The effects of firefighters’ organizational identification on their willingness to risk their lives: A moderated mediation model

Background Firefighters’ willingness to risk their lives is crucial for effective performance in firefighting and rescue operations. While organizational identification is likely to play a significant role in shaping this willingness, empirical research on this relationship remains limited, and the psychological mechanisms underlying this influence are not yet well understood. Objective This study aims to develop a psychological process model that explains how organizational identification influences firefighters’ willingness to risk their lives. Methods A questionnaire-based study was conducted with a sample of 406 firefighters. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results The findings reveal that affective organizational commitment and duty orientation jointly and fully mediate the relationship between organizational identification and firefighters’ willingness to risk their lives. Additionally, perceived organizational support (POS) negatively moderates the positive effect of organizational identification on affective organizational commitment. Conclusions Organizational identification influences firefighters’ affective organizational commitment, which in turn affects their duty orientation, ultimately shaping their willingness to risk their lives during firefighting. As POS increases, the effect of organizational identification on affective organizational commitment becomes weaker.