Fostering the mutual safety and operational outcomes from manufacturing SMEs’ interventions: The missing link of decision rationalities

• Decision rationalities influence the mutual benefits between safety and operations. • Decision-makers should wary bounded rationality and overcome instrumental one. • Communicative rationality should be promoted through cooperation and collaboration. • Substantive rationality should be promoted fostering cultural values. • A purpose-driven participatory decision-making process is provided. Although occupational safety and operations are interrelated domains, they are usually considered separately. A deeper knowledge and understanding of their interdependences would benefit manufacturing companies. While industrial decision-makers are responsible for decision-making on interventions implementation, their perspectives are often overlooked. This study analyses 55 safety and operational interventions implemented by 20 Italian manufacturing small and medium enterprises from the perspective of industrial decision-makers, adopting a qualitative empirical approach. The study argues for a better understanding of the decision-making process for safety and operational interventions to promote mutual benefits. We call on manufacturing companies to recognise that decision-makers have bounded rationalities; to go beyond instrumental rationality; to promote communicative rationality through cooperation and collaboration, integrating the different perspectives of various stakeholders; and to integrate a more substantive rationality by fostering cultural values associated with caring for people and nature to achieve deeper improvements. The study further suggests a purpose-driven participatory decision-making process to foster more holistic and effective intervention outcomes, purposefully bridging safety and operations. Thus, this study builds on previous theoretical indication of the need to open the black box of industrial decision-makers rationalities.