Investigating the Effects of Safety Management System Practice, Benevolent Leadership and Core Self-evaluations on Cabin Crew Safety Behavior

Abstract

Drawing on the behavior theory, this paper investigates cabin crew safety behavior with regard to three aspects of affecting factors including individual, group and organization. Specifically, we specify perceived airlines' Safety Management System practice, department managers' benevolent leadership and individual core self-evaluations as three factors affecting cabin crew safety behavior, and we hypothesize upward safety communication as a mediator. We apply structural equation modeling to examine a hypothesized model using a sample data from flight attendants working for the Taiwanese international airlines. A variety of fit indices confirmed the overall model fit, and most of the hypotheses were found to be supported. The results reveal that cabin crews' positive perceptions of the three indicators may lead directly to flight attendants' willingness to conduct upward safety communication, which has a direct and significant effect on their compliance and proactive safety behaviors. The empirical implications are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.