LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY: FROM TRANSITION TO POST-TRANSITION (2011–2025)

 

LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY: FROM TRANSITION TO POST-TRANSITION (2011–2025)

 

Abstract: This study examined differences in perceived leadership behaviors between two independent samples of respondents from organizations in Serbia surveyed in 2011 and 2025, corresponding to the transition and post-transition periods examined in the study. Using a repeated cross-sectional design and the same leadership measurement instrument in both surveys, the study compared aggregate transformational and transactional leadership and their constituent dimensions. The results indicate statistically significant lower scores in 2025 for core transformational leader behavior, high performance expectations, contingent punishment behavior, and the aggregate transformational and transactional leadership measures. In contrast, supportive leader behavior was significantly higher in the 2025 sample, although the difference was limited in magnitude. No statistically significant between-sample differences were found for intellectual stimulation or contingent reward behavior. High performance expectations showed the largest difference among the individual leadership dimensions and was the only dimension with a medium effect size. Overall, the findings reveal selective rather than uniform between-sample differences and show that aggregate leadership measures should be interpreted alongside their constituent behaviors in comparisons between the 2011 and 2025 samples.

 

Keywords: Leadership, Transformational leadership, Transactional leadership, Leadership behaviors, Organizational Change