The Impact of ESG Safety and Health Management on Employees’ Safety Behavior : Multiple Mediation via OHSMS and Supervisor Leadership

This study examines the structural mechanism whereby ESG safety and health management influences employees’ safety behavior, focusing on how external institutional pressure(e.g., the Serious Accidents Punishment Act) shapes top management’s ESG safety and health leadership and transmits its effects via the OHSMS and supervisor leadership. Data from 245 employees in workplaces(≥300 employees) were analyzed using bootstrapping in jamovi 2.6. Results show institutional pressure directly impacts safety behavior while also forming a partial mediation structure through internal mechanisms. Top management’s ESG leadership showed no statistically significant direct effect on safety behavior; its influence was transmitted through internal implementation mechanisms. Notably, the indirect effect via supervisor leadership was estimated to be larger than that via the OHSMS, suggesting that meaningful behavioral change may depend more on frontline managers’ interpersonal leadership even when an OHSMS is in place. Overall, safety management in large organizations reflects an integrated process combining external regulation and internal resources, highlighting a people-centered strategy that empowers field managers alongside system implementation. This study offers practical strategies to enhance safety effectiveness in the ESG context.