STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND PREVENTION OF INDUSTRIAL-ACCIDENTS - THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSES

The use of new technology does not systematically eliminate industrial hazards. However, these can be limited if new equipment is adopted an d implemented within the context of a strategic management of preventi on-an approach specifically applied within the framework of this study toward the adoption and implementation of new technology. This approa ch can be defined as the integration of the following four dimensions: technological capabilities and resources, organizational capabilities , decision-making processes, and both perceived and registered strateg ic benefits. This article describes the choices and conditions under w hich the introduction of new technologies can help in the prevention o f occupational injuries. It delimits grounds for testing the following two hypotheses: (1) that companies who are effective in terms of occu pational health and safety (OHS) outperform economically those that ar e not; and (2) that OSH-effective companies adopt more new technologie s than other companies. Data were provided by a sample of 140 business es in the sector of metal products manufacturing. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.