유통산업의 ESG경영을 위한 임파워링리더십, 안전문화, 안전행동, 조직신뢰관계 연구

A Study on Empowering Leadership, Safety Culture, Safety Behavior and Organizational Trust for ESG Management in the Distribution Industry

최근 기업경영의 핵심 패러다임이자 화두는 기업의 지속가능성과 비재무적 요소를 고려한 ESG경영이다. 급변하는 경영환경속에서 유통산업은 AI, 로보틱스 등 디지털전환(DX)을 통해 지속성장의 발판을 마련하려는 다양한 시도를 하고 있으나, ESG안전에 있어서는 산업적 특성을 고려한 대응방안이 필요한 상황이다. 본 연구는 유통산업의 ESG안전경영을 위해, 임파워링리더십, 안전문화, 안전행동, 조직신뢰의 매커니즘을 규명하고, 임파워링리더십과 안전행동간 안전문화의 매개효과와 안전문화와 안전행동간 조직신뢰의 조절매개효과를 실증적으로 검증하였다. 이를 위해 유통업게 400명의 종사자를 대상으로 온라인설문조사를 실시하여 불성실응답 16명을 제외한 384명의 응답을 분석에 활용하였으며, 주요변인 간 관계확인 및 가설검증을 위해 SPSS 25.0 Process Macro, AMOS 22.0로 분석하였다. 연구결과 첫째, 임파워링리더십은 안전행동, 안전문화, 조직신뢰에 모두 정적(+)으로 유의미한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 임파워링리더십은 안전문화를 향상시키고 안전문화를 통해 구성원의 안전행동을 강화 · 촉발시키는 것으로 나타나 안전문화의 매개효과가 입증되었다. 셋째, 안전문화를 통한 임파워링리더십과 안전행동간에 조직신뢰의 조절매개효과를 규명하였다. 이러한 연구결과를 토대로 유통산업의 ESG안전스텐다드를 마련하고, 안전컴플라이언스 대응전략과 프로세스 구축을 위한 이론적, 실무적 제언을 제시하였다.

ESG management, which considers non-financial elements of companies, is the current emphasis of corporate management. To sustain development in the shifting business landscape, the distribution industry is exploring digital transformation(DX) initiatives like AI and robotics. However, to ensure environmental, social, and governance(ESG) safety, industry-specific precautions must be taken. This study focused on the ESG safety management in the distribution industry. It aimed to identify the mechanisms of empowering leadership, safety culture, safety behavior, and organizational trust. The study also empirically confirmed that safety culture acts as a mediator between empowering leadership and safety behavior. Additionally, it found that organizational trust plays a moderating role between safety culture and safety behavior. In order to achieve this objective, a survey was performed online with a sample size of 400 workers in the distribution industry. Out of the 400 replies, 384 were considered reliable for analysis after eliminating 16 dishonest responses. The data was then analyzed using SPSS 25.0 Process Macro and AMOS 22.0 to check the link between the main variables and test the hypotheses. The study revealed that empowering leadership had a large and beneficial impact on safety behavior and safety culture. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that the implementation of empowered leadership has a positive impact on safety culture, hence strengthening and initiating safety-related actions among individuals. Furthermore, it was discovered that organizational trust acts as a moderating mediator between empowering leadership and safety behavior, specifically through safety culture. The study confirmed that as the level of organizational trust increases, the positive impact of empowering leadership on safety behavior is enhanced through the mediating role of safety culture. The given findings provide theoretical and practical recommendations for implementing ESG safety compliance response systems and safety processes in the distribution industry.