TY - JOUR
T1 - The perspective of safety engineers on safety climate
AU - Braunger, Paul
AU - Korunka, Christian
AU - Kubicek, Bettina
AU - Frank, Hermann
AU - Lueger, Manfred
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - The aim of this study was to investigate safety climate and how it relates to the safety performance of employees from the perspective of safety engineers. Using Griffin and Neal's (2000) safety climate model as a theoretical basis, we hypothesized that the organizational safety climate is a higher-order construct that relates to the safety compliance of employees and their safety participation via the mediating roles of safety knowledge and safety motivation. Hypotheses were tested among 236 safety engineers working in the wood and metal-processing industries in Austria. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis showed that safety climate is a higher-order construct comprising manager values, safety communication, safety practices, safety training, and safety equipment. Moreover, from the perspective of safety engineers, the safety climate of the organizations was related to employee safety motivation, which in turn related to their safety compliance and safety participation. In contrast to our assumptions, the safety knowledge of employees was, in the view of safety engineers, neither related to employee safety compliance nor to their safety participation. Multigroup analysis revealed no differences between internally and externally employed safety engineers for these relations. Thus, although the safety climate model was generally confirmed from an engineer's perspective, engineers rated motivational aspects of safety climate is more important compared to knowledge aspects.
AB - The aim of this study was to investigate safety climate and how it relates to the safety performance of employees from the perspective of safety engineers. Using Griffin and Neal's (2000) safety climate model as a theoretical basis, we hypothesized that the organizational safety climate is a higher-order construct that relates to the safety compliance of employees and their safety participation via the mediating roles of safety knowledge and safety motivation. Hypotheses were tested among 236 safety engineers working in the wood and metal-processing industries in Austria. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis showed that safety climate is a higher-order construct comprising manager values, safety communication, safety practices, safety training, and safety equipment. Moreover, from the perspective of safety engineers, the safety climate of the organizations was related to employee safety motivation, which in turn related to their safety compliance and safety participation. In contrast to our assumptions, the safety knowledge of employees was, in the view of safety engineers, neither related to employee safety compliance nor to their safety participation. Multigroup analysis revealed no differences between internally and externally employed safety engineers for these relations. Thus, although the safety climate model was generally confirmed from an engineer's perspective, engineers rated motivational aspects of safety climate is more important compared to knowledge aspects.
KW - Organizational safety climate
KW - Safety compliance
KW - Safety engineers
KW - Safety knowledge
KW - Safety motivation
KW - Safety participation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84923092155&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/hfm.20538
DO - 10.1002/hfm.20538
M3 - Article
VL - 25
SP - 198
EP - 210
JO - HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTORING AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES
JF - HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTORING AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES
IS - 2
ER -