Abstract
Leadership is possibly the least understood aspect of managing people, because it is at the same time personal, institutional, and cultural. Martin Hemmert’s new volume illustrates this point by highlighting both similarities and differences in leadership patterns across Korean companies all operating in the same cultural environment. Comparing Korean leadership processes to those found in other countries, like Japan as illustrated here, adds additional clarity and depth to this anslysis. The lesson for foreign firms here is not to try to emulate Korean-style management, but rather to study Korean ways so we can be more astute when working with Korean companies and managers. The issue here is understanding, not imitation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abegglen, J. C., & Stalk, G. (1985). Kaisha: The Japanese corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Froese, F. J., Sekiguchi, T., & Maharjan, M. P. (2018). Human resource management in Japan and South Korea. In F. L. Cooke & S. Kim (Eds.), Routledge handbook of human resource management in Asia. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hemmert, M. (2018). The evolution of tiger management: Korean companies in global competition. London: Routledge.
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Shim, W. S., & Steers, R. M. (2012). Symmetric and asymmetric leadership cultures: A comparative study of leadership and organizational culture at Hyundai and Toyota. Journal of World Business,47(4), 581–591.
Steers, R. M., & Osland, J. S. (2020). Management Across Cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steers, R.M., Shim, W.S. Korean-style leadership: a comparative perspective. Asian Bus Manage 19, 175–178 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-020-00108-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-020-00108-0