The Impact of National Culture and Development Level of Countries on their Occupational Safety Performance

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1, 88 - 107, 15.01.2021

Serkan Yıldız , Mustafa Yılmaz , Arzuhan Burcu Gultekın , Uğur Özdemir

Öz

National culture is considered as one of the factors affecting occupational safety performance. The present study investigated the effects of the national culture dimensions and development levels of countries on their occupational safety performance. The mean of the fatal occupational injuries (FOI) statistics of 60 countries, the scores of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, and mean schooling years, per capita income, and human development indices (HDI), which represent the countries’ development level, were included in simple regression analysis. The results demonstrated that while national culture has no or a limited effect on occupational safety performance, development level has significant effect. When the countries were grouped as high (HHD) and medium human development (MHD), for HHD countries, a significant effect was determined for Individualism and Power Distance dimensions. The results are expected to make a significant contribution to the efforts aiming to include national culture aspects in the decision-making process related to occupational safety issues.

Anahtar Kelimeler

National Culture, Development Level, Occupational Safety Performance, Hofstede

Ülkelerin ulusal kültür ve gelişmişlik seviyelerinin iş güvenliği performansına etkisi

Öz

Ulusal kültür, iş güvenliği performansını etkileyen faktörlerden biri olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, ülkelerin ulusal kültür boyutları ve gelişmişlik düzeylerinin iş güvenliği performanslarına etkileri araştırılmıştır. 60 ülkenin ölümcül iş kazası (FOI) istatistiklerinin ortalaması, Hofstede'nin kültürel boyut puanları ve ülkelerin gelişmişlik düzeyini temsil eden ortalama okullaşma yılları, kişi başına gelir ve insani gelişme endeksleri (İGE) ile basit regresyon analizleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Sonuçlar, ulusal kültürün iş güvenliği performansı üzerinde hiç etkisi olmadığı veya sınırlı bir etkisi olduğunu gösterirken, gelişmişlik düzeyinin önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. Ülkeler yüksek ve orta insani gelişmişlik ülkeleri olarak gruplandırıldığında, yüksek gelişmişlik düzeyindeki ülkeler için Bireysellik ve Güç Mesafesi boyutları için anlamlı bir etki belirlenmiştir. Sonuçların, ulusal kültür unsurlarını iş güvenliği konularıyla ilgili karar alma sürecine dahil etmeyi amaçlayan çabalara önemli katkı sağlaması beklenmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Ulusal kültür, gelişmişlik seviyesi, iş güvenliği performansı, Hofstede

Kaynakça

• Adeoye, B., Tomei, L.(2014). Effects of information capitalism and globalisation on teaching and learning. Pennsylvania: Information Science Reference. 6.
• Alshahrani, A., Panuwatwanich, K., & Mohamed, S.(2014).Relationship between National Culture and Safety Behaviour: Evidence from Petrochemical Employees in Saudi Arabia. In THE 2014 (5th) International Conference on Engineering, Project and Production Management, 312.
• Anicich, E. M., Swaab, R. I., & Galinsky, A. D.(2015). Hierarchical cultural values predict success and mortality in high-stakes teams. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(5), 1338-1343.
• Antonsen, S.(2009). Safety culture and the issue of power. Safety Science, 47(2), 183-191.
• Bardakçı, G. (2016). Uluslararası inşaat projelerinde ulusal kültürün iş sağlığı ve güvenliği uygulamalarına olan etkisinin incelenmesi (Master's thesis, Anadolu Üniversitesi, İnşaat Mühendisliği Anabilim Dalı, Eskişehir) https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi adresinden edinilmiştir. .
• Broszkiewicz, R. (2016). Affluence, occupational safety and ergonomics: are they interdependent?. International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics, 22(4), 577-579.
• Burke, M. J., Chan-Serafin, S., Salvador, R., Smith, A., & Sarpy, S. A.(2008). The role of national culture and organizational climate in safety training effectiveness. European journal of work and organizational psychology, 17(1), 133-152.
• Gharpurea, S., Roya, S., Purang, P., & Bhattacharyya, S.(2018). Role of cultural dimensions in safety performance of global oil and gas industry. Recent Advances in Petrochemical Science, 5(1), 555653.
• Gümüş, R., & Gülsün, Z.(2017). Occupational health and safety indicators of Turkey and their relationships with social and economic development factors between 1998 and 2014. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 1-9.
• Habibnezhad, M., & Esmaeili, B.(2016). The influence of individual cultural values on construction workers’ risk perception. In 52nd ASC Annual International Conference Proceedings.
• Håvold, J. I.(2007). National cultures and safety orientation: A study of seafarers working for Norwegian shipping companies. Work & Stress, 21(2), 173-195.
• Hofstede, G.(2001). Culture's Consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-8039-7323-7. OCLC 45093960.
• Hofstede, G.(2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context, Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Unit 2.
• Hoppe, Michael H.(2004). An Interview with Geert Hofstede. Academy of Management Executive. 18 (1): 75–79.
• Hunag YH, Ho M, Smith GS, Chen P.Y. (2006) Safety climate and self reported injury: assessing the mediating role of employee safety control. Accident Analysis and Prevention 38(3): 425-433.
• ILO. (International Labour Organization) Fatal occupational injuries (FOI) per 100000 workers. Retrieved May 4, 2020, https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/ bulkexplorer35/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=INJ_DAYS_ECO_NB_A
• Kahraman, E., Akay, Ö., & Kılıç, A. M. (2019). Investigation into the relationship between fatal work accidents, national income, and employment rate in developed and developing countries. Journal of occupational health, 61(3), 213-218.
• Keser, A., Gökmen, Y., & Türen, U.(2015). The impacts of national culture on fatal occupational injuries. International Periodical For The Languages, Literature, and History of Turkish or Turic, 10, 567-588.
• Li, S. O. N. G., Xueqiu, H. E., & Li, C.(2011). Longitudinal relationship between economic development and occupational accidents in China. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(1), 82-86.
• Lu, C. S., Hsu, C. N., & Lee, C. H.(2016). The impact of seafarers' perceptions of national culture and leadership on safety attitude and safety behavior in dry bulk shipping. International Journal of e-Navigation and Maritime Economy, 4, 75-87.
• Lu, C. S., Lai, K. H., Lun, Y. V., & Cheng, T. C. E.(2012). Effects of national culture on human failures in container shipping: The moderating role of Confucian dynamism. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 49, 457-469.
• Martinez-Fiestas, M., Rodríguez-Garzón, I., Delgado-Padial, A., & Lucas-Ruiz, V.(2017). Analysis of perceived risk among construction workers: a cross-cultural study and reflection on the Hofstede model. International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics, 23(3), 307-317.
• Mearns, K., & Yule, S.(2009). The role of national culture in determining safety performance: Challenges for the global oil and gas industry. Safety science, 47(6), 777-785.
• Mohamed, S., Ali, T. H., & Tam, W. Y. V. (2009). National culture and safe work behaviour of construction workers in Pakistan. Safety science, 47(1), 29-35.
• Nielsen, K. J., Hansen, C. D., Bloksgaard, L., Christensen, A. D., Jensen, S. Q., & Kyed, M.(2015). The impact of masculinity on safety oversights, safety priority and safety violations in two male-dominated occupations. Safety science, 76, 82-89.
• Noort, M. C., Reader, T. W., Shorrock, S., & Kirwan, B.(2016). The relationship between national culture and safety culture: Implications for international safety culture assessments. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 89(3), 515-538.
• Okolie, K. C., & Okoye, P. U.(2012). Assessment of national culture dimensions and construction health and safety climate in Nigeria. Science Journal of Environmental Engineering Research, 1-6.
• Okolie, K. C., & Okoye, P. U.(2013). Appraising the Influence of Cultural Determinants of Construction Workers Safety Perception and Behaviour in Nigeria. International Journal of Engineering and Medical Science Research, 1, 11-24.
• Oliver A, Cheyne A, Tomas J.M., & Cox S. (2002). The effects of organizational and individual factors on occupational accidents. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 75(4): 473-488.
• Özkan, T., & Lajunen, T.(2007). The role of personality, culture, and economy in unintentional fatalities: An aggregated level analysis. Personality and individual differences, 43(3), 519-530.
• Pidgeon N., & O’Leary M.(2000). Man-made disasters: why technology and organizations fail. Safety Science 34(1-3): 15-30.
• Powers, D., Klassen, R., Kull, T., & Simpson, D.(2015). Performance Evaluation and Plant Level Investment in Environment and Safety Practices: The Moderating Effect of National Culture.
• Reader, T. W., Noort, M. C., Shorrock, S., & Kirwan, B. (2015). Safety sans Frontieres: an international safety culture model. Risk analysis, 35(5), 770-789.
• Schreuder, H.(2016). Economics in Maastricht had to be intimidatingly different, more international and better, in: Annemieke Klijn, The Maastricht Experiment.
• Seo D.C.(2005). An explicative model of unsafe work behavior. Safety Science 43(3): 187-211.
• Shen, Y., Tuuli, M. M., Xia, B., Koh, T. Y., & Rowlinson, S.(2015). Toward a model for forming psychological safety climate in construction project management. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 223-235.
• SM-ICG, 2013. Measuring Safety Performance -Guidelines for Service Providers, Safety Management International Collaboration Group, 16 Jul 2013 Retrieved April 25, 2020, http://skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/2709.pdf
• Tabachnick, B.G. & Fidell L.S.(2013). Using Multivariate Statistics (sixth ed.) Pearson, Boston.
• Takano K, Kojima M, Hasegawa N, Hirose A.(2001). Interrelationships between organizational factors and major safety indicators: a preliminary field study. In: Wilpert B, Itoigawa N (Eds.), Safety culture in nuclear power operations, 189-205.
• THC (The Hofstede Centre) National Culture scores. Retrieved May 12, 2020, https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
• Tomás, J. M., Meliá, J. L., & Oliver, A. (1999). A cross-validation of a structural equation model of accidents: organizational and psychological variables as predictors of work safety. Work & Stress, 13(1), 49-58.
• UNDP. United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index. Retrieved May 3, 2020, http://hdr.undp.org/en/data#
• UNDP. United Nations Development Programme. Mean years of schooling of countries. Retrieved May 8, 2020, http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/103006#
• World Bank. GDP Gross Domestic Retrieved April 28, 2020, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?end=2003&most_recent_value_desc=false&start=1990
• Wu, T. C., Chen, C. H., & Li, C. C.(2008). A correlation among safety leadership, safety climate and safety performance. Journal of loss prevention in the process industries, 21(3), 307-318.