The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry

IntroductionThe creation of safety culture in shipping industry is an important measure for reducing ship accidents and improving navigation safety. On the basis of literature review and theoretical assessments, this paper puts forward the conceptual logical framework and research hypotheses of safe...

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Main Authors: Yongtao Xi, Zhijie Wang, Shenping Hu, Bing Han, Jingbo Yin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1599455/full
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author Yongtao Xi
Zhijie Wang
Shenping Hu
Bing Han
Jingbo Yin
author_facet Yongtao Xi
Zhijie Wang
Shenping Hu
Bing Han
Jingbo Yin
author_sort Yongtao Xi
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe creation of safety culture in shipping industry is an important measure for reducing ship accidents and improving navigation safety. On the basis of literature review and theoretical assessments, this paper puts forward the conceptual logical framework and research hypotheses of safety culture and safety behavior. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of safety culture on ship officers' safety behavior.MethodThis paper developed a scale by referring to the well-established safety culture and safety behavior scales proposed in previous literature and combined with the shipping background. Based on self-reported questionnaire and primary data collected from 229 deck officers and captains from a shipping company in Shanghai, a relationship model between safety culture and safety behavior was constructed using structural equation modeling (SEM), and empirical tests were conducted to explore the impact of safety culture on ship officers’ safety behavior.ResultsThe results show that safety culture has a positive impact on ship officers’ safety behavior, in which safety material culture has a positive impact on safety compliance behavior, safety system culture has positive impacts on safety compliance behavior and prosocial safety behavior, while safety management culture and safety value fit have positive impacts on all dimensions of ship officers’ safety behavior.DiscussionThis paper proposes and validates a new model that can help explore the impact of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship officers. The research results indicate that we can improve ship officers’ safety behavior from two dimensions: safety management culture and safety value fit. More importantly, the research findings can help shipping companies develop measures to improve ship officers’ behavior based on their own circumstances, thereby reducing the likelihood of maritime accidents. The results of this paper will contribute to the development of safety management in shipping industry.
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spelling doaj-art-862d934b547c4294b5e82a535bc4e88e2025-08-20T02:15:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-05-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15994551599455The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industryYongtao Xi0Zhijie Wang1Shenping Hu2Bing Han3Jingbo Yin4Merchant Marine College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, ChinaMerchant Marine College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, ChinaMerchant Marine College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Shanghai Institute of Shipping and Transportation Science Co., Ltd., Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of International Shipping, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, ChinaIntroductionThe creation of safety culture in shipping industry is an important measure for reducing ship accidents and improving navigation safety. On the basis of literature review and theoretical assessments, this paper puts forward the conceptual logical framework and research hypotheses of safety culture and safety behavior. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of safety culture on ship officers' safety behavior.MethodThis paper developed a scale by referring to the well-established safety culture and safety behavior scales proposed in previous literature and combined with the shipping background. Based on self-reported questionnaire and primary data collected from 229 deck officers and captains from a shipping company in Shanghai, a relationship model between safety culture and safety behavior was constructed using structural equation modeling (SEM), and empirical tests were conducted to explore the impact of safety culture on ship officers’ safety behavior.ResultsThe results show that safety culture has a positive impact on ship officers’ safety behavior, in which safety material culture has a positive impact on safety compliance behavior, safety system culture has positive impacts on safety compliance behavior and prosocial safety behavior, while safety management culture and safety value fit have positive impacts on all dimensions of ship officers’ safety behavior.DiscussionThis paper proposes and validates a new model that can help explore the impact of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship officers. The research results indicate that we can improve ship officers’ safety behavior from two dimensions: safety management culture and safety value fit. More importantly, the research findings can help shipping companies develop measures to improve ship officers’ behavior based on their own circumstances, thereby reducing the likelihood of maritime accidents. The results of this paper will contribute to the development of safety management in shipping industry.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1599455/fullsafety cultureship officersafety behaviorstructural equation modellingshipping industry
spellingShingle Yongtao Xi
Zhijie Wang
Shenping Hu
Bing Han
Jingbo Yin
The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry
Frontiers in Marine Science
safety culture
ship officer
safety behavior
structural equation modelling
shipping industry
title The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry
title_full The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry
title_fullStr The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry
title_full_unstemmed The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry
title_short The effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers- empirical evidence from shipping industry
title_sort effect of safety culture on the safety behavior of ship deck officers empirical evidence from shipping industry
topic safety culture
ship officer
safety behavior
structural equation modelling
shipping industry
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1599455/full
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