Purpose This paper aims to explore how employee motivation influences the interrelationship between an organization’s investment in safety and quality and its familiarity with crisis management (CM) procedures. Drawing on high reliability organizations theory, it examines how motivated employees engage in proactive behaviors that associate with safety, quality and crisis preparedness. Design/methodology/approach We developed a research model based on the above concepts and tested several hypotheses by surveying 383 employees from leading Greek organizations with the highest EBITDA in 2022. Findings The statistical analysis confirmed six of our seven research hypotheses. Employee motivation positively relates to the connection between the organization’s safety and quality and familiarity with CM procedures. The relationship is moderated by employee gender and generation. Practical implications Our findings offer valuable insights for practitioners, highlighting the dynamics of workplace motivation and encouraging organizations to capitalize on the importance of proactive behavior. Originality/value We offer new insights into what drives the safety, quality and CM interrelationship. We also show how employee motivation relates to proactive behavior and highlight the moderator role of employee gender and generation.
Vouzas et al. (2026) studied this question.