THE ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP STYLES IN SERBIAN ORGANIZATIONS: GENDER INFLUENCE/АНАЛИЗА ЛИДЕРСКИХ СТИЛОВА У СРПСКИМ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЈАМА: УТИЦАЈ ПОЛА

The objective of this study is to explore the role and relevance of leaders’ gender in their choice of dominant leadership style in Serbian companies and institutions. The categories we use in our research are based on the two most popular classifications of leadership styles, established in Iowa and Ohio studies (which identified authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire style and task-oriented or relationship-oriented leadership style respectively). For data collection we used a 31-statement questionnaire, applying the method of proportional stratified random sampling. The sample contained responses of 79 randomly selected respondents (leaders) from randomly selected organizations in Serbia. To determine whether there is statistically significant dependence between the identified dominant leadership styles and leaders’ gender we applied the Chi-square test of independence as a quantitative statistical method. Our results confirmed statistically significant interdependence between the observed pairs of categorical variables. More precisely, they indicated that female leaders incline towards task-oriented and authoritarian leadership styles, while male leaders prefer relationship-oriented and democratic styles.