Incidents and Disaster Avoidance: The Role of Communication Management and the Organizational Communication Climate in High-Risk Environments

Health, safety and the working environment are of paramount importance, especially in the high-risk environments found at facilities in the oil and gas industry, where hazards are inevitable and accidents may lead to regrettable situations such as explosions, oil spills and other disasters. The high number of accidents and disasters at such facilities bring safety-related matters to the fore. The complexity of the communication process is very often underestimated, where failures in communication could lead to major disasters. This paper investigates the role of communication management and the organizational communication climate and their impact on incidents and disaster avoidance. This study embarks on a quantitative approach involving 260 personnel from high-risk workplaces at oil and gas facilities, based on purposive sampling. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM to identify causal relationships and for mediation analysis. The findings of this study show that communication management and the organizational communication climate have a significant impact on disaster avoidance. The organizational communication climate is also found to be a significant mediator for the relationship between communication management and disaster avoidance. Communication management and the organizational communication climate need to be enhanced and to be integrated with other technology and innovation to improve safety regulation adherence in the oil and gas industry.


Introduction
The oil and gas industry is one of Malaysia's primary commodities; their contribution to the Malaysian economy comprises about 20 percent of Malaysia's GDP [1]. Malaysia offers the fourth-highest oil reserve and the third-highest natural gas reserve in the Asia-Pacific region. It is not an understatement that the workers in the oil and gas sector are the "unsung heroes" of the Malaysian nation. This workforce, however, faces risks daily due to their highly hazardous work environment, in which the likelihood of incidents and injuries is high [2]. The employees face the risks of fire and explosions that could be caused by the ignition of flammable gases at the plants.
The fatality rate due to workplace accidents among oil and gas employees is seven (7) times higher compared to those in other industries. Hence, it is vital that companies in this sector ensure a safe working environment to minimize the risks of operational hazards.

Hazards in the Oil and Gas Industry
The oil and gas industry is one of the most hazardous industries in the world. The high-risk activities associated with the industry, as well as the possibilities for a single incident to turn into a natural disaster, make safety issues vitally important in the field. Notable examples of such disasters are the Deepwater Horizon rig, the Exxon Valdez tanker and the BP Texas City refinery. As such, the discussion of hazards in the oil and gas industry always includes elements such as safety measures. Multiple studies have been conducted addressing the issues of hazards and safety in the oil and gas industries. Lilburne, Lant and Hassal [20] identified that experience plays an important role for workers when making a decision related to safety issues. They further suggested that the workers would benefit from more information, in which regard communication would be the crucial facilitator. In another study, it was shown that there is a conflict between risk and safety perceptions and production demand. In a study on oil and gas workers in Russia, Korneeva and Simonova [21] showed that factors such as production targets and the competencies expected of them affect workers' perceptions of a hazardous action. Table 1 shows a structured review of studies related to hazardous incidents in the oil and gas industry.

Safety Communication
Safety communication guides and motivates workers to commit to safety and reduce the chances of incidents in the workplace [25]. Acar and Acar [26] emphasize that safety communication procedures help to improve workplace safety practices. Safety rules and guidelines, for example, are considered as written communications for employees [27]. Vatanparast, [8] for instance, found that every incident in the industry has been related to communication errors that occurred during shift handovers. Safety communication procedure during the shift handover is crucial [7], as it could be a contributing factor to major incidents. A study reported that even though startup, shutdown and changeover comprise less than 5% of the activity at the plants, 40% of the recorded incidents take place during this time [8]. Besides this finding, in a study conducted to investigate safety challenges in the Oman water sector, it was identified that despite the fact there are regulations related to safety, the workers do not always put safety first during production and operation [28]. Thus, there is a definite need for proper safety communication. Table 1. Structured review on studies related to hazardous incidents in the oil and gas industry.

Place of Study Subject of Study Summary Key Findings Sources
South and North Russia Employee psychological safety features Psychological features related to safety are subjected to geographical region and the location of the oil and gas operation [21] Offshore within the Arctic Region Case study on past hazardous incidents related to oil and gas operation Natural hazards are one of the major problems in the Arctic region. Safety management is one of the strategies to ensure a "zero accidents" policy can be achieved [4] Oil and gas utility companies in Pakistan Behavior-based safety in reducing hazardous accidents.
The workload is a major factor associated with safety negligence. Employee knowledge associated with safety measures can be improved through proper programs and courses [22] Iranian petrochemical companies Unsafe work behavior Workers who are exposed to condescending safety supervision and workplace bullying are more likely to engage in risky and unsafe behaviors, which leads to a high probability of hazardous incidents [23] Malaysia oil and gas companies Non-compliance with safety regulation Financial limitations, an insufficient workforce, and lack of supervision might contribute to safety negligence and hazardous incidents [24] According to Shohet et al. [29], there is a need to integrate communication approaches in managing safety among employees. Besides using a technological approach, such as integrated communication devices in various forms to enhance communication capacity and capability [29,30], the management of safety communication is also crucial. Well-developed communications management systems should entail safety communication in a paramount position, from which communication should encourage the process of exchanging information between personnel [31]. Furthermore, communications management provides a space for interaction and a discussion platform for changing ideas and discussing safety issues. Thus, the first hypothesis of the study is: Hypothesis 1 (H1). Communication management has an impact on disaster avoidance.
However, the issue encapsulating safety communication revolves around the direction of communication in the organization. In a common communication direction, the management will oversee and supervise the adherence to safety regulations. Despite that, studies have shown that there is a possible conflict between management policy and management actions [32]. This conflict could undermine employee trust and thus lead to incompliance with safety regulations in the organization. Therefore, in nurturing a balanced and comprehensive safety climate, attention should be given to improving communication management and capacity.
For instance, in a study conducted in Saudi Arabia, it was found that communication is an essential influencing factor that contributes to a better safety climate in the construction industry [33]. Moreover, it was argued that a dynamic internal communication system is vital in a high-risk industry such as oil and gas, as it will allow a lower attrition rate among the workers [34]. Hence, it is important for an organization's climate to have a proper communication mechanism. The communication mechanism will facilitate the flow of information as well as the resolution of disputes related to safety and disaster avoidance. Thus, the second hypothesis of this study is: Hypothesis 2 (H2). Communication management has an impact on the organizational communication climate.

Organizational Communication Climate
The definition of an organizational climate refers to the "relatively enduring quality of the internal environment of the organization that (a) is experienced by its members, (b) influences their behavior, and (c) can be described in terms of values of a particular set of characteristics (or attributes) of the environment" [35]. The internal environment plays an important role in the relationship between the organization leaders and the other organization members. Effective communication between these two parties is argued to nurture the development of a collaborative communication climate, in which its role is significant to enhance compliance with safety regulations [18]. The leader's role is essential in this area. According to a study conducted among workers in the United States, supportive communication from leaders toward the workers stimulates symmetrical communication in the organization [36]. Symmetrical communication is required to foster and improve communication mechanisms in the organizational climate. The findings from the study further indicated that a well-equipped communication mechanism leads to employee creativity [36]. A similar organizational communication climate could be applied in terms of safety commitment and disaster avoidance.
Apart from the communication mechanisms, leaders play a significantly important role in directing employees for safety improvement practices. The leaders need to motivate workers to accomplish safety tasks and meet the challenges, to maintain safety commitment [37]. Leadership commitment is a process of communication and interaction between the leaders and the workers, by showing concern for their welfare, to attain the highest level of safety commitment in avoiding incidents and disasters [38]. Opening up the climate to two-way communication could, however, be a major challenge to an engineer when assuming a managerial role [39].
As engineers are trained to be task-oriented and highly technical, training such employees in people skills, i.e., communication skills, can be challenging, especially when managing safety-related matters and conflicts among the employees, and across the departments, to maintain a supportive climate. This is especially necessary when communicating with personnel from various levels and specialisms, i.e., management, executives, nonexecutives and technical staff. Employees in the oil and gas industry must put safety as a top priority. Failure and ineffective communication could be fatal, resulting in loss of life and manpower [8].
Safety-related communication management between leaders and employees can hence have a significant impact on an employee's safety commitment [40] to avoiding disasters and incidents. Safety communication management comes in varying forms, including policies and procedures, performance statistics, hazard and incident reports, workplace inductions, risk assessments, and training. The information must be presented by the organization leaders and management in a manner that recipients can understand [15]. Recognizing language implications at such levels of communication is also essential, to ensure that all employees have a shared mission and vision of the organization [41,42]. Therefore, the third hypothesis for this study is:

Hypothesis 3 (H3). The organizational communication climate has an impact on disaster avoidance.
The choices and the usage of words in communication shape the perceptions formed by individuals [43]. Such choices of language and words have a profound influence on the outcome of safety communications [16]. Specifically, communication strategies are employed by speakers, particularly when communication breaks down [44,45]. The choice of language and words can have a profound influence on the outcome of safety communications. The management teams of the organization and at the plants have the primary responsibility for the establishment of a positive communication climate within the organization. "Climate" is a well-established term in the field of communication that has long been defined as the "relatively enduring quality of the internal environment of the organization that is experienced by its members, [ . . . ] influences their behavior, and [ . . . ] can be described in terms of values of a particular set of characteristics (or attributes) of the environment" [46].
The climate thus sets an atmosphere in the organization that either encourages or discourages communication. Organizations with supportive environments encourage worker participation, the free and open exchange of information, and constructive conflict resolution. In organizations with a defensive climate, employees keep their views to themselves, make only guarded statements, and suffer from reduced morale. Thus, effective communication is important for the establishment of a collaborative communication climate.
Safety commitment is essential to avoid incidents and disasters and requires the involvement of every individual employee. Commitment to incident and disaster avoidance could improve workplace safety if every individual followed the organizational safety goals and was willing to improve safety performance [47]. Safety commitment is vital, which contributes to the intensity of employees to determine company initiatives and develop personal approaches toward workplace safety [48]. Safety commitment in the workplace at the individual level is associated with behavior and attitude [19]. The leadership way of communication influences employees' motivation to maintain safe practice. Numerous studies have discussed the importance of safety commitment for workplace safety performance [14]. Hence, the fourth hypothesis of this study is: Hypothesis 4 (H4). The organizational communication climate has a mediating impact on the relationship between communication management and disaster avoidance.
The framework of this study is shown in Figure 1 below. outcome of safety communications [16]. Specifically, communication strategies are employed by speakers, particularly when communication breaks down [44,45]. The choice of language and words can have a profound influence on the outcome of safety communications. The management teams of the organization and at the plants have the primary responsibility for the establishment of a positive communication climate within the organization. "Climate" is a well-established term in the field of communication that has long been defined as the "relatively enduring quality of the internal environment of the organization that is experienced by its members, […] influences their behavior, and […] can be described in terms of values of a particular set of characteristics (or attributes) of the environment" [46].
The climate thus sets an atmosphere in the organization that either encourages or discourages communication. Organizations with supportive environments encourage worker participation, the free and open exchange of information, and constructive conflict resolution. In organizations with a defensive climate, employees keep their views to themselves, make only guarded statements, and suffer from reduced morale. Thus, effective communication is important for the establishment of a collaborative communication climate.
Safety commitment is essential to avoid incidents and disasters and requires the involvement of every individual employee. Commitment to incident and disaster avoidance could improve workplace safety if every individual followed the organizational safety goals and was willing to improve safety performance [47]. Safety commitment is vital, which contributes to the intensity of employees to determine company initiatives and develop personal approaches toward workplace safety [48]. Safety commitment in the workplace at the individual level is associated with behavior and attitude [19]. The leadership way of communication influences employees' motivation to maintain safe practice. Numerous studies have discussed the importance of safety commitment for workplace safety performance [14]. Hence, the fourth hypothesis of this study is:

Hypothesis 4 (H4). The organizational communication climate has a mediating impact on the relationship between communication management and disaster avoidance.
The framework of this study is shown in Figure 1 below.

Methodology
This study is based on a quantitative research design in addressing the developed research questions. As the context of this study is on disaster avoidance in oil and gas plants, the respondents were the technical employees, executives, and management personnel of oil and gas industry facilities in Malaysia. Questionnaires were disseminated as an instrument for data collection in this study. The following section discusses the items used in the instrument.

Methodology
This study is based on a quantitative research design in addressing the developed research questions. As the context of this study is on disaster avoidance in oil and gas plants, the respondents were the technical employees, executives, and management personnel of oil and gas industry facilities in Malaysia. Questionnaires were disseminated as an instrument for data collection in this study. The following section discusses the items used in the instrument.

Measurement
The questionnaire used in this study was designed based on a number of studies conducted on organizational communication climates, communication management and disaster avoidance. The questionnaire employed a 5-point Likert scale to record the responses given by the respondents. There are 7 items to measure communication management, which were adapted from Vinodkumar and Bhasi [49], 7 items to measure the organizational communication climate, which were adopted from Micheal et al. [50], and the final 7 items were adopted from Sodarni [51] to measure the disaster avoidance construct.

Sampling
Based on the calculation of a sample size to meet the statistical power requirement, as assessed by the G-power sample size calculation software, the minimum sample required is 217 [52]. However, 260 respondents were involved in the study. Purposive sampling was employed, as this study required specific technical skills, and the respondents had to be active workers in the oil and gas industry. The study was conducted at several oil and gas facilities across several companies in Malaysia. Purposive sampling was employed to ensure that the respondents fulfilled the research requirement.

Pilot Study
Prior to full-scale data collection, a pilot study was conducted to test the reliability and validity of the questionnaire used. 50 respondents who have experience of working in oil and gas facilities were involved in this pilot study. The Cronbach's alpha score and composite reliability score were used as a measurement for identifying the internal consistency among the items used. Each construct showed a reliability score of more than 0.7, indicating that the instrument used was reliable [53].

Data Analysis
The responses collected from the respondents were first screened for missing data. The data were then analyzed for demographic and descriptive findings using descriptive statistics. For this study, we used partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for inferential statistics and hypotheses testing [54,55]. Before the hypotheses testing, which comprised structural model assessment, we evaluated the needs of the measurement model. There were three required assessments: internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity [56]. Findings from the first and second assessments are shown in Table 2. All constructs show a composite reliability score between 0.7 and 0.9, indicating internal consistency and an average variance extraction (AVE) score of more than 0.5, indicating that the construct explains 50% of the variance of its item [57]. Additionally, the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) test was conducted to assess the discriminant validity of the instrument, obtaining a score of less than 1 for each construct, indicating high discriminant validity [56].
We also included academic qualifications as the control variable in this study. We tested the relationship between academic qualifications and both the organizational communication climate and disaster avoidance. The findings showed that academic qualifications did not have a significant relationship with the organizational communication climate (β = 0.031, t-test = 0.63, p = 0.191) and disaster avoidance (β = 0.082, t-test = 0.103, p = 0.167).

Demographic
The demographical analysis shows that the majority of the respondents were male (95%). The majority of them were also in the age group between 30 and 50 years old (72.7%). Furthermore, 60% of the respondents had been working for more than 10 years in the oil and gas industry. If we turn our attention toward workplace accidents, more than 80% mentioned that they had never encountered workplace accidents. However, 40% of the respondents acknowledged that there were near-miss cases that happened at their workplace. Details on the demographic study are shown in Table 3.  Table 4, presented below, shows the mean scores, standard deviation, and factor loadings for all the items used in the study. Overall, the findings suggest that the respondents were satisfied with communications by the management (mean = 4.01, SD = 0.539). Specifically, it shows that management always communicated well about safety and health issues that were practically relevant to the organization (mean score = 4.21), especially in meetings (mean score = 4.28), and the respondents could obtain safety information from the company (mean score = 4.10).

Descriptive Analysis
Furthermore, regarding the organizational communication climate, the findings indicated that the respondents knew how they could communicate with their supervisors (mean score = 4.00). Regarding disaster avoidance, our study found that the respondents agreed that it was very important to work in a safe environment (mean score = 4.54). They were very cooperative with their supervisor/manager about safety issues (mean score = 4.45). Besides these findings, the respondents cared about the safety rules and regulations in their workplace (mean score = 4.26) and were willing to obey the regulations to keep their workplace safe (mean score = 4.35).

Hypothesis Testing
Three different tests were conducted to test the hypotheses. First, the predictive power of the relationship was measured using R 2 , to measure the variance explained in each endogenous construct (i.e., the dependent variable). The second test measured the statistical significance of each relationship through bootstrapping [58]. A p-value of less than 0.05, and a T score of more than 1.96, is considered a statistically significant relationship; hence, the hypotheses should be accepted. The details of the findings are shown in Table 5. The findings indicate that communication management has a significant impact on disaster avoidance and the organizational communication climate. The organizational communication climate has a significant impact on disaster avoidance.

Assessment of the Mediation Analysis
The mediation models were tested to examine the indirect effects of the organizational communication climate on the relationship between communication management on disaster avoidance. The bootstrapping analysis has shown that the indirect effects are significant. The mediation assessment is as follows: β1 = 0.339 (t-values = 3.685) The indirect effects (95% Boot CI Bias Corrected: β1 (LL = 0.156, UL = 0.542) show that each upper level (UL) and lower level (LL) of each relationship do not straddle 0 in between, indicating that there is a mediation in the relationship [56,59]. Table 6 shows the detail of the mediation analysis, while Figure 2 indicates the final findings of the relationship examined in the study. Hence, the fourth hypothesis is supported. Three different tests were conducted to test the hypotheses. First, the predictive power of the relationship was measured using R 2 , to measure the variance explained in each endogenous construct (i.e., the dependent variable). The second test measured the statistical significance of each relationship through bootstrapping [58]. A p-value of less than 0.05, and a T score of more than 1.96, is considered a statistically significant relationship; hence, the hypotheses should be accepted. The details of the findings are shown in Table 5. The findings indicate that communication management has a significant impact on disaster avoidance and the organizational communication climate. The organizational communication climate has a significant impact on disaster avoidance.

Assessment of the Mediation Analysis
The mediation models were tested to examine the indirect effects of the organizational communication climate on the relationship between communication management on disaster avoidance. The bootstrapping analysis has shown that the indirect effects are significant. The mediation assessment is as follows: β1 = 0.339 (t-values = 3.685) The indirect effects (95% Boot CI Bias Corrected: β1 (LL = 0.156, UL = 0.542) show that each upper level (UL) and lower level (LL) of each relationship do not straddle 0 in between, indicating that there is a mediation in the relationship [56,59]. Table 6 shows the detail of the mediation analysis, while Figure 2 indicates the final findings of the relationship examined in the study. Hence, the fourth hypothesis is supported.

Discussion
This study seeks to investigate the impact of both communication management and the organizational communication climate on disaster avoidance in the oil and gas industry. In achieving that, we developed four hypotheses and tested them. Based on the findings, this indicates that all four hypotheses are supported.
Discussion on H1-Communication management has an impact on disaster avoidance.
The first hypothesis of this study showed that communication management has an impact on disaster avoidance. It indicated that, although safety regulations and preventive measures through a routinized approach are essential, proper communication management is also crucial. Communication, in this case, includes safety information that is disseminated regularly to the workers, of which they are reminded frequently during a meeting, briefing or any other platform.
An ill-equipped communication platform could lead to misinformation that consequently causes disaster, especially in a high-risk environment such as the oil and gas industry. Our findings are similar to those of a study conducted by Dahl and Kongsvik, where they reported that workers in the oil and gas industry are committed to safety practices and disaster avoidance when the management can communicate openly and constantly emphasize the importance of safety regulations in the industry [38].
It also mirrored the findings of safety regulations in other industries. For instance, researchers showed that improved communication management through integration with mobile applications facilitates safety adherence by workers in the construction industry [29]. Hence, it is proven that communication management is crucial as it is the main vehicle for disseminating information relating to safety issues, which is essential for disaster avoidance.
Discussion on H2-Communication management has an impact on the organizational communication climate.
The second hypothesis in which communication management has an impact on organizational communication climate is also supported. The key factor in nurturing a positive communication climate in an organization is having a systematic information flow [60]. Through proper communications management, the process of information circulation within an organization can be streamlined according to its specific objectives or functions.
Consequently, any information barriers can be overcome. Furthermore, noise-related issues that were notorious for hindering information transfer and knowledge-sharing could be reduced [61]. This is crucial, especially in a high-risk work environment such as the oil and gas industry, where disasters and accidents can happen if the information is not properly transmitted among the workers. This has been similarly reported in various other studies where the systematic management of information is highlighted; miscommunication is frequently reported as one of the main causes of accidents in the oil and gas industry [62,63].
Furthermore, previous studies have highlighted the primary function of communication among peers in nurturing an organizational communication climate [61]. Peer communication is also an important part of communication management. The ability of communication management to promote information-sharing, as well as increasing transparency and openness in communication, enables workers to constantly remind each other of issues; this reflects a good organizational climate, especially related to avoiding calamities in the working environment.
Discussion on H3-Organizational communication climate and disaster avoidance.
The third hypothesis of this study has been proven, in that the organizational communication climate does have an impact on disaster avoidance in the oil and gas industry. As discussed earlier, a positive organizational communication climate is indicated by consistent information flow in the organization, bypassing barriers such as noise [60]. Thus, having constant and consistent information is paramount in disaster avoidance. An organization that constantly and consistently emphasizes the importance of information-sharing between workers concerning safety matters, such as work schedule or machinery breakdown, will be able to minimize workplace accidents in even the most hazardous workplace.
This study is in line with the findings from a study conducted in the Canadian oil and gas industry. The study reported that a firm and rule-oriented leadership, which is the main component for a good organizational climate, fostered strong compliance with rules and good safety behavior in the workers [64]. Furthermore, in another study, the researchers The findings from this study will not only contribute to the discourse in the context of disaster avoidance and safety management in the oil and gas industry but will also benefit practitioners and policymakers. For instance, this study indicated that an organizational communication climate is important and that it could be enhanced through management and supervisor commitment.
The importance of management and supervisor commitment could be viewed from the perspective of employees' welfare. Communicating with them as a way to achieve safety goals alone is insufficient. The management needs to increase the social relationships and interaction with their employees. One avenue is through conducting social activities, such as team building, and through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. In doing so, they could gain the trust, loyalty and cooperation from their employees that will then translate to a better organizational communication climate and disaster avoidance.

Limitations and Future Recommendation
The first limitation of this study is its focus on organizational scale, and it does not investigate individual factors, such as reticence, as a hindrance to communication. Several studies have highlighted that, despite working in a positive organizational climate, a person may still choose to be reticent and may tend to be reserved in communication and when sharing information [68,69]. Thus, future studies need to investigate the impact of being reticent about disaster avoidance on the organizational communication climate.
Next, this study does not include working experience as a factor that might affect communication management, climate and disaster avoidance. Having worked too long in an organization or industry might have both positive and negative effects. From a positive perspective, workers tend to be more experienced and familiar with the risks and the related information. However, the workers might become too comfortable with the working environment and take chances. Furthermore, as they already understand the details of the workplace, non-compliance behavior might occur. Therefore, future studies need to investigate the impact of working experience on all communication management, climate and disaster avoidance factors.
In addition, as the communication approach is becoming more advanced in IR 4.0, the introduction of new technology, such as new media, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, is emerging. These technologies could have an impact on the communication relationship between the organization and its workers. This study does not investigate the capability of such elements. Henceforth, future studies shall explore the impact of technological elements on communication management, organizational climate and disaster avoidance in the oil and gas industry.  Institutional Review Board Statement: Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements.
Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement:
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.