management and leadership in agribusiness companies

The goal of the paper is to determine the leadership capacity of managers at various organizational levels in agribusiness companies based on the characteristics of the respondents. Due to the (non)presence of certain characteristics, the extent to which managers tend to be potential leaders is estimated. For purpose of the research the survey was conducted in a total of five companies on strategic, tactical and operational level of management. The results are compared with previous research conducted in 2002-2003 within the project Comparative study of the functioning of management. Managers in agribusiness showed a majority in tendency of thinking like leaders and in other related segments their behavior is closely to contemporary knowledge on effective leadership. Due to other companies, agribusiness does not show the significant differences in according to which is concluded that this sector is dominated by well-known and well-established managerial practices. The fact is that a dynamic business environment of the food industry requires first and foremost the high professionalism, innovation and the ability to coordinate from its leading human resources. Regarding to actuality of leadership subject in domestic and foreign scientific public, and its importance for the business success of enterprises, the study provides an overview of the characteristics of management in selected Croatian agribusiness enterprises.