The Mediating Effect of Organizational Commitment on the Relationship Between Safety Climate and Safety Behavior Among Fire Officials

This study examined the effects of safety climate on safety behavior among fire officials, with safety behavior categorized into safety compliance and safety participation. It also investigated the mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between safety climate and safety behavior. Survey data were collected from 298 fire officials working in 11 of the 17 metropolitan and provincial regions in Korea and analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping. The results showed that the effects of safety climate varied according to its subfactors and the type of safety behavior. Management value was the only factor that significantly influenced both safety compliance and safety participation. Safety compliance was significantly influenced by safety practices and regulations, whereas safety participation was also influenced by communication. Organizational commitment had significant effects on both types of safety behavior and mediated some relationships between selected safety climate factors and safety behavior. These findings suggest that safety management strategies in fire service organizations should be tailored to the type of safety behavior and should be accompanied by efforts to enhance organizational commitment.