TITLE:
Safety Leadership and Safety Performance: An integrative Model for Ghanaian Construction Industry
AUTHORS:
Kweku Bedu Simpson, Nongiba Alkanam Kheni, Isaac Boateng
KEYWORDS:
Safety Leadership, Worker Behaviour, Safety Performance, Integrative Model, Ghanaian Construction Industry
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.19 No.1,
February
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study introduces Ghana’s first context-specific model for construction safety performance, including leadership behaviour, leader-member exchange (LMX), the safety climate, safety culture, and worker behaviour. It analyses shortcomings in understanding the impact of leadership on safety outcomes in a regulated, hierarchical construction sector. A pragmatic mixed-methods design rooted in critical realism was used, employing a convergent parallel approach that integrated quantitative surveys (n = 534) and qualitative interviews (n = 36) across large (D1K1/A1B1—highest contractor rating for buildings and roads) and medium (D2K2/A2B2—second-tier classification) construction projects in five regions of Ghana. The categorisations align with Ghana’s official contractor ranking system, defined by financial and technical capacity. All hypotheses were statistically significant, confirming the model’s robustness (CFI = 0.917, TLI = 0.901, RMSEA = 0.079, SRMR = 0.071, χ2 = 98.320) and explaining 62.8% of the variance in safety performance. Leadership exerted the most substantial influence on LMX (β = 0.543), highlighting trust as an essential mechanism, whereas safety culture impacted overall performance (β = 0.412). Worker compliance (β = 0.287) exceeded participation (β = 0.245). Qualitative findings revealed that mentoring, role modelling, coaching, and open communication serve as tools for converting leadership into safer practices. Limitations include a cross-sectional design, and emphasis on key sites (82.6%). The model offers pragmatic suggestions for incorporating trust, culture, and proactive behaviour to sustainably improve construction safety in Ghana and beyond.