Leadership and the role of women in the success of logistics companies

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is discussing the role and importance of women’s leadership qualities in shaping the business success of firms in the logistics industry.

Research Design & Methods: Research was divided into two steps. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Authors used monographic methods, along with an evaluation of documents in terms of their publication usefulness. In the next step, data was collected from primary sources: women working in the logistics industry as managers or managing their own firms – the technique applied was based on individual in-depth interviews, as well as employees of logistics companies led by women – the technique applied was direct questionnaires.

Findings: As the conducted research shows, the growing authority of women in the logistics industry results from their having the fundamental qualities and competences that should characterize an effective leader. In addition, some personality traits characteristic of women proves to be extremely useful in the multi-stimuli corporate environment. Therefore, women are perfectly capable of managing logistics.

Contribution & Value Added: According to the authors’ recommendations, the study should be expanded to include a larger group of respondents. Moreover, there should be included companies from different parts of the world. In addition, the next step should consider the socio-cultural conditions of the firm’s country of origin.

Author Biography

Katarzyna Kolasińska-Morawska

Professor at University of Social Sciences (SAN) specializes in issues relaed to modern distribution systems, management of integrated marketing communication processes and modern management concepts in the education and logistics industry.

Łukasz Sułkowski

Professor of Economics; Associated Professor of humanities in the field of management sciences (Jagiellonian University); Associated Professor of economic sciences in the field of management, economics (University of Economics Oskar Lange in Wrocław, Department of National Economy); Phd in economics in the field of economics and management (University of Economics Oskar Lange in Wrocław, Department of National Economy).

Marta Brzozowska

PhD in economics in the field of management, logistics (University of Social Sciences, Lodz), Master of Science in Engineering and Manufacturing Management (Coventry University, Coventry, UK), Master of Science in Engineering and Manufacturing Management (Technical University of Lodz, Lodz, PL). Her interests include supply chain management, logistics management, quality management in logistics.

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