IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i20p11109-d652090.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Leadership Matter in Performance of Social Enterprises in South Korea?

Author

Listed:
  • Seokwon Chang

    (College of Business, Kwangwoon University, Seoul 01897, Korea)

  • Mugoan Jeong

    (College of Business, Kyungnam University, Changwon-si 51767, Korea)

Abstract

In social enterprises, which are hybrid organizations that create social and economic values, the role of leaders is important to achieve goals. However, prior research on social enterprises overlooked the importance of a leader, and some research that considered leadership was insufficient to concern the characteristics of social enterprises. This study aims to find whether there is no problem in applying the leadership emphasized in a profit-firm to a non-profit-firm such as a social enterprise, since social enterprises pursue economic and social objectives simultaneously. To do so, we examined the effects of four leadership styles (transactional leadership, transformational leadership, servant leadership, and entrepreneurship) used mainly in commercial enterprises on the performance of social enterprises. In review of prior studies, it was assumed that transactional leadership would not have a significant effect on performance, and the other three kinds of leadership were hypothesized to have a positive effect on performance. Additionally, to clarify the relationship between leadership and performance of social enterprises, leader trust and calling were considered as mediators. Using the list of Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, questionnaires were distributed via e-mail to employees of 318 social enterprises located in Seoul, and 251 copies were collected and analyzed. The results of this study show that transactional leadership only affects economic performance and does not show significance with the rest of the variables as was expected. Transformational leadership had positive relationships with variables considered as performances of social enterprises, and the mediating effects of leader trust and calling were also verified. Entrepreneurship was positively related to three performances of social enterprises, but servant leadership had a positive relationship with organizational commitment. This study contributes to highlighting the need for research to find appropriate leadership styles that focus on the characteristics of social enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Seokwon Chang & Mugoan Jeong, 2021. "Does Leadership Matter in Performance of Social Enterprises in South Korea?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:20:p:11109-:d:652090
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/20/11109/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/20/11109/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shenjiang Mo & Junqi Shi, 2017. "Linking Ethical Leadership to Employee Burnout, Workplace Deviance and Performance: Testing the Mediating Roles of Trust in Leader and Surface Acting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 293-303, August.
    2. Joep P. Cornelissen & Ona Akemu & Jeroen G. F. Jonkman & Mirjam D. Werner, 2021. "Building Character: The Formation of a Hybrid Organizational Identity in a Social Enterprise," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1294-1330, July.
    3. Jörgen Johansson & Jonas Gabrielsson, 2021. "Public Policy for Social Innovations and Social Enterprise—What’s the Problem Represented to Be?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Joep P. Cornelissen & Onajomo Akemu & Jeroen G. F. Jonkman & Mirjam D. Werner, 2021. "Building Character: The Formation of a Hybrid Organizational Identity in a Social Enterprise," Business Digest 2021/02, Nazarbayev University, Graduate School of Business.
    5. Palvi Pasricha & Bindu Singh & Pratibha Verma, 2018. "Ethical Leadership, Organic Organizational Cultures and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Study in Social Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 941-958, September.
    6. Wai Wai Ko & Gordon Liu, 2021. "The Transformation from Traditional Nonprofit Organizations to Social Enterprises: An Institutional Entrepreneurship Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 15-32, June.
    7. Bhattarai, Charan Raj & Kwong, Caleb C.Y. & Tasavori, Misagh, 2019. "Market orientation, market disruptiveness capability and social enterprise performance: An empirical study from the United Kingdom," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 47-60.
    8. Palvi Pasricha & Bindu Singh & Pratibha Verma, 2018. "Erratum to: Ethical Leadership, Organic Organizational Cultures and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Study in Social Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 959-959, September.
    9. Saskia Crucke & Adelien Decramer, 2016. "The Development of a Measurement Instrument for the Organizational Performance of Social Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-30, February.
    10. Muhammad Arshad & Ghulam Abid & Francoise Venezia Contreras Torres, 2021. "Impact of prosocial motivation on organizational citizenship behavior: the mediating role of ethical leadership and leader–member exchange," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 133-150, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Kruse & Florian Rosing, 2023. "An Experimental Investigation of Perceived Differences in Personality and Leadership Attributes of Social Entrepreneurs Compared to for Profit Entrepreneurs and Non-Profit Organisations Leaders," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(1), pages 75-110, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yongjun Tang & Qi Li & Fen Zhou & Mingjia Sun, 2024. "Does Clan Culture Promote Corporate Natural Resource Disclosure? Evidence from Chinese Natural Resource-Based Listed Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 167-190, June.
    2. Charles H. Schwepker & Sean R. Valentine & Robert A. Giacalone & Mark Promislo, 2021. "Good Barrels Yield Healthy Apples: Organizational Ethics as a Mechanism for Mitigating Work-Related Stress and Promoting Employee Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 143-159, November.
    3. Fabien Martinez, 2023. "Exploring the syncretic dynamics involved in dyadic business–NGO partnerships," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4068-4083, November.
    4. Teresa Dieguez & Paula Loureiro & Sulaiman Isabel Ferreira & Mário Basto, 2024. "Transformative Forces: Social Entrepreneurship as Key Competency," International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 10(1), pages 23-33, April.
    5. Su, Sophia & Baird, Kevin & Phan, Thanh, 2024. "The association between ethical leadership and environmental activity management: The mediating role of employee environmental empowerment," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Muhammad Sanaullah Shah & Cisheng Wu & Zia Ullah, 2021. "The Inter-Relationship between CSR, Inclusive Leadership and Employee Creativity: A Case of the Banking Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    7. Radka MacGregor Pelikánová & Robert Kenyon MacGregor & Martin Èernek, 2021. "New trends in codes of ethics: Czech business ethics preferences by the dawn of COVID-19," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(4), pages 973-1009, December.
    8. Junli Wang & Wendong Lv, 2023. "Research on the Impact of Green Innovation Network Embeddedness on Corporate Environmental Responsibility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-28, February.
    9. Moussa Elkhweildi & Benard Vetbuje & Ahmad Bassam Alzubi & Hasan Yousef Aljuhmani, 2025. "Leading with Green Ethics: How Environmentally Specific Ethical Leadership Enhances Employee Job Performance Through Communication and Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-31, September.
    10. Xiao-Min Yu & Ke Chen & Jin-Tong Liu, 2022. "Exploring How Organizational Capabilities Contribute to the Performance of Social Enterprises: Insights from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, April.
    11. Xie, Jiangtao & Jain, Tanusree, 2024. "Unpacking micro-CSR through a computational literature review: An identity heterogeneity view of internal stakeholders," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    12. Simona Fiandrino & Francesco Scarpa & Riccardo Torelli, 2022. "Fostering Social Impact Through Corporate Implementation of the SDGs: Transformative Mechanisms Towards Interconnectedness and Inclusiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 959-973, November.
    13. Lee, Jung Young & McFadden, Kathleen L. & Lee, Min Kyung & Gowen, Charles R., 2021. "U.S. hospital culture profiles for better performance in patient safety, patient satisfaction, Six Sigma, and lean implementation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    14. Yuwei Deng & Jacob Cherian & Naveed Ahmad & Miklas Scholz & Sarminah Samad, 2022. "Conceptualizing the Role of Target-Specific Environmental Transformational Leadership between Corporate Social Responsibility and Pro-Environmental Behaviors of Hospital Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-15, March.
    15. João Henrique Paulino Pires Eustachio & Walter Leal Filho & Amanda Lange Salvia & Yana Medeiros Guimarães & Luciana L. Brandli & Laís Viera Trevisan & Jelena Barbir & Adriana Cristina Ferreira Caldana, 2024. "Implementing sustainability in teaching: The role of sustainability leadership and transformational leadership in the context of higher education institutions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 5331-5347, October.
    16. Shepherd, Dean A. & Pollack, Jeffrey M., 2025. "A listening model of venture growth: entrepreneurs' listening abilities and ventures' listening capabilities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1).
    17. Ibrahim Mansaray & Tarik Atan, 2025. "Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Transformational Leadership, Innovative Work Behavior, and Organizational Culture in Public Universities of Sierra Leone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-39, August.
    18. Zhu, Bing & Nguyen, Mai & Sarm Siri, Nang & Malik, Ashish, 2022. "Towards a transformative model of circular economy for SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 545-555.
    19. Hirschmann, Mirko, 2025. "One size does not fit all: Sustainable innovation, climate policy, and startups' growth aspirations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    20. Cheffi, Walid & Kaleem Zahir-ul-Hassan, Muhammad & Omer Farooq, Muhammad & Baqrain, Abdelrahman & Mohamed Habib Mansour, Mourad, 2023. "Ethical leadership, management control systems and circular economy in SMEs in an emerging economy, the UAE," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:20:p:11109-:d:652090. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.