Leadership in safety-oriented organisations: an empirical study

his article explores the relationship between leadership and safety culture within a high-reliability organisation (HRO). By drawing from a sample of 68 managers from a large safety-oriented company, we aim to analyse the contribution of vertical versus shared decision-making styles related to safety culture. Results suggest that both styles can influence a safety culture, even if differently. Regarding a safety prevention situation, a vertical leadership approach is found to be more impactful than a shared one on preoccupation with failure, sensitivity to operations and reluctance to simplify. For the safety containment, our evidence reveals that both approaches are required for resilience and deference to expertise. The different influences of decision-making processes on safety culture make clear the need for leaders to pay attention to vertical and shared leadership styles and behaviours. Our research makes a useful contribution into the leadership/safety culture relationship by providing an original perspective about what leadership and behaviours could better predict the dimensions of a safety culture within HROs.