Examining a two-step working model of safety knowledge in translating safety climate into safety behavior

Abstract

PurposeGiven a baffling contradiction that the availability of safety knowledge may not necessarily lead to workers' safety behavior, this study aims to develop an exploratory two-step working model of safety knowledge in translating safety climate into safety behavior. In particular, this study highlights the importance of articulating tacit safety knowledge and improving workers' systematic problem solving (SPS) capacity in a favorable safety climate.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses 110 valid responses from Pakistan-based construction workers to test five hypotheses which embody the exploratory two-step working model of safety knowledge. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results of this study support the two-step working mechanism of safety knowledge in translating safety climate into safety behavior. Furthermore, results suggest that safety climate as a job resource facilitates converting construction workers' tacit safety knowledge into explicit safety knowledge (i.e. safety knowledge articulation) and then enabling them to spot non-conformities in safety management practices (i.e. SPS) and consequently to work safely (i.e. safety behavior).Originality/valueThe study has both theoretical and practical significance. In theory, it extends organizational learning theory and job demands-resources (JD-R) theory in the construction safety research domain and elaborates on the mediating role of safety knowledge articulation and SPS for the relationship between safety climate and safety behavior. In practice, it highlights the importance of continuous articulation of tacit safety knowledge and accumulation and use of explicit safety knowledge in construction safety management practices.

The Influence of the University Laboratory Safety Climate on Students’ Safety Behavior: The Parallel Mediating Effects of Ability and Motivation

“…Among them, tacit knowledge is difficult to express clearly and has the characteristics of individuality and contingency; explicit knowledge refers to a system that can be fully represented by a code system. In the past, scholars emphasized that both of them have an important impact on the formation of safe behavior [26,27]. In view of the dominant role of explicit knowledge in laboratory safety management in China, the safety knowledge explored in this study refers to the knowledge reserve that an individual uses to cope with various safety conditions during work [28], such as safety regulations, safety procedures, and possible safety risks.…”