Comparing public servants' behavior in South Korea and the United States: How emotional labor moderates the relationship between organizational commitment and job performance
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| Author | Seung‐Bum Yang,Mary E. Guy |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12794 |
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Comparing public servants' behavior in
South Korea and the United States: How
emotional labor moderates the relationship
between organizational commitment and job
performance
Seung-Bum Yang
1
| Mary E. Guy
2
1
Department of Public Administration,
Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
2
School of Public Affairs, University of
Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
Correspondence
Mary E. Guy, School of Public Affairs,
University of Colorado Denver, 1380
Lawrence St., Ste. 500, P.O. Box 173364,
Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA.
Email: mary.guy@ucdenver.edu
Funding information
Konkuk University's research support
program; National Research Foundation of
Korea, Grant/Award Number: NRF-
2019S1A5A2A01047718; Ministry of
Education of the Republic of Korea
Abstract
The relationship between organizational commitment and
job performance matters in public service delivery, and so
does the emotive dimension of the citizen—state interac-
tion. However, public management theories and principles
must take national culture into account, because compara-
tive investigation reveals limits to generalizability across cul-
tures. This study provides an example. It examines the link
between commitment and performance as well as the mod-
erating effect of emotional labor for public service workers
in Korea and the United States. Probably due to the differ-
ing effect of collectivist versus individualist norms, findings
reveal that authentic emotive expression bolsters the rela-
tionship between organizational commitment and job per-
formance in Korea, while its opposite, inauthentic emotive
expression weakens the link between commitment and per-
formance in the United States.
공공서비스를전달하는과정에서조직몰입과직무성과의관계
는중요한문제이며,이에못지않게시민-국가상호작용에있
어서감정적 차원또한중요한문제이다.공공관리이론이나원
리를 연구할때국가차원의문화를고려할필요가있는데,이는
비교연구의수행이서로다른문화들을일반화하는데따른한
계점을파악할수있게해주기때문이다.본연구는이러한측
면에서하나의본보기를제시한다.이연구는몰입과성과의관
계를고찰할뿐만아니라감정노동의조절효과를미국과한국
Received: 5 May 2021 Revised: 16 October 2021 Accepted: 18 October 2021
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12794
406 © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Public Admin. 2023;101:406–421.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm
의공공부문종사자들을통하여살펴본다.본연구의결과는한
국의공공조직에서진성감정표현이조직몰입과직무성과를강
화해줄수있으며,이와는대조적으로미국의공공조직에서는
비진성감정표현이몰입과성과의관계를약화시킬수있다는
점을보여준다.이러한결과는집단주의문화와개인주의문화
가서로다른영향을미친것으로보인다.
1|INTRODUCTION
The dynamics of organizational behavior are often studied in an attempt to understand commitment, motivation, and
performance (Audenaert et al. 2019; Davis & Stazyk 2021; Lu & Guy 2019; van Loon et al. 2020; van Loon &
Jakobsen 2018). While the goal of these studies is to draw generalities across nations, comparative public manage-
ment studies are required in order to avoid the ethnocentricity that blinds theory to the effect of national culture.
For example, Chordiya et al. (2017) investigated the relationship between affective organizational commitment and
job satisfaction and learned that results in the United States differed from results in India. By revealing commonali-
ties and disparities across countries, their work demonstrates the limitations of single-nation studies.
Two classic studies of cross-cultural differences rank Korea as a collectivist nation and the United States as an
individualist nation (Hofstede 2001; House et al. 2006). On a range from 0, meaning totally collectivist, to 100, mean-
ing totally individualistic, Hofstede (2001) scores South Korea as 18, compared to 91 for the United States. Thus,
these two nations represent a significant contrast. Collectivist cultures value long-term commitment to the group
and foster strong relationships where group members take responsibility for one another. Compared to individualist
cultures, people are less willing to reveal their own personal opinions, and they are more likely to conform to those
around them.
This study examines the experience of public service workers in South Korea and the United States by probing
the relationship between organizational commitment and worker perceptions of performance. By treating emotional
labor as a moderator between these oft-tested dynamics, findings provide insight into how organizational behavior
varies according to national culture. As more attention is paid to the quality of the citizen—state encounter, informa-
tion gained from comparative studies enriches the public management toolbox (Zacka 2017).
2|ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT, JOB PERFORMANCE, AND
EMOTIONAL LABOR
While it is intuitive that affective commitment and job performance are linked, there is more to affect than how
employees feel about their work. Affect also enters daily work experience in the form of emotional labor. The emo-
tive burden that workers experience requires them to adopt emotional labor strategies in order to fulfill job expecta-
tions. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship among these three dynamics in two different national
culture contexts.
2.1 |Organizational commitment
Commitment refers to the strength of employees' identification with their employer and is an important variable in
organizational behavior (A. Cohen 1992; Allen & Meyer 1990; Balfour & Wechsler 1996; Buchanan 1974;
YANG AND GUY 407
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