Guha, P; Kar, S and Jha, K N (2025) Exploring leadership styles and their effect on the safety and quality performances in construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151(9): 04025120, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Leadership plays a crucial role in determining the success of construction projects, with leadership styles influencing safety and quality performance. This study investigates the relationship between leaders' years of experience, the size of the teams they manage, and their preferred leadership styles. Additionally, it explores how these leadership styles impact safety and quality outcomes in construction projects. The study gathered responses from 256 construction leaders through a questionnaire survey and employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings reveal that among democratic, authoritarian, and laissez-faire leadership styles, the democratic and authoritarian styles significantly and positively affect both safety and quality performance. Experience also plays a key role, significantly influencing both democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles, whereas authoritarian leadership is unaffected by job experience. Interestingly, team size does not have a significant impact on leadership styles. The results underscore the importance of cultivating democratic leadership in construction to enhance team coordination, problem-solving, and accountability, which in turn drives better safety and quality performance. Construction leaders who engage their teams through clear communication, constructive feedback, and recognition foster a strong sense of responsibility and productivity among team members. Furthermore, whereas leadership experience is crucial, team size has no significant influence on leadership efficacy. The study highlights the need for flexible, adaptable leadership approaches, as situational factors may require a mix of democratic and authoritarian elements for achieving safety and quality outcomes. This research contributes to understanding how leadership styles influence safety and quality in construction, offering practical strategies for improving performance. By developing and selecting leaders based on their leadership styles, construction companies can elevate safety and quality standards, leading to the successful completion of projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction leader; leadership style; partial least square structural equation modeling; quality; safety |
| Index terms: | productivity, quality standard, coordination, quality performance, accountability, leadership style, construction company, survey, strategy, structural equation modelling, partial least square, questionnaire, construction project |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, project delivery, management, statistical analysis, organization, production management, liability law, quality assurance, leadership |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Quality Management, Legal Issues, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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