Transformational leadership refers to a leadership approach in which leaders inspire and motivate employees to achieve organizational goals while encouraging personal development, creativity and innovation [2]. Transformational leaders create a clear vision, stimulate employees intellectually, provide individualized support, and encourage them to exceed expected levels of performance.

The main characteristics of transformational leadership include visionary thinking, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Through these characteristics, leaders promote continuous learning, innovation, and employee engagement.

Transformational leadership is particularly suitable for dynamic environments such as gastronomy, where organizations must continuously adapt to changing customer expectations, market trends and competitive pressures. In restaurants seeking to develop a distinctive identity and deliver unique service experiences, transformational leaders encourage innovation, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Recent research in tourism and hospitality confirms that transformational leadership contributes to employee motivation, job satisfaction, innovation and positive organizational outcomes in service-oriented industries [3].

Individuals such as Elon Musk are sometimes discussed as examples of transformational leadership because of their emphasis on innovation, ambitious organizational goals and continuous change. However, leadership effectiveness depends on the organizational context and the quality of relationships established between leaders and employees.

For the purposes of this research, transformational leadership was assessed through questions related to strategic vision, willingness to accept risk, and encouragement of innovation. Responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Transformational leadership is particularly appropriate in periods of organizational growth, change, crisis management, and situations requiring innovation and long-term strategic adaptation.

Interactive leadership emphasizes communication, cooperation, and the active involvement of employees in organizational processes. Unlike traditional hierarchical leadership approaches, interactive leadership is based on continuous two-way communication between managers and employees, encouraging dialogue, shared responsibility and collaborative problem-solving.

Although interactive leadership shares certain characteristics with participative and collaborative leadership, it is treated as a separate category in this study because it places particular emphasis on continuous interaction between leaders and employees rather than solely on participation in decision-making [4].

According to Kouzes and Posner [4], effective leaders encourage collaboration, build trust, and create an organizational environment in which employees feel respected, involved and motivated to contribute to organizational success.

Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines, is frequently associated with this leadership approach because of his emphasis on employee trust, open communication, and organizational culture based on shared values. His leadership demonstrated how empowering employees and encouraging responsibility can contribute to organizational success.

In the gastronomy sector, interactive leadership is especially valuable in small and medium-sized establishments where communication, teamwork, and coordination directly influence service quality and customer satisfaction. By involving employees in daily decision-making and problem-solving, managers can strengthen organizational commitment, responsibility and employee motivation.

For the purposes of this research, interactive leadership was measured through questions concerning employee empowerment, understanding employee needs, and involving employees in decision-making processes. Responses were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale.

Servant leadership, introduced by Greenleaf [5], is based on the principle that leaders should primarily serve and support their employees. Instead of emphasizing authority and control, servant leaders focus on employee well-being, ethical behavior, personal development and the creation of a supportive organizational environment.

Key characteristics of servant leadership include empathy, active listening, responsibility, trust, and commitment to employee development. In the gastronomy sector, where employees often work under demanding conditions and considerable time pressure, this leadership style can contribute to stronger motivation, employee loyalty and a healthier organizational climate.

Historical figures such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa are frequently associated with servant leadership because of their emphasis on service, empathy, and social responsibility. Nevertheless, such examples should be interpreted cautiously, as servant leadership is primarily an organizational leadership concept rather than a description of historical personalities.

For the purposes of this research, servant leadership was assessed through questions related to managers’ support for employees, understanding of workplace challenges and efforts to provide the resources necessary for achieving work objectives. Responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale.

Servant leadership is particularly appropriate for organizations that promote employee development, continuous learning, creativity and long-term cooperation between management and employees.

Transactional leadership is based on clearly defined organizational structures, established procedures, and the exchange relationship between employee performance and organizational rewards [2]. Leaders applying this style communicate expectations clearly, monitor employee performance, and use rewards or corrective actions to achieve organizational objectives.

This leadership approach is particularly effective in organizations where operational efficiency, standardized procedures, and clearly assigned responsibilities are essential. Within the gastronomy sector, transactional leadership may be especially useful in large restaurants, fast-service establishments, or organizations where consistency and speed of service are critical. Although this leadership style places less emphasis on inspiration and employee development than transformational leadership, it contributes to organizational stability, clarity of responsibilities and effective coordination of employees.

For the purposes of this research, transactional leadership was measured through questions related to task clarification, clearly communicated expectations and the use of rewards to encourage employee performance. Responses were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale.

Charismatic leadership refers to a leadership approach in which leaders influence employees through personal qualities, communication skills, confidence and the ability to articulate an inspiring vision [6].

Charismatic leaders frequently establish strong emotional relationships with employees through enthusiasm, optimism and personal example. In the gastronomy sector, where direct interaction between managers, employees and guests plays an important role, charismatic leadership may contribute to stronger organizational identity, employee commitment and customer loyalty.

Mahatma Gandhi is frequently discussed in leadership literature as an example associated with charismatic leadership because of his ability to inspire large groups of people through personal values, communication and a compelling vision. However, charismatic leadership should not be evaluated solely through individual personalities, since its effectiveness depends on organizational context and the responsible use of influence.

For the purposes of this research, charismatic leadership was measured through questions related to managers’ confidence, personal example, and ability to motivate and influence employees. Responses were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale.

Charismatic leadership should therefore be understood as the interaction between individual leadership characteristics and the organizational environment in which leadership takes place.

The research was conducted on a sample of 50 managers and owners of gastronomic establishments located in three Croatian regions: Zagreb, Dalmatia and Istria. These regions were selected because they represent important Croatian tourism and gastronomy destinations while differing in terms of tourism intensity, organizational characteristics and business environments.

The sample consisted of 30 respondents from Zagreb, 10 respondents from the Split area representing Dalmatia, and 10 respondents from Istria. The unequal distribution of respondents between regions represents one limitation of the study and should be considered when interpreting the findings.

Participants were selected using a convenience sampling approach. Gastronomic establishments were identified through publicly available information, including online recognition and professional contacts. Many respondents were connected with the gastronomy programme of the Aspira University of Applied Sciences, which facilitated communication and data collection. Participation in the study was voluntary.

Because of the relatively small sample size and the non-proportional regional distribution, the results should be interpreted as indicative rather than representative of the entire Croatian gastronomy sector. Future studies should include larger and geographically more balanced samples.

The inclusion criterion required respondents to be owners or managers directly involved in managing employees and organizational processes within gastronomic establishments.

A structured questionnaire was specifically designed for the purposes of this research. The questionnaire consisted of twenty questions divided into three sections.

The first section contained five questions concerning the characteristics of the gastronomic establishment, including organizational features and business conditions. The second section consisted of ten questions related to the demographic and professional characteristics of respondents. The third section included statements designed to assess five contemporary leadership styles examined in this research: transformational, interactive, servant, transactional and charismatic leadership.

Leadership characteristics were measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with higher scores indicating a stronger presence of a particular leadership characteristic.

The questionnaire items were developed on the basis of the theoretical characteristics of contemporary leadership styles described in the academic literature, particularly the works of Bass [2], Greenleaf [5], Kouzes and Posner [4] and Northouse [1]. Example items included managers' willingness to encourage innovation (transformational leadership), employee involvement in decision-making (interactive leadership), support for employee development (servant leadership), clarification of work expectations (transactional leadership) and leading by personal example (charismatic leadership).

Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the relatively small sample size, the internal consistency of the leadership-style subscales was not statistically tested. This should be considered a limitation of the research.

The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Frequencies, percentages, arithmetic means, and standard deviations were calculated to summarize respondent characteristics and examine the prevalence of different leadership styles across the selected Croatian regions.

The analysis focused on identifying the leadership styles most frequently reported by respondents and describing possible regional differences. Given the limited sample size, the findings were interpreted descriptively rather than inferentially and no statistical tests of significance were performed.

The analysis also considered the possible influence of regional characteristics, tourism intensity and organizational conditions on leadership practices within gastronomic establishments.

The descriptive analysis showed that transformational leadership was the most frequently reported leadership style among managers included in the study, with a mean value of M = 4.2.

When regional differences were examined, transformational leadership achieved the highest mean values among respondents from Dalmatia (M = 4.4) and Istria (M = 4.3), while a slightly lower mean value was recorded among respondents from Zagreb (M = 3.9). These findings suggest that managers operating in tourism-oriented regions place considerable emphasis on employee motivation, innovation, professional development, and the creation of a positive working environment.

Interactive leadership represented the second most frequently reported leadership style, with an overall mean value of M = 3.8, followed by servant leadership (M = 3.5), transactional leadership (M = 3.2) and charismatic leadership (M = 3.0).

Overall, the results indicate that managers do not rely exclusively on a single leadership style but instead combine different leadership approaches depending on organizational needs, employee characteristics, and working conditions. Given the exploratory nature of the study and the limited sample size, these findings should be interpreted as indicative trends rather than conclusions that can be generalized to the entire Croatian gastronomy sector.

The findings indicate that interactive leadership achieved the highest mean value among respondents from Zagreb. The average score recorded in Zagreb was M = 4.1, compared with M = 3.7 in Istria and M = 3.5 in Dalmatia.

This difference may be associated with characteristics of the urban business environment, including greater access to professional education, management development programmes, and contemporary organizational practices. Managers in Zagreb appear to place stronger emphasis on communication, teamwork, employee participation and collaborative decision-making.

Because of the unequal distribution of respondents across the three regions, these differences should be interpreted as descriptive observations rather than statistically confirmed regional differences.

The descriptive analysis showed that servant leadership achieved the highest mean value among respondents from Istria (M = 3.9), compared with Dalmatia (M = 3.4) and Zagreb (M = 3.3).

These findings suggest that managers in Istria place relatively greater emphasis on supporting employees, understanding their needs, and creating a positive organizational climate. Such an approach may reflect the importance of personalized service, guest satisfaction and long-term employee relationships within hospitality-oriented businesses.

The observed pattern is consistent with the main principles of servant leadership, which emphasize employee development, support, ethical responsibility and organizational trust.

Charismatic leadership achieved the highest mean value among respondents from Dalmatia (M = 3.5), while lower values were recorded in Istria (M = 3.0) and Zagreb (M = 2.9).

These findings indicate that managers operating in Dalmatian gastronomic establishments may rely more strongly on personal influence, communication skills, confidence and visible leadership presence.

The observed differences may reflect the importance of interpersonal relationships and direct communication within tourism-oriented business environments. Nevertheless, additional research involving larger and more representative samples is required before broader conclusions can be drawn.

Transactional leadership showed the highest mean value among respondents from Dalmatia (M = 3.6), followed by Istria (M = 3.1) and Zagreb (M = 2.9).

The relatively higher presence of transactional leadership in Dalmatia may be associated with the seasonal nature of tourism, where clearly defined procedures, precise responsibilities, and efficient employee coordination become particularly important during periods of increased operational demand.

In organizations employing a substantial number of seasonal workers, structured management practices and clearly communicated expectations may contribute to operational efficiency and consistent service quality.

Overall, the results indicate that transformational leadership represents the most frequently reported leadership approach within the examined sample, while differences in the application of other leadership styles appear to reflect regional, organizational and tourism-related characteristics.