Search results

This study aims to examine residents’ perceptions of adult and continuing education (ACE) in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Incheon in South Korea, by conducting a needs assessment of university degree programs for adults.

This paper uses Borich’s educational needs formula and Hershkowitz’s criticality function on the data obtained from a survey of 1,500 residents of the three regions to determine their priorities for degree programs.

The results show that the top priorities for degree programs in Seoul are computer information and communication and therapeutic health. In Gyeonggi-do, the top priorities are computer information and communication, language and literature and business and economics. In Incheon, participants prefer computer information and communication, agriculture, forestry and fisheries and therapeutic health, in that order.

This study examines Koreans’ perceptions of ACE and conducts a needs assessment to determine their priorities for university degree programs in metropolitan areas in Korea. It provides practical information for policymakers and universities who design and implement ACE programs.

From a social capital perspective, this study aims to shed light on the link between social capital and career adaptability by focusing on how social connections and interactions shape and nurture career adaptability. Drawing on socioemotional selectivity theory, the authors further examined the critical moderating role of age on the above relationship.

Survey responses from 208 HRD professionals were analyzed via a moderated mediation analysis.

The results showed that there is a positive relationship between social capital (network size and intimate network) and career adaptability; frequent interaction increases intimacy, in turn enhancing career adaptability; and the indirect effect of social capital on career adaptability (via intimate network) is stronger when the employee is younger.

The most novel theoretical contribution of this study is that the authors lend empirical support to the connection between social capital and career adaptability moderated by age. The study also contributes to understanding how core aspects of social capital are inter-related each other and have directional relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of using massive open online courses (MOOCs) for employee learning and development in organizational settings by reviewing the literature and examining several cases from a virtual human resource development (HRD) perspective.

To collect information on MOOCs in the workplace, the authors reviewed peer- and non-peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, books, white papers, corporate websites and blogs, and business magazines published between 2008 and 2018.

A total of 18 cases were summarized to present the use of MOOCs in organizational settings for training and development, organizational development, career development, and professional development. For a more in-depth review, three cases were selected and the details were introduced in terms of context, process/progress, and outcomes: McAfee, Rabobank, and Library and Information Science.

When organizations decide to use MOOCs for their employee development and learning, practitioners could also establish the selection criteria of MOOCs for specific purposes based on their organizational contexts by assessing the effectiveness of existing MOOC programs.

This study highlights the use of MOOCs in organizations to examine their potential as a support tool for virtual HRD to facilitate employee learning and development in the workplace.

Military officials who become accustomed to the distinct culture of the military face a variety of challenges when attempting to transition into the civilian workforce as veterans. These hardships even pertain to short- and mid-term veterans (SMVs) who leave the military at early career stages to pursue alternative career options. In this study, the authors explored the career construction decisions made by South Korean SMVs who left their military careers and successfully transitioned into the civilian workforce.

The authors used a phenomenology approach and conducted a semi-structured interview with 19 SMVs to unpack their career transition experiences.

The authors identified the motivational factors that encourage SMVs to develop their four career adaptabilities and illustrated the necessity for such qualities pre- and post-transition. Furthermore, the authors characterized each individual experience by the theoretical constructs of career adaptability and highlighted the contextual characteristics that prompted the emergence of career adaptability.

This study contributes to the understanding of career mobility at early career stages and how career adaptability is developed and manifested in the context of transitioning from the military to civilian society.

In response to the lack of connection between employee development and employee engagement, this study explores the existing empirical findings regarding these two concepts. Based on the conservation of resources theory, the authors propose a novel theoretical framework that can better leverage the identified antecedents and relationships for future research.

An integrative literature review of 64 empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals was conducted.

Three different levels of antecedents, including the work environment, social exchange and individual characteristics, are identified. Employee development and employee engagement exhibit reciprocal relationships. Considering the role of job performance as a catalyst, the authors propose an upward gain spiral model to advance both research and practice.

This integrative literature review aims to facilitate discussions based on three distinct sub-dimensions: physical, emotional and cognitive energies, relevant to both employee development and employee engagement. Through this distinction, a more comprehensive understanding of the connection between employee development and employee engagement can be cultivated.

The purpose of this study is to synthesize the current turnover literature that has investigated the nonfinancial antecedents of turnover intention across generations. This paper provides an integrative and analytical review of prior empirical studies with two research questions: What nonfinancial factors influencing employee turnover have been empirically identified across different generations? and What generational commonalities and uniqueness exist among the turnover antecedents?

To identify nonfinancial antecedents of employee turnover, an integrative literature review that allows a systematic process of searching and selecting literature was conducted. While synthesizing the antecedents identified in the articles, the authors were able to categorize them at three different levels: individual, group and organizational

The authors discuss each antecedent according to three categories: individual, group and organizational levels. Based on the findings from the first research question, the authors further explore the commonalities and uniqueness among three generations (i.e. Millennials, Generation X and older workers).

This study found both generational commonalities and uniqueness in terms of turnover intention antecedents. Based on the findings of the study, the authors discuss how to facilitate these common factors across all generations as well as considering the factors unique to each generation. Differentiation within organizations regarding retention strategies should yield positive results for both employees and organizations.

The purpose of this study is to help us understand social entrepreneurs’ lived experiences, reflecting the comprehensive entrepreneurial processes that encompass their past, present and future.

A narrative approach was used to explore the meaning of experiences in social entrepreneurs’ professional lives through the stories retold and restructured by social entrepreneurs. A total of 11 social entrepreneurs in the Midwest region of the USA were interviewed.

The authors identified three time-sequential themes: past (looking backward at the origin), present (living life as a social entrepreneur) and future (looking forward). Seven sub-themes emerged, revealing social entrepreneurs’ aspiration, self-knowledge, identity-defining moments, their sustainability-oriented leadership and how they build an organizational structure, partnership and handle the burden of work and the organization.

The findings offer useful information for future social entrepreneurs as they can learn from the perspectives of experienced social entrepreneurs in terms of what to prepare for and expect so they can achieve their full entrepreneurial potential. It can also aid in further development of social entrepreneur curricula in business and non-business schools.

The existing literature does not portray sufficient detail about how social entrepreneurs live the lives they have created and chosen to understand their lived experiences. This study also provides a comprehensive definition of social entrepreneurship, incorporating “collective perspective” with a mentality of “it’s not about me, it’s about us”.

This paper aims to explore informal learning experiences among employees working in South Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 100 employees. This study specifically seeks to understand the characteristics of informal learning in Korean SMEs and culturally sensitive contextual factors that shape informal learning.

To understand the complex, holistic nature of the phenomenon, the current study used a phenomenological qualitative approach. Eighteen full-time employees working at South Korean SMEs in knowledge-intensive industries were interviewed. Data were analyzed using Moustakas’s phenomenological analysis.

The findings emerged from the field data revealed four characteristics of informal learning in South Korean SMEs: absolute reliance on informal learning; rapid/immediate learning and application; relationship/client needs-based learning; and extensive trial and error. The current study also identified South Korean SMEs’ unique organizational context (i.e. a family-like atmosphere, one employee-multiple tasks, passive investment in employees and the absence of systems) and Korean culture (i.e. Gab-Eul relations and chemyon) that drive the emergence of SMEs’ informal learning characteristics.

Very little empirical research has been conducted to explain how informal learning actually occurs and why such learning patterns have emerged in South Korean SMEs. The findings of this study have a profound impact on practice and academia, as it unveils characteristics of informal learning in SMEs, the unique cultural context in which Korean SMEs operate and how these characteristics impact the learning process.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of developmental opportunities and perceived pay equity-and paternalistic leadership on affective organizational commitment and the moderating role of paternalistic leadership at the team level in a Korean context.

Hierarchical linear modeling with a two-level design was used to analyze data collected from 844 employees and 59 work teams.

The study identified that developmental opportunities and perceived pay equity were significantly associated with affective organizational commitment. However, paternalistic leadership was not significantly related to affective organizational commitment. The results also showed that the moderation effect of paternalistic leadership on the relationship between pay equity and organizational commitment was non-significant, and paternalistic leadership moderated the relationship between developmental opportunities and organizational commitment. In particular, the relationship of developmental opportunities with organizational commitment became weaker when the supervisor’s paternalistic leadership was stronger.

The results of this study supported the applicability of organizational support theory and previous empirical studies supporting the relationships between human resource (HR) practices and commitment, particularly in the Korean cultural context. The results have several practical implications for employers, mangers and HR practitioners in an East Asian cultural context.

This study extends the body of knowledge in leadership research by investigating the influences of two key factors of HR practices and a Confucianism-based indigenous leadership theory on organizational commitment. More importantly, the results can guide future cross-national or cross-organizational studies exploring the relationships among leadership, organizational culture and organizational effectiveness. This study also offers clearer empirical evidence for why and how developmental opportunities and perceived pay equity need to be enhanced in an East Asian cultural context.

By adopting a multilevel approach, this paper aims to examine the relationships among employee creativity and creative personality, domain expertise (i.e. individual-level factors), non-controlling supervision style and organizational learning culture (i.e. team-level factors). It also investigates the cross-level interactions between individual differences and organizational context influencing employee creativity.

Hierarchical linear modeling was performed to test the hypotheses using multisource data with 416 employees and their supervisors in 86 research and development teams.

This paper found that domain expertise and non-controlling supervision style are positively associated with employee creativity. Also, a positive moderating role of non-controlling supervision style was found in explaining the relationship between domain expertise and employee creativity. However, no significant relationship was found between creative personality and employee creativity, and there was no moderating effect of organizational learning culture. The paper discusses the theoretical implications of these findings and provides practical suggestions based on the findings.

This paper has begun to address the significant gap in the extant employee creativity literature and has departed from the common research practice of investigating creativity at a single level. It has expanded understanding of the antecedents of creativity with empirical evidence, as it revealed domain expertise and non-controlling supervision as influential factors. Further, domain expertise has generally positive effects on creative performance, whether non-controlling leadership is high or low. Additionally, this study brings an interesting insight in interpreting the contribution of organizational learning culture as measured by the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire to creativity and also affirms the importance of autonomy that increases intrinsic motivation and creativity. Another theoretical contribution of this study can be found from an intriguing contradiction in the literature that understands the role of expertise in creative performance. Moreover, the finding on non-controlling supervision supports the effectiveness of a freedom approach.