Case Study: Study of Sustainable HRM with an Example of Nokia During COVID-19

Amrita Dutt (), Aman Chadha (), Akriti Gupta () and Vijayshri Tewari ()
Additional contact information
Amrita Dutt: Indian Institute of Information Technology
Aman Chadha: Indian Institute of Information Technology
Akriti Gupta: Indian Institute of Information Technology
Vijayshri Tewari: Indian Institute of Information Technology

Chapter Chapter 10 in Pandemic Diaries, 2025, pp 165-183 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Sustainability has been an important issue due to the changing environmental conditions. Sustainability can be defined as managing the resources such that they not only suffice the need for today but also for the future generations. Now, maximum companies have their strategies in coherence with the sustainability. This paper takes a panoramic view of one of the most iconic communication company, Nokia. Nokia has seen it all, as it states its own dramatic story of being at the top thereby guiding the world to experience the extravagant era of mobile phones, and then being left out in the technological race and then fighting back to survive. With the advent of disruptive technology, it has created chaos in the market scenarios and putting Nokia through tough times, making sustainability quite an issue for the firm. A key paradigm in contemporary organisational strategies is sustainable human resource management (HRM), particularly in light of global disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic. With an emphasis on striking a balance between economic, social, and environmental factors while guaranteeing the long-term welfare of workers and organisational resilience, sustainable HRM incorporates the concepts of sustainability into HR procedures. By addressing both the current organisational needs and the wider effects on society and future generations, this strategy goes beyond typical HRM. Enterprises faced issues like preserving personnel health, guaranteeing productivity during remote work transitions, and navigating economic uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused unprecedented disruptions to enterprises worldwide. This highlighted the significance of sustainable HRM. One of the best examples of how sustainable HRM concepts may be used in times of crisis is Nokia, a leading global telecommunications company. Nokia had to implement creative and inclusive HR solutions to handle the particular difficulties brought on by the pandemic because of its operations in more than 130 countries and varied workforce. The company's strategy demonstrates how businesses may promote flexibility, assist workers’ physical and mental well-being, and fulfil their corporate social duty in the face of hardship. This case study examines Nokia's COVID-19 sustainable HRM efforts and shows how these practices improved employee well-being and organisational sustainability. By examining Nokia’s response, this study aims to provide insights into the practical application of sustainable HRM principles, emphasising their relevance in crisis management and their potential to shape resilient organisational cultures. The analysis also incorporates reports from Nokia's corporate publications and third-party assessments, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the company's HRM strategies during the pandemic. Through this research, we attempted to investigate the major elements that contributed to the company's demise, including its inability to adapt new technologies and how they adjusted their methods to make a comeback and reclaim its position in the communications sector. This time Nokia played through the rules of survival and very smartly aligned its strategies focusing on sustainability. However, it also emphasises Nokia's amazing turnaround, which entailed a strategic realignment focused on sustainability and innovation. In its rebirth, Nokia took a forward-thinking approach, integrating its operations and goals with sustainability principles. This included attempts to lessen environmental effect, such as increasing product energy efficiency, using circular economy practices, and encouraging digital inclusion through accessible technology.

Keywords: Sustainable HRM; Strategy; Nokia; Corporate sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-96-5415-4_10

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9789819654154

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-5415-4_10

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().