Impact of safety management system on safety performance: The mediating role of safety responsibility

Purpose: Safety management system (SMS) has been widely adopted to explore its influence on safety performance (SP). However, most existing researches recognized SMS as a one-dimension structure and neglected the influences of its subdimensions. Similarly, the impact of safety responsibility (SR) on SP received little attention. This study aims to explore the relationship between subdimensions of SMS and SP, while incorporating the mediating effect of SR. Design/methodology/approach: The research data were gathered from safety management evaluation report of a large real estate enterprise in China during 2010–2017. This paper carries out a series of data analyses to explore the impact of SMS and SR on SP. In order to analyze the synergistic impacts of SMS and SR on SP, path analysis, correlation analysis and mediation analysis were conducted using hypotheses concerning with the main subdimensions. Findings: The results indicated SMS and SR decreased the project risk level and improved SP of real estate projects. Furthermore, the effect of SR partially mediated the relationship between the SMS and SP. Practical implications: Findings in this research contribute to improve SP in real estate industry as well as other industries by the active assumption of SR and the successful implementation of SMS. Originality/value: This research shows the relationship between subdimensions of SMS and SP and the mediating role of SR on SMS–SP relationship to improve SP in real estate industry.