The relationship between safety attitude and safety performance in the petrochemical industry: The mediating role of safety climate

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between safety attitudes and safety performance considering the mediating role of safety climate in the petrochemical industry. METHOD: The statistical population of this study included all 1700 employees in the petrochemical industry of Iran, among whom 320 were randomly selected as the participants and completed the research questionnaire. Then, the validity (content, convergent, and divergent) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability) of the instrument were examined, and the research hypotheses were tested using Smart partial least squares (PLS) software. RESULTS: The results showed that the model has goodness of fit and, thereby, the positive effect of safety attitude on safety performance was confirmed. In addition, the mediating role of safety climate in the relationship between safety attitude and safety performance was proved. That is, 39.6% of the total effect of safety attitude on safety performance was explained through the mediating role of safety climate. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study can improve safety culture and bring about excellent safety performance in petrochemical industries.