Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.46672/aet.12.1.1
LEADERSHIP STYLES IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY: COMPARISON BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE MANAGERS IN CROATIA
Lorena Dadić Fruk
orcid.org/0000-0003-1479-4123
; Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu
Karla Kovačić
; Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu
Helga Maškarin Ribarić
; Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu
Sažetak
The research objective is to determine
whether there are gender differences in leadership style
orientation (toward people / toward tasks) and in tradi
tional and modern leadership styles among female and
male managers in the Croatian hotel industry, with an
emphasis on practical implications for leadership devel
opment. In accordance, we conducted an online research
questionnaire among female and male managers in the
hotel sector of the Republic of Croatia. We used vali
dated measuring scales to measure respondent attitudes
on whether they preferred task or people orientation in
leadership and which leadership style they mostly imple
mented: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, transactional
or transformational.
The results showed that on average, women implement
the characteristics of transformational leadership (em
powerment, mentorship, individual appreciation, ethical
decision-making) more frequently, and that they are more
people (employee) oriented, whereas men are more prone
to authoritative practices, i.e., directional-structural com
ponents (expectation clarity, procedure standardisation,
error oversight) and are more task-oriented. Therefore,
the differences are especially visible within the transfor
mational and autocratic framework, while they are not
systematically confirmed in the democratic, laissez-faire
and transactional styles.
The findings indicate style complementarity and support
the argument for higher representation of women in man
agement roles: the combination of development-relationship and directional-operational forces contributes to the
quality of service, stability of performance and long-term
development of human resources. We recommend encour
agement of targeted leadership programmes (e.g., men
torship, coaching, process standardisation) and research
expansion to include more numerous and diverse samples
with the implementation of robust, multi-dimensional tests.
Ključne riječi
leadership styles, female leadership, male leadership, hotel industry
Hrčak ID:
347541
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.6.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *