The purpose of this collaborative qualitative study was to investigate the lived experience of women leaders in South Korean companies who manage their work and life and develop their leadership in the face of organizational and cultural constraints. Critical to this investigation was the understanding of three concepts represented in the literature on women in leadership: cultural context, work-life balance, and leadership development. A team of eight researchers conducted a collaborative qualitative study to interview 50 women leaders using a purposeful and snowball sampling method. As a result, we found that women leaders experience difficulties in work-life balance and leadership development largely due to a gendered workplace. By gendered workplace we mean frequent drinking after work, the exclusion of women leaders from informal networking, and a lack of developmental opportunities. The gendered workplace forced them to sacrifice their personal lives in order to work long hours and develop their own strategies for work-life balance. We also found that there were noticeable differences in their narratives by position (28 team leaders and 22 executives) and marital status (37 married and 13 singles) concerning family support, major challenges, definitions of success, leadership styles, and mentors. Based on the study findings, we provided implications for research and practice and the study limitations.

How to build and enhance the strategic learning capability of an organization becomes crucial to both research and practice. This study was designed to conceptualize strategic learning capability by translating and interpreting the related literature to develop empirical dimensions that could be tested and used in a survey instrument. The resulting survey instrument included fifty-nine items that were developed through a review of the literature, a brainstorming session of HRD practitioners, and communications with experts in the field and committee members. Based on responses on a five-point performance scale, strategic learning capability items were identified and prioritized, and seven dimensions were discovered: (1) External Focus, (2) Strategic Dialogue, (3) Strategic Engagement, (4) Customer-Centric Strategy, (5) Disciplined Imagination, (6) Experiential Learning, and (7) Reflective Responsiveness.

This study explored the extent to which knowledge‐sharing processes mediate organizational cultural factors and knowledge management effectiveness among Korean organizations. The findings show that knowledge‐sharing processes play as mediators in the effect of trust, collaboration, and learning on knowledge management effectiveness. Employees from knowledge management practicing companies in Korea were surveyed. Results from mediation analysis show that knowledge‐sharing processes have both practical and statistical significance to enhance knowledge management effectiveness. Trust and a learning culture are also significant to increase knowledge management effectiveness. We discuss the implications of these findings to facilitate knowledge sharing and make suggestions for future research.

Purpose – The understanding of strategic learning processes seems to be fragmented and tangled in many disciplines. To construct a meaningful understanding of strategic learning, various disciplines were reviewed and synthesized, and a strategic learning model was developed based on the analysis of previous models. The purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of underlying theories of strategic learning and its model. Design/methodology/approach – The theory of strategic learning is an evolving theory so that first, the literature that helps conceptualize the strategic learning, second, the founding pieces of the literature that composite the theory; and third, the most emerging literature in the strategy discipline are selected to explain the strategic learning model. Based on the thorough review of the literature, new conceptual model of strategic learning is introduced. Findings – In both strategy literature and organizational literature, the existing strategic learning models can be evaluated to fully capture the distinctive aspects of learning in strategy process. Various learning theories are encompassed to construct the model. Research limitations/implications – This extended strategic learning model requires empirical testing to identify dimensions of strategic learning. Practical implications – The extended strategic learning model will be useful to bring about strategic change, conversation, and behavior. Originality/value – This conceptual model integrates many theories and important concepts. The foundational theories identified in this study also open up new research ideas for scholars using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

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