Organization-Based Self-Esteem (OBSE) and sustainable human resource management (HRM) have developed in parallel; no prior review has systematically examined their intersection. This study addresses that gap by mapping the intellectual evolution of OBSE scholarship and synthesizing the evidence on sustainable HR practices as antecedents of OBSE.
A dual-track design combines bibliometric analysis of 389 Web of Science documents (1989–2024) with a PRISMA-2020 systematic literature review (SLR) of 147 studies. Screening and coding were performed independently by two reviewers (κ = 0.84), quality was appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, evidence was synthesized through direction-of-effect vote-counting per SWiM guidance, and the two strands were sequentially integrated.
OBSE scholarship shows three developmental phases, and the OBSE × Sustainable HRM nexus is its fastest-growing frontier. Sustainable HR practices positively predict OBSE in 80.3% of included studies; Perceived Organizational Support is the strongest antecedent and transformational leadership the dominant moderator. From these patterns – including null and conditional findings – a dual-process model grounded in Signaling Theory and the Job Demands-Resources framework is derived, in which sustainable HRM elevates OBSE through complementary cognitive-appraisal and affective pathways, conditional on signal credibility.
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review combining bibliometric mapping with a PRISMA-2020 SLR at this interface, a claim substantiated through comparison with nine prior reviews. The dual-process model and three falsifiable propositions are derived from the synthesized evidence, specifying when sustainable HR practices will – and will not – enhance OBSE.
