Effect of safety climate on safety behavior and occupational injuries: A systematic review study

• This study summarized the pathways of the relationship between SC and accidents. • SC mediates the effect of root cause variables on safety performance. • SB mediates the relationship between SC and accidents. • SC influences SB through safety knowledge and motivation. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between safety climate (SC) and safety behaviors (SB) and negative safety outcomes. However, due to differences in study designs, the relationship between these variables is not entirely clear. The purpose of this study was to provide a qualitative analysis of the methods and results of previous studies that have examined the relationship between SC and individual safety performance. Articles published from 1990 to July 2018 were selected from different databases. A variety of keywords were used to do searches. Considering the study criteria, it was determined that 120 articles were consistent with the objectives of this study; therefore, their data were extracted and analyzed. The articles were coded according to the characteristics of the study design and results. The results of this study indicate that despite the differences between the studies examined in terms of study design and methodology, there is a strong causal relationship between the variables. SC is clearly an effective factor with a direct or indirect impact on various dimensions of SB. Weakness of SB also causes accidents and injury, but weak SC does not directly cause an accident or injury. Therefore, improving SC in workplaces will also improve SB. Consistent with the concepts and definitions presented for SC and in line with recent studies, SC itself could be influenced by other variables. Some recent studies have shown that SC could mitigate the effect of the root causes of accidents and injuries.