Gender‐based analysis of leadership differences in Turkey

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences of leadership styles of Turkish men and women managers in team-oriented and participative leadership dimensions. In addition, the purpose of this resarch is to find out the differences of leadership styles and also the effect of pre-managerial and managerial experiences on leadership style in a gender-based context. Design/methodology/approach - A web-based questionnaire was used for the study. Four main hypotheses were tested by ANOVA and structural equation modeling. Research was conducted via a total of 276 managers, composed of 124 women and 152 men, employed by medium-sized private sector companies in Turkey. The Globe Leadership scale was used in the questionnaire to measure the managers' leadership styles. Findings - It was found that men and women managers have no differences in team-oriented and participative leadership styles. Besides, significantly, the pre-managerial and managerial experiences of the women managers have a bigger effect on leadership styles than those of men managers. Research limitations/implications - The sampling frame consists of only participants from medium-sized companies; therefore the results show the opinions of women and men managers from these organizations. Practical implications - Since it is better able to transfer the pre-managerial and managerial experiences of women managers on collaborative leadership styles than those of men managers, it requires priority to be given to women managers in these conditions. Consequently, managerial positions that relate to participative and team-oriented styles may be designed with respect to women managers' strength regarding accelerating the process. Originality/value - The study adds significantly to the published body of knowledge. Its findings reflect the valuable contribution that managerial experience makes as a vital indicator for gender-based analysis of leadership styles in Turkey.