Abstract
This study develops and tests an integrative model to better understand the mechanisms by which the leadermember exchange (LMX) determines workers’ safety behaviours. The modified theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was proposed by using attitudinal ambivalence to replace univalent safety attitude. Empirical data were collected from 229 construction workers in China using a detailed questionnaire. Both situational and routine safety violations were considered in this model. The results showed that LMX had significant effects on both types of safety violations through three mediators from the modified TPB framework. Specifically, attitudinal ambivalence and group safety norm mediated the relationships between LMX and both types workers’ safety violations. However, perceived behavioural control only mediated the relationship between LMX and individuals’ routine safety violations. Furthermore, this research supported the distinctions between situational and routine safety violations. The indirect effects of LMX on individuals’ situational safety violations took place mainly through group safety norm. By contrast, the indirect effects on individuals’ routine safety violations took place mainly through attitudinal ambivalence and perceived behavioural control. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications, research limitations, and future directions were discussed. The results provide some meaningful insights into how to improve safety compliance behaviours from the perspective of supervisor-worker relationships.
Highlights
The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries in the world, which has witnessed high accident rate leading to huge losses of life and property (Choi, Ahn, & Lee, 2017a; Fang & Wu, 2013)
The discriminant validity of all constructs was verified because the square roots of average variance extracted (AVE) of any Leader-member-exchange
Hypotheses H1a, H2a and H3a proposed that leadermember exchange (LMX) would have a negative correlation with ambivalence toward safety compliance (AASC), and positive correlations with Group safety norm (GSM) and perceived behavioural control (PBC), respectively. These three hypotheses were supported, and the results suggested LMX had a stronger effect on GSM than AASC (β = –0.39; p < 0.001) and PBC (β = 0.26; p < 0.001)
Summary
The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries in the world, which has witnessed high accident rate leading to huge losses of life and property (Choi, Ahn, & Lee, 2017a; Fang & Wu, 2013). Despite the increased efforts to reduce accidents, construction safety has not improved as much as other industries (Jiang, Fang, & Zhang, 2015; Liang, Zhang, & Su, 2018b; Shin, Lee, Park, Moon, & Han, 2014). Previous studies have recognized that safety violations are one of the dominant causes of construction accidents Blackmon and Raghu (1995) proposed that almost 98% of the accidents were attributed in one way or another to unsafe behaviours. It is pressuring to eliminate safety violations to further promote construction safety
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