Business Ethics in Korea: Chaebol Dynastic Practices and the Uneven Transition From a Market to an Entrepreneurial Mode of Exchange

Dalton, B; dela Rama, M

Business Ethics in Korea: Chaebol Dynastic Practices and the Uneven Transition From a Market to an Entrepreneurial Mode of Exchange

Dalton, B

dela Rama, M

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Publication Type:: Chapter
Citation:: The Political Economy of Business Ethics in East Asia: A Historical and Comparative Perspective, 2017, pp. 79 - 94
Issue Date:: 2017-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dalton, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9507-1447	en_US
dc.contributor.author	dela Rama, M https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7879-4750	en_US
dc.date.issued	2017-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	The Political Economy of Business Ethics in East Asia: A Historical and Comparative Perspective, 2017, pp. 79 - 94	en_US
dc.identifier.isbn	9780081006900	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/66687
dc.description.abstract	© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. For many decades Korea's economic and political elites have portrayed the leaders of South Korea's chaebols as men of high moral standing, prepared to make whatever sacrifice is necessary for the good of their country-in essence as model nationalist capitalists. This portrayal has been regularly challenged by groups within Korean civil society. In recent times, the so-called "chaebol legitimacy problem" has become even more acute in the wake of their attempts to maintain family ownership through passing on chaebol ownership from father to son. In this chapter, we discuss the relevance of Lie's (1992a, 1992b) concept of "modes of exchange" and Lie's four typologies of modes of exchange: market, manorial, mercantile, and entrepreneurial to understand the different interpretations of the concept of "business ethics" coexisting in contemporary Korea. We argue that in postwar Korea there has been no linear or clearly staged trajectory from one mode of exchange to another. Instead, features of manorial, mercantile and, more recently, market and entrepreneurial modes have coexisted. In this context of mixed modes, the "rules of the game" including how they apply to the behavior of political and economic elites are more fluid. This uncertainty provides elites with the opportunity to rationalize and justify certain practices. However, as the Korean economy and democracy has matured and become more exposed to exogenous shocks some rules of the game are shifting and political and economic elites' past justification strategies are no longer working.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	The Political Economy of Business Ethics in East Asia: A Historical and Comparative Perspective	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/B978-0-08-100690-0.00005-1	en_US
dc.title	Business Ethics in Korea: Chaebol Dynastic Practices and the Uneven Transition From a Market to an Entrepreneurial Mode of Exchange	en_US
dc.type	Chapter
utslib.for	160502 Arts and Cultural Policy	en_US
utslib.for	160512 Social Policy	en_US
utslib.for	160805 Social Change	en_US
utslib.for	150303 Corporate Governance and Stakeholder Engagement	en_US
utslib.for	1503 Business and Management	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Management Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. For many decades Korea's economic and political elites have portrayed the leaders of South Korea's chaebols as men of high moral standing, prepared to make whatever sacrifice is necessary for the good of their country-in essence as model nationalist capitalists. This portrayal has been regularly challenged by groups within Korean civil society. In recent times, the so-called "chaebol legitimacy problem" has become even more acute in the wake of their attempts to maintain family ownership through passing on chaebol ownership from father to son. In this chapter, we discuss the relevance of Lie's (1992a, 1992b) concept of "modes of exchange" and Lie's four typologies of modes of exchange: market, manorial, mercantile, and entrepreneurial to understand the different interpretations of the concept of "business ethics" coexisting in contemporary Korea. We argue that in postwar Korea there has been no linear or clearly staged trajectory from one mode of exchange to another. Instead, features of manorial, mercantile and, more recently, market and entrepreneurial modes have coexisted. In this context of mixed modes, the "rules of the game" including how they apply to the behavior of political and economic elites are more fluid. This uncertainty provides elites with the opportunity to rationalize and justify certain practices. However, as the Korean economy and democracy has matured and become more exposed to exogenous shocks some rules of the game are shifting and political and economic elites' past justification strategies are no longer working.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/66687