Culture, Labor Market, and Employee Turnover in South Korea: Taking Stock and Moving Forward

Abstract

Why employees stay or leave their organization in Republic of Korea (South Korea) can be better understood by taking into account the idiosyncratic institutional and cultural contexts. In this chapter, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of employee turnover research in South Korea and discuss its implications for research. Specifically, we explain how employee turnover decisions may be affected by the characteristics of South Korean labor market (duality, polarization, and intergenerational issues) and cultural environments (collectivism, high power distance, and high-performance orientation). The review shows that organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and on-the-job embeddedness are three key mechanisms explaining employee turnover in South Korea. Building upon the review, we conclude the review by suggesting future research directions: (a) examining turnover behavior as a key outcome, (b) developing a theoretical framework for social identity and embeddedness, and (c) understanding intergenerational issues.

Citation

Choi, D., Park, O. and Oh, S. (2021), "Culture, Labor Market, and Employee Turnover in South Korea: Taking Stock and Moving Forward", Allen, D.G. and Vardaman, J.M. (Ed.) Global Talent Retention: Understanding Employee Turnover Around the World (Talent Management), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 63-85. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-293-020211004