Safety Culture: A Catalyst for Sustainable Development

Sara Hajmohammad () and Stephan Vachon ()

Journal of Business Ethics, 2014, vol. 123, issue 2, 263-281

Abstract: The present paper investigates the potential benefits of a strong safety culture (SC). Specifically, we build on the organizational support theory to explore the direct and indirect effects of SC on firm performance. Partial least squares method is used to analyze the data collected from a survey among 251 Canadian plants. The results show that SC is associated with several performance indicators all linked to sustainable development (i.e., environmental, financial, and safety performance). Importantly, our findings also suggest that the relationships between SC and environmental/safety performance are mediated by the actual level of implemented environmental/safety practices within plants. We conclude the paper by highlighting the study’s limitations and contributions as well as theoretical and managerial implications. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Keywords: Sustainable development; Workplace safety; Environmental management; Safety culture; Organizational support theory; Survey research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:123:y:2014:i:2:p:263-281

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1813-0

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