title: A cross-cultural study of organizational factors on safety: Japanese vs. Taiwanese oil refinery plants.
abstract: This study attempts to identify idiosyncrasies of organizational factors on safety and their influence mechanisms in Taiwan and Japan. Data were collected from employees of Taiwanese and Japanese oil refinery plants. Results show that organizational factors on safety differ in the two countries. Organizational characteristics in Taiwanese plants are highlighted as: higher level of management commitment to safety, harmonious interpersonal relationship, more emphasis on safety activities, higher devotion to supervision, and higher safety self-efficacy, as well as high quality of safety performance. Organizational characteristics in Japanese plants are highlighted as: higher level of employee empowerment and attitude towards continuous improvement, more emphasis on systematic safety management approach, efficient reporting system and teamwork, and high quality of safety performance. The casual relationships between organizational factors and workers' safety performance were investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicate that the influence mechanisms of organizational factors in Taiwan and Japan are different. These findings provide insights into areas of safety improvement in emerging countries and developed countries respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan, ROC. shhsu@mail.nctu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Shang Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Chun-Chia
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Muh-Cherng
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002617:Chemical Industry; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D019652:Extraction and Processing Industry; D005260:Female; D005648:Fuel Oils; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010559:Personnel Management; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D005648:Fuel Oils