Confirmatory Cross-Cultural Research: Testing the viability of a Corporate-Wide Safety Policy

This study examined variation in the relationships among constructs affecting the perceptions of safety of workers at the U.S., French, and Argentine plants of the same division of a U.S. multinational, all affected by the same corporation-wide safety policy. We proposed differences based on the profiles of the three countries on three cultural dimensions -- individualism/collectivism, authoritarian or paternalistic management style, and autocratic or participative decision making -- and compared the cultural groups using multisample analysis in structural equation modeling. Results confirmed hypotheses predicting a lower effect of management's overall concern for employees on the extent to which safety was a priority in France than in the United States and a stronger effect of management concern on safety as a priority in Argentina than the United States; in addition, an emphasis on production had less effect on perceived safety level in Argentina than in the United States.