China Safety Science Journal ›› 2024, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (3): 9-19.doi: 10.16265/j.cnki.issn1003-3033.2024.03.0451

• Safety social science and safety management • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research on configurational causes of employee work safety violations: from a complexity theoretical perspective

LIU Lin1(), WU Jinnan2,**(), MEI Qiang3   

  1. 1 School of Management Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan Anhui 243032, China
    2 School of Business, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan Anhui 243032, China
    3 School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang Jiangsu 212013, China
  • Received:2023-09-13 Revised:2023-12-16 Online:2024-03-28 Published:2024-09-28
  • Contact: WU Jinnan

Abstract:

In order to reveal the complex causality between EWSV and their multiple antecedent conditions, and to improve the efficiency of safety governance, a comprehensive model integrating contemporary deterrence theory, protection motivation theory, and social learning theory was constructed from a perspective of complexity theory. Based on this, six antecedent conditions affecting EWSV were identified from three perspectives: leader, coworker, and employee. Then, the fsQCA was used to reveal what configuration of antecedent conditions would lead to high level of EWSV. The results show that a single antecedent condition is insufficient to explain high level of EWSV but safety-specific leader punishment omission and coworker work safety violations(CWSV) play universal roles in forming high level of EWSV. Three types of driving modes composed of five condition configurations can lead to high level of EWSV. Three types of condition configurations lead to non-high level of EWSV. Reducing CWSV and improving employees' perception for formal sanctions are crucial for achieving non-high level of EWSV. Different combinations of multiple antecedent conditions can lead to high level of EWSV, and there is a complex causality (concurrency, equivalence, and asymmetry) between high level of EWSV and their antecedent conditions.

Key words: complexity theory, employee work safety violations (EWSV), antecedent configuration, formal sanctions, safety-specific moral belief, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)

CLC Number: