How safety culture changes safety consciousness and safety citizenship behavior of construction personnel in China: The mediating roles of personnel engagement and social relationship exchange

Personnel safety issues in the construction industry in China have attracted increasing attention from scholars. Safety culture (SCU) is considered influential for the promotion of safety of construction personnel, whereas safety consciousness (SC) and safety citizenship behavior (SCB) are recognized as the conscious and behavioral representations of personnel safety, respectively. However, few studies have focused on quantitatively analyzing the influence of SCU on the SC and SCB of construction personnel, posing obstacles to the safety development of the industry. Therefore, this research was conducted to examine the influence of SCU on the SC and SCB among construction personnel by involving personnel engagement and social relationship exchange (SRE) as the mediating variables given their socio-cognitive correlations revealed by previous studies. The data were collected from 505 construction personnel in China and processed by applying structural equation modeling, test of mediating effect, and hierarchical regression analysis in SPSS 24 and AMOS 24, such that the underlying mechanisms of the influence were revealed in the modeling. Findings provide valuable contributions to the academe and industry because they indicate the importance of enhancing the SRE and engagement of personnel. The study also provides practical recommendations into the improvement of SC and SCB through the promotion of organizational culture toward safety.