 87 respondents using a questionnaire. The study found a significantly positive relationship between Green HRM practices and environmental performance.

Danilwan et al. (2020) carried out a study titled inducing organizational citizenship behavior through GHRM bundle and its impact environmentally sustainable performance in Indonesian healthcare sector. Green hiring had an effect on the dependent variable and the study concluded that if healthcare service management in Indonesia made some productive and green-related strategies, then favorable outcomes would be generated with enhanced sustainable growth rate in the sector. Mwita and Kinemo (2018) investigated the role of green recruitment and selection on performance of processing industries in Tanzania—a case of Tobacco Processors limited. The research findings indicated that organizations which practice green recruiting and selection attracted more and better job applicants than organizations which don’t practice. In addition, the study found the existence of a positively linear relationship between green recruiting, selection and performance of firms. Kiplangat, Sang and Kingori (2022) carried out a study entitled the influence of green recruitment and selection on sustainability of selected Tea Factories in Kericho highlands of Kenya. This study used co-relational research design targeting a population of 915 respondents working in tea factories in Kericho and a sample of 278 employees. The results revealed a positive significant relationship between green recruitment and selection and sustainability of tea factories

Green performance of employees is the main input for minimizing harmful impact on the environment of the organization. Each employee’s green performance usually leads to group green performance, which is referred to as organization green performance ( Arulrajah et al., 2016 ). Opatha and Arulrajah (2014) argue that green performance of the organization can be achieved by ensuring green process in HRM practices that lead to green results for example, green innovations in environmental initiatives which bring green solutions for reducing waste and pollution; and green outcomes such as number of hours worked by an employee using natural light or reduced amount of waste of inputs and attainment of performance targets related to the environment. Haridas and Sivasubramanaian (2016) opine that some of the benefits of implementing GHRM practices include reduced cost, improved public image, reduced carbon emission and establishment of an environmentally friendly work space. GHRM is a phenomenon that involves employee green activities that result in high efficiencies, low wastage, high employee engagement and commitment, improved work-life balance, high employee performance and environmental sustainability ( Huma et al., 2017 ).

Arulrajah et al. (2016) , found that employee green performance includes efficient use of input resources by employees when performing their day-to-day functions, the application of innovative environmental initiatives and the employee contribution to company environmental management initiatives. Cherian and Jacob (2012) found that greening of human resource functions by firms may generate positive performance and lead to increased productivity. With the current spread of environmental awareness, it has become necessary for the organizations to consider reducing any environmental impact through the application of green practices that embrace both technical and administrative skills of employees into development of environmental initiatives for sustainable competitive advantage and organizational performance ( Aburahma et al., 2020 ). Organization Performance, therefore, can be viewed in terms of sustainability, which means stability and growth achieved through provision of quality goods and services with stable revenue resources; efficiency of operations; organizational legitimacy, which is regarded as compliance with the law, regulations, social and environmental responsibility; and employee entitlement in terms of employee safety and health, organizational climate, employee commitment and performance ( Aburahma et al., 2020 ).

Green employee resourcing in devolved healthcare services is a process of attracting and selecting environmentally aware employees. It is an important component of green human resource management practices because it affects the extent the hospital can attract and select qualified employees who provide eco-friendly healthcare services to clients. To achieve this objective, the respondents were requested to provide their honest opinion on statements below based on the following scale: 1) Strongly Disagree (SD); 2) Disagree (D); 3) Undecided (UD); 4) Agree (A); and 5) Strongly Agree (SA). The results were analyzed and presented in form of percentages in Table 2 . The mean (M) was used as a measure of central tendency and standard deviation (Sd) was reported as a measure of variability from the mean.

The findings in Table 2 revealed that the Level Five Hospitals adhere to the policy which guides public service employee resourcing activities as majority of the respondents 86.4% (M = 4.25, Sd = 0.73) agreed to the statement. This implies that board members and managers are properly oriented on public service policy on employment because it enables them have the ability to project healthcare service green values and determine which job applicant has the needed qualifications to work and environmental knowledge compatible with that of the healthcare service values. This finding is aligned with that of Priya and Kamlesh (2016) , who found that in materializing the established environmental policies and practices, companies should put in place environmentally-oriented workforce. Other respondents, 11.9% were undecided, while the remaining 1.7% disagreed. Respondents who were not familiar with the policy on public service board regarding employee resourcing were either undecided or disagreed with this statement.

The opinions on whether hospitals advertised for job openings in hospital website with some element of greening, majority of the respondents 83.8% (M = 4.22, Sd = 0.84) agreed to the statement. When Level Five Hospitals use their websites to advertise job vacancies online, it saves time for staffing employees (recruiters) and in turn increases their satisfaction that enhances performance. Advertising jobs or vacancies online with green information reduces cost on printing paper and this practice protects and conserves the work environment for sustained performance of employees. This finding is consistent with Guerci et al. (2016) , who found that the amount and quality of green information provided on the website of an organization regarding green recruitment practice, play a major role in attracting qualified job applicants. Other respondents, 13.6% were undecided, while 3.4% disagreed with the statement. Respondents who disagreed or remained undecided were either unaware or had not properly interacted with the hospital website.

Majority respondents 77.4% (M = 4.15, Sd = 0.95) agreed that job applications at the Level Five hospitals are invited through the emails, and other online forms thus reducing paper work. Job application documents take time to prepare and are expensive to print and deliver to the recruiting department or prospective employer. Therefore, time is saved and cost is reduced when employees use emails and other online forms to apply for jobs and this boosts employee morale. The findings agree with Mishra (2017) who stated that the best HR practice in greening a company is the use of online applications to reduce paper usage and costs through computerized human resource information systems, and applicant tracking systems that streamline hiring efforts. Other respondents, 17.8% were undecided, 5.1% disagreed with the statement either because their applications were not received through emails or they are unaware.

According to the study findings, majority of the respondents 63.6% (M = 3.58, Sd = 1.34) agreed that hospitals improve their performance by conducting online video interviews. Level Five hospitals adopting eco-friendly and cost-saving processes particularly use of technology in employee resourcing process can reduce environmental pollution, thus protecting the employee health. Adoption of digital technology in recruitment and selection reduce paperwork and other natural resources when advertising job vacancies in hospital websites, receiving online applications, interviewing candidates through webcam, checking references, releasing job offer letters and drawing up contract of employment letters online. This study finding concurs with Ragas et al. (2017) who asserted that process of recruitment can assist firms in producing effective performance, including performance related to the environment. Further, these results agreed with findings of Mishra (2017) who suggested that green activities, which comprises of online recruiting and use of online and video interviews were meant to reduce paper usage and minimize travel requirements of job candidates. Other respondents, 11.9% were undecided, 24.6% disagreeing implying lack of knowledge and interaction with the current recruiting and selection methods.

Additionally, majority of the respondents 74.5% (M = 4.03, Sd = 0.94) agreed that hospitals do include environmental awareness as a criterion in their employee selection process. A new employee who has environmental management knowledge and commitment exhibits green behaviour that supports sustainable use of resources for organizational performance. This finding is supported by Masri and Jaaron (2017) who alluded that job applicant’s overall suitability criteria for the job should be based on the candidate’s green qualifications. The finding agrees with that of Tang et al. (2018) who opine that GHRM can enhance green skills of workers by recruiting individuals who have an awareness of environmental protection and motivation for engaging in green initiatives and activities. Another, 17.8% were undecided, 7.6% disagreed. This study, however, contrasts with a study conducted by Langat and Kwasira (2016) to determine the influence of GHRM practices on environmental sustainability at Kenyatta University and found that recruitment of employees in the university did not include green issues. The study, therefore, concluded that employees had little involvement on environmental issues.

Further, the study findings revealed that hospitals filled job vacancies in devolved healthcare by employing employees who contributed to environmental management, as supported by majority of the respondents, 81.3% (M = 4.21, Sd = 0.91), who strongly agreed with the statement. This result implies that acquiring green employees will help organizations have more human resources that are source of competitive advantage for better organizational performance as noted by resource-based-theory. This is further supported by Mwita and Kinemo (2018) who opine that green employee resourcing is crucial in ensuring that firms have human resources with sufficient green knowledge and skills that cannot be imitated by rival firms. Other respondents, 12.7% were undecided, 5.9% disagreed, with the statement.

Finally, majority of the respondents, 83.9% (M = 4.15, Sd = 0.87), agreed with the statement that green employee resourcing has an effect on performance of this hospital. Attracting and hiring a qualified employee who is aware of the environmental culture of the hospital and placing that employee in the right job maintains environmental values increases employee’s performance, including performance related to the environment ( Tareq & Rosima, 2015 ). Each employee green performance usually leads to group green performance, which is referred to as organization green performance ( Arulrajah et al., 2016 ). A study conducted by Mwita and Kinemo (2018) found the existence of a positively linear relationship between green recruiting, selection and performance of firms. This result is consistent with Sharifa and Mohammed (2019) whose study revealed that green hiring and green training and involvement had most effect on sustainable performance. Further, this study result concurs with Okeyo and Ragui (2017) who noted that effective execution of green recruitment strategies and development can help companies improve their environmental reputation, reinforce their key abilities, and attain greater efficiency, resulting in long-term organizational sustainability. This implies that Level Five Hospitals should vigorously use green employee resourcing for enhanced performance. Other respondents, 11% were undecided, 5.1% disagreed, with the statement. This category of employees who were undecided or disagreed were not aware of the phenomenon under study.

Respondents were also asked to suggest possible ways in which green employee resourcing practice can be improved in devolved healthcare services. A total of thirty-five (35) respondents made suggestions that were arranged in themes, analyzed and presented in Table 3 .

The findings in Table 3 show that majority of the respondents, 48.6% suggested the need to emphasize on environmental awareness information in job advertisements, interviews and selection not just for clinicians but also for administrative employees. This result is consistent with Ragas et al. (2017) who asserted that process of recruitment can assist firms in producing effective performance, including performance related to the environment by ensuring that newly hired staff is aware and can maintain environmental culture of the organization. Other 34.3% reported the need to buy eco-friendlier electronic equipment that save energy and expand on-line service connectivity within the hospital to reduce paper use and improve quality of service, while 17.1% suggested provision of more awareness among staff and management to embrace online job applications and interviews through zoom and webinar. The results imply that devolved healthcare should fully embrace green employee resourcing because it is paperless, saves employee time, reduces cost of travel and minimizes interruption to those who work in the hospital and thus enhanced performance. The current study also used document analysis to record number of green recruitments, number of employees selected online and number of employees promoted due to their green activities for the past six years. The findings showed that Level Five Hospitals usually advertise for job openings on their websites and partly in print media. While there was no evidence of any employee selected through online interviews or promoted because of championing green activities, devolved healthcare services in Kenya are practicing green employee resourcing by ensuring that hospitals reduce printing paper and associated costs involved in employee resourcing.

The study further interviewed three key respondents from each hospital regarding green employee resourcing. Respondents were asked to explain if the hospital, during its recruitment process includes information about its environmental concerns, for example, the hospital is environmentally responsible. All the 12 respondents said that their hospitals do not include information about their environmental concerns in the advertisement for vacancies. The respondents, however, argued that because hospitals are known to generate a lot of healthcare waste ( Bouzid et al., 2021 ; World Health Organization, 2017 ) to the environment, the management has put in place healthcare management system that promotes the health of employees and communities.

In answering the question on whether the hospital management asks candidates questions connected with safe and healthy environment, all the 12 respondents confirmed. Although the Level Five Hospitals do not include information about their environmental concerns in their recruitment programs; they belief that they have a responsibility to protect their staff and the environment through effective eco-friendly employee resourcing practice. Respondents said that candidates for employment are asked questions related to protection of the environment, infection prevention and control in the health facility. Issues included in the interview of clinical staff include occupational safety and health practices, infection prevention and control matters including healthcare waste management.

The performance of devolved healthcare services is important because it enables a hospital to achieve its desired objectives and enhances environmental sustainability. This section, therefore, requested the respondents to provide their honest opinion on the statements below based on the following scale: 1) Strongly Disagree (SD); 2) Disagree (D); 3) Undecided (UD); 4) Agree (A); and 5) Strongly Agree (SA). The results were analyzed and presented in Table 4 . The mean (M) and standard deviation (Sd) were applied to describe central tendency and dispersion respectively.

The findings in Table 4 show that majority of the respondents, 86.4% (M = 4.14, Sd = 0.85), agreed with the statement that the hospital had seen an increase in the number of patients receiving treatment over the past six years. The number of patients seeking treatment increases when employees are trained and working using electronic gadgets to retrieve patient information, receive payments conduct diagnoses. The result is supported by Omune and Nyangau (2021) who found that green human resource management practices significantly and positively affected employee performance at Kenyan public universities. The remaining 9.3% were undecided, while 4.2% disagreed with the statement. The employees who disagreed or remained undecided imply they are not aware of increased patient numbers or lack access to information.

On whether the hospital has implemented eco-friendly processes that decrease energy consumption, majority respondents, 85.6% (M = 4.05, Sd = 0.95) agreed with the statement; 6.8% were undecided, 7.6% of the respondents disagreed with the statement. Eco-friendly processes practiced by employees reduces carbon emissions by ensuring efficient use of energy and putting off artificial light and electronic when not in use. A recent study that supports this finding is that of Ren et al. (2018) argued that an effective approach to organization sustainability requires employee compliance to formal rules and accept to voluntarily engage in green initiatives such as lowering consumption of energy and paper and use of stairs in place of elevators. Hospital clients are satisfied with the provision of eco-friendly healthcare services according to 85.6% (M = 4.19, Sd = 0.84) of the respondents who agreed to the statement. This finding agrees with that of Kruse et al. (2017) who found that telehealth provided satisfaction to patients through improved outcomes, preferred modality, ease of use, low cost, improved communication, and reduced travel time. The other respondents 1.9% of the respondents were undecided, while the remaining 2.5% disagreed with the statement. Majority of the respondents 79.2% (M = 4.03, Sd = 0.90) agreed to the statement that the hospital encourages use of electronic payment system, for example, M-pesa for healthcare services because it improves client satisfaction and revenue collection. Respondents, 15.3% were undecided, while 5.9% of the respondents disagreed with the statement.

Further, majority of the respondents 89.8% (M = 4.29, Sd = 0.67) agreed that the hospital management strongly encourages the use of online or electronic resources that are environmentally friendly. This means that employees efficiently access their HRM services online through their portals and hospital website. This reduces cost of printing paper and minimizes carbon emissions. This finding concurs with that of Ahmad (2015) who opined that e-business and e-learning had converted ordinary offices into Paperless offices that have minimum use of paper or has eliminated use of paper by changing all important official paper-documents into automated documents and workflows. Other respondents 9.3% were undecided, and the remaining 0.8% of the respondents disagreed with the statement. As per 78% (M = 4.04, Sd = 0.88) of the respondents, the hospital’s revenue has consistently increased for the last six years due to its implementation of green performance initiatives. The use of electronic payment system lowers fraud and improves efficiency, which at the same time increases revenue collection. This result was supported by Mutisya et al. (2019) who alluded that management in public hospitals should be effective so as to improve revenue collection. The hospital with more revenue will be allocated more expenditure resources as they are perceived to be performing better. Other respondents 16.1% were undecided, 5.9% of the respondents disagreed with the statement.

Finally, majority of the respondents 87.3% (M = 4.19, Sd = 0.91) agreed that the hospital has implemented environmentally friendly practices that efficiently minimize the release of harmful substances. The environmentally friendly practices ensure that employees are safe and in good health to consistently provide healthcare services. A past study that enforces this finding is that of Shah (2019) who explained that a lot of effort is required to initiate activities that protect the environment and livelihoods of communities. Green occupational safety and health practices tend to reduce harmful consequences to avoid health concerns and improve the well-being of employees. Other respondents, 7.6% were undecided, 5.1% of the respondents disagreed with the statement. The study finding implies that standard deviation value is closely dispersed around the mean.

In addition to the above, respondents were asked to suggest possible ways in which performance can be improved in devolved healthcare services. In making their suggestions, the 47 responses were recorded, arranged in themes, analyzed using Content analysis and presented in Table 5 .

The findings in Table 5 , majority representing 55.3% proposed implementation of evidence-based customer satisfaction survey, 25.5% suggested the need to increase the number of health professionals to cater for increased number of patients, 19.2% suggested rewarding employees based on their performance and scheme of service. The finding implies that employees in devolved healthcare services can perform better if an evidence-based customer satisfaction survey is carried out. A past study carried out by Al-Abri and Al-Balushi (2014) recommended that healthcare managers should efficiently allocate that efficiently enhance patient satisfaction. These results concur with that collected from interview of key informants who opined evidence-based that the hospitals do not conduct customer satisfaction survey but rely on complaints/compliments book to assess the areas to improve and those that the hospital has excelled on.

Further, document analysis conducted on current study found no records on client satisfaction indices for the past six years, but the hospitals largely depend on compliment/complaint book to assess customer satisfaction. There was, however, clear evidence in the compliment/complaint book on particular actions the hospitals’ managements have taken regarding a complaints or compliments from their customers. Document analysis guide was used in this study to check and collect data from records about performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya. The study collected data from Health Information Department in order to analyze the number of patients attended to for the past six years (2014-2019). The Level Five Hospitals provided the data, which was combined per year, analyzed and displayed in Table 6 and Figure 2 .

Descriptive statistics in Table 6 and Figure 2 show that patient numbers increased from 762,493 in 2014 to 1,134,567 in 2019, apart from the year 2017 when the number of patients dropped to 638,323. Further inquiry indicated that in 2017, there was a countrywide strike of healthcare employees for six months, which led to the decline in the number of patients seeking devolved healthcare services.

The implication is that performance of devolved healthcare services largely depends on employees offering their services in an eco-friendly environment. Because most Level Five Hospitals have gone paperless, especially in patient registration, capturing of health information about the patient and sharing that information online among healthcare workers at different service areas within the hospital, has improved devolved healthcare services. Online services reduce cost on printing paper and improves performance of health information employees because they do not waste time in recording, storing, retrieving and moving physical files from one service area to another. These findings are supported by a study conducted by Marhatta and Adhikari (2013) which found that if human resource practices are in line with environmental management activities, then business firms are likely to enjoy better performance and environmental sustainability.

Document analysis guide was further used to record amount of revenue collected for the past six years. This was regarded as an important indicator of performance of devolved healthcare services for the past six years (2014-2019). The study targeted to collect data on amount of revenue collected by finance department of each Level Five hospital, to get total revenue collected by the four Level Five Hospitals per year for the past six years. Two Level Five Hospitals provided the data, while the other two declined. The data collected was analyzed and presented in Table 7 and Figure 3 .

The results in Table 7 and Figure 3 show that the amount of revenue collected for the period under study increased from Ksh. 156.4M in 2014 to Ksh 526.9M in 2019, apart from the year 2017 when the amount of revenue collected dropped to Ksh. 330.8M.

Further inquiry indicated that during 2017, there was a countrywide strike of employees in healthcare services sector which led to decline in the amount of revenue collected. These findings correspond to decline of number of clients attended to during the same period. The study found that when employees in finance department work online in an eco-friendly environment and, therefore the, amount of revenue collected increased indicating performance of devolved healthcare services.

Top and key respondents of Level Five Hospitals were interviewed regarding the performance of devolved healthcare services and their responses were recorded. The respondents were asked to explain how e-business affects performance of devolved healthcare services and they explained that hospitals have embraced E-business and customers are encouraged to pay for services through M-pesa and electronic money transfer. The respondents argued that this had improved the speed of service delivery, reduced fraud, and improved accountability of revenue collected. Electronic business in hospitals saves time for the employee to retrieve information for example patient records, and saves printing paper for example in the use of National Hospital Insurance Fund biometric machine by employees to verify customer details. This finding is aligned with that of Ahmad (2015) who found that e-business and e-learning have converted ordinary offices into Paperless offices that have minimum use of paper or have eliminated the use of paper by changing all important official paper documents into automated documents and workflows. Teleconferencing and telecommuting among senior managers are encouraged, while telemedicine is practiced in sharing health information in Level Five Hospitals. This result agrees with Atmojo et al. (2020) who found that telemedicine utilization in the departments of pediatrics, intensive care unit, radiology and dermatology rooms lowered costs of health by 56% and reduced patients’ cost of travel to hospital by 94%, while it also generated cost savings for patients and enhanced patient satisfaction.

Correlation analysis was conducted to determine the strength and direction of the relationship between GER and the performance of devolved healthcare services. Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient formula was applied to conduct correlation analysis which shows the strength and direction of the relationship between independent variables ( Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003 ). The result of the analysis is in Table 8 .

From the findings in Table 8 , green employee resourcing has statistically strong significant positive relationship with performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya (rxy = 0.733, n = 118, p = 0.000 < 0.05). The findings were aligned with that of Catherine (2016) who emphasized that electronic-recruiting saves energy in mailing, filing, and general paperwork tasks. Further, pollution associated with the process of making, delivering, and recycling paper products is also reduced when management embrace e-resourcing for workers. This study

**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

finding is in line with that of Mwita and Kinemo (2018) who found the existence of a positively linear relationship between green recruiting, selection and performance of firms. Also, the findings agreed with that of Kuria and Mose (2019) , who found that green recruitment had a statistically significant relationship with the organizational effectiveness of Universities and Kiplangat et al. (2022) who found a significant positive relationship between recruitment and selection and sustainability of tea factories in Kenya. Okeyo and Ragui (2017) noted that effective development and execution of green recruitment strategies can help companies improve their environmental reputation, reinforce their key abilities, and attain greater efficiency, resulting in long-term organizational sustainability. The study findings support AMO theory since green recruitment will attract individuals with needed skills and abilities that motivate employees to engage in green initiatives and activities.

Regression analysis was run in SPSS version 22.0 to determine effect of green employee resourcing the performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya. According to a study by Omondi-Ochieng (2018) , there is empirical evidence to support the use of regression analysis as a statistical tool in data analysis. The analysis focused on the dependent variable, and therefore, simple linear regression model for green employee resourcing and performance took the following format:

Y = β₀ + βX₁ +e

The statistical significance of the effect of independent variable (green employee resourcing) on dependent variable (performance of devolved healthcare services) was analyzed and presented on Table 9 .

^aPredictors: (Constant), green employee resourcing.

According to the results in Table 9 , green employee resourcing accounts for 53.8% of the variance in the performance of devolved healthcare services. The findings imply significant positive effect; however, the model does not include other green human resource management practices, explaining the remaining 46.2% variance.

^aDependent Variable: Performance of Devolved Healthcare Services.

The regression coefficients, as shown in Table 10 , revealed a positive statistically significant relationship between green employee resourcing and the performance of devolved healthcare services, as supported by a beta coefficient of β = 0.843 and a p = 0.000 < 0.05. Therefore;

Y = 0.134 + 0.843X1

The results imply that a unit increase in green employee resourcing (GER), other factors held constant will increase the performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya by 0.843 units. Further, in support of the findings, t_cal = 11.615 > t_critical = 1.96 at a 95 percent confidence level, the null hypothesis (H_o1) was rejected, and the alternative hypothesis was accepted.

Thus; H₁: Green employee resourcing has a statistically significant effect on the performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya.

To test the study hypothesis, the study compared means using one-way ANOVA. The findings displayed a significant difference in the means of different study variables; thus, green employee resourcing showed significant effect on the performance of devolved healthcare services F {(26, 91) = 7.618, p = 0.000}. Table 11 displays this result under a summary of hypothesis testing.

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

This means that GER practice significantly influenced the performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya. The null hypothesis (H_o1) green employee resourcing has a statistically significant effect on the performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya was, therefore, rejected and the alternative hypothesis (H₁) green employee resourcing has a statistically significant effect on the performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya was accepted.

The study concluded that there is a strong positive significant linear relationship between green employee resourcing and the performance of devolved healthcare services. The study concluded that green employee resourcing had statistically significant effect on performance of devolved healthcare services. Further, the study concluded that green recruitment methods guided by public service employee resourcing policy; advertising job openings in hospital website; inviting job applicants using online media (email); conducting online interviews and selection methods improve performance of devolved healthcare services in Kenya.

The study recommends mandatory sharing and use of green awareness information in all job advertisements, interviews and selection of not only clinical staff but also administrative employees. The study also recommends purchase of eco-friendly electronic equipment that save energy and expand intranet to reduce cost on printing paper in service provision. The study recommends continuous application of environmental awareness criterion in green employee resourcing and management to embrace online employee recruitment and selection that ensure selection of an employee who has previously contributed towards green goals of an organization.