The conditions of courage : psychological safety as a mediator and follower characteristics as moderators in the leadership-courage relationship
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Workplace social courage has gained growing attention in organizational research for its role in enabling ethical behaviour, constructive voice, and resilience in the face of interpersonal risks. Employees frequently encounter situations where speaking up or resisting conformity may carry social or professional costs. Understanding the conditions that encourage such courage is therefore both theoretically significant and practically relevant. This study examines whether transformational leadership predicts workplace social courage indirectly through psychological safety and whether this process interacts with follower characteristics, namely active engagement and independent thinking. The study aims to clarify how contextual and personal characteristics interact to shape courageous behaviour. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 117 employees. Participants completed measures of transformation, leadership, psychological safety, workplace social courage, active engagement, and independent thinking, as well as sociodemographic information. Statistical analysis was done using PROCESS Model 17, controlling for age and gender. Results showed that transformational leadership positively predicted psychological safety, which in turn predicted workplace social courage. The indirect effect was significant, while the direct effect of transformational leadership on workplace social courage was nonsignificant, indicating full mediation. Independent thinking moderated the psychological safety and courage relationship, with the effect strongest when independent thinking was low. Active engagement did not significantly moderate the relationship. These findings highlight psychological safety as a key pathway through which transformation and leadership foster workplace social courage. They emphasize the importance of considering follower characteristics, as the role of psychological safety proved especially critical for individuals with lower independent thinking.
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7219386614