Title: The influence of intercultural differences on the safety performance of Chinese international hydropower projects

Authors: Bouba Oumarou Aboubakar

Addresses: School of Safety, Xian University of Science and Technology, Xian, Shaanxi, China

Abstract: This study attempted to assess the influence of religion and beliefs, communication, demography and habits on safety motivation, behaviours and safety outcomes of workers. To achieve this, a structural equation model was designed in LISREL 8.8. After a consistency study on 566 workers' responses, the overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.92. The results revealed, with 99% level of confidence, that cultural differences have a positive and significant impact on safety performance of workers. The structural model's findings also show that all cultural variables, including demographics, religion and belief, communication and cultural habits, have a significant impact on safety behaviour and motivation. One sub-hypothesis out of the 12 that were stated was rejected. The study disproved that safety outcomes are positively influenced by religious and philosophical convictions. According to the results, cultural differences do not positively affect the number of severe conflicts on Chinese-led hydropower projects in Cameroon.

Keywords: intercultural differences; safety performance; conflicts; Chinese hydropower projects; structural equation modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRS.2023.135678

International Journal of Reliability and Safety, 2023 Vol.17 No.3/4, pp.297 - 319

Received: 17 Mar 2023
Accepted: 26 May 2023
Published online: 21 Dec 2023 *

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