ICAO safety management systems (SMS) development in environmental contexts: A field study of greater China

This was a mixed-methods exploratory study to investigate association between environmental context and the implementation status of Safety Management Systems (SMS) at airports in Greater China. Using a framework of Institutional Theory, this study looked at three regions of Greater China and explored internal and external environments of SMS at airports within each region. It used ICAO standards to evaluate the implementation status of SMS at those airports based on the perceptions of 126 participants. This research also employed snowballing technique to spread a survey tool to participants in Greater China through several key gatekeepers, and then applied the Delphi method for interviews with key gatekeepers themselves. Analysis of the data suggested several associations between various sub-concepts of the external environment and different components of SMS in the three regions. In addition, the data suggested a relationship between the internal environment as a whole and the overall status of SMS implementation in each region. Lastly, the study makes several recommendations for future research regarding global standards implemented in local environments, the evaluation of SMS implementation status, and the theoretical implications of this study