A model for occupational safety and health intervention diffusion to small businesses

Abstract

Background Smaller businesses differ from their larger counterparts in having higher rates of occupational injuries and illnesses and fewer resources for preventing those losses. Intervention models developed outside the United States have addressed the resource deficiency issue by incorporating intermediary organizations such as trade associations. Methods This paper extends previous models by using exchange theory and by borrowing from the diffusion of innovations model. It emphasizes that occupational safety and health (OSH) organizations must understand as much about intermediary organizations as they do about small businesses. OSH organizations (“initiators”) must understand how to position interventions and information to intermediaries as added value to their relationships with small businesses. Examples from experiences in two midwestern states are used to illustrate relationships and types of analyses implied by the extended model. Results The study found that intermediary organizations were highly attuned to providing smaller businesses with what they want, including OSH services. The study also found that there are opinion leader organizations and individual champions within intermediaries who are key to decisions and actions about OSH programming. Conclusions The model places more responsibility on both initiators and intermediaries to develop and market interventions that will be valued in the competitive small business environment where the resources required to adopt each new business activity could always be used in other ways. The model is a candidate for empirical validation, and it offers some encouragement that the issue of sustainable OSH assistance to small businesses might be addressed.

Managing safety in small and medium enterprises

“…The support system needs to provide specific tools (not risk assessment tools) that provide concrete/specific solutions that are integrated into business strategies and should be based on a variety of different types of intermediaries that have personal contact to the ownermanagers and understand the business context. Some of the most recent research has started to look more thoroughly at how different intermediaries can be used and what strategies should be applied to engage them (Olsen et al, 2010(Olsen et al, , 2012Sinclair et al, 2013). SMEs are influenced by a range of stakeholders in both their internal and external environments.…”

“…These issues are specifically addressed in more detail in two of the papers in this special issue (Olsen and Hasle, 2015;Cunningham et al, 2015). Sinclair et al (2013) suggest that a better OHS intermediary could be characterised by: their commitment to align OHS activities with their business interests, already being engaged in delivering OHS products and services, seeking new ways of providing goods and services to small enterprises, being connected to small businesses through formal, informal or interpersonal relationships and, being innovative. It should be noted that these intermediaries include both OHS-focused intermediaries and non OHS-focused intermediaries.…”

Workplace safety and health information dissemination, sources, and needs among trade associations and labor organizations.

“…Both business (also referred to as "trade") and professional associations operate within sectors to represent the common interests of their members and provide them with services [Bean 2006;Chartered Quality Institute 2016]. They serve as intermediaries in delivering goods and services to businesses [Hasle, Limborg 2005;Sinclair et al 2013] and helping associations maintain business and government relations ]. Business associations are organizations founded and funded by companies within an industry (e.g., chamber of commerce).…”

How to engage small retail businesses in workplace violence prevention: Perspectives from small businesses and influential organizations

“…Workers in smaller establishments experience the highest risk for occupational injury but have the fewest resources to address safety risks as compared to larger businesses [Hasle and Limborg, 2006]. To address this challenge, researchers have proposed various models for disseminating OSH information and interventions to small businesses [Hasle and Limborg, 2006;Olsen et al, 2012;Sinclair et al, 2013]. These dissemination models typically begin with an "initiator" organization, such as a public health department or occupational safety organization, that develops or utilizes an existing OSH intervention and aims to deliver it to small businesses [Olsen et al, 2012;Sinclair et al, 2013].…”

“…To address this challenge, researchers have proposed various models for disseminating OSH information and interventions to small businesses [Hasle and Limborg, 2006;Olsen et al, 2012;Sinclair et al, 2013]. These dissemination models typically begin with an "initiator" organization, such as a public health department or occupational safety organization, that develops or utilizes an existing OSH intervention and aims to deliver it to small businesses [Olsen et al, 2012;Sinclair et al, 2013]. To reach small businesses, the models assume that the initiator works through an "intermediary" organization, such as an insurance company or chamber of commerce, that interfaces directly with small business operators ("operators") [Hasle and Limborg, 2006;Olsen et al, 2012;Sinclair et al, 2013].…”