Management and Leadership Development Needs: The Case of Croatia

Croatia is the youngest member of the European Union, having joined in 2013. Since 2008, it has experienced a significant slowdown in the economy due to the worldwide crisis, seen a high unemployment rate, high public sector debt, uneven regional development and a challenging investment climate. The higher educational system in Croatia, although structured on the foundations of European higher education tradition, has also undergone an intense transformation process mostly initiated by the increased demand for tertiary education, as well as the introduction of the protocol of the Bologna Agreement. Our study on management and leadership development needs in Croatia was based on 18 in-depth interviews with senior and executive managers from 10 companies in Croatia using the grounded theory approach. The results imply that older companies struggle with the generation gap and changing corporate culture, while younger companies like startups face problems with employing workers from countries outside of the EU. Both of them concluded that the current educational system fails to provide graduates with the set of skills the Croatian industry needs. Therefore, the development needs of managers are most often met through in-house development programs and coaching. Although companies realize the need for constant work on developing skills, they are not willing to invest in continuing education and development programs. Suggested recommendations are directed toward the academic and business community as well as the government by changing the relation paradigm between educational institutions and companies, suggesting an open and innovative business model of co-creating learning communities.