876281

research-article20192019
SGOXXX10.1177/2158244019876281SAGE OpenKim et al.

Psychological Reports – Original Research

SAGE Open

How Korean Leadership Style Cultivates

July-September 2019: 1­–16
© The Author(s) 2019
DOI: 10.1177/2158244019876281
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019876281

Employees’ Creativity and Voice in journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo

Hierarchical Organizations

Hai Kyong Kim1, Kibok Baik1, and Najung Kim1

Abstract
This article examines how Korean leaders in a hierarchical society would trigger employees’ creativity and voice behavior
through an indigenous leadership style: Korean leadership style (KLS). KLS exhibits heavily relationship-oriented behaviors,
including attending to superiors’ needs and requests, building a positive reputation and trust of peers, and embracing and
sheltering subordinates. Jeong, a shared group affect ingrained in Korean society, and woori, a shared feeling of belongingness
dedifferentiating individuals constituting the collective, provide a fertile ground for this unique leadership style. Building
upon the literature on group affect and collective energy, we explore how the affective mechanism mediates the positive
relationships between KLS and employees’ creativity and voice behaviors. The findings from the empirical study of 340
leader–follower paired data points confirm the positive relationships between relationship-oriented Korean leader behaviors
and employees’ creativity and voice behavior and that, for creativity, the link is partially mediated by positive affect with high
energy.

Keywords
affective mechanism, employee creativity, employee voice behavior, group affect, Korean leadership style, jeong, woori

Introduction accepted when their attributes and behaviors match leader-

The literature on leadership has accumulated a wide range of
theories on what constitutes effective leadership over a cen-
tury of study. Each of these theories and conceptualizations
of leadership aims at defining the source of leadership, that
is, the source where leadership emerges, and the mechanism
by which leadership is transmitted (Hernandez, Eberly,
Avolio, & Johnson, 2011). One stream of literature examines
leaders, followers, and the relationships between leaders and
followers as the source of leadership (e.g., trait theories,
behavioral theories, transactional leadership, transforma-
tional leadership, leader–member exchange [LMX], authen-
tic leadership), whereas another stream emphasizes context,
“situational opportunities and constraints that affect the
occurrence and meaning of organizational behavior as well
as functional relationships between variables” (Johns, 2006,
p. 386), as the source of leadership (Hernandez et al., 2011;
Tsui, 2004; X. Zhang et al., 2012). For instance, the GLOBE
(Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Effectiveness Research) project was initiated to examine
how leadership effectiveness is embedded in the societal and
organizational norms, values, and beliefs of the people being
led. In the flagship work of GLOBE, House, Hanges, Javidan,
Dorfman, and Gupta (2004) pointed out that leaders are
ship styles that are culturally endorsed. Hence, research on
indigenous leadership is becoming a necessity in understand-
ing leadership within the unique societal and cultural context
of a particular region or country (Kempster & Parry, 2011;
Tsui, 2004). Addressing this need, the primary goal of this
research is to contribute to the advancement of the indige-
nous leadership research inherent within the local cultural
context by focusing on the Korean leadership style (KLS)—a
set of relationship-oriented leader behaviors (Baik, Seo,
Koo, & Kim, 2010; H. K. Kim & Baik, 2015)—built upon a
shared group affect, jeong, a nurtured inner state of filial
affection, closeness, and empathy in relationships that dis-
solves interpersonal boundaries, and woori, a strong feeling
of belongingness to a group where imperfect interdependent
individuals become whole and complete (I. J. Choi & Choi,
2002; Rhee, Uleman, & Lee, 1996; Yang, 2006; Yang &
Horak, 2019).
1
Kookmin University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Corresponding Author:
Najung Kim, Associate Professor of Management, College of Business
Administration, Kookmin University, 77 Jeongneung-Ro, Seongbuk-Gu,
Seoul 02707, Republic of Korea.
Email: najungkim@kookmin.ac.kr

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2 SAGE Open
The secondary goal of this article is to examine the mech-
anism through which KLS affects employee outcomes.
Similar to other relationship-based leadership styles such as
LMX, authentic leadership, servant leadership, and transfor-
mational leadership, positive employee outcomes can be
attributed to Korean leaders’ supporting and facilitating
behaviors (Detert & Burris, 2007; Mumford, Scott, Gaddis,
& Strange, 2002; Shalley & Gilson, 2004; Zhou & George,
2003). What distinguishes KLS from other relationship-
based leadership styles is that the effectiveness of KLS
hinges upon the level of collective energy and positive affect
as well as leaders’ supporting behaviors. KLS is based on
two types of shared group affects—jeong and woori—and
plays a critical role in motivating employees through a posi-
tive group affect with attendant high energy (Barsade, 2002).
Various leadership theories have long presumed that affect,
mood, and emotions are “deeply intertwined with the process
of leading, leader outcomes and follower outcomes” (Gooty,
Connelly, Griffith, & Gupta, 2010, p. 979). Moreover, recent
studies have examined how leaders’ affect, mood, or discrete
emotion has an influence on followers’ moods and emotions,
which, in turn, affects follower outcomes (Cherulnik, Donley,
Wiewel, & Miller, 2001; Erez, Misangyi, Johnson, LePine,
& Halverson, 2008). However, with a few exceptions
(Barsade, Ward, Turner, & Sonnenfeld, 2000), most studies
have examined the effect of leaders’ affect, emotions, and
mood, and the role of affect shared by larger group of mem-
bers on follower outcomes has been rarely discussed (Menges
& Kilduff, 2015). Hence, by introducing KLS and its effec-
tiveness, we aim at expanding the literature on affective lead-
ership mechanism by studying how affect predominantly
experienced by members can convey relationship-oriented
leader behaviors to employees.
Theoretical Background and
Hypotheses Development
KLS: Relationship-Oriented Behaviors Founded on
Jeong and Woori
According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Korea is a
hierarchical society with high power distance (Hofstede,
1980). In the organizational context, this characteristic has
manifested itself in the form of centralization and formaliza-
tion, and organizational members value seniority highly, take
orders from their superiors blindly, and rarely challenge their
leaders (Chang & Chang, 1994; Cho, Shin, Billing, &
Bhagat, 2019; Hong, Cho, Froese, & Shin, 2016; Koo &
Nahm, 1997). However, respected leaders of Korean compa-
nies are perceived as fair and kindhearted people who value
harmonious interpersonal relationships with their subordi-
nates (E. A. Kim, 2015). Similar to how leaders behave in a
high-quality LMX relationship, Koreans value loyalty from
their subordinates and reciprocate subordinates’ loyalty with
care and support. However, in contrast to the LMX
relationship that can be sustained by high performance by
subordinates, leader–follower relationships in the Korean
context entail empathy and guardianship with low perform-
ers as well as high performers (H. C. Lee, 1998). Similar to
paternalistic leadership, KLS identifies leaders’ benevolent
behavior toward employees, that is, “the leader’s individual-
ized care and holistic concern for the well-being of employ-
ees (and their families)” (Hiller, Sin, Ponnapalli, & Ozgen,
2019), as a distinct dimension. However, KLS differs from
paternalistic leadership because KLS does not limit the dis-
cussion to leader–follower hierarchy. KLS extends the types
of relationships to include those with superiors, those with
peers, and those with subordinates. Furthermore, a leader
deploying KLS is perceived as a role model with warmth and
generosity, whereas a leader with a paternalistic leadership
style is perceived as a relatively authoritarian figure in the
context of supervisor–subordinate relationship. KLS is more
of a full-fledged, flexible, and expansive model than pater-
nalistic leadership; Korean followers respect their leaders,
and leaders show benevolence and empathize with their
needs and conditions. In the Korean organizational context,
leaders and followers each have their own parts to play,
benevolence and loyalty, respectively, and underneath these
mutual obligations are two types of group affects which are
fundamental bases of collective Korean relationships (S. C.
Choi & Choi, 2001; Lim, 1993). These group-based affects
distinguish the KLS-based relationship from other leader–
follower relationships.
Jeong is a subtle emotional phenomenon, which has its
roots in combined emotions of paradoxical elements such as
happiness, anger, worry, sadness, joy, hate, and fear (Yang,
2006). Jeong is best defined as a feeling of filial affection, a
high degree of closeness, and empathy in a relationship nur-
tured with history and shared experiences, and individuals
can experience jeong regardless of the quality of relation-
ship, that is, whether individuals have a positive or negative
feeling toward each other in the relationship (K. O. Kim,
1993). The duration of relationship is one of the critical ele-
ments of jeong, and people interconnected in this jeong can
look out for each other and go through the challenges together
(H. K. Kim & Baik, 2015). Jeong is developed and nurtured
through time and shared events, and one can still feel jeong
toward a coworker who clashes with them on every matter if
the conflicting relationship has been sustained for many
years. Irrespective of the number of common traits and inter-
ests, parties become more engaged and committed to each
other, even at the cost of self-sacrifice, inequity, and unfair-
ness because of jeong.
Another unique feature in this jeong-based relationship is
that individuals would deindividualize their identities and
psychologically bond with others, integrating into a cohesive
collective unity. Hence, individuals bond into one or share
the feeling of woori (we-ness) with the collective group (I. J.
Choi & Choi, 2002; Yang, 2006). As the boundaries between
individuals become unclear, members are expected to build a
Kim et al. 3
strong identification as a collective group and feel obliged to
stand for the benefit of the group regardless of their self-
interests. This woori is not simply “we” in a sense of an indi-
vidual feeling group solidarity in a collective group as
interpreted within cultures that respect individualism, but it
is a feeling of the self dissolving into the unity and harmony
of the group (I. J. Choi & Choi, 2002; H. K. Kim & Baik,
2015). The woori feeling is deeply embedded in the Korean
context, and a Korean hardly refers to himself as “I” as found
in more individualistic cultures (Chai, Jeong, Kim, Kim, &
Hamlin, 2016; H. K. Kim & Baik, 2015) and instead uses
“we” and “our” or woori when speaking in the Korean lan-
guage (e.g., “our” spouse instead of “my” spouse in the
monogamous Korean society) (Yang, 2006). Hence, one can
say at work that an issue becomes everybody’s problem, as it
is not “my” issue but “our” issue. The group members would
take responsibility for the action of any individual in the
group, and they look out for each other and care for each
other’s problems as “our” problems. This woori affect is
what greases the wheels so that members can work in har-
mony, get involved collectively, and rely on their seniors to
give them support (E. A. Kim, 2015).
In this respect, Baik et al. (2010) defined KLS which
embodies jeong and woori cultural phenomena. These schol-
ars explain that KLS is grounded in the underlying collective
emotional spirit of jeong and woori, which is manifested
through the leaders’ relationships with three parties: superi-
ors (upward adaptability), peers (lateral harmony), and sub-
ordinates (downward benevolence). These indigenous affects
shared by Koreans override any other relationship quality
with these three parties (Lim, 1993). Korean leaders would
show high-quality relationship-based behaviors toward their
low-performing or personality-clashing subordinates in situ-
ations where a low-quality LMX relationship is expected.
They may even overlook and forgive these subordinates
when they make mistakes and perform inefficiently because
of the shared affects (Baik et al., 2010). Toward their superi-
ors, Korean leaders show deference and loyalty and even
ascribe the credit to their superiors when they have contrib-
uted more to a certain achievement. With peers, Korean lead-
ers build positive and trusting terms, working in harmony in
a family atmosphere (Yang, 2006). Leaders of an organiza-
tion guide and shelter their subordinates because that is how
their supervisors treated them when they were juniors. These
self-sacrificial, unbounded relationship-oriented behaviors
toward peers, subordinates, and supervisors can be main-
tained and passed on to the next generation of organizational
members because of the shared affects omnipresent in
Korean society.
Affective Mechanism of KLS
How, then, do these indigenous affect-based relational
behaviors influence followers’ outcomes? To understand the
mechanism through which relationship-oriented Korean
leader behaviors affect employee outcomes, we draw on lit-
erature on positive affect and supervisory support. Literature
on positive affect shows that positive relational connections
with others energize individuals at work (Atwater & Carmeli,
2009; Dutton, 2003). Because of positive affect and trust in
the relationships (Son & Kuchinke, 2016), employees are
energized and motivated to ensure that organizational goals
are met, regardless of how difficult the process may be.
When Korean leaders show enthusiasm for working in har-
mony with the three parties—superiors, peers, and subordi-
nates—accompanied by jeong and woori, subordinates
would uphold a high level of commitment and identification
with the group because they feel energized. This increased
energy—spirit, morale, and enthusiasm at work—acts as a
fuel that motivates members to perform beyond their capa-
bilities (Levy & Merry, 1986). Furthermore, once a certain
high level of energy is reached, it can be maintained for a
longer duration even without a series of specific positive
events (Cole, Bruch, & Vogel, 2012). As jeong matures over
time, there emerges a sense of woori, which, in turn, works
to reinforce nurturing of jeong within individuals’ hearts and
minds. In sum, Korean leaders’ relationship behaviors
heighten the level of two types of indigenous positive affects,
which, in turn, can motivate and positively influence follow-
ers by uplifting the energy level of members.
The positive affect of Korean leaders’ jeong- and woori-
based relationship-oriented behaviors can also be explained
by organizational support theory (Eisenberger, Cummings,
Armelia, & Lynch, 1997; Eisenberger, Huntington,
Hutchinson, & Sowa, 1986). The theory argues that employ-
ees develop views concerning the degree to which the orga-
nization values their contributions and cares about their
well-being. Korean employees who feel valued by the wider
group continue to generate an excitement for being part of
the group. Subordinates are motivated when they recognize
that their leaders are good role models who build high-
quality relationships with supervisors, receive recognition
and trust from peers, value employees’ contributions, protect
individuals and teams, show confidence and trust in their
employees, and, moreover, engage in these activities with
enthusiasm (Shalley & Gilson, 2004). Because of jeong and
woori, Korean leaders show respect to their supervisors,
demonstrate trustworthiness in their peers, and show affec-
tion, benevolence, protection, and support for their subordi-
nates’ well-being, and these relationship behaviors play a
critical role in boosting employee outcomes (Son & Kim,
2016). Leaders’ role-modeling in relational behaviors affects
employees because employees feel safe when they work with
leaders who know how to handle interpersonal relationships
with the three parties. Leaders who know how to manage
relationships with supervisors, peers, and subordinates are
recognized as a supportive supervisor, and as Wayne, Shore,
and Liden (1997) state, perceived supervisory support moti-
vates the employees to complete their tasks with enthusiasm
and to engage in tasks beyond their job descriptions. In the
4 SAGE Open
Korean context, these high-quality relationships and support
are perpetuated in other levels of the organization, and fol-
lowers are likely to build an even higher level of commit-
ment and motivation at work because of the positive spiral
effect of widespread jeong- and woori-based relational
behaviors at all three levels (Walter & Brunch, 2008).
The Effect of KLS on Employee Outcomes
Based on this linkage between Korean leaders’ behaviors
and positive employee outcomes, we further examine the
effectiveness of KLS by looking specifically into two types
of individual outcomes in this article: creativity and voice.
Creativity—a response, product, or solution, which may be
novel or improved on to an open-ended individual or group
task (Amabile, 2012)—and prosocial voice behavior—an
extra role behavior whereby employees express and share
their concerns and express constructive viewpoints about
issues at work (Tangirala & Ramanujam, 2008; Van Dyne
& LePine, 1998)—are becoming ever more important in
today’s turbulent work environment (Shalley & Gilson,
2004). Various studies have shown that leaders play a criti-
cal role in motivating employees to be creative (Mumford
et al., 2002) and to voice their thoughts (Detert & Burris,
2007). When members share positive emotion with high
energy, this positive affect becomes contagious and trans-
forms into a group-level positive affect, which, in turn,
increases cooperation and improves the task performance
of individuals and groups (Barsade, 2002; Bierhoff &
Müller, 2005). As jeong and woori are positive affects
shared by members of the organization in Korea, these pos-
itive affects can further boost the energy level of the orga-
nization and positively influence employee outcomes (Baik
et al., 2010; Shim, Baik, & Kim, 2014a). Korean leaders’
relationship-oriented behaviors toward peers, subordinates,
and supervisors can increase employees’ creativity and
voice behaviors because members experience positive
affect with high energy (Barsade, 2002). KLS increases the
level of positive affect shared by the members, and this
positive affect increases creativity and voice behavior by
broadening the scope of cognitive skills (Fredrickson,
2001) and through psychological safety (Edmondson,
1999). Specifically, individuals in positive affective states
can pay more attention to people around them or their tasks
or problems encountered, actively engage in the organiza-
tional process, are determined to get things done, and thus,
in the end, find creative solutions to problems (Amabile,
Barsade, Mueller, & Staw, 2005). When people are in a
positive mood, they transcend their limits and engage in
active, creative, and altruistic behaviors (George & Brief,
1992; Hsiung, 2012). Furthermore, relationship-oriented
Korean leaders’ behaviors are the driver for how Korean
employees can speak up and share their ideas in the high
power distance culture. On the surface, due to Korea’s high
power distance culture (Hofstede, 2001), a high respect for
authority is expected in various work contexts, and most of
the formal communication is top down. When observing
everyday office conversations in Korea, leaders receive
group goals set by their supervisors, and their subordinates,
in turn, accept those goals. Especially in the owner-led
companies like chaebols, owners who have a strong control
over the company can easily implement new strategies with
this top-down approach because of this highly hierarchical
culture. However, Koreans still have a channel to voice
their ideas and share their creative thoughts from the bot-
tom up because of informal social gatherings outside work-
place settings and often after working hours. Koreans
sometimes do not talk in formal meetings, because they
have already solved the problems informally by having in-
depth discussions with woori members. Formal meetings
are often considered a ritual to formalize the informal ones.
Jeong and woori foster the environment where leaders who
enact KLS-based behaviors can invite their followers to
speak up and share their insights. Without this indigenous
leadership style, Korean followers would not have the
channel to voice their opinions regardless of the number of
informal gatherings they attend.
The relational nature of KLS allows employees to be per-
sonally engaged with their supervisors. Informal social gath-
erings play a critical role in reconfirming jeong and woori
between supervisors and subordinates, and during these
occasions, leaders and followers share work information and
solve issues creatively (Yang, 2006). In these meetings,
which normally include company-sponsored meals and
drinks, the atmosphere is more relaxed than in the formal
meetings at workplace, creating a psychologically safe set-
ting for employees to express themselves (Edmondson,
1999). Furthermore, employees at all levels join these infor-
mal gatherings, and members at the bottom observe how
their immediate supervisor challenges his own supervisor’s
opinions in these meetings and learn that these informal
channels are the ones to deliver their creative ideas and voice
their concerns and thoughts.
Another reason why Koreans can share their ideas and
concerns in the hierarchical culture is because of their strong
commitment toward the group entity through the woori
affect. Several studies have pointed out how strong identifi-
cation with the group and the supervisor can increase
employee creativity and voice behaviors (Tangirala &
Ramanujam, 2008). Korean employees with a strong affec-
tive attachment to their group, underpinned by jeong and
woori, would be motivated to share their creative solutions
and voice their thoughts and ideas because they have one
strong purpose to benefit the entire group. They prioritize the
interests of the group and tend to speak up (Tangirala,
Kamdar, Venkataramani, & Parke, 2013), whether in a for-
mal workplace setting or in informal social gatherings as
with most cases in Korea. One’s pursuit of self-interest is
overruled by the organizational needs and the subordinates’
desire to fulfill their duty as loyal group members for the
Kim et al. 5
Figure 1.  Hypothesized research model.
benefit of the group. Based on the above discussions, we
hypothesize the following:
Hypothesis 1: The relationship-oriented KLS grounded
in jeong and woori is positively related to employee
creativity.
Hypothesis 2: The relationship-oriented KLS grounded
in jeong and woori is positively related to employee voice
behavior.
Furthermore, as we discussed in the previous section on
the affective mechanism of KLS, jeong- and woori-based
leader behaviors boost positive affect with high energy, and
this positive affective state can increase various types of
employee productivity and outcomes including voice behav-
iors (Liu, Song, Li, & Liao, 2017) and creativity (Kahrobaei
& Mortazavi, 2016). When individuals experience a highly
energizing positive affect, they benefit from this psychic
boost and engage in behaviors that go beyond their job
descriptions (Levy & Merry, 1986). Positive affect with high
energy is the proxy for the extent to which KLS fostered psy-
chologically safe environment in the hierarchical organiza-
tional culture, and positive outcomes of KLS can be generated
through this mediating mechanism. This affective mecha-
nism plays a critical role in linking relationship-oriented
Korean leader behaviors and employee outcomes: creativity
and voice behaviors.
Specifically, the positive affective state has a signaling
effect on the other members of the organization and allows
the other members to feel safe to voice their concerns and
thoughts (Fredrickson, 2001; Liu et al., 2017). Jeong and
woori are displayed in leaders’ relationship-oriented behav-
iors toward supervisors, peers, and subordinates, and other
members of the organization, especially followers, may feel
comfortable to engage in voice behaviors. Similarly, accord-
ing to the broaden-and-build model (Fredrickson, 1998), a
positive affective state pushes individuals to go beyond their
comfort zone and engage in nonroutine thoughts and behav-
iors. Korean leaders’ relationship-oriented behaviors foster
jeong and woori in the organization, and their followers can
experience positive affect with high energy, thinking freely
and creatively. Therefore, based on our extensive discussion
on the affective mechanism of KLS, we hypothesize on the
mechanism of positive affect with high energy as follows
(see Figure 1 for the hypothesized research model):
Hypothesis 3: A positive affect with high energy medi-
ates the relationship between relationship-oriented KLS
and employee creativity.
Hypothesis 4: A positive affect with high energy medi-
ates the relationship between relationship-oriented KLS
and employee voice behavior.
Method
Data Collection
We deliberately chose one company to minimize the effects
of other unforeseen influential factors that could possibly
blur the focus of study. A multinational family restaurant
company with 76 restaurants and a supporting back office
located in Korea was selected for the research. All the staff,
including the CEO and the rest of the employees, were
Koreans, born and raised in Korea.
The sample includes restaurant managers and their subor-
dinates. Managers oversee the overall restaurant floor and
kitchen operations, and are accountable for the profit and
loss of their business units. Restaurants have a staff of 30 to
60 people, and five to 12 employees reporting directly to
each restaurant manager. Restaurant managers report to
regional managers and regional managers work with back
office managers, that is, marketing, finance, and supply chain
managers, who are accountable for assisting and supporting
the restaurant managers to meet their business goals.
Restaurant business knowledge and skills are relatively eas-
ier to acquire than other businesses. However, due to the
competitive nature of the industry (National Restaurant
Association, 2017), restaurant managers are expected to
6 SAGE Open
constantly promote sales volume, increase return visits,
maintain restaurant ambience, improve work processes,
reduce costs, develop new products to meet changing cus-
tomer needs, and present finished products with speed and
efficiency. Hence, restaurant managers primarily focus on
improving team performance through delivering high-qual-
ity services and products at the optimal speed for their
customers.
We received the complete list of managers and their
employees through the human resource (HR) department,
chose supervisor–subordinate pairs at random, and sent
online survey links directly to each member of the organiza-
tion to protect the confidentiality of the participants.
Furthermore, to reduce the risk of common method variance
(Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003), the ques-
tionnaire for managers and that for subordinates included
different sets of variables. The subordinates reported on their
supervisors’ KLS and self-reported on their positive affect
with high energy, and the supervisors reported on their sub-
ordinates’ creativity and voice behavior. Unreliable data
were removed from the data set of 355, and 340 supervisor–
subordinate pairs of the total survey participants were set as
final data for analysis. In sum, multiple data sources were
used and matched, and the final sample size was 340.
Measurements
KLS, positive affect with high energy, employee creativity,
and employee voice behaviors are key variables of this study.
Because all the participants were Korean, all the questions in
the survey were written in Korean. We used existing mea-
sures of creativity and voice behavior written in English and
translated these scales into Korean by following a transla-
tion/back translation process (Brislin, 1980). For KLS and
positive affect with high energy, we implemented the exist-
ing measures available in Korean, validated through multiple
studies previously conducted (e.g., Baik et al., 2010; Kang &
Kwun, 2013); thus, no translation step was taken. All items
were measured on a 5-point Likert-type response scale rang-
ing from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.
KLS.  The relationship-oriented behaviors of Korean leaders
are composed of three dimensions: upward adaptability, lat-
eral harmony, and downward benevolence. Because jeong
and woori affects drive leaders not only to take care of their
followers but also to build strong connections with their
supervisors and peers, Baik et al. (2010) developed a KLS
scale that includes relationship-oriented behaviors toward
subordinates, peers, and supervisors. Four items from each
subdimension, totaling 12 items, which had passed several
reliability tests in other previous studies, were used.
Several studies in the past 8 years have shown the robust-
ness of this scale in the context of team satisfaction, team
innovation, team effectiveness, and other positive outcomes
(H. K. Kim & Baik, 2015; Shim et al., 2014a; Shim, Baik, &
Kim, 2014b), and the reliability of the scale was also con-
firmed in this study (Cronbach’s α: upward adaptability =
.94, lateral harmony = .92, and downward benevolence =
.82). Subordinates assessed leaders’ KLS, and the detailed
items are shared in Table 1. All items’ factor loading was
more than 0.6, which is higher than Stevens’s (2002) sugges-
tion of a minimum of 0.4. All three dimensions’ secondary
factor loading was also higher than 0.6. Moreover, all three
dimensions showed Cronbach’s alpha at .8. The construct
validity and reliability of KLS were confirmed as shown in
Table 1.
Employee creativity and voice behavior.  Subordinates’ creativity
was measured with Zhou and George’s (2001) 13-item scale
by their supervisors (Cronbach’s α = .96), including “My sub-
ordinate exhibits creativity on the job when given the opportu-
nity” and “My subordinate suggests new ways to achieve
goals or objectives,” and voice behavior was measured with a
six-item voice scale by Van Dyne and LePine (1998) (Cron-
bach’s α = .93), including “My subordinate speaks up and
encourages others in this group to get involved in issues that
affect the group” and “My subordinate communicates his or
her opinions about work issues to others in the group even if
his or her opinion is different and others in the group disagrees
with him or her.” Two outcome variables were found to be
distinctive and separate concepts. All items of each variable
showed a factor loading above 0.6, demonstrating the validity
of the constructs. Both variables showed Cronbach’s value of
more than .9. Hence, the construct validity and reliability of
the dependent variables were confirmed.
Positive affect with high energy.  Subordinates self-reported on
eight items from shinbaram measurement, developed by
Kang and Kwun (2013). Shinbaram is a Korean term that
captures the positive affective state with high energy and is
composed of three subdimensions: a positive experienced
affect with high energy (pride, enthusiasm, excitement,
delight; Cronbach’s α = .94), a cognitive focus (absorption
and engagement at work; Cronbach’s α = .78), and emotion-
ally expressive behaviors (Cronbach’s α = . 88). Because
our interest was on the affective mechanism, we focused on
the first set of eight items on positive affect with high energy
in the analysis (see Table 1 for the detailed items).
Control variables. To rule out the effects of irrelevant vari-
ables that could erode the degrees of freedom (Atinc, Sim-
mering, & Kroll, 2012), we controlled for age, gender, and
the tenure of leader–follower relationship, which could
determine the relational commitment of both supervisors and
subordinates (Landry & Vandenberghe, 2012).
Results
The results of all variables’ means, standard deviations, and
correlations are provided in Table 2. Hierarchical regression
 Table 1.  Factor Analysis and Reliability Results of Korean Leadership Style and Positive Affect With High Energy.

Korean leadership style

Upward Downward Korean leadership

Item adaptability Lateral harmony benevolence style Cronbach’s alpha
1. My supervisor shows a good protocol to superiors in interactions. .88
2. My supervisor subserves his or her superior with devotion. .89  
.94 .94
3. My supervisor tries to read his or her superior’s mind. .89  
4. My supervisor turns credits to his or her superior for accomplishments. .91  
5. My supervisor actively collaborates with his or her peers. .80
6. My supervisor gets along with his or her peers. .76  
.91 .92
7. My supervisor has good interpersonal relations with his or her peers. .92  
8. My supervisor is considered trustworthy by peers. .93  
9. My supervisor forgives subordinate’s ethical or legal issues. .75 .68 .82
10. My supervisor is lenient about subordinate’s faults related to work. .77
11. My supervisor turns credits to subordinate for accomplishments and takes .65
responsibility himself or herself for failures.
12. My supervisor shelters subordinates. .80
Model fit: χ2 = 213.09 (df = 51), CFI = .95, NFI = .94, IFI = .95, RMR = .04, RMSEA = .10
Positive affect with high energy in shinbaram

Item Positive affect Cronbach’s alpha

1. It is moving when I (we) think of what we have accomplished. .79
2. I am proud that I (we) can do such a task. .88  
3. I am proud to let others know of my (our) worth. .88  
4. I am happy to be able to show all of my (our) capabilities. .87  
.93
5. I am (we are) proud that I have (we have) overcome various challenges. .87  
6. It is moving that we share our emotions for each other together. .82  
7. It is thrilling that we become one in doing something. .82  
8. It is absolutely delightful. .73  
Model fit: χ2 = 219.46 (df = 20), CFI = .96, NFI = .96, IFI = .96, RMR = .04, RMSEA = .03

Note. CFI = comparative fit index; NFI = normed fit index; IFI = incremental fit index; RMR = root mean square residual; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation.

7
8 SAGE Open
Table 2.  Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations.
Variables M SD (1)
(1) Gender 0.44 0.50
(2) Age 32.79 6.42 .08
(3) Length of time with supervisor 2.74 1.91 −.07
(4) Korean leadership style 4.00 0.77 .19**
(5) Positive affect 4.30 0.66 .17**
(6) Creativity 3.55 0.81 −.10
(7) Voice behavior 3.68 0.84 −.15**
Note. Sample size: 340.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
analyses were conducted to examine the effectiveness of
KLS on employee outcomes. We followed Baron and
Kenny’s (1986) regression analysis for mediation hypotheses
using SPSS and AMOS Version 21. In addition, the Sobel
(1982) test was run to reconfirm the mediator’s positive sig-
nificance on the relationship between the independent and
dependent variables.
The effects of KLS on creativity and voice behaviors are
shown in Step 2 (left section) of Tables 3 and 4, respectively.
In Step 2, when creativity was a dependent variable, we
observed that KLS had a positive relationship with employ-
ees’ creativity (B = 0.24, p < .001). Moreover, it is observed
that KLS had a positive relationship with creativity, com-
pared with when the control variables were input (ΔR2 = .05,
p < .001) in Step 1. In Step 2, when voice behavior was a
dependent variable (Table 4), KLS was found to have a posi-
tive significant relationship with prosocial voice behavior
(B = 0.24, p < .001). The model with KLS had a higher
explanatory power than the model with only controlled vari-
ables (ΔR2 = .05, p < .001). Hence, the results supported
both Hypotheses 1 and 2 and imply that the more the subor-
dinates perceived their supervisors as engaging in relation-
ship-oriented Korean leader behaviors, the more their
creativity and prosocial voice behavior increased.
As Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported, the first criterion
of Baron and Kenny’s (1986) mediation test was satisfied.
Next, we checked whether KLS has a positive relationship
with the mediator, positive affect with high energy measured
with the first dimension of shinbaram. When positive affect
with high energy was a dependent variable, the regression
analysis showed that KLS had a positive relationship with
positive affect with high energy (B = 0.29, p < .001) as
shown in Step 2 (right sides) in Tables 3 and 4. This meets
Baron and Kenny’s (1986) second criterion. Compared with
when the controlled variables were input in Step 1, KLS
showed an increase in relationship with positive affect with
high energy (ΔR2 = .11, p < .001).
Moreover, the results from Step 3 of Table 3 showed that
positive affect with high energy had a positive significant
relationship with creativity (B = 0.19, p < .05), meeting
Baron and Kenny’s (1986) third criterion. It is also observed
(2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
 
 
.07  
−.17** −.03  
−.05 −.09 .36***  
−.04 .07 .20*** .18**  
−.09 .10 .19*** .13* .86***
that the explanatory power of the model including positive
affect with high energy was higher than in Step 2 (ΔR2 = .02,
p < .05). The Sobel test also confirmed that positive affect
with high energy acted as a mediator (ΔR2 = .05, p < .05) in
the relationship between KLS and creativity. Hence,
Hypothesis 3 was supported. Also, positive affect with high
energy was a partial mediator because even having had con-
trolled positive affect with high energy, KLS continued to
show a positive significant relationship with creativity (B =
0.19, p < .05). This implies that KLS influenced employees’
creativity directly and through the mediator. However, the
mediating role of positive affect with high energy in the con-
text of the relationship between KLS and employee voice
behavior (Hypothesis 4) was not supported (B = 0.13, ns).
Moreover, adding a positive affect with high energy to the
model did not contribute to the increase in explanatory power
(ΔR2 = .01, ns).
Discussion
Theoretical Implications
The purpose of this research is twofold: introducing KLS
based on jeong and woori and examining the effectiveness of
KLS on employee outcomes. Overall, the current study con-
tributes to the literature on context-based leadership and on
the affective mechanism of leadership. First, the indigenous
notion of KLS extends the emic approach on leadership and
culture. Although the etic approach explains that certain
types of leadership can be generalized and universally found
in all cultures, over ruling bias and diversity, the emic
approach argues that some leadership types are unique and
need to be interpreted by their own local customs, meanings,
and beliefs (Hofstede, 1993, 2001), proposing that the leader
can exist within the specific unique culture. The way people
think and act is the reflection of what is “embedded” in their
cultures (Bruner, 1996; Graen, Hui, & Taylor, 2004; Pepitone
& Triandis, 1987; Shweder, 1991), and people’s emotions are
linked to their cultures (Kashima, McKintyre, & Clifford,
1998). Leadership deals with the hearts and minds of people
and the cultural context, “a shaper of meaning” (Johns, 2006,
 Table 3.  Hierarchical Regression Analysis of Korean Leadership Style on Creativity.
Dependent variable: Creativity Dependent variable: Positive affect with high energy

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 1 Step 2

t t t
Variables B β t value p value B β value p value B β value p value B β value p value B β t value p value

Constant 3.68*** 15.71 .00 2.57*** 7.34 .00 1.98*** 4.84 .00 4.46*** 23.71 .00 3.12*** 11.49 .00
Gender −0.15 −.09 −1.67 .10 −0.22* −.14* −2.53 .01 −0.25** −.15** −2.81 .01 0.22** .16** 3.04 .00 0.12 .09 1.83 .07
Age −0.00 −.03 −0.64 .53 0.00 .01 0.15 .88 0.00 .01 0.13 .89 −0.01 −.06 −1.04 .30 0.00 .01 0.14 .89
Length of time 0.03 .07 1.25 .21 0.03 .07 1.31 .19 0.03 .08 1.53 .13 −0.03 −.08 −1.41 .16 −0.03 −.07 −1.45 .15
with supervisor
Korean leadership 0.24*** .23*** 4.21 .00 0.19** .18** 3.09 .00 0.29*** .34*** 6.53 .00
style
Positive affect 0.19** .15** 2.69 .01
R2 .02 .07 .08 .04 .15
Adjusted R2 .01 .05 .07 .03 .14
F value 1.72 5.78*** 6.16*** 4.25** 14.24***
ΔR2 .02 .05*** .02** .04** .11***
ΔF 1.72 17.70*** 7.26** 4.25** 42.62***

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

9
 Table 4.  Hierarchical Regression Analysis of Korean Leadership Style on Voice Behavior.

10
Dependent variable: Prosocial voice behavior Dependent variable: Positive affect with high energy

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 1 Step 2

Variables B β t value p value B β t value p value B β t value p value B β t value p value B β t value p value

Constant 4.05*** 16.89 .00 2.94*** 8.20 .00 2.53*** 6.01 .00 4.46*** 23.71 .00 3.12*** 11.49 .00
Gender −0.23* −.13* −2.51 .01 –0.30** −.18** −3.34 .00 −0.32*** −.19*** −3.52 .00 0.22** .16** 3.04 .00 0.12 .09 1.83 .07
Age −0.01 −.09 −1.67 .10 –0.01 −.05 −0.91 .36 −0.01 −.05 −0.93 .35 −0.01 −.06 −1.04 .30 0.00 .01 0.14 .89
Length of time 0.04 .10 1.86 .06 0.05 .10 1.93 .05 0.05* .11* 2.08 .04 −0.03 −.08 −1.41 .16 −0.03 −.07 −1.45 .15
with supervisor
Korean leadership 0.24*** 0.22*** 4.08 .00 0.20** .19** 3.25 .00 0.29*** .34*** 6.53 .00
style
Positive affect 0.13 .10 1.81 .07  
R2 .04 .08 .09 .04 .15
Adjusted R2 .03 .07 .08 .03 .14
F Value 4.53** 7.72*** 6.88*** 4.25** 14.24***
ΔR2 .04** .05*** .01 .04** .11***
ΔF 4.53** 16.66*** 3.28 4.25** 42.62***

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Kim et al. 11
p. 388), where these people belong can shape what it means
to be a good and effective leader. House et al. (2004) high-
lighted the intricate relationship between culture and leader-
ship and addressed the idea that leaders’ attributes and
behaviors are effective when they are culturally endorsed by
members of that culture. Several works on guanxi in the
leadership literature (Chen, Yu, & Son, 2014; L. Zhang, Lam,
& Deng, 2017) are another example of the emic approach,
capturing the unique leader–subordinate relationship in the
Chinese context. The notion of KLS, the set of jeong- and
woori-based relationship-oriented behaviors, encapsulates
how Korean leaders affect their followers through upward,
downward, and lateral relationships and echoes the need for
a more emic approach to leadership (Hernandez et al., 2011;
Kempster & Parry, 2011; Tsui, 2004).
Second, jeong and woori are underlying affects that shape
leaders’ behaviors in the Korean context, and these affects
are, to our knowledge, the first types of context-unique
affects that were explored to understand relationship quality
between two or more parties. While other context-specific
constructs such as guanxi are mainly considered as norms,
jeong and woori are primarily affects shared by the members
of the context. Furthermore, these group affects are the forms
of affect that benefit members of a group regardless of the
quality of the relationship. Guanxi, on the contrary, affects a
social tie or a connection that benefits individuals in that
relationship (Leana & Van Buren, 1999). While guanxi is a
norm that emphasizes how an individual can personally ben-
efit from that relationship, jeong and woori are affects that
can contribute to the collective’s interests (Yang, 2006). The
current study on jeong and woori contributes to the literature
on leadership and context by introducing collective affects as
bases of indigenous leadership style.
Furthermore, the jeong- and woori-based relationship can
extend the literature on social exchange. Lawler (2001)
introduced the affect theory of social exchange and argued
that emotions and feelings are shared by exchange partners
and groups and that these emotions can affect collective-ori-
ented behaviors and commitments to the relationship. This
postulate aptly explains KLS which is heavily embedded by
the jeong affect shared collectively. The Korean leaders’
effectiveness is defined by how well they share jeong psy-
chological emotions in their relationship with these three
parties as they build the woori sense. Baik, Shin, and Kim
(2016) explain that jeong is far from rational, and the behav-
ior arising from jeong is not transactional. Jeong is more
comprehensive than the feelings that emerge from being con-
siderate of others, demonstrating affection and concern to
take care of others. This emotion overrides any relationship
quality, whether it is liking or disliking (K. O. Kim, 1993;
Lim, 1993). Transactional relationship is, in fact, viewed to
be unlike jeong, because within jeong, the group’s interest is
to take care of the group members regardless of the quality of
the relationship. A leader can also give special attention and
empathy toward a member that he or she dislikes working
with because of the woori nature of the relationship. Hence,
jeong- and woori-based relationships are different from other
exchange relationships (e.g., LMX) where the relationship is
based on mutual obligation, reciprocity, and exchanges
(Liden, Sparrowe, & Wayne, 1997). While the quality of the
exchange relationship is based on how each party in that
relationship perceives his or her dyadic counterpart (Engle &
Lord, 1997; Lord & Maher, 1991), jeong- and woori-based
relationships override the quality of the exchange
relationship.
Third, the current study adds to the literature on creativity
and voice behaviors by examining how the indigenous KLS
can motivate employees through positive affect with the high
energy experienced by the members. Korean leaders are
found to form relationships collectively with three parties in
the workplace, specifically, giving strong support for their
superiors, working in harmony with their peers, and shelter-
ing their subordinates. Through these relationships, group
members experience the organizational support that they are
being well cared for (Eisenberger et al., 1997; Eisenberger
et al., 1986) as they support one another in reaching the inter-
ests of the group (Baik et al., 2016; J. W. Lee & Lee, 1995).
The shared overarching affects create the sense of energized
positive affect, and members become fully motivated to col-
lectively achieve extraordinary business results that are
explained beyond rationality. The positive affect with high
energy is experienced as inner celestial joy and happiness
and also expressed through enthusiasm in behaviors.
Subordinates with positive affective states are persistently
motivated to find better and creative ways and voice their
ideas to meet the group goals, at any cost, as this is their
commitment to the organization (Amabile et al., 2005;
Tangirala & Ramanujam, 2008) and shows their loyalty.
Hence, a group of people are bonded collectively by jeong
and woori, and the group would put the interests of the group
as their priority over their individual selves, but it is the posi-
tive energy that engulfs and motivates the group to perform
beyond rational comprehension.
Practical Implications
There are also implications for business managers and HR
consultants to consider. KLS involves relationships with
three different parties, and HR managers and leadership
trainers may consider these three types of relationships to be
baselines for leadership training, focusing on the importance
of the relationship with all three parties: supervisor, peers,
and subordinates.
This would require a mind-set paradigm shift from leader-
ship training focusing between the leader and member to
developing leader competency in all three types of relation-
ship. This new approach can allow members to build jeong
and woori, leading to higher team-level and individual per-
formances. This indigenous set of relationship-oriented
leader behaviors prompts leaders to be humble and
12 SAGE Open
supportive of their superiors, work cooperatively with the
peers with whom they feel like a family, and protect their
subordinates, even at the cost of self-sacrifice. Ultimately,
leaders who value people in three different relationships, and
the affect that they share with each other, would perform, for
the group and the whole organization, above their individual
interests, however hard the goals are to be met.
Furthermore, to boost the jeong and woori emotions,
social emotions such as emotional intelligence (Goleman,
1998) can work hand in hand, because it awakens individuals
to be sensitive to others and manage and adjust their emo-
tional senses to guide thinking and behavior, as they work
together in achieving the common business goals. As a
mechanism, coaching is highly commended as it sets the
stage for the leaders to work in collaboration with the people
around them, in setting goals and, in particular, inspiring
people to learn, grow, and contribute toward business (Grant
& Stober, 2006; Heslin, Vandewalle, & Latham, 2006).
Moreover, this caring is inherent in coaching as it is about
connecting and building an engaging relationship and emo-
tionally investing in others, and encourages another person’s
success (Kroth & Keeler, 2009). Caring is characterized in
terms of emotional attachment (Skovholt, 2005) and empa-
thy (Kahn, 1993) and resonates with jeong and woori emo-
tions. The guidance, facilitation of learning, and inspiring of
employees brought about by coaching may well achieve the
purpose. It is construed that in the coaching process, the
employees are encouraged to be creative and use their voice
to come up with solutions as they meet the organization’s
goals. Hence, their priority in contributing to the overall
organizational goals to which they feel personal attachment
to fulfill (Eisenberger et al., 2010) is satisfied. In other words,
the more the employees receive coaching, the more their
confidence to be creative and proactively voice their thoughts
and ideas would be boosted, contributing positively to the
business. Coaching also induces the leaders to self-reflect on
their inner self: the emotions, the motivation, and the view of
their three-party team, relationships, and work. They would
then also realize how their feelings could affect their behav-
iors and actions on themselves and others, and also possible
behaviors that might disrupt the jeong and woori are detected
earlier. This, again, is a powerful tool to minimize the risk of
de-energizing the teamwork, and instead promote the posi-
tive affect with high energy to lead to performance expecta-
tions beyond imagination.
In a similar stream of thought, HR practices would need
to encourage and recognize these relation-oriented attributes.
Selecting people with high jeong and woori spirit at the
recruiting stage and for promotion opportunities is a consid-
eration. People who have shown prior effective relationship
with three parties are recruited. Also, to ensure that the team-
work heavily governed by the jeong and woori is understood
to benefit the organization and the business, leaders with
strong relationship with three parties would be included in
the leadership pipeline for future succession. Then, a rewards
and recognition program to promote leaders to bond and
work effectively with the three parties would need to be
implemented to again nurture the relationship-oriented
behaviors. Regarding non-Korean expatriates who join
Korean organizations (Bader, Froese, & Kraeh, 2018), induc-
tion programs explaining how to manage and work with the
Korean employees within the KLS context, jeong and woori,
would be very effective as they adjust to the foreign environ-
ment. As a final note, due to a strong desire to protect the
emotional attachment between the leader and the follower,
the leader may shelter their employees who have taken a
route that is outside the principles and standards to meet the
goals (Baik et al., 2016), in which case HR systems also need
to be in place to prevent the wrong behaviors.
Limitations and Future Research
As with any other studies, there are limitations in the current
study; we propose several avenues for future research to
resolve some of these limitations. First, the study data
revealed findings from one multinational company. Tests on
more companies, local and global, from different industries
are recommended. We could also group sample who share
similarities, for instance, companies from the same industry
category, organization age, and cultural background. In a
similar vein, because organizational culture and climate gov-
ern how an organization’s members should behave (Robbins
& Coulter, 1999), the implications and interaction with the
four variables covered in this study in different organiza-
tional cultural contexts are suggested.
Second, while KLS had a positive impact on the employ-
ees’ prosocial voice behavior, positive affect with high
energy did not function as a mechanism linking relationship-
oriented leader behaviors and employee voice behavior.
Extant literature proposes several reasons for employees
refraining from voicing their opinions and thoughts. Studies
showed that employees anticipate that their supervisors
could take their verbal statements as negative and challeng-
ing; hence, employees fear a personal risk (Morrison, 2014).
When employees observe the organization climate of fear or
silence (Morrison & Rothman, 2009), they develop implicit
beliefs that it is futile to speak up or that there is danger in
voicing in a hierarchical organization (Detert & Edmonson,
2011). Within the Korean cultural context, it is postulated
that subordinates’ face-saving for the leaders still remains
strong in the Korean culture (K. O. Kim, 1993), and express-
ing an idea that could be perceived as a better or challenging
option may be seen as disrespectful (Yang, 2006). Moreover,
Koreans are found to avoid being direct and confrontational
(Meyer, 2015) because confrontation is interpreted as being
rude and disrespectful in the Korean culture. This is similar
to Van Dyne, Ang, and Botero’s (2003) notion of prosocial
silence, a constructive behavior whereby individuals with-
hold work-related ideas, information, or opinions, with the
aim of benefiting other people or organizations, and future
Kim et al. 13
research can examine how Koreans engage in prosocial
voice or prosocial silence depending on the nature of con-
text—whether they are in a formal or an informal setting.
Third, Korean organizational cultures are allegedly
known to be hierarchical (Cho et al., 2019; Dastmalchian,
Lee, & Ng, 2000; Hofstede, 2001; Hong et al., 2016), and it
is worthwhile exploring how KLS can ameliorate any nega-
tive effects caused by hierarchical organizational culture.
Hierarchical culture tends to prevent employees from shar-
ing their thoughts and opinions and limit the scope of their
cognition (Shalley & Gilson, 2004). However, it is possible
that the leaders’ behaviors that focus on building respect and
trust from supervisors, peers, and subordinates, based on
positive group affects, may lessen the negative effects of
hierarchical culture on employee outcomes.
Conclusion
KLS can function as a competitive advantage to support
companies to be and remain competitive because leaders can
build strong relationships with all three parties: superiors,
peers, and subordinates. Organizational members are highly
motivated as jeong and woori bring the whole collective
group together to carry out tasks and achieve with excellence
beyond expectations. KLS is shown to influence employees’
creativity and prosocial voice behavior and arouse employ-
ees’ positive affect with high energy. This indigenous leader-
ship research has hopefully shed some light on the affective
mechanism which scholars claim is one of the most needed
areas of study for the expansion and enrichment of the under-
standing of leadership (Hernandez et al., 2011).
Authors’ Note
This paper is based on the first author’s doctoral dissertation.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iD
Najung Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4320-089X
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Author Biographies
Hai Kyong Kim is a HR consultant, business executive coach, and
an adjunct professor teaching subjects related to Human Resources
based in Korea. Her prior employment includes working in multina-
tional companies mainly in Korea, i.e. Procter & Gamble, Volvo
Construction Equipment, McDonald’s, GE Healthcare, and in the
last two positions, she served as a HR executive.
Kibok Baik is currently a professor of management in the College
of Business Administration at Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea.
His research interest has been mainly on leadership for the last 30
or so years, and originated two leadership theories such as Korean
Leadership Theory and Issue Leadership. He earned his PhD from
the University of Houston and MBA from the State University of
New York at Buffalo in US.
Najung Kim is an associate professor of management in the
College of Business Administration at Kookmin University in
South Korea. Broadly speaking, her research explores the dynamics
of individuals’ work experiences in the context of time, focusing on
the concepts of identity, emotion, age, and culture. She received her
PhD in Management and Organization at Boston College in the US
and her MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology at London
School of Economics in UK.