1. Leadership and Safety Citizenship Behavior: The Role of Trust
SHAMA DIDLA
University of Aberdeen
Supervision: Dr. Kathryn Mearns & Prof. Rhona Flin
Sponsoring company: Centrica Energy

2. Setting the scene: Attention to safety management: Away from technical
Industrial accidents:
Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984)
Chernobyl nuclear plant (1986)
Piper Alpha (1988)
Attention to
safety management:
Away from technical
approach to
human factors
Piper Alpha (1988)
Core ingredient in shaping
safety climate:
Management’s
commitment to safety
Leadership style of
managers and supervisors
Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984)

3. Transformational and Transactional Leadership:
Bass (1985)
Transactional Leadership (TA): An exchange relationship between leaders and followers.
Transformational leadership (TF): Leaders motivate followers to achieve performance expectations by transforming followers’ attitudes and beliefs.
Augmentation effect of TF over TA:
Heightened
motivation TF
Peformance beyond
Expectations i.e. Safety
citizenship behaviours TA
Expected
performance

4. AIM
Previous research focus: perceived safety climate (Barling, et al.,2002), safety consciousness, safety communication and safety commitment (Hofmann & Morgeson,1999).
Our aim: To understand the psychological mechanisms of the relationship between leadership and subordinates’ safety citizenship behaviors.
Leadership
Psychological
mechanisms
Subordinates’
safety citizenship
behaviour
Trust

5. Trust:
The willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995).
Trust has been suggested as the foundation of safety culture (Reason, 1997).
Important for safety communication (Clarke, 1998) and safety initiatives (Donald & Young, 1996).
Important ingredient in performing safely (Fleming & Lardner, 2001).

6. Safety Citizenship Behavior:
An individual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization (Dennis & Organ,1983).
Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964)
SCB = helping + voicing one’s opinions +exhibiting stewardship civic virtue + whistle-blowing + changing one’s workplace (Hofmann, Morgeson, & Gerras, 2003).

7. Method: Questionnaires distributed to 500 employees
114 returns: 72 (workforce level) & 42 (supervisory level)
Measures:
Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire - 45 items (Bass & Avolio, 1999)
Trust Climate and Safety Questionnaire - 24 items (Conchie, 2003)
Safety Citizenship Behavior Scale - 27 items (Hofmann, Morgeson, & Gerras, 2003)
Job categories: production, maintenance, administration, engineering
Onshore: 78 Offshore : 35
Centrica: 70 Contracting company: 44

8. Descriptives of the sample *p < .01 level
Variables M SD α 1 2 3 4 5
1.Transformational leadership
2.00
0.83
0.93
2. Contingent reward
2.18
0.99
0.84
0.86*
3. Management by exception
1.98
0.82
0.65
0.41*
0.45*
4. Passive avoidant
1.19
0.85
-0.48*
-0.13
5. Trust
5.20
1.14
0.91
0.70*
0.68*
0.16*
-0.57*
6. OCB
3.42
0.88
0.98
0.27*
0.28*
0.18*
-0.05

9. Dependent variable: Trust in the leader
Hypothesis 1: TF augments TA TF accounted for 3% additional variance in trust in the leader
Dependent variable: Trust in the leader
Transactional Leadership
Mean SD R2
∆ R2 F ß
Contingent reward
2.20
0.99
0.57*
47.81*
0.28*
MBEA
1.96
0.83
0.57
-0.14* PA
1.19
-0.28*
Transformational Leadership
2.01
0.82
0.60
0.03*
40.88*
0.38*

10. Testing the mediation model
Multiple regression analysis
Baron & Kenny’s guidelines (1986) to test mediation effects
significant
MEDIATOR
PREDICTOR
PREDICTOR
OUTCOME
MEDIATOR
TRUST
PREDICTOR
TF & TA
significant
significant
OUTCOME
SCB
non-significant

11. Hypothesis 2 Trust mediated the relationship between TF & TA leadership and SCB
Dependent variables
Trust
SCB
Leadership Behavior
Independent variables
TF + CR
ß = 0.46*
R2 = 0.53*
ß = 0.27*
R2 = 0.07*
ß = 0.14, ns ß = 0.15, ns
R2 = 0.09*
MBEA
ß = *
R2 = 0.55*
ß = 0.18
R2 =0.03, ns
Mediation model not applicable PA
ß = -0.28*
R2 = 0.61*
ß =
R2 = 0.03, ns
mediation model not applicable

12. Hypothesis 3 Leader’s behaviours: Antecedents to trust (Regression analysis)
Justice perceptions
48% variance
Personal identification
with the leader
TRUST
12% additional
variance
Empowerment
perceptions
Perceived organizational
support

13. Conclusions
Leadership behavior is effective if it is both transactional and transformational. For performance beyond expectations, we need more transformational leaders!
Role of trust is two-fold:
Plays a major role in the dynamics of leadership in influencing subordinates’ citizenship behaviors.
It is what a leader ‘does’ and not what a leader ‘is’ that helps him/her gain the trust of the workforce i.e. firstly, a leader should implement fair practices and secondly, the workforce should be able to personally identify with him/her and share common goals with regards to the organization.

14. THANK YOU
ANY QUESTIONS?