Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of safety participation as a mediator in the relationship between the six facets of safety management practices (i.e. management commitment, safety training, worker’s involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures,...
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my.uum.repo.196082020-11-16T08:02:28Z http://repo.uum.edu.my/19608/ Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises Subramaniam, Chandrakantan Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati Mohd Zin, Md. Lazim Sri Ramalu, Subramaniam Hassan, Zuraida HB Economic Theory TS Manufactures Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of safety participation as a mediator in the relationship between the six facets of safety management practices (i.e. management commitment, safety training, worker’s involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies) and safety compliance.Design/methodology/approach A survey of 74 employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia was carried out.Self-reported measures were used to obtain data on workplace safety dimensions and safety behavior. The partial least square structural model analysis was used to ascertain the proposed relationships.Findings The present study found that only three dimensions of safety management practices (management commitment, safety training, and safety rules and procedures) were significantly related to safety compliance. Of these, safety participation mediated the link between management commitment and safety training and safety compliance.Research limitations/implications The small sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings. Second, the correlational nature of the study did not permit causation to be implied.However, despite these limitations, while safety performance can be theorized to trigger the establishment of safety management practices, such theoretical perspective tends to connote reactivity rather than proactivity of the decision-making process.Practical implications The study highlights the role of the voluntary behavior of employees in promoting a safe work environment. Business owners are recommended to provide safety training in which the employees are stressed on their crucial role in safety and use this knowledge to educate and convince their co-workers to work safely.Originality/value Literature indicates the lack of studies on safety research in SMEs.Furthermore, such studies are justified because SMEs are likely to have more risks of occupational accidents and injuries. More importantly, this research highlights the importance of the voluntary behaviors of employees (i.e. safety participation) in promoting a safe work environment.As SMEs tend to have limited resources to implement a comprehensive OSH management system, using the employees as the safety agents at work can be an effective way toward accomplishing safety performance. Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2016 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://repo.uum.edu.my/19608/1/APJBA%208%203%202016%20226%20244.pdf Subramaniam, Chandrakantan and Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati and Mohd Zin, Md. Lazim and Sri Ramalu, Subramaniam and Hassan, Zuraida (2016) Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 8 (3). pp. 226-244. ISSN 1757-4323 http://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-02-2016-0029 doi:10.1108/APJBA-02-2016-0029 |
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HB Economic Theory TS Manufactures Subramaniam, Chandrakantan Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati Mohd Zin, Md. Lazim Sri Ramalu, Subramaniam Hassan, Zuraida Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of safety participation as a mediator in the relationship between the six facets of safety management practices (i.e. management commitment, safety training, worker’s involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies) and safety compliance.Design/methodology/approach A survey of 74 employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia was carried out.Self-reported measures were used to obtain data on workplace safety dimensions and safety behavior. The partial least square structural model analysis was used to ascertain the proposed relationships.Findings
The present study found that only three dimensions of safety management practices (management commitment, safety training, and safety rules and procedures) were significantly related to safety compliance. Of these, safety participation mediated the link between management commitment and safety training and safety compliance.Research limitations/implications The small sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings. Second, the correlational nature of the study did not permit causation to be implied.However, despite these limitations, while safety performance can be theorized to trigger the establishment of safety management practices, such theoretical perspective tends to connote reactivity rather than proactivity of the decision-making process.Practical implications
The study highlights the role of the voluntary behavior of employees in promoting a safe work environment. Business owners are recommended to provide safety training in which the employees are stressed on their crucial role in safety and use this knowledge to educate and convince their co-workers to work safely.Originality/value Literature indicates the lack of studies on safety research in SMEs.Furthermore, such studies are justified because SMEs are likely to have more risks of occupational accidents and injuries. More importantly, this research highlights the importance of the voluntary behaviors of employees (i.e. safety participation) in promoting a safe work environment.As SMEs tend to have limited resources to implement a comprehensive OSH management system, using the employees as the safety agents at work can be an effective way toward accomplishing safety performance. |
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Article |
author |
Subramaniam, Chandrakantan Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati Mohd Zin, Md. Lazim Sri Ramalu, Subramaniam Hassan, Zuraida |
author_facet |
Subramaniam, Chandrakantan Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati Mohd Zin, Md. Lazim Sri Ramalu, Subramaniam Hassan, Zuraida |
author_sort |
Subramaniam, Chandrakantan |
title |
Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
title_short |
Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
title_full |
Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
title_fullStr |
Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
title_full_unstemmed |
Safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
title_sort |
safety management practices and safety compliance in small medium enterprises |
publisher |
Emerald Group Publishing Limited |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://repo.uum.edu.my/19608/1/APJBA%208%203%202016%20226%20244.pdf http://repo.uum.edu.my/19608/ http://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-02-2016-0029 |
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