Does formal mentoring impact safety performance? A study on Chinese high-speed rail operators. (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Yunshuo; Ye, Long; Guo, Ming
• Is Part Of: Journal of safety research. Volume 77(2021)
• Page Start: 46
• Page End: 55
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: Formal mentoring -- Self-expansion -- Self-efficacy -- Safety performance -- Power distance orientation; Industrial safety -- Periodicals; Accidents -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Safety -- Periodicals; Accidents, Occupational -- Periodicals; Sécurité du travail -- Périodiques; Accidents -- Prévention -- Périodiques; Accidents -- Prevention; Industrial safety; Periodicals; 363.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2021.02.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-4375

Abstract

Highlights: Based on self-expansion theory, we focused on the formal mentoring of high-speed rail operators for the first time. Formal mentoring has a direct and positive effect on high-speed rail operators' safety performance. Self-expansion and self-efficacy mediated the effect of formal mentoring on safety performance. Power distance orientation moderated the effect of formal mentoring on safety performance. Abstract: The importance of mentoring as a developmental resource in organizational settings is well documented. However, the mechanism underlying the association between formal mentoring and safety performance is not well defined. Based on the self-expansion theory, this study examines the relationship between formal mentoring and individual safety performance in the high-speed railway operation. We postulate that formal mentoring enhances individual safety performance through the sequential mediation of self-expansion and self-efficacy. We also argue that the relationship between formal mentoring and individuals' self-expansion is weaker when individuals possess high power distance orientation. Using paired data from 421 protégés and 102 mentors operating high-speed railways of China, we tested the proposed model. This study contributes to the understanding of formal mentoring by; i. establishing that formal mentoring positively relates to protégés' safety performance, ii. empirically validating the sequential mechanisms by which formal mentoring promotes positive outcomes for the organization and the employees, and iii. revealing the moderating effect of power distance orientation on the relationship between formal mentoring and self-expansion. The findings of this research provide practical implications for managers to understand the positive effects of formal mentoring and make rational use of it in safety-critical organizations.