Tailor-to-target: configuring construction worker safety behavior on big five personality traits

Purpose While previous studies have demonstrated the importance of personality traits to safety behavior, the existing understanding of this topic remains largely fragmented. These studies have predominantly focused on the “net effect” of personality traits, neglecting the complexity inherent in safety behavior. This study aims to fill the current research gap by providing new theoretical and practical insights into the relationship between complex personality traits and the safety behavior of construction workers within a specific safety climate. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a configurational approach to assess psychological traits that may contribute to safety behavior in the construction sector, starting with the Big Five personality traits. Then fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) are employed to analyze the interactions among personality traits, safety climate, and safety behaviors of construction workers (N = 165). Findings The NCA analysis results indicate that openness is a necessary condition for achieving high safety compliance. However, a single antecedent condition alone cannot ensure high safety participation. The fsQCA analysis identifies five configurations that contribute to high safety compliance among construction workers and three configurations that promote high safety participation. The effects of personality trait configurations can be positive or negative, depending on the safety climate. Additionally, the configurational conditions that result in high and non-high safety behavior demonstrate asymmetry. Originality/value Theoretically, a person-centered approach is anticipated to provide more consistent outcomes than a variable-centered approach, emphasizing the complementary benefits of NCA combined with fsQCA.