삶의 질 & 공공관리

Green spaces are widely considered to be critical resources for maintaining human health and individual wellbeing. Despite the growing interest in features of green spaces for well-being, the beneficial effects of green spaces have not been fully investigated, in part due to the lack of a proper measurement scale that captures the perceived multidimensional value of green space usage. To address this measurement gap, using a needs satisfaction and bottom-up spillover approach, this study develops and validates a multidimensional measurement scale,  the Green Space Use Satisfaction Scale (GUSS), for assessing comprehensive and diverse experiences of green space usage. Using data from two surveys conducted in South Korea (N = 314 and N = 709), this study presents a validated scale consisting of 25 items with 5 factors (social, aesthetic, growth, knowledge, and health needs) through a series of measurement development procedures. All sub-dimensions of the measurement scale are positively and significantly associated with both citizen satisfaction with the use of green spaces and perceived mental wellbeing. Theoretical and practical implications for future research are discussed in the conclusion.

Extensive scholarly debate still exists on the determinants of local policy decisions. Although many studies have explained how political, economic, institutional, and demographic factors influence local policy decisions, they have rarely applied the concept of QoL in existing public administration and policy literature. To examine the impact of QoL on local policy decisions, this study tests the relationships between QoL and local budgetary decisions, based on Peterson’s (1981) scheme that divides policy into three areas: developmental, allocational, and redistributive. Using local government expenditures and citizen surveys data from 167 municipalities in the U.S., this study finds that community QoL is a critical factor in all of the three policy spending areas. It also confirms that the impact of QoL on local spending is moderated differently across the three areas by city income levels. The findings may help local government scholars and practitioners to better understand complex and dynamic citizen needs, which in turn may result in more responsive policy decisions.

Given the growing importance of climate technology and its early stage of industrial development, the Korean government has supported climate-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through various policy measures, including credit guarantees. Although the extant literature argues that government financial support plays an important role in the growth of high-tech firms, research has been limited on the impacts of government financial support on company growth in the context of the climate-related industry. Using a sample of 582 climate-tech SMEs in Korea, this study explores the moderating effects of credit guarantees on the relationship between patents and firms’ sales growth as well as their direct effects on growth. This study found that credit guarantees and patent registration have positive effects on the increase in sales volume. Additionally, credit guarantees appear to weaken the relationship between patent registration and the sales growth rate. Based on these findings, we propose that, to develop the climate-technology industry, the voluntary innovation efforts of enterprises should be encouraged and credit guarantees should be provided for SMEs. In terms of managerial interventions, the government should especially avoid providing excessive benefits.

By analyzing survey data on nuclear energy policy in South Korea, this study examined the influence of citizens’ knowledge on the perceptions of and attitudes to government communication initiatives that are characterized by symmetry and transparency, and their effects in developing institutional legitimacy and policy acceptance. The findings indicate that symmetrical and transparent communication are involved in forming institutional legitimacy and policy acceptance of government decisions on the controversial topic of nuclear energy, but the process differs depending on citizens’ knowledge of the topic. Well-informed citizens who used reasoning were more likely than others to respond positively to symmetrical and transparent communication, which shaped their support for institutional legitimacy and policy acceptance on nuclear energy policy issues. These findings provide some of the first empirical evidence of the effectiveness of government communication.

Although organizational social capital (OSC) is widely considered a potential resource for improving organizational performance, extensive research has paid limited attention to how employee well-being may be a positive outcome of OSC. Drawing on social exchange theory, need satisfaction, and spillover approaches, this study explores the effects of OSC on subjective well-being (SWB) through quality of work life (QWL) and job-related outcomes, such as organizational commitment and turnover intention. Using survey data obtained from public employees in South Korea, the results show that QWL mediates not only the association between OSC and organizational commitment but also the relationship between OSC and SWB. These findings highlight the importance of OSC as an intangible asset that can generate both organizational outcomes and employee well-being. In practice, these findings also imply that organizational resources and work environments should favorably respond to employees’ human needs to ensure improved employee well-being.

The informal dimension of organizational experience can shape performance-relevant employee behavior, including voluntary turnover. The authors develop a multi-stage model of turnover intention relevant to public organizations based on the quality of informal intra-organizational employee ties. Specifically, the authors argue that organizational social capital reduces turnover intention both directly and indirectly via its influence on person-organization fit, organizational cynicism and job satisfaction.

The authors use data from a survey of 946 Korean public sector employees and partial least squares structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. A number of checks are performed to evaluate the integrity of the data and probe the robustness of the results.

The authors find that there is a significant link between organizational social capital and turnover intention, but that this relationship is fully mediated by the specified intervening processes. Social capital is associated with increased P-O fit, increased job satisfaction and reduced cynicism. In turn, P-O fit reduces turnover intention both directly and indirectly via increased job satisfaction and reduced cynicism.

While a number of studies demonstrate the value of organizational social capital, the current study works through the theoretical mechanisms by which social capital is transformed into valued organizational outputs. Some of these are specifically relevant to public organizations. The authors describe the model's practical relevance and suggest research questions that can build upon our findings. The authors also note the study's limitations.

Although family-friendly policies (FFPs) accommodate the interests of both an organization and its employees, the extant literature has paid limited attention to how employee wellbeing can be a positive outcome of FFPs. Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and spillover theory, this study examines the relationship between FFPs and employees’ subjective wellbeing (SWB) through their sense of work-life balance (WLB) and organizational commitment. Using a survey of 946 South Korean public employees and partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM), this study finds that FFPs are positively and indirectly associated with SWB via its influence on WLB and organizational commitment. The findings imply that through positive spillover effects, FFPs as job resources can generate greater organizational outcomes and better employee wellbeing.