How Trust Affects Hazardous Chemicals Logistics Enterprises’ Sustainable Safety Behavior: The Moderating Role of Government Governance

Hazardous chemicals logistics (HCL) management improves safety and operational efficiency; however, the management process faces challenges, including safety hazards. Trust in the government is critical for shaping the sustainable and safe behavior of hazardous chemicals logistics enterprises (HCLEs). However, its interaction with governance mechanisms remains unclear, and a systematic categorization of governmental regulatory methods is lacking. To improve the relationship between HCLEs and the government, this study employs structural equation modeling to examine the effects of trust and governance mechanisms on HCLEs’ sustainable safety behavior. Trust is categorized into cognitive trust and affective trust based on trust and reinforcement theories, whereas government governance is divided into motivational and punitive governance. A conceptual trust–government governance–HCLEs’ behavior model that introduces government governance as a moderating variable is formulated. The results show that trust significantly improved HCLEs’ behavior; motivational governance positively moderated the impact on the relationship between trust and HCLEs’ behavior; and punitive governance failed. These results emphasize the importance of trust-based partnerships between governments and HCLEs, as well as motivational governance, in building compliance and improving safety. Moreover, this study expands our understanding of the interrelationships among trust, government governance, and HCLEs’ sustainable safety behavior in the HCL industry.