The effect of perceived transformational leadership and organizational climate on the employees\u27 attitude and intention to follow safe food handling practices: A conceptual model and empirical evidence

The objectives of this study are to develop a conceptual model to investigate employees\u27 motivational influences on food safety performance and to examine the causal relationships among transformational leadership, organizational climate, employees\u27 attitude and intention to follow safe food handling practices in foodservice establishments utilizing leadership theory, organizational climate, and the theory of planned behavior. Questionnaires were distributed to restaurants in the U.S. Descriptive analysis, confirmative factor analysis, structural equation modeling techniques, and multi-group analysis were employed. The results of this study indicate that transformational leadership did not statistically impact employees\u27 attitude and intention to follow safe food handling practices. However, transformational leadership significantly impacted organizational climate. Organizational climate significantly impacted employees\u27 attitude and intention to follow safe food handling practices. Employees\u27 attitude significantly impacted intention to perform safe food handling practices. Food handling certification had a significantly different effect on the relationships among organizational climate, employees\u27 attitude and intention to follow safe food handling practices. In other words, organizational climate has a significantly strong impact on attitude and intention of employees with no certification. The results of this study will not only provide the theoretical model, but also provide more detailed diagnostic information regarding the impact of transformational leadership and organizational climate on the employees\u27 attitude and intention to follow food safety practices