Individual and Contextual Determinants of Ethnic Exclusionism Attitudes toward Immigrants in South Korea

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate a research model of employee empowerment along with its contextual determinants (i.e. leader-member exchange (LMX) and schedule flexibility) and primary consequence (i.e. service performance) for restaurant workers in New Zealand and South Korea. The study further examines a moderating role of national differences derived from the power distance theory for the hypothesized paths between empowerment and its determinants and consequences. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized traditional paper-and-pencil surveys for data collection. A final sample of 303 service employees from restaurants in New Zealand (n=152) and South Korea (n=151) was used to test research hypotheses by structural equation modeling using LISREL (version 8.80). Findings The study concludes with two core findings supporting research hypotheses. First, as hypothesized, employees who consider their schedule flexible with high LMX quality with their immediate supervisor are more likely to feel empowered, and empowered workers are more likely to perform well in customer services. Furthermore, the results show that the impact of schedule flexibility and LMX on empowerment and the impact of empowerment on service performance are more salient among South Korean employees than their New Zealand counterpart. Originality/value Based on job characteristics, work adjustment, and social exchange theories, this study develops and tests a research model of employee empowerment including service context-relevant determinants, i.e., schedule flexibility and LMX, as well as a crucial work outcome, i.e., service performance, using two different national samples. The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge in understanding the organizational dynamic of employee empowerment in the service industry, suggesting that managers incorporate relevant contextual practices to promote empowerment, which ultimately enhances employees’ service performance. It is also recommended that such practices are carefully implemented, taking into consideration the cultural background of the workforce.

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Who should be admitted? Conjoint analysis of South Korean attitudes toward immigrants

Ethnicities ◽

10.1177/1468796820916609 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 146879682091660

Author(s):

Steven Denney ◽

Christopher Green

Keyword(s):

South Korea ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Total Population ◽

Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽

South Korean ◽

Research Findings ◽

Ethnic Solidarity ◽

Conjoint Experiment ◽

To Come ◽

The Comparative Study

South Korea is slowly but steadily becoming a country of immigrants. In 1998, there were barely 300,000 foreign residents in South Korea. As of 2018, there were more than 2.3 million. The immigrant population has yet to reach 5% of the total population, but it is predicted to rise significantly in the years to come. Despite the increase in newcomers, it is not well understood who native South Koreans prefer as immigrants and why. Are immigrant attitudes motivated by co-ethnic solidarity, or are they primarily based on economic and sociotropic concerns? To isolate attitudes on these crucial questions, this research uses a conjoint experiment that simultaneously tests the influence of seven immigrant attributes in generating support for admission. Our results show that broad sociotropic concerns largely drive attitudes towards immigrants in South Korea, but an immigrant’s origin also matters. Prospective newcomers from culturally similar and higher-status countries who can speak Korean and have clear plans to work are most preferred. The research findings will be relevant to the comparative study of immigration attitudes, as well as to researchers interested in the specifics of the South Korean case.

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