The role of project owners’ and team leaders’ ownership in shaping safety culture in Malaysian waste management SME

Occupational accidents remain a critical challenge within Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, particularly in high-risk sectors such as waste management. Despite the existence of regulatory frameworks and safety guidelines, many SMEs continue to experience safety performance gaps due to limited resources, informal management structures, and varying levels of leadership commitment. This study examines the role of project owners’ and team leaders’ ownership in strengthening safety culture within Malaysian waste management SMEs. Adopting a quantitative, cross-sectional research design, data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to employees working in waste management SMEs. The study investigates the influence of leadership ownership at both strategic (project owners) and operational (team leaders) levels on organizational safety culture. Statistical analyses, including reliability testing, correlation, and regression analysis using the IBM SPSS version 26, were employed to test the proposed relationships. The findings reveal that both project owners’ ownership and team leaders’ ownership have significant positive effects on safety culture. Project owners’ ownership demonstrates a strong influence by shaping strategic commitment, resource allocation, and safety priorities, while team leaders’ ownership reinforces safety practices through supervision, communication, coaching, and role modelling. When combined, ownership by both leadership levels explains a substantial proportion of the variance in safety culture, highlighting the importance of aligned leadership commitment across organizational levels. The study contributes to the limited empirical literature on safety culture in Malaysian waste management SMEs by emphasizing leadership ownership as a critical driver of safety performance. Practically, the findings offer valuable insights for SME owners, managers, and policymakers in designing leadership-focused safety interventions aimed at fostering a proactive and sustainable safety culture.