Extension of mindful safety practices through safety knowledge and safety motivation: a study of the aviation industry.

Abstract

This article attempts to extend the mindful safety practices adopted by pilots in the aviation industry. There is still a lack of discussion about how these factors (individual, group and organizational levels) influence the adoption of mindful safety practices among commercial pilots in the aviation industry. Data were collected from a sample of commercial pilots in China within 8 months. Results show that all the identified factors contributing to the adoption of mindful safety practices are significantly and positively interrelated. The results also reveal that safety knowledge and motivation positively mediate the relationships between safety climate (group level and organization level) and pilots' mindful safety practice adoption in the aviation industry. It is of interest that group-level safety climate exerts more impact on pilots' safety knowledge and motivation gains. Furthermore, leader-member exchange (LMX) strengthens relationships between two dimensions of safety climate and pilots' safety knowledge and motivation acquisitions.