Abstract
Although a great deal of research has been done on leadership styles, and university students have often been the subject of exploratory research in social sciences, the Full Range Leadership model has been applied to young people only in a few instances. In this article, the authors seek to survey the preferred leadership styles among Hungarian students and explore how they correlate with managerial and entrepreneurial inclination. A complex analysis of leadership style preferences of university students combined with their managerial and entrepreneurial inclination, social and cultural resources is rare in the research practice so far. The online questionnaire used in the research was completed by 335 university students studying economics, engineering and social studies both in Budapest and in the country. The questionnaire was completed by 335 university students. The results are exploratory and they amend the existing leadership typologies at some points. Based on the results of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire featuring 36 self-rating items, four distinct leadership styles emerged within the target group, representing the transformational, the supportive, the defensive, and the laissez-faire leadership types. The multivariate analysis has shown that while managerial inclination is related to the transformational style of leadership, entrepreneurial aspirations are associated with the transformational and supportive leadership styles.
Highlights
Our paper aims to shed light on the preference of higher education students in terms of leadership styles and explore the factors associated with their leadership aspiration and entrepreneurial inclination
The purpose of the present study was to use the database of a 2018 online survey to first identify the leadership styles Hungarian students prefer, and explore the characteristics of the relevant leadership style factors in different demographic, cultural and social contexts
The bivariate analyses were followed by multivariate regression analysis to establish correlations between leadership styles and entrepreneurial inclination
Summary
Our paper aims to shed light on the preference of higher education students in terms of leadership styles and explore the factors associated with their leadership aspiration and entrepreneurial inclination. Despite the fact that a number of research efforts have been made in the subject of leadership styles (Gregor & O’Brien, 2016; Sheppard, 2018) and the application of the Full Range Leadership model is considered to be widespread in international management research, it has rarely been tested on a sample of several hundred aspiring leaders and future participants of the labour market. The entrepreneurial inclination and activity of the young adult and adult population are far better exploited research areas (Fitzsimmons & Evans, 2005; Kuczi et al, 1991; Kuczi & Lengyel, 2001; Lengyel & Róna-Tas, 1997–1998; Lengyel, 2008, 2009). The value to our research is enhanced by the fact that preferred leadership styles were investigated among young people and mapped in the context of managerial and entrepreneurial inclination
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