Yueh-Chun Huang, Soo Jung Park and Ru-Jer Wang
This study analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the electoral mechanism of local education superintendents in South Korea, draws conclusions and makes suggestions for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the electoral mechanism of local education superintendents in South Korea, draws conclusions and makes suggestions for future reforms.
Design/methodology/approach
The research method of this study included document analysis and interviews. Document analysis was used to collect and analyze the relevant official documents of education superintendents across countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four professors and two superintendents.
Findings
The results of the interviews indicate the following: 1) Korean stakeholders are getting more familiar with the direct election of superintendents, as the interviews indicate a more mature direct election system due to previous experience and public officials taking direct election into account; 2) The direct election of superintendents has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include increasing the participation of the general public in education, and the disadvantages include conflict between the central government and local superintendents belonging to different political parties. However, the current system is likely to be retained; 3) The superintendent systems in various countries differ due to their respective traditions and social contexts. However, the authors can always learn lessons and implications from foreign countries if the authors compare their education systems with their foreign counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
As far research limitations, although this was a small study, it shows the importance of collecting multiple stakeholders' views on the direct election of education superintendents as a basis for future reform of education management.
Practical implications
The Korean system for electing superintendents provides a good model for other countries reflecting on the educational autonomy and accountabilities of their own systems.
Social implications
The direct election of superintendents provides an example of professionalism, independence and political neutrality in education that other countries can learn from. The separation of general and educational administration in Korea through direct elections protects educational activities from political influence.
Originality/value
In terms of originality/value, this study adds a new perspective to the debate about whether the general public should directly elect education superintendents, as well as to the literature on local education management.
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Soo Jung Kim, Youjin Jang, Myunghyun Yoo and Ji Hoon Song
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the mediating effect of organizational communication in the relationships among transformational leadership, organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the mediating effect of organizational communication in the relationships among transformational leadership, organizational justice and knowledge sharing within the higher education setting in South Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 321 university employees, including 151 faculty members and 170 administrative staff members, from a representative private university, participated in the survey as part of a consulting project for university innovation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was mainly used for data analysis to identify the structural relationship among the research variables.
Findings
The results of this study confirmed that transformational leadership positively influences organizational justice and knowledge sharing. However, the influence of organizational justice on knowledge sharing was not statistically significant. The mediating effect of organizational communication among those relationships to increase the members’ knowledge sharing behavior was statistically significant.
Originality/value
In this study, holistic aspects of the organization, including leadership, organizational culture and organizational strategy, were examined for encouraging employees’ knowledge sharing behavior while an organization undergoes innovational changes. More practically, this study suggested that organizational communication could be used as one of the critical strategies in the process of university innovation.
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Soo-Jung Jung, Bum-Joon Kim and Ju-Ryum Chung
This paper aims to examine how the relationship between abnormal audit fees and audit quality changed after adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how the relationship between abnormal audit fees and audit quality changed after adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
Using empirical data collected over the period from 2008 to 2013, this study analyzes the association between abnormally high/low audit fee and audit quality. This study uses linear regression to test the hypothetical relation using discretionary accrual as a proxy for audit quality.
Findings
This study finds that there exists no significant relationship between abnormally high audit fees and audit quality measured by the magnitude of discretionary accruals in the pre-IFRS adoption period. However, the relationship between abnormally high audit fees and the magnitude of discretionary accruals turns to be positive in the post-IFRS adoption period. These finding suggests that the IFRS enables some clients to engage more discretion in the choice of discretionary accruals and auditors charge higher audit fees in return for allowing the discretion for such clients.
Practical implications
This study provides insight to regulators of the need to review carefully the financial statements of firms with abnormally high audit fees, and to investors to be more cautious when using financial information about these firms.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess IFRS impact on audit fee-quality relation. Also, unique Korean audit market with intensifying competition and discounting audit fee provides interesting setting to review the impact of abnormal audit fee on audit quality.
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Tae-Ho Lee, Jung Ung Min and Jung-Soo Park
The main streams of the supply chain are defined as material, information and financial flow. There have been many studies and practical cases regarding the flow of material and…
Abstract
The main streams of the supply chain are defined as material, information and financial flow. There have been many studies and practical cases regarding the flow of material and information including information sharing. However, financial flow related studies have not been widely examined relatively, compared with their importance.
The information sharing is recognized as the method that can reduce the Bullwhip effect in supply chain management. The author intends to analyze the impact of financial information sharing on the results of the supply chain.
In the point of supply chain risk management view, the author examined the impact of financial flow among the various factors that can impede the stability of the supply chain.
In this study, the author embodied the simulation regarding the impact of financial information flow on supply chain performance and stability based on the system dynamics methodology and analyzed the performance.
Assuming the supply chain, composed of supplying company, manufacturing company and sales company , the author embodied the simulation model and assumed that working capital and cash information sharing were achieved. The author embodied the model to affect the settlement conditions according to the results of financial information sharing.
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Soo Jung Lee, Kyung Eun Jahng and Koeun Kim
This paper aims to attend to the issues that remain veiled and excluded in the name of multiculture.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to attend to the issues that remain veiled and excluded in the name of multiculture.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper problematizes South Korean multicultural education policies through Bourdieu’s concept of capital as a theoretical frame.
Findings
First, the paper discusses that material wealth is unequally distributed to most of the multicultural families, resulting in their lack of economic capital. Second, it notes that students from multicultural families are deprived of cultural capital, as they are racialized in Korean society. As a strategy used to distinguish and exclude a so-called different minority from the unnamed majority, race enables the possession of cultural capital. Third, insufficient social capital identified with resources emerging from social networks positions students from multicultural families as a perpetual minority. As the accumulation of various forms of capital secures power and privilege (Bourdieu, 1986), multicultural education in its current state would continuously reproduce the existing power dynamics where students from multicultural families are subordinate.
Research limitations/implications
Given this, policies for multicultural education in South Korea should cover a wide range of issues, including race, class and network and be redesigned to resolve realistic problems that have been hidden under the name of celebration of culture.
Originality/value
The Korean multicultural education policy has not been analyzed through Bourdieu’s concept of capital. Using a different theoretical viewpoint would be valuable to figure out the problems underlying the policy.
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Jinju Lee, Yunsoo Lee, Soo Jung Kim and Ji Hoon Song
The purpose of this study is to identify latent classes of work values that influence the career choices of Korean workers through a person-centred approach. Because work values…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify latent classes of work values that influence the career choices of Korean workers through a person-centred approach. Because work values may be diverse in individuals, investigating the various combinations of those values will help understand individual's decisions to take, maintain and leave a job.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a total of 15,103 datasets collected at the national level in South Korea. Data were analyzed by using latent class analysis (LCA); a three-step approach was employed to address classification.
Findings
As the results of this study, Class 3, “seeking balanced work values rather than income,” presented the highest level of job satisfaction, whereas Class 1, “seeking job security and income,” exhibited the lowest.
Originality/value
Employing an assessment tool to identify the distinct combinations of work values that individuals possess and then providing them with appropriate training and development programs and customized Human Resource (HR) policies aligned with the classes will be essential tasks for HRD (Human Resource Development)/HRM (Human Resource Management) practitioners.
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This study investigates the effect of entrepreneurial orientation and government support on the innovation openness of South Korean manufacturing firms. By compartmentalizing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the effect of entrepreneurial orientation and government support on the innovation openness of South Korean manufacturing firms. By compartmentalizing entrepreneurial orientation and government support, this study seeks to elucidate their effects on the breadth and depth of firms' knowledge searches.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes Poisson regression analysis with empirical data from 2,353 South Korean manufacturing firms collected from Korean Innovation Survey data.
Findings
Analysis reveals nuanced influences of various factors on firms' open innovation activities. Innovativeness positively affects knowledge search breadth and depth, highlighting the role of innovation-oriented processes, while competitive aggressiveness influences depth, thereby underscoring the pursuit of specialized knowledge acquisition. Proactiveness positively affects breadth but negatively affects depth, suggesting the importance of maintaining broad perspectives. Government support scope positively affects both breadth and depth, reflecting the significance of external support in encouraging inclusive knowledge exploration. The importance of government support positively influences depth, emphasizing its vital role in establishing collaborative relationships to enhance in-depth knowledge acquisition.
Originality/value
This study provides novel insights by exploring the nuanced implementation of open innovation in latecomer economies, especially South Korea, which experienced rapid economic development by leveraging innovation. The identification of specific factors influencing knowledge search breadth and depth contributes to the literature on open innovation by providing strategic guidelines for firms and policymakers. This practical implications of this study suggest that firms should align their strategies with entrepreneurial orientation while leveraging pertinent government support.
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Sung-Sang Yoo, Gahyung Kim, Soo Jung La and YooJeo Sung
This paper explores how sustainability consciousness varies among undergraduate students at a higher education institution in the Republic of Korea. Based on the analyses of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores how sustainability consciousness varies among undergraduate students at a higher education institution in the Republic of Korea. Based on the analyses of survey data, this paper aims to understand the present state and future prospect of education for sustainable development, specifically within higher education in the Republic of Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involves analyzing 254 complete responses from undergraduate students at Seoul National University using confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequently, it explores how five variables (gender, grade year, type of college, prior exposure to sustainable development and prior exposure to education for sustainable development) influence the level of sustainability consciousness among these undergraduates.
Findings
The goodness-of-fit indices of the adapted sustainability consciousness questionnaire indicate a good fit. The analysis reveals a notable gender-based disparity in sustainability consciousness, with female students exhibiting higher levels than their male counterparts. Additionally, academic progression also affects sustainability consciousness; students in their first and second years show greater awareness compared to those in their third year. Furthermore, the academic discipline of respondents plays a role, as evidenced by students from the College of Education displaying higher sustainability consciousness than those from other colleges.
Originality/value
This research distinguishes itself from prior studies in two key dimensions. First, it offers an analysis of the sustainability consciousness among South Korean undergraduate students, with a particular focus on those who have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, this study endeavors to establish the validity of sustainability consciousness as a psychological construct, expanding the understanding of its implications and relevance in the context of higher education.
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Yohan Koo, Soo Jung Kim and Ji Hoon Song
The purpose of this study was to explore the moderating role of communication in the relationship between person-organization fit (P-O fit) of openness to change, learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the moderating role of communication in the relationship between person-organization fit (P-O fit) of openness to change, learning organization and knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,015 faculty and staff participants from three private universities in South Korea was included in the analysis. Individual and organizational aspects of openness to change were examined based on the P-O fit theory. Moderated polynomial regression and response surface methodology were used for data analysis.
Findings
At a higher level of communication, the congruence of openness to change between the individual and organization showed a positive fit effect on learning organization. The incongruence of openness to change between individual and organization, in which the organizations’ openness to change was higher than that of individuals, decreased the level of knowledge sharing when the level of communication was higher.
Originality/value
The results of this study support the theory and practice that consideration of P-O fit on openness to change and a strategic approach of communication are needed to succeed in organizational change.
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Rhokeun Park and Soo Jung Jang
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the mediating role of stress in the relationship between family role overload and job satisfaction; and second, to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the mediating role of stress in the relationship between family role overload and job satisfaction; and second, to investigate the moderating roles of self-efficacy and job involvement in the association between family role overload and stress.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed hypotheses were tested using a moderated mediation model with a data set collected from a large insurance company in Seoul, South Korea, in 2012.
Findings
The findings indicate that stress mediates the relationship between family role overload and job satisfaction. The results also confirmed that family role overload is more strongly related to stress for employees with high self-efficacy and job involvement than for those with low self-efficacy and job involvement.
Research limitations/implications
Since the survey was conducted only in an insurance company, it is difficult to generalize the results of this study. However, the findings from this study provide insights into how family role overload is transferred to dissatisfaction in the workplace, and which types of employees experience a greater level of stress from family role overload.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that managers should identify which employees have strong self-efficacy and job involvement, and provide them with more measures to reduce stress.
Originality/value
While previous studies have focused on the relationship between work role overload and stress, the present study provides evidence of the relationship between family role overload and stress. In addition, some previous studies have researched the interactions between job stressors and personal characteristics, but the present study elucidates the interactions between family stressors and personal characteristics.