Conceptualization of senior management support in context of the success of safety management in aviation

ABSTRACT It is both a necessity and a obligation to maintain safety performance at desired levels in aviation organizations. Because not being safe causes extremely high costs. One of the factors affecting the success of safety management is shown as senior management support. This study aims to conceptualize the support of senior management to safety management in aviation organizations by identifying their possible components. Qualitative research design was used in the study. Qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 21 managers and experts in the Safety Management System, Quality Assurance Management and Compliance Monitoring units of the aviation organizations determined by sampling method. In order to reveal the multidirectional and relational aspects of the qualitative data, an inductive content analysis method including holistic approach was used. The components of senior management support have emerged as Demonstrating an Effective Safety Leadership, Determining the Safety Objectives and Making Plans, Providing Adequate Resources, Measuring and Controlling the Safety Performance, Strengthening the Positive Safety Culture, and Being in Cooperation with Partners. Due to the comprehensive nature of safety management, themes and categories occasionally have an mandatory and supportive relationship with each other. Therefore, since a category under one theme may sometimes require the presence of another theme, it is required to consider senior management support as a whole. According to the data obtained from the participants, the most important of these supports were respectively determined as demonstrating an effective safety leadership, strengthening the positive safety culture and providing sufficient resources. Keywords: Managerial Support, Senior management, Safety management system in aviation, Safety leadership, Positive safety culture