Pathways to cooperation: the transformation of labour relations among leading South Korean firms

Kong, Tat Yan

doi:10.1080/03085147.2011.529336

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Korea has experienced a strong labour movement since the late 1970s, with wildcat strikes in the 70s and early 80s (Kim and Kim, 2003). Political democratization in 1987 aided labour union activism and ushered in a new era of confrontational employment relations (Kong, 2012). Independent unions emerged for the first time in this period and union density rose to 18% in 1988, which to this day is the highest ever in Korea (Kim and Ahn, 2011).…”

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, successful industrialization in Korea and the autocratic State-supported repressive Chaebol system created the conditions for a hostile and militant labour movement (Kong, 2012). Korea has experienced a strong labour movement since the late 1970s, with wildcat strikes in the 70s and early 80s (Kim and Kim, 2003).…”

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This dynamism has led to mixed results and different approaches to the implementation of HPWS: a coercive path whereby cooperation is acquired from employees through coercive strategies and managerial authority, e.g., GMDaewoo; a cooperative transformation path where cooperative efforts have turned confrontational labour-management relations into more accommodating ones, e.g., Hyundai Heavy Industries; and a stalemate path in which the coercive mechanisms persist and distrust and antagonisms also persist, e.g., Hyundai Motors (Kong, 2012). The Korean unions are still influential but they are on the decline (Shin, 2013).…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Introduced in the 1950s, the Chaebol system grew tremendously under State protection and, in subsequent decades, weakened the direct control over employment relations in the Korean State, while gaining concentrated economic power and greater control over employee relations (Kong, 2012).…”

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 First, rapid industrialization between the 1960s and 80s achieved through State planning and the Chaebol system, in which a small number of families owned large industrial houses (Kong, 2012). Introduced in the 1950s, the Chaebol system grew tremendously under State protection and, in subsequent decades, weakened the direct control over employment relations in the Korean State, while gaining concentrated economic power and greater control over employee relations (Kong, 2012).…”

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Mutual Trustworthiness between Labour and Management in Adopting High Performance Work Systems

Kim

Ali

2015

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In this study, we examine the role of mutual trustworthiness between labour representatives and management and its relationship with the adoption of High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) in the Korean employment relations context. We argue that trustworthiness is a feature of the parties to the exchange, as opposed to trust, which explains the nature of exchange relationships. We follow existing literature on trustworthiness and agree that it is composed of three variables, i.e., ability, integrity, and benevolence. We test the effects of these three variables as important antecedents for the adoption of HPWS at the workplace level. Using the National Establishment Survey 2009 conducted by Statistics Korea as a sample frame, we survey a representative sample of Korean establishments. These data consist of 1,353 paired responses from labour representatives and managers. Our results show that labour-management mutual ability trustworthiness (MAT) has a positive and significant relationship with the adoption of high performance work systems ( Hypothesis 1 ); mutual benevolence trustworthiness (MBT) has a positive and significant relationship with the adoption of high performance work systems ( Hypothesis 2 ); and mutual integrity trustworthiness (MIT) has a positive and significant relationship with the adoption of high performance work systems ( Hypothesis 3 ). These results show that mutual trustworthiness in Korean employment relations is an important antecedent for the adoption of HPWS and can enable Korean industry to improve its position in the global economy. In the final analysis, it is implied that employment relations actors pursuing cooperative employment practices should ensure the development of a virtuous cycle of mutual trustworthiness.

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Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Mutual Trustworthiness between Labour and Management in Adopting High Performance Work Systems

Kim

Ali

2015

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Technological innovation, industry platforms or financialization? A comparative institutional perspective on Nokia, Apple, and Samsung

Kornelakis,

Petrakaki

2024

Business History

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Democracy in Myth: The Politics of Precariatization in South Korea

Yun¹

2019

InS

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After undergoing a series of mass demonstrations during the past three decades, including the 2016–2017 candlelight protests that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, many commentators in South Korea are confident that their country has become a land for what Karl Marx called “free men.” Korean citizens are portrayed as being ready to participate in voluntary political associations and collective actions and to pursue their interests in the public sphere. However, the data are showing the opposite to be true: citizen participation in public-sphere activities has substantially decreased since the mid-2000s, while the government has managed to improve or at least maintain its political responsiveness during the same period. Explaining the unnoticed background to this imbalance, this essay sheds light on the myth of the benefactor state in Korean democracy, arguing that this has emerged because neoliberalism has not only placed an increasing number of people in precarious positions but also neutralized them politically. The Korean government has capitalized on this situation to mythicize itself as a benefactor state that possesses an incomparable administrative capacity to take care of precarious people. By investigating the period of Park’s presidency (2013–2017) and the current rule of President Moon Jae-in (2017–), this essay shows how the myth of the benefactor state has emerged and created a unique cycle of Korean democracy.

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Pathways to cooperation: the transformation of labour relations among leading South Korean firms

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

The Effects of Mutual Trustworthiness between Labour and Management in Adopting High Performance Work Systems

The Effects of Mutual Trustworthiness between Labour and Management in Adopting High Performance Work Systems

Technological innovation, industry platforms or financialization? A comparative institutional perspective on Nokia, Apple, and Samsung

Democracy in Myth: The Politics of Precariatization in South Korea

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