Unveiling the Impact of Shipmasters’ Leadership Style on Safety Climate: A Comprehensive Study

Maritime transportation is an industry where, due to high risk levels, safety is a top priority to ensure seafarers’ well-being and operational efficiency. This study explores the effect of shipmasters’ leadership styles on fostering safety awareness and shaping the safety climate. The research has two primary objectives: (1) to reveal the relationship between shipmasters’ leadership styles and the safety climate perceptions of ship personnel, excluding shipmasters, and (2) to investigate the dimensions mediating this relationship. A mixed-method approach was adopted. The quantitative phase involved a survey of 198 seafarers with unlimited certificates, while the qualitative phase included in-depth interviews guided by a semi-structured protocol with seven shipmasters. A qualitative content analysis approach was employed to interpret the collected data. Findings indicate a moderate positive correlation between transformational leadership and safety climate perception. Transactional leadership showed a weak positive relationship, while laissez-faire leadership exhibited a weak negative one. Qualitative data reveal shipmasters’ preference for transformational leadership, emphasizing themes such as: “safety” and “safety management and scope”, which are echoed in safety climate dimensions. Survey results highlight the strongest link between transformational leadership and the “safety management and scope” sub-dimension.