Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe

The literature discussing leadership style identifies great variation between contemporary party leaders. While much attention is devoted to their actions, portrayal in the media, and relationships with their followers, there is limited analysis of which factors make a party leader transformational...

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Main Author: Sergiu Gherghina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cogitatio 2025-04-01
Series:Politics and Governance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9141
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author Sergiu Gherghina
author_facet Sergiu Gherghina
author_sort Sergiu Gherghina
collection DOAJ
description The literature discussing leadership style identifies great variation between contemporary party leaders. While much attention is devoted to their actions, portrayal in the media, and relationships with their followers, there is limited analysis of which factors make a party leader transformational or transactional. This article addresses this gap in the literature and seeks to identify the characteristics of the party leaders or of the party to which they belong which lead party members to evaluate them on the transactional–transformational continuum. It uses original survey data from a modified version of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The analysis includes 12 political parties with parliamentary representation from Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania between 2004 and 2018. The findings illustrate that members perceive as more transformational the first leaders of the party, those who have won competitive internal elections, and those with extensive political experience within the party.
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spelling doaj-art-2d6246c31d2542abb68ac7ddf59f68822025-08-20T02:19:44ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-04-0113010.17645/pag.91413943Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern EuropeSergiu Gherghina0Department of International Studies and Contemporary History, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania / Department of Politics, University of Glasgow, ScotlandThe literature discussing leadership style identifies great variation between contemporary party leaders. While much attention is devoted to their actions, portrayal in the media, and relationships with their followers, there is limited analysis of which factors make a party leader transformational or transactional. This article addresses this gap in the literature and seeks to identify the characteristics of the party leaders or of the party to which they belong which lead party members to evaluate them on the transactional–transformational continuum. It uses original survey data from a modified version of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The analysis includes 12 political parties with parliamentary representation from Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania between 2004 and 2018. The findings illustrate that members perceive as more transformational the first leaders of the party, those who have won competitive internal elections, and those with extensive political experience within the party.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9141leadership styleorganizationparty leaderspost‐communismtransformational
spellingShingle Sergiu Gherghina
Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe
Politics and Governance
leadership style
organization
party leaders
post‐communism
transformational
title Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe
title_full Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe
title_fullStr Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe
title_full_unstemmed Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe
title_short Transformational Party Leaders: Determinants of Leadership Style Assessment in Central and Eastern Europe
title_sort transformational party leaders determinants of leadership style assessment in central and eastern europe
topic leadership style
organization
party leaders
post‐communism
transformational
url https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9141
work_keys_str_mv AT sergiugherghina transformationalpartyleadersdeterminantsofleadershipstyleassessmentincentralandeasterneurope