This study empirical investigated the effects of national culture and safety culture on safety performance in the container shipping context. Abstract data was collected from seafarers working for 13 of the top 25 global container carriers. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 2,232 safarers working on board 124 container ships.
Based on a review of the studies of Hofstede (1980) and Bond et al. (1986), five dimensions of national culture were identified, namely: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and long-term orientation. Three safety culture dimensions were identified based on factor analysis: supervisor safety, safety policy, and safety commitment. Hypotheses were formulated to examine the relationship between national culture and safety culture, and their effects on safety performance.
The study results suggested that the national culture dimensions of power distance and individualism had negative effects on safety culture, workers’ safety behavior and organizational safety management, while long-term orientation had a positive effect. Moreover, uncertainty avoidance had a significant effect on workers’ safety behavior in the container shipping context. The study findings also indicated that the safety culture dimensions of supervisor safety and safety policy had positive effects on workers’ safety behavior and organizational safety management, whereas safety commitment had a positive effect on organizational safety management but a negative effect on workers’ safety behavior. The study’s contributions, the implications of the findings for container shipping companies, and the study’s limitations and future research suggestions were all detailed in this thesis.