Influence of safety motivation and climate on safety behaviour and outcomes: evidence from the Saudi Arabian construction industry

Abstract

Purpose: Over the last three decades, safety literature has focused on safety climate and its role in forecasting injuries and accidents. However, research findings regarding the relationships between safety climate and other key outcome constructs are somewhat inconsistent. Recent safety climate literature suggests that examining the role of safety motivation may help provide a better explanation of such relationships. The research presented in this article aimed to empirically analyse the relationships among safety motivation, safety climate, safety behaviour and safety outcomes within the context of the Saudi Arabian construction industry.

Method: A conceptual model was developed to examine the relationships among four main constructs: safety motivation, safety climate, safety behaviour and safety outcomes. Based on the survey data collected in Saudi Arabia from site engineers and project managers (n = 295), statistical analyses were carried out, including confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling to assess the model and test the hypotheses.

Results: The main results indicated that safety motivation could positively influence safety behaviour through safety climate, which plays a mediating role for this mechanism. The results also confirmed that safety behaviour could predict safety outcomes within the context of the Saudi Arabian construction industry.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia; construction; safety behaviour; safety climate; safety motivation.