{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T05:50:06Z","timestamp":1791352206929,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    This study examines the mediating roles of employee involvement and quality culture in the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) practices and safety performance within the context of digital transformation, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Industry 4.0. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 employees from manufacturing and service organizations in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using an online questionnaire comprising nine items measuring four constructs: TQM practices, employee involvement, quality culture, and safety performance. Responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale. Data analysis included reliability assessment using Cronbach\u2019s alpha, evaluation of common method variance through Harman\u2019s single-factor test, and mediation analysis using Hayes\u2019 PROCESS macro. Simple mediation models (Model 4) and a serial mediation model (Model 6) were estimated using 5,000 bootstrap samples and 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals. The results indicate that both employee involvement and quality culture significantly mediate the relationship between TQM practices and safety performance. Employee involvement demonstrated a significant indirect effect [0.17, 95% CI (0.06, 0.33)], while quality culture showed a stronger indirect effect [0.34, 95% CI (0.24, 0.49)]. Furthermore, the serial mediation pathway linking TQM practices, employee involvement, quality culture, and safety performance was significant [indirect effect\u202f=\u202f0.11, 95% CI (0.03, 0.20)]. Gap analysis revealed that employee voice received the lowest mean score (3.64\/5), suggesting limited opportunities for employees to express opinions and participate in decision-making processes. The findings suggest that employee involvement and quality culture are important mechanisms through which TQM practices are associated with improved safety performance, with quality culture emerging as the stronger mediator. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously because the quality culture construct demonstrated low internal consistency (Cronbach\u2019s\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.41), and Harman\u2019s single-factor test indicated substantial common method variance (61.9%). In addition, the cross-sectional design, modest sample size, and reliance on self-reported data limit causal interpretation. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs, validated measurement instruments, and multi-source data to strengthen the evidence base and validate the proposed mediation framework.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1895711","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T04:52:41Z","timestamp":1791348761000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The mediating roles of employee involvement and quality culture in the TQM-safety performance relationship"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Salma","family":"Elhag","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Computing and Information System, King Abdulaziz University","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Waad","family":"Alshehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computing and Information System, King Abdulaziz University","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bashaer","family":"Alharbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computing and Information System, King Abdulaziz University","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raghad","family":"Alhashmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computing and Information System, King Abdulaziz University","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9108","DOI":"10.3390\/su16209108","article-title":"A systematic literature review of the integration of total quality management and industry 4.0: enhancing sustainability performance through dynamic capabilities","volume":"16","author":"Aichouni","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1495","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20021495","article-title":"An empirical study of the contribution of total quality management to occupational safety and health performance in Saudi organizations","volume":"20","author":"Aichouni","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"ref9003","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.26417\/ejser.v3i1.p145-154","article-title":"A study of the effects of total quality management on occupational safety regulations","volume":"2","author":"Aksoy","year":"2015","journal-title":"Eur. J. Soc. Sci. Educ. Res."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12299","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191912299","article-title":"OSH performance within TQM application in construction companies: a qualitative study in Saudi Arabia","volume":"19","author":"Alghaseb","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"ref5","first-page":"1389","author":"Alothman","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1140","DOI":"10.6007\/IJARBSS\/v15-i10\/26801","article-title":"The impact of total quality management (TQM) principles on public organizational performance in the Sultanate of Oman","volume":"15","author":"Al-Yahmadi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Acad. Res. Bus. Soc. Sci."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"899","DOI":"10.1080\/02642069.2024.2370037","article-title":"Empowering employee creativity in service organizations: unlocking the role of ownership, employee vitality and supportive leadership","volume":"45","author":"Azila-Gbettor","year":"2025","journal-title":"Serv. Ind. J."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1084","DOI":"10.1080\/09537287.2020.1784485","article-title":"Lean six sigma and industry 4.0 integration for operational excellence: evidence from Italian manufacturing companies","volume":"32","author":"Chiarini","year":"2021","journal-title":"Prod. Plan. Control"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"823","DOI":"10.2147\/RMHP.S506296","article-title":"Enhancing occupational health and safety through strategic leadership: the mediating role of total quality management in Hodeida hospitals, Yemen","volume":"18","author":"Fadhel","year":"2025","journal-title":"Risk Manag. Healthc. Policy"},{"key":"ref9001","volume-title":"Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach","author":"Hayes","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"232","DOI":"10.5281\/zenodo.17338892","article-title":"A systematic review of total quality management (TQM) principles and their impact on organizational performance","volume":"2","author":"Jadhav","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Sci. Res. Technol."},{"key":"ref11","first-page":"655","article-title":"Integration of total quality management with AI and employee engagement: a qualitative exploration of synergies to enhance quality culture","volume":"3","author":"Kausar","year":"2025","journal-title":"Contemp. J. Soc. Sci. Rev."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6746963","DOI":"10.1155\/2024\/6746963","article-title":"Employee performance: exploring the nexus of nonstandard services, psychological contracts, and knowledge sharing","volume":"2024","author":"Munawir","year":"2024","journal-title":"Human Behav. Emerg. Technol."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"840281","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.840281","article-title":"Assessing the mediating role of safety communication between safety culture and employees safety performance","volume":"10","author":"Naji","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8568","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18168568","article-title":"Impact of safety culture on safety performance; mediating role of psychosocial hazard: an integrated modelling approach","volume":"18","author":"Naji","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3934","DOI":"10.3390\/su17093934","article-title":"Quality culture, quality management, and organizational performance: a structural model for the manufacturing sector","volume":"17","author":"Navarro","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e20250006","DOI":"10.1590\/0103-6513.20250006","article-title":"Enhancing corporate sustainability through TQM and technology management in manufacturing","volume":"35","author":"Restuputri","year":"2025","journal-title":"Production"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1701801","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2025.1701801","article-title":"Feasibility analysis of total quality management in medical quality management and its impact on work efficiency","volume":"12","author":"Shi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Med."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1895711\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T04:52:42Z","timestamp":1791348762000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1895711\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"references-count":18,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1895711"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1895711","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"article-number":"1895711"}}