When In-House Safety Teams Become More (or Less) Effective in Workplace Accident Prevention: The Moderating Role of Organizational and Institutional Factors

Abstract

The enactment of South Korea’s Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) has compelled many companies to promptly revamp their workplace safety management systems. Addressing this situation, establishing and effectively operating in-house teams dedicated to employee safety and health emerges as a crucial solution. However, in-depth research into the effectiveness of such measures is scarce, and doubts persist about whether the mere presence of dedicated organizations genuinely leads to improved outcomes. This study analyzes panel data from 2006 to 2020, involving 2,290 listed companies across 63 countries and 25 industries, to empirically illuminate under what conditions in-house safety teams contribute to creating safer work environments. Grounded in prior work in workplace safety and institutional perspectives, our study identifies and tests several contextual factors that could enhance the performance of workplace safety teams in preventing employee-related accidents through panel regression analysis. Specifically, it examines factors at the corporate level, such as the adoption of safety-related standards and company size, as well as at the industry level, such as exposure to accident risk, while also considering institutional risk factors at the national level. Random-effect OLS regression results reveal that the introduction and operation of dedicated safety teams are associated with an average 6.6% reduction in workplace accidents. Notably, this effect is more pronounced in companies that have adopted OHSAS/ISO standards or are smaller in size: companies combining safety teams with safety standard adoption show a 9.3% greater reduction in accident rates, and the impact is up to 3.6% higher in smaller firms compared to larger ones. Conversely, in industries with higher accident risks or countries with elevated institutional risks, the effectiveness of safety teams is relatively lower. By using data from diverse industries and countries, this study empirically demonstrates the effectiveness of in-house safety teams in reducing workplace accidents, illuminating the specific conditions that help amplify or diminish such effects. The findings suggest that to foster safer work environments through dedicated safety teams, a systematic approach and active collaboration across industries and policy domains are necessary.