Political Skill for Developing Construction Safety Climate

Political skill, which consists of social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity dimensions, is considered as one of the most important skills in general management. However, its importance in construction management, particularly construction safety management, is still not as well known. The aim of this research is to understand the role of political skill in implementing safety management tasks and developing construction safety climate. Quantitative research methodology was adopted to test the theoretical model developed in this research. Data were collected via a web-based online survey and the analysis was done using structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The results of the analysis support the research hypotheses which proposed that project personnel's political skill positively influences the implementation of safety management tasks and promotes the development of construction safety climate. Apparent sincerity and social astuteness are the political skill dimensions that initiate the whole relationships. They are the precursors of networking ability and interpersonal influence dimensions. Thereafter, interpersonal influence has positive impact on the implementation of safety management tasks. Finally, apparent sincerity and implementation of safety management tasks promote the development of construction safety climate. It is suggested that construction companies should incorporate the training of political skill into their human resource development programs and include safety management tasks into their safety management programs. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000482. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.