Shen, Y.; Li, Y.; Ju, C.; Ashraf, H.; Hu, Z.; He, C.; Memon, S.A. A Model for Foundational Effects of Perceived Organizational Policies on Safety Climate. Sustainability2023, 15, 15759.
Shen, Y.; Li, Y.; Ju, C.; Ashraf, H.; Hu, Z.; He, C.; Memon, S.A. A Model for Foundational Effects of Perceived Organizational Policies on Safety Climate. Sustainability 2023, 15, 15759.
Shen, Y.; Li, Y.; Ju, C.; Ashraf, H.; Hu, Z.; He, C.; Memon, S.A. A Model for Foundational Effects of Perceived Organizational Policies on Safety Climate. Sustainability2023, 15, 15759.
Shen, Y.; Li, Y.; Ju, C.; Ashraf, H.; Hu, Z.; He, C.; Memon, S.A. A Model for Foundational Effects of Perceived Organizational Policies on Safety Climate. Sustainability 2023, 15, 15759.
Abstract
Organizational climate is the ascribed psychological meanings and significance associated with the procedures, policies and practices that are recognized and rewarded in the workplace, and hence mediates the effects of environmental stimuli on individuals’ response. Safety climate is a specific organizational climate, i.e., organizational climate for safety. Previous research claimed that organizational climate provides foundation for safety climate, but without elaboration on the foundational mechanisms. This paper attempts to fill up this knowledge gap. As organizational climate is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, this paper chooses two dimensions, i.e., perceived organizational support (POS) and participative decision-making (PaDM), for illustrative purposes. Drawing on an interactive approach to forming climate perceptions, this paper introduces two interactive constructs, i.e., leader-member exchange (LMX) and team member exchange (TMX), and establishes a multiple mediation model depicting the foundational effect of organizational climate on safety climate. A random sample of Hong Kong based construction personnel is used to validate the model. The results show that both POS and PaDM are positively associated with perceived safety climate, both LMX and TMX fully mediate the effect of PaDM on safety climate, and only LMX partially mediates the effect of POS on safety climate. This study sheds light on the foundational effects of organizational climate on safety climate. POS can improve the quality of reciprocal exchange about safety matters between construction personnel and their supervisors, and hence raise construction personnel’s awareness of the priority of safety. PaDM can improve the quality of reciprocal exchange about safety matters vertically and horizontally, and hence have construction personnel aware the importance of safety. In practice, this paper suggests that project managers timely recognize and reward construction personnel’s contribution, genuinely cares about their well-being, and take their suggestions seriously in making decisions. In this way, the quality of both vertical and horizontal exchange about safety matters improves, and a sound and positive safety climate ensues.
Keywords
Organizational climate; Safety climate; Multiple mediation; Construction personnel; Random sample
Subject
Social Sciences, Safety Research
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
