Safety Leadership and its Effect on Safety Knowledge-Attitude-Behaviour (KAB) of Malaysia Manufacturing Workers

Abstract

Safety behaviour is found the be the main factor towards work accidents. Scholars had intensively studied the effect
of leadership styles on safety behaviour. Moreover, some scholars conceptualised safety leadership variables based
on leadership theories, especially transformational-transactional leadership theory; and determined their effect on
safety behaviour dimensions, namely safety compliance and safety participation. Besides, some previous researches
also revealed that safety knowledge, as well as safety attitude, could predict safety behaviour. The objective of this
paper is to propose and establish a conceptual framework which examine the mediating effects of safety knowledge
and safety attitude on the relationship between variables representing safety leadership and the dimensions of safety
behaviour.The research draws on extant literature of safety leadership variables to identify the propose the
alternative dimensions/variables for safety leadership, which are deemed to be suitable for Malaysia’s workplaces.
Furthermore, direct and indirect effects of safety knowledge and safety attitude towards safety behaviour
performance have been conducted. As the results, this paper proposed that safety leadership variables should consist
of safety coaching, safety concern and safety monitoring based on transformational-transactional leadership theory.
Consequently, this study adapted the social-cognitive theory and self-efficacy model to conceptualised the capability
of mediation by safety knowledge and safety attitude on the predicting variables and safety behaviour. The
framework provides a starting point for the researcher to understand how effective safety leadership provided by the
supervisors enable the manufacturing companies to fosters safety-self efficacy of the employees furthermore
influence their safety behaviour. While for the practitioner, the framework could be used to achieve a clear
understanding of how the relationship between safety leadership and safety KAB exists for further practical
improvements in reducing workplace accidents, specifically in Malaysia’s manufacturing companies.