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The Influence Mechanism of Supervisor’s Moral Leadership on Construction Workers’ Safety Participation Behavior

Jie Liu
Vol.1, No.6, pp.23-34, 2026 DOI: 10.62051/ajmse.v1n6.03 September 8, 2026
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Abstract: To reveal the driving path of supervisor’s moral leadership on workers’ proactive safety behavior in the context of Chinese construction management, this study constructs a conceptual model based on social exchange theory and cognitive appraisal theory, examining the relationships between moral leadership, team safety climate, psychological safety, and workers’ safety participation behavior. Data were collected from 268 valid questionnaires and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that: 1) Moral leadership directly and positively affects safety participation behavior (effect size = 0.180), and also exerts a positive indirect effect (total indirect effect size = 0.388); 2) Moral leadership significantly shapes team safety climate (effect size = 0.350), which in turn promotes safety participation behavior (effect size = 0.450), with safety climate playing a partial mediating role (effect size = 0.157); 3) Moral leadership significantly enhances workers’ psychological safety (effect size = 0.420), which positively influences safety participation behavior (effect size = 0.550), with psychological safety also serving as a partial mediator (effect size = 0.231). This study extends the application of paternalistic leadership theory in construction safety by focusing on the moral dimension, providing empirical evidence for construction firms to foster workers’ proactive safety behaviors through enhancing supervisors’ moral competence.
Keywords: Moral Leadership, Workers’ Safety Participation Behavior, Safety Climate, Psychological Safety, Structural Equation Modeling
APA Citation: Jie Liu (2026). The Influence Mechanism of Supervisor’s Moral Leadership on Construction Workers’ Safety Participation Behavior. Academic Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 1(6), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.62051/ajmse.v1n6.03

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