Ghasemi Fakhradin, Mahdinia Mohsen, Doosti-Irani Amin
Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran.
Department of Occupational Health & Safety Engineering, Faculty of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Aug 11;25(1):2723. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-24044-w.
Safety-specific transformational leadership (SSTL) has garnered much attention in recent years. This scoping review aims to explore; (1) the industries within which the impacts of SSTL are investigated; (2) the impacts of SSTL on the leading and lagging safety indicators; (3) mechanisms through which SSTL can affect safety outcomes; (4) the safety impacts of SSTL compared with other leadership styles; and (5) research gap to be covered by future studies.
This review was conducted in accordance with the standard procedure proposed by PRISMA-ScR. Three major databases including Web of Science, PubMed, and SCOPUS were searched. After removing duplications, initial screening, and eligibility assessment steps, 28 articles were included in the study.
Coined in 2002, SSTL is a distinct construct from general transformational leadership with a greater influence on safety outcomes. Most studies are conducted in Canada and among construction workers. SSTL could affect both leading and lagging safety indicators, particularly safety behavior and occupational accidents. Safety climate and safety motivation mediate the impact of SSTL on safety outcomes. Social exchange theory and leader-member exchange theory explain how SSTL can modify the safety behavior of employees. SSTL is much stronger than passive leadership in affecting safety, and its effects are comparable with safety-specific active transactional leadership.
SSTL appears to be a significant factor influencing workplace safety outcomes, affecting both leading and lagging safety indicators. However, long-term longitudinal studies are needed to fully understand the impact of SSTL on these safety outcomes. Additionally, safety knowledge could serve as a mediator in the relationship between SSTL and safety results. Future research should compare the effectiveness of SSTL with authentic leadership style in enhancing safety outcomes. It would also be beneficial to assess how well SSTL can mitigate the negative effects of factors such as occupational fatigue, work-family imbalance, and production pressure on workplace safety.
特定安全变革型领导（SSTL）近年来备受关注。本综述旨在探讨：（1）研究SSTL影响的行业；（2）SSTL对领先和滞后安全指标的影响；（3）SSTL影响安全结果的机制；（4）与其他领导风格相比，SSTL的安全影响；（5）未来研究有待填补的研究空白。
本综述按照PRISMA-ScR提出的标准程序进行。检索了包括Web of Science、PubMed和SCOPUS在内的三个主要数据库。在去除重复项、初步筛选和资格评估步骤后，28篇文章纳入本研究。
SSTL于2002年提出，是一种与一般变革型领导不同的概念，对安全结果有更大影响。大多数研究在加拿大和建筑工人中进行。SSTL可影响领先和滞后安全指标，尤其是安全行为和职业事故。安全氛围和安全动机介导SSTL对安全结果的影响。社会交换理论和领导-成员交换理论解释了SSTL如何改变员工的安全行为。在影响安全方面，SSTL比被动领导强得多，其效果与特定安全主动交易型领导相当。
SSTL似乎是影响工作场所安全结果的一个重要因素，对领先和滞后安全指标均有影响。然而，需要长期纵向研究来充分了解SSTL对这些安全结果的影响。此外，安全知识可作为SSTL与安全结果之间关系的中介。未来研究应比较SSTL与真实领导风格在提高安全结果方面的有效性。评估SSTL能在多大程度上减轻职业疲劳、工作-家庭失衡和生产压力等因素对工作场所安全的负面影响也将是有益的。
