The effect of transformational and transactional leadership, safety culture on safety outcomes

Abstract

Leaders are organisational architects with an ability to influence the inputs and outputs of business performance which includes safety performance. Inputs and outputs in the context of this study include the safe behaviour of employees and the leader s role in creating a safe working environment. Studies in safety leadership have shown that transformational leadership results in high employee safety participation whereas transactional leadership results in increased safety compliance. Recent studies have focused mainly on the impact of the two leadership styles on the safety climate. This study aims to bridge the existing gap in understanding the effect of transformational, transactional leadership and safety culture on safety outcomes. Self-administered and online questionnaires were used to collect data in chemical organisations in Durban. The number of returned valid questionnaires was 250. Analysis included various correlation tests and multiple regression analysis to test the relationships between the three variables. Results revealed that transformational and transactional leadership lead to different safety outcomes. In addition, transactional leadership positively impacts on safety culture when compared with transformational leadership which has demonstrated a negative relationship.