Transformational and Transactional Safety Leadership Styles of Government Project Owners from Contractors' Perceptions in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32492/nucleus.v5i2.5210Keywords:
safety leadership, project owner, infrastructure construction, transformational leadership, transactional leadershipAbstract
The Indonesian construction industry faces significant occupational safety challenges, where project owners hold a strategic role in shaping safety culture through leadership. This study aims to identify the safety leadership pattern of government infrastructure project owners in Indonesia and examine its influence on project safety performance, using transformational and transactional approaches within the full range leadership framework. Data were collected through a structured survey involving 323 contractors evaluating project owners on government infrastructure projects, analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Descriptive results indicate that transformational leadership (4.14) is more dominant than transactional leadership (3.89), with idealized influence and inspirational motivation as key strengths. Regression analysis reveals that only the involvement & handling dimension of transactional leadership significantly influences safety performance (β = 0.330; p < 0.001; R² = 0.270). These findings expose an important paradox: the dimensions perceived most favorably do not necessarily determine actual safety performance. Strengthening the involvement & handling dimension is identified as the primary evidence-based priority, alongside developing a more balanced full range leadership profile among government infrastructure project owners in Indonesia
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