The effects of leadership dimensions, safety climate, and assigned priorities on minor injuries in work groups

TLDR

Leadership style influences subordinate safety concern, which shapes safety climate perceptions, while higher‑level safety priorities independently affect supervisory safety practices. The study examined whether assigned safety priority moderates the link between leadership style and injury rate, with safety climate mediating that relationship. Using a prospective within‑group split‑sample design on 42 work groups, the authors found that transformational and constructive leadership predicted injury rates, whereas corrective leadership exerted an indirect, conditional effect. The results showed that safety priorities moderated leadership effects on injury, with safety climate mediating these relationships, demonstrating complementary mediated and moderated influences of transformational and transactional leadership on group safety behavior. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract This study is based on three premises: (a) Leadership style affects the level of concern for subordinate safety; (b) Concern for safety, operationalized with supervisory practices, provides the source for safety climate perceptions; and (c) Safety priority as assigned by higher superiors influences supervisory safety practice independently of leadership style. Assigned safety priority was expected to moderate the relationship between leadership style and injury rate in organizational subunits, with safety climate mediating this leadership–injury relationship due to its demonstrable effect on safety behavior. A within‐group split‐sample analysis of 42 work groups, coupled with prospective design, indicated that transformational and constructive leadership predicted injury rate, while corrective leadership provided indirect, conditional prediction. Leadership effects were moderated by assigned safety priorities and mediated by commensurate safety‐climate variables. The results suggest that transformational and transactional leadership provide complementary modes of (mediated and moderated) influence on safety behavior of group members. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.