Work-family policies in Korean organizations: Human resources management and institutional explanations

This study uses a representative sample of 1905 Korean organizations to examine the presence of work-family policies. We derive hypotheses from explanations that animate human resources (HR) management, and develop new institutional ones for predicting the presence of work-family policies in Korea. A logistic regression model is employed to identify predictors of the presence of four types of work-family policies across Korean organizations. This study uses a detailed measurement of HR strategies to examine organizational responsiveness to institutional pressures. In addition, we utilize the characteristics of corporate governance structures to test institutional effects on work-family policies. The findings suggest that the presence of work-family policies across Korean organizations is influenced by both the characteristics of the workforce (a HR management explanation) and the organization's responsiveness to the external environment (an institutional explanation). Notably, organizations in an enterprise run by professional managers are sensitive to emerging social norms, and are more likely to have work-family policies. In addition, organizations exposed to international norms through shareholding linkages are more likely to have work-family policies. Our findings suggest that Korean organizations have provided different work-family benefits in response to different concerns. Asian Business & Management (2012) 11, 515-539. doi:10.1057/abm.2012.20; published online 5 September 2012