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Leadership Style and Gender: A Study of Spanish Cooperatives

Author

Listed:
  • Inocencia María Martinez-Leon

    (Business Administration Department, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Calle Real, 3, 30201 Cartagena, Spain)

  • Isabel Olmedo-Cifuentes

    (Business Administration Department, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Calle Real, 3, 30201 Cartagena, Spain)

  • MCarmen Martínez-Victoria

    (Economics and Business Department, University of Almería, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain)

  • Narciso Arcas-Lario

    (Business Administration Department, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Calle Real, 3, 30201 Cartagena, Spain)

Abstract

The growing global need for social cohesion and sustainable development gives visibility to cooperatives because their principles help to achieve these objectives and the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among them, gender equality policies are in the forefront. This paper explains how cooperatives contribute to women’s professional opportunities and to balancing the presence of women in management positions. It analyzes the predominant leadership styles and gender differences in cooperatives with a sample of 114 cooperative firms. The results show that: (a) Both transformational and transactional leadership styles are widely used; (b) no significant differences in leadership styles between men and women exist; and (c) the composition of management teams results in significant leadership style differences. The transformational style is less often used in mixed teams with a male majority and a woman president, and most often used in homogeneous teams (made up of only men or only women). Transactional leadership is more frequently implemented in teams made up only of women than in mixed masculine teams with a female president. These findings identify women’s leadership styles in cooperatives, pointing out their difficulties and introducing innovative proposals for contributing to their success and the achievement of SDGs in cooperatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Inocencia María Martinez-Leon & Isabel Olmedo-Cifuentes & MCarmen Martínez-Victoria & Narciso Arcas-Lario, 2020. "Leadership Style and Gender: A Study of Spanish Cooperatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:12:p:5107-:d:375193
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Josefina Fernandez-Guadaño & Manuel Lopez-Millan & Jesús Sarria-Pedroza, 2020. "Cooperative Entrepreneurship Model for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-11, July.
    2. Denise Díaz de León & Omar Díaz Fragoso & Igor Rivera & Gibrán Rivera, 2021. "Cooperatives of Mexico: Their Social Benefits and Their Contribution to Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, April.
    3. García-Sánchez, Isabel-María & Aibar-Guzmán, Cristina & Núñez-Torrado, Miriam & Aibar-Guzmán, Beatriz, 2023. "Women leaders and female same-sex groups: The same 2030 Agenda objectives along different roads," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    4. Albertina Paula Monteiro & Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán, 2022. "Labour Practice, Decent Work and Human Rights Performance and Reporting: The Impact of Women Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 523-542, October.

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