Niyazi Yılmaz, Bünyamin Bacak
This study aims to map the intellectual structure, developmental process, and current research trends of the “safety performance” concept, which holds critical importance in occupational health and safety literature, from a holistic perspective. Within the scope of the research, 752 academic publications covering the years 2000-2025 were retrieved from the Web of Science database and examined. A multi-faceted methodology comprising descriptive statistics, bibliometric network mapping, and conceptual structure analyses was followed for data analysis, utilizing BibExcel, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Biblioshiny software. The analysis findings indicate that safety performance research has chronologically evolved through three fundamental phases. These are the “safety culture and climate” focused initiation period (2000-2010), the “system and behavior” focused maturation period (2010-2018), and the “leadership, technology, and analytical decision making” focused current period (2019-2025). The study reveals that the field has shifted towards “implementation” and “safety leadership” rather than theoretical modeling, and that safety has gained a psychosocial depth with the rise of “burnout” and “stress” concepts. Furthermore, it has been determined that reactive approaches based on post-accident data have been replaced by data-driven prediction and leading indicators. Consequently, this study demonstrates the need for mixed management models where technical measures are integrated with employee well-being and digitalization, emphasizing that managers must transition from a “transactional” role to a “transformational leader” role for sustainable safety performance. It further demonstrates the need for a digital transformation process where technical measures are integrated with human-centric Industry 5.0 frameworks and artificial intelligence supported hybrid management models.