Sven Horak

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• Dr. rer. oec.
• Professor (Full) at St. John's University

Informal networking can be seen as a positive activity with beneficial outcomes for individuals, firms, and society as a whole, but informal networking can also lead to collusion, cliques, nepotism, and other forms of unethical or corrupt conduct-largely related to research on emerging markets. To date, the construction of informal networks and the...

The paper unpacks the “black box” of informal institutions and theorize about the role of informal networks in channeling continuity and change in informal institutions. Specifically, we argue that when informal institutions are enacted by informal networks that are “relatively affective” and “relatively closed,” their persistence is higher than th...

Drawing on interviews with decision makers in multinational corporations (MNCs) in South Korea, we examine the role of informal networks in the social exclusion of women in the workforce. Although legislation in the country is in favor of gender equality, we found that informal barriers in the workplace remain difficult to overcome. Informal networ...

Corporate scandals disrupt the landscape for organizational leaders and employees, providing a burning platform that creates new momentum for change. Here, we explore the implications for the human resources (HR) function as organization-level responses to scandals cannot occur without individual-level changes in employee behaviors-the domain of HR...

The nature of informal networks in various societies, and particularly whether they recede or tend to persist over time, has long been a subject of discussion in international business studies. However, empirical research on trust in network-oriented societies, where individuals typically maintain somewhat different relationships with their in-grou...

Purpose We examine managerial practices in South Korean subsidiaries of European Multinational Companies (MNCs) to understand how they navigate hierarchical structures during organizational transitions. Using an institutional lens, we explore the nature of hierarchy and how various types of hierarchy interplay in fostering agile organizational stru...

Leadership is a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon essential for guiding individuals and organizations toward shared goals. Despite its importance, leadership is constrained by various limitations, including political, contextual, ethical, emotional, communicational, institutional, motivational, and introspectional factors. These limitations impac...

Leadership of Rebellion: Navigating Unconventional Paths to Drive Change - Leadership has traditionally been linked to order and adherence to norms, but history shows that rebel leaders, who challenge the status quo, are crucial for transformative change. These leaders possess courage, vision, and resilience, and thrive in chaos, seeing disruption...

Recent global challenges, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, have underscored the critical role of human resources in international business, pushing disruptions and innovations to the forefront of international human resource management (IHRM) research and practice. This special issue editorial provides a timely and in-depth examination of the ev...

The influence of informal networks and their implications for managing abroad is a novel and emerging area of research in the international business domain. Networking is generally regarded as a positive and essential business activity, facilitating the building of social capital through the process. Although informal networks and social capital ar...

This entry conceptualises cross-cultural compassion as the ability to develop deep, authentic, and genuine emotional bonds, contrasting it with instrumental and task-oriented work relationships across cultures. Unlike empathy, which has a longer research tradition, compassion involves not only the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others but a...

Sustainable talent acquisition (TA) through informal networks, such as employee referrals, is widely regarded as an efficient and effective approach. While this practice can save both time and money, it also has potential downsides. Referral-based hiring can perpetuate homogeneity, reinforce biases, and exacerbate inequality, among other negative c...

We utilize social exchange theory to investigate how interpersonal factors like trust and commitment influence co-worker relationship quality among a group of 346 Chinese white-collar employees. Our findings suggest that co-worker commitment positively influences co-worker relationship quality. Contrary to our expectations, there is no indication t...

Wasta, the informal network context omnipresent in the Middle East, is widespread in human resource management (HRM) practices. Yet, its influence on the behaviour of HR managers has not been explored. Utilizing relational gatekeeping theory and the informal network perspective in conjunction with in-depth expert interviews with HR managers, we see...

Informal networking has been regarded as an important accelerator for getting a job and career progression (Granovetter 1995, 2017). However, there has been little discussion about whether this holds true for men and women alike, and whether we can generalize across countries and cultures. How far informal networking and cultural practices are inte...

Informal networks are formed by informal ties between actors. They can be defined as channels embedded in the respective culture that provides the general behavioral norms and ideals for interpersonal exchange. Network members have the privilege of access to favors. They can rely on mutual support and goodwill and the sharing of opportunities, whic...

We examine the state of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption within the Talent Acquisition (TA) function, based on a survey with HR leaders (n=477) across various organizations and industries. Our field data revealed that AI adoption within the TA function is not as pronounced and advanced as some recent reports might suggest. In fact, most organi...

Social capital can be defined as the sum of resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual. We distinguish three schools of thought on social capital: the first views it alongside other forms of capital - economic, cultural, symbolic - to explain social stratification, highligh...

Despite significant economic growth in both developed and emerging markets, several disadvantaged and marginalized segments of the global population still live in poverty. Recognizing the important role of business in alleviating poverty, management scholars have been increasingly investigating the topic of poverty. Although reviews of the extant l...

We utilize social exchange theory to investigate how interpersonal factors like trust and commitment influence co-worker relationship quality among a group of 346 Chinese white-collar employees. Our findings suggest that co-worker commitment positively influences co-worker relationship quality. Contrary to our expectations, there is no indication...

In this commentary we reflect on Shaalan, Eid, and Tourky's (2022) article in which they investigated the Chinese concept and practice of guanxi in the Middle East, ¹ a region in which wasta represents the common way of informal networking. ² While we encourage and welcome research into informal networks, we have serious concerns about the conceptu...

China’s economic structures, business dynamics and individual management decisions are not determined by the country’s formal institutional arrangements alone. China’s society, its politics and business are rather governed by powerful informal mechanisms that complement and sometimes overrule the ordering principles outlined in the formal sector. N...

Aristotle's philosophical insights continue to resonate in contemporary society, advocating a morally responsible approach to management. It is crucial to focus on individuals' motivations and actions, as ethical challenges corporations face often arise from individuals prioritizing self-interest and potential profits over morals and virtues. Howev...

Ethical dilemmas are a continuous challenge for corporate governance. Scandals of the early 2000s, such as the ones involving WorldCom or AIG, were widely regarded as examples of outright unethical conduct. Although there have been many prosecutions, none have involved a chartered secretary. The code of professional ethics of the latter has been ef...

While informal networking has been universally regarded as an important feature of expatriate effectiveness, respective network constructs (yongo, wasta, blat/svyazi, etc.) remain weakly understood when taking expatriates' ability to connect to local networks into account. Drawing on informal institution and social capital theory, we present inform...

Purpose This paper aims to introduce the concept of compassion to the field of international business studies. As international business activities continuously intensify and hence generate a work environment characterized by cultural heterogeneity and pluralism, the notion of compassion in a cross-cultural context can be regarded a key skill for e...

Purpose This conceptual paper develops a theoretical framework to provide insights with respect to enhancing focus on entrepreneurial sustainability initiatives in the context of emerging economies. The unique idiosyncrasies of the institutional environment of emerging economies are identified along the concept of scripts. Design/methodology/appro...

In this theoretical study, we challenge two prevalent assumptions in the international business domain: the "disappearance of informal networks" and the "strength of weak ties" assumption. By doing so, we draw from cultural as well as informality studies and explore the phenomenon of clientelism and its characteristics in the post-Soviet Union. We...

Jiang, C., & Horak, S. (2022). Leading agile transformation: The case of Sing Pharma in South Korea. Case study, teaching note, teaching material. Case Centre No. 322-0238-1. Available at: https://www.thecasecentre.org/products/view?id=185958

Purpose Research on the commitment to customer service (CCS) typically considers either trainable behavior or external stimuli such as financial incentives vital to CCS. Utilizing the cultural context of Confucian Asia, this study proposes a novel approach that shifts the focus towards the antecedents of the informal institutional environment. Des...

Informal networks can be a major obstacle to the effectiveness of managers. At the same time though, they can enable and facilitate business activities and support the efficiency and effectiveness of managerial actions. Since informal ties and networks can have a bright and a dark side, it is important for international managers to understand the w...

The paper unpacks the “black box” of informal institutions and theorize about the role of informal networks in channeling continuity and change in informal institutions. Specifically, we argue that when informal institutions are enacted by informal networks that are “relatively affective” and “relatively closed,” their persistence is higher than th...

Although foreignness can bring both benefits and costs, much of the literature has focused on the liability of foreignness (LOF) while relatively little attention has been paid to the positive side. Despite the presence of LOFs, foreign companies may accrue some unique advantages from their foreign status, which are referred to as assets of foreign...

Purpose We challenge the discontinuity (also called incompatibility) hypothesis of generalized and particularistic trust, suggesting that the two types of trust are incompatible. This view is problematic because if so, it remains unclear, for instance, how communities scoring high in particularistic trust can ever develop further when transferring...

Information is often acquired within organizations that generate earnings for employees and stakeholders. In this paper we analyze the causal effects of inequality on information acquisition performance and vary the pay of agents relative to the earnings of passive stakeholders. Our experimental results reveal that disadvantageous inequality does n...

Deadline, Submission Process and Workshop: The submission deadline is 1 October 2022. Manuscripts can be submitted through the IBR online submission system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ibr) from 1 September until 1 October 2022 only. They should follow the IBR guidelines: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/international-business-review/0969-59...

We utilize social exchange theory to investigate how interpersonal factors like trust and commitment influence co-worker relationship quality among a group of 346 Chinese white-collar employees. Our findings suggest that co-worker commitment positively influences co-worker relationship quality. Contrary to our expectations, there is no indication...

Personal innovativeness is an important value-based human behaviour that is responsible for the ability to participate in the domain of technological innovations and to enhance economic growth. Our study investigates the technological innovativeness of millennials in a cross-cultural setting at the individual level. The research design includes tec...

This research explores the relationship between trust and informal networking using the example of blat/svyazi, simply translated as “connections” in post-Soviet Russia. We find that a higher articulation of general trust does not reduce the trust in blat/svyazi, but rather both can coexist. Furthermore, the greater the importance a person ascribes...

Relationship building is one of the most important aspects of leadership; however, it can pose ethical challenges. Though particularistic treatment of employees by leaders, that is, leader favoritism, commonly occurs, it is conventionally regarded negatively as fairness norms require leaders to treat followers equally. In this conceptual study, we...

China's economic structures, business dynamics and individual management decisions are not determined by the country's formal institutional arrangements alone. China's society, its politics and business are rather governed by powerful informal mechanisms that complement and sometimes overrule the ordering principles outlined in the formal sector. N...

Scholars typically assume that informal networks are predominately influential in emerging markets as they fill voids left by non-existend or disfunctional formal institutions. Further, it is assumed that informal networks disappear with the further development of formal institutions. We challenge the disappearance assumption and argue in favor for...

Management research on humor, which has mainly been conducted in Anglo-Saxon regions, generally tends to assume that the use of humor by a leader towards his or her subordinates has positive effects. However, despite the popularity of such studies in Anglo-Saxon regions, less attention has so far been paid to the aspects of the cultural context of...

This article builds on Howard R. Bowen’s seminal treatise “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman” to portray how Bowen’s 11 Economic Goals for responsible business practice are visionary and remarkably evocative of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing on the articles included in this guest issue, we reflectively...

This study tests the influence of culture on group decision-making behavior among respondents in Korea and Germany. For our field experiment we are using an ultimatum game design, played among participants in Korea and in a benchmark experiment in Germany. We find evidence that taking the mosaic view of culture and making subjects aware of shared a...

The cultural environment of South Korea is typically regarded as being shaped by Confucian ideals, a low level of trust and a high degree of collectivism. This chapter proposes a more focused view by redefining trust viewed through the lens of informal networks, which characterize the Korean society. The latter, especially so-called Yongo ties, can...

South Korean human resource management (HRM), characterized by lifetime employment and seniority-based promotion, has been suggested as an important factor contributing to the growth of Korean companies. However, the Asian financial crisis in 1997, raised questions about these practices, and Korean HRM underwent drastic changes, mainly by adopting...

Purpose – We challenge the discontinuity (also called incompatibility) hypothesis of generalized and particularistic trust, suggesting that the two types of trust are incompatible. This view is problematic because if so, it remains unclear, for instance, how communities scoring high in particularistic trust can ever develop further when transferrin...

Purpose – We challenge the discontinuity (also called incompatibility) hypothesis of generalized and particularistic trust, suggesting that the two types of trust are incompatible. This view is problematic because if so, it remains unclear, for instance, how communities scoring high in particularistic trust can ever develop further when transferrin...

This study conceptually explores the structural and emotional aspects of informal social networks in South Korea by examining the indigenous concepts of jeong, woori, inmaek, and yongo in relation to the theories of social networks, social capital, and social exchange. We suggest extending extant knowledge of the latter by pursuing the geocentric i...

In this study, we analyze the core assumptions and ideals of social network characteristics in East Asia and the West. By using an analytical frame derived from the literature and consisting of key antecedents of social networks, we find differences between the conventional assumptions of social network characteristics when comparing them with thos...

International human resource management (IHRM) as a field of practice involves heightened levels of complexity compared to domestic HRM based on the multitude of contexts in which multinational firms operate. As complexity increases, so do levels of risk and the chance the firm must deal with crisis situations. Based on articles presented at the 3r...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how employees of an organization build and maintain successful business relationships by analyzing major antecedents of relationship quality and relationship commitment. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors develop a conceptual framework and formulate hypotheses regarding the rel...

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)'s new leadership's recent announcement about opening its doors to foreign businesses could result in a number of first mover opportunities for firms and may place North Korea in the position of a prospective emerging market. North Korea is already strong in sports, especially in soccer. The me...

Management and Organization Review Special Issue ‘Social Networks ‒ The Dark and Bright Sides of Informal Networks’ - Volume 14 Issue 4 - Sven Horak, Fid Afiouni, Yanjie Bian, Alena Ledeneva, Maral Muratbekova-Touron, Carl Fey

This study provides an overview, categorization, and integration of what has been achieved in the niche of cross-culture experimental economics (CCEE) so far, aiming to inspire indigenous management researchers to extend their methodological toolbox by including experimental methods. As a result of the review, we find that most of the early studies...

Purpose: By challenging the typical antagonistic view of the informal institutions power and trust, this study explores the interrelatedness of the two through the yin-yang lens. Design/methodology/approach: The data for this research stem from extensive group and one-to-one interviews with Toyota and its domestic and international suppliers. F...

Research on the mechanisms of organizing and managing via interpersonal relations has a rich history in the management and organization-oriented literature. So far, however, the informal dimension of managing and organizing by drawing on informal networks in an international context has received comparably less attention. Recent research has pointe...

Research on the mechanisms of organizing and managing via interpersonal relations has a rich history in the management and organization-oriented literature. So far, however, the informal dimension of managing and organizing by drawing on informal networks in an international context has received comparably less attention. Recent research has pointe...

Submission Deadline (full paper): 31 January 2019

So far overlooked by the international business ethics literature, we introduce, characterize, and normatively analyze the use of affective ties and networks in South Korea from an ethical point of view. Whereas the ethics of using Guanxi in China has been comprehensively discussed, Korean informal networks remain difficult to manage for firms in S...

The Japanese term Jinmyaku (人脈), translated into English, approximates ‘personal connections’. The word Jin stands for ‘person’ and myaku is translated into ‘vein’, as used in the field of geology to specify a vein of mineral deposits for instance. Members of a Jinmyaku network support and help each other in terms of career progression or taking de...

Inmaek (인맥) refers to a network of social ties and relationships one develops in the course of life. Although distinctively Korean, inmaek ties can be described as being an identical construct to the much studied Chinese guanxi. Inmaek is different to other network types in Korea like yongo or yonjul. Compared to inmaek, yonjul has a rather negativ...

Yongo: Translated into English, the syllable yon means ‘tie’. The syllable go infers that the bond exists for a certain reason, which is usually a mutual personal background that is regarded as the basis for yongo ties. There are three traditional ties which are the foundations upon which yongo is established: firstly, kinship and blood ties (hyuly...

In times of the “Brexit” and “America First” policies, several industrialized countries' governments are turning toward more national-oriented migration policies. Simultaneously, societal aversion to immigration is growing. Both trends are sending negative signals to highly skilled employees and making immigrants feel that they are no longer welcom...

Following the recent call for advancement in knowledge about business ethics in East Asia, this study proposes a complementary perspective on business ethics in South Korea. We challenge the conventional view that South Korea is a strictly collectivist country, where group norms and low trust determine the norms and values of behavior. Using the co...

Framed by institutional theory, this study reassesses the influence of seniority on (HRM) in South Korea today. We analyze first the overall influence of seniority in business, second its significance for career progression (i.e. promotion), and third its relation to individual performance orientation. By conducting in-depth interviews among local...

In this study we explore the phenomenon of clientelism and its characteristics in the post-Soviet Union. Using an inductive approach, framed by socioeconomic theory, we first conceptualize and define the construct of clientelism. Second, following the extant theory, we investigate whether clientelistic networks are in fact receding, and third we ex...

Purpose Recent legislation in Europe and North America encourages women’s participation in corporate boards based on the belief that gender-diversified boards contribute positively to firm performance and increased competitiveness. Contrary to the West, the women’s participation rate in business has been traditionally high in China. The purpose of...

This research reports on the influence of informal social networks in Korea (i.e. Yongo) on recruitment and promotions practices of large, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By using a social network theory frame, this research contributes to the convergence–divergence debate in International Human Resource Management. From our analysis, we...

http://in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Yongo

http://in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jinmyaku

http://in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Inmaek

Conventionally, the influence of informal networks is considered a factor dampening or even preventing the effectiveness of formal institutions. By drawing on informal social network theory using the case of South Korea, we introduce and outline the characteristics and antecedents of Korean Yongo networks that are assumed to have exerted a positive...

Following the recent call for a deeper contextualization of cross-cultural research in international management studies, this study explores differences in the decision-making behavior of men and women in Korea and Germany exposed to cultural context variables (CCVs) specific to the Korean cultural context. A two-stage research approach was designe...

Expatriate effectiveness research has so far rarely taken into account the influence of social networks on expatriate performance and adjustment. Likewise, antecedents of social networks remain poorly understood. We fill this research gap by exploring the situation of expatriates in South Korea. Based on expert interview data, we have discovered se...

This case serves to trigger a basic discussion on the ethics and risk involved in doing business with totalitarian regimes, exemplified by the case of North Korea. Discussion participants are exposed to a possible real-world business case scenario in which they are urged to carefully weigh ethical and risk-related concerns while coming to a decisio...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of informal Korean social networks (Yongo) on sales activities in Korea, by focussing in particular on required vertical core competencies. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on expert interview data gathered in Korea in two waves (2009 and 2012). Whereas first-wave interv...

This study investigates the nature and influence of informal social networks in South Korea (yongo) by analyzing trust levels and network cohesion. Predominantly based on studies on Chinese guanxi, it is widely believed that the further a nation develops stable formal institutions the more the influence of informal relations decreases. Given South...

This research reports on the similarities and distinctive differences between informal social networks in China (guanxi) and Korea (yongo). Within an analytical framework derived from social capital and institutional theory, the structural forms and characteristics of both network forms are compared. Although we observe some similarities, surprisin...