Setting the stage for effective safety leadership: The Antecedents of safety-specific transformational leadership behaviours

Representing about 30% of all fatal injuries in the United States in the past decade, the construction industry is notorious for its poor safety performance. Research suggested that a strong predictor of safety performance is safety leadership. Specifically, safety-specific transformational leadership behaviours (SSTLBs) was found to be the most predictable factor of safety outcomes. However, there has been scant attention paid to how organizational context and personal factors could facilitate construction leaders to engage in SSTLBs. Consequently, it is currently unclear how to develop a supportive environment and effective training programs to help the application of SSTLBs. To narrow such a knowledge gap, this study proposed a conceptual model to study the issue based on the framework of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model in positive psychology. Specifically, we examine how personal resources (psychological capital), job resources (social support and work autonomy), and job demands (risks and hazards) could affect leaders' work engagement in SSTLBs. Following the predictions of the JD-R model, we expect that the relationship between job resources and SSTLBs will be moderated by personal resources, job demands, and work engagement. The implications of the proposed conceptual framework for future research are discussed.