A model for sustainable development of the ship recycling industry: Empirical evidence from China

The ship recycling industry is a labor-intensive field that often grapples with the issue of workers not adopting appropriate practices that are environmentally friendly and safe. However, the existing literature largely overlooks the consideration of workers' environmentally friendly and safety behaviors. Therefore, this study aims to explore the determinants of workers' environmentally friendly and safety behaviors during ship recycling by proposing a theoretical model that incorporates the theory of planned behavior. Survey data were collected from 170 participants in the ship recycling industry in China. Subsequently, structural equation modeling was applied to evaluate the proposed model. The findings highlight that factors such as attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, safety awareness, and perceived susceptibility directly or indirectly affect workers' environmentally friendly and safety behavior. The study offers important implications for ship recycling companies and environmental policies, fostering the emergence of sustainable development, and stakeholder engagement in the industry.