지속가능 리더십, 역할행동, 환경성과 간의 구조적 관계

Abstract

Social discussions on sustainability management and ESG are active, andresearch interest is increasing. If we look at domestic research on ESG(Environmental, Social and Governance), it is easy to see that there is interestin ES but there is a lack of research on governance. This represents the realitythat the structural problems of the Korean economy, which is dominated bychaebol companies, are not critically recognized by the public or researchers. Itmay also be a phenomenon due to socio-cultural factors in Korea, wherepatriarchal traditions have been passed down for a long time. In other words,in Korea, there is an implicit social atmosphere that takes for granted thefounder's family-centered governance structure, which easily controls thecorporate group through a holding company with a minority stake. Specifically, from the perspective of organizational behavior in businessadministration, research on the field of corporate social responsibility isaccumulating, but it is difficult to find studies that discuss sustainablemanagement from the perspective of leadership. Effective leadership ofmanagers is not only important for achieving organizational goals, but is alsoone of the important factors that affects the long-term survival andgovernance of a company. If we look at the development of leadership theory, we can see that it hasmainly focused on the individual and organizational levels. Trait theory, behavioral theory, situational theory, and modern leadership theories arebasically theories developed based on the personal behavior of leaders. It isalso undeniable that ethical leadership, inclusive leadership, etc., go beyondindividual perspectives and include normative aspects of society and community. However, we feel that such leadership theories are not enough to overcomeenvironmental crises such as global climate catastrophe beyond corporate socialresponsibility. Sustainable leadership can find its research significance in thisregard. The results of the empirical analysis identified in this study can be succinctlysummarized as follows. First, sustainable leadership has been shown to have apositive (+) impact on role behavior and environmental performance. Thismeans that the more managers use sustainable leadership, the more their rolebehaviors and environmental performance increase. Second, role-playingbehavior was found to have no direct effect on environmental performance. This means that this study did not identify a direct influence relationshipbetween role behavior and environmental performance. Third, as a result of themediation effect verification, it was found that there was no mediation effectof role behavior in the relationship between sustainable leadership andenvironmental performance. Future research should explore the possibility ofthe existence of various mediating variables that act on the relationshipprocess between two variables. To sum up, the theoretical implications of this study can be found in thefact that the concept of sustainability is empirically analyzed as a specific typeof leadership behavior of managers in the current situation where ESGmanagement is emphasized. In addition, the practical implications of this studycan be used as a basis for managers to compare and reflect on their ownleadership styles with sustainable leadership suitable for ESG management. Inaddition, the implications of this study in terms of productivity are as follows. Specifically, the fact that sustainable leadership has a positive(+) effect on the rolebehavior and environmental performance of the members of the organization can be interpreted to mean that the higher the sustainable leadership, thehigher the role behavior and environmental performance of the members of theorganization, which directly leads to an improvement in productivity. This study has the limitation of being a rudimentary, exploratory, andquestionable study of sustainable leadership. The usefulness of managementtheory is confirmed when it is applied to the field of management and iseffective in improving the performance of an organization or company. Thesame is true of leadership theory. Sustainable leadership is inherentlyprescriptive. This is because ethical leadership is at the root of sustainableleadership, and sustainable leadership is closely related to ESG management. Therefore, the widespread adoption of sustainable leadership in the field ofmanagement will require a variety of institutional incentives. Saving resources,protecting the environment, and responding more appropriately to the climatecrisis may help preserve the planet, but if it doesn’t help advance corporateprofits right now, sustainability leadership will be just a verbal line. It ishoped that more high-quality follow-up research will be conducted anddeveloped into a useful leadership theory in the era of ESG management.