How is safety climate formed? A meta-analysis of the antecedents of safety climate

Abstract

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to provide a comprehensive quantitative review of research to date on the antecedents of psychological and organizational safety climate. Building upon and expanding Zohar’s conceptual model, antecedents were organized into three broad categories: situational factors, interpersonal interactions, and personal factors. Data were gleaned from 136 primary studies to calculate effect sizes for 38 antecedents and the relative importance of each antecedent within the three categories. Antecedent effect sizes were generally homologous for psychological and organizational safety climate, with the strongest effect sizes for interpersonal interactions followed by organizational climate and leadership. The magnitude of the safety climate antecedent effect sizes tended to be stronger in health-care industry studies and varied inconsistently as a function of the industry-specific nature of the safety climate measure. This meta-analysis provides a much needed summary of the research to date in an effort to guide future research and practice on the development and improvement of safety climate in organizations.

Determinants of Occupational Safety Culture in Hospitals and other Workplaces—Results from an Integrative Literature Review

“…In general, we found a variety of different determinants. This cluster represented also determinants mentioned in other models, like job demands or job role [2,4]. Compared with topics and categories from Cornelissen et al [5], we found determinants for physical work environment, work characteristics, and workforce.…”

“…The obtained overview and the comparison of determinants in different workplaces facilitate the identification of possible research requirements and implications, especially for hospital workplaces. We discuss the results for each of the seven clusters below, and compare our findings with antecedents identified in other models [2][3][4]. The topics addressed within this cluster were almost used equally by the studies at different workplaces (14/17 at hospital workplaces versus 21/27 at other workplaces).…”

“…The authors calculated effect sizes for 38 antecedents to determine the magnitude of each within the three categories [2]. The authors detected the strongest effect sizes and associations for safety climate in particular for antecedents of interpersonal interactions, and situational factors [2]. As stated by He et al, there is an ongoing need for research on further antecedents and determinants of safety culture [2].…”

“…One recent quantitative review by He et al [2] extended Zohar's conceptual model by providing a quantitative overview on different antecedents and factors of safety climate. The identified antecedents were grouped into three main categories: situational factors (e.g., job and organizational characteristics, leadership, co-worker influence), interpersonal interactions (e.g., leader-member exchange, team-member exchange), and personal factors (e.g., personality characteristics, demographics) [2]. The authors calculated effect sizes for 38 antecedents to determine the magnitude of each within the three categories [2].…”

“…The identified antecedents were grouped into three main categories: situational factors (e.g., job and organizational characteristics, leadership, co-worker influence), interpersonal interactions (e.g., leader-member exchange, team-member exchange), and personal factors (e.g., personality characteristics, demographics) [2]. The authors calculated effect sizes for 38 antecedents to determine the magnitude of each within the three categories [2]. The authors detected the strongest effect sizes and associations for safety climate in particular for antecedents of interpersonal interactions, and situational factors [2].…”