Does Leadership Matter in Performance of Social Enterprises in South Korea?

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article is really interesting.

I think that understanding in which way the different styles of leadership can affect the objectives of social and non profit entreprises is a very relevant and interesting topic. Evenmore, I think that it is totally aligned with 2025 goals.  It is really relevant because it gives  the clue of about how need the leaders (in general) need to be when you are willing to address social issues (not just economic).   There are a lot of articles about the different leadership styles, though I think that there is a lack of a systematic analysis about how they impact in non for profil and social organizations. I think that this article could be a first step to go further analysizing the whys, or even trying to establish a prottype of the perfect leader for an organization. Because we need to take into account that now is not enough to  get good economic results, it is also critical for companies to handle social and sustainability issues.   my only suggestion to the authors will be to try to research further and try to understand how a leader should be for addressing social issues.

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report

Dear author,

 

This letter regards the review of the manuscript entitled “Does Leadership Matter on Performance of Social Enterprises 2 in South Korea?”. Thanks for submitting your article which resorts to a very interesting and relevant topic nowadays. I will suggest minor comments that can positively contribute to your publication.

 

I briefly highlight some remarks:

• I kindly suggest reframing the first paragraph of your abstract: “This study aims to find whether there is no problem in applying the leadership emphasized in a profit-firm to a non-profit-firm such as a social enterprise, since social enterprises pursue economic and social objectives simultaneously”. As this is your “research problem”, it should be more clearly stated.
• Line 33-34: This is central to social enterprise theory; thus, I strongly suggest referencing literature in hybridity and tensions (not only Smith and Newman), E.g., 10.5465/amj.2011.0405
• Please increase the quality of Figure 1.
• Please clarify the source of Figure 1, and cite according to the journal guidelines.
• Section 2.1 could be better distributed by relating what a social enterprise is and what is understood in South Korea. As it is presented, it is mixed between the literature and the context.
• I would suggest adding the hypothesis numbers and correlations (+/-) to Figure 1.
• Line 539 can be quite paradoxical: “the results of this study show both similar and dissimilar aspects compared to those of studies targeting for-profit companies”. This could be stated differently… For instance, XX aspects confirm the literature, YY aspects are dissimilar to literature (as line 540 does).
• Please start the conclusions section by reframing your research questions and how did you approach them. Then, move to show the originality of your manuscript. You are not expected to discuss more authors in the conclusions, that you can keep it in the discussion. More importantly, you should put your conclusions in the South Korean context, which looks less addressed in your conclusions. Thus, it will have important implications for policy-makers in South Korea, as you previously stated in the introduction. Finally, please try to be more specific on what you recommend as future research lines, maybe framing specific questions or providing ideas in blocks of themes.

 

Thanks again for submitting this interesting paper and exciting topic.

 

I hope these comments are helpful for your research.

 

Best regards,

Reviewer

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report

Review Report Sustainability

Does leadership matter on performance of social enterprises in South Korea?

Review

The paper investigates different types of leadership and their impact on the performance of social enterprises.

Minor issues

The aim is differently stated in line 63-65 and in line 324-326. Please correct!

The reference to MLQ-5X is confusing. From which scale (i.e., idealized influence-behaviour, inspirational motivation etc.) was the items selected? As I understand it the MLQ5X only contains 4 items per scale.

The figure 1 is rather fuzzy. Please check if it is possible to make it sharper.

Avoid first person writing when not necessary (e.g., line 60).

Please add a subheading in the methods section “Data analysis” describing the steps taken when analysing your data.

For correlation, is it Pearson’s r you are reporting?

Table 4 names variable 3 two times in the first column. Please correct!

When reporting p-values of p=0.1 as significant, please add in the text that it is a two-tailed test (e.g., line 468).

Table 6 is skewed for the row describing Leader trust. Please correct!

Add a reference to the literature in sentence that ends in line 543 in the discussion section.

Rearrange the ending of the discussion section. Suggestion: rename the section describing the findings (line 610-617) and call it “Conclusions”. Conclusions should be a brief section without any references describing the implications of the findings of the study.

Move the section describing the limitations of the study letting it end the discussion section before you state your conclusions.

Author Response

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Reviewer 4 Report

The purpose of the study is clear and relevant.

The study of leadership styles and their effectiveness in social companies still needs to be deepened, which is why this paper is justified.

The methodology is appropriate.

Due to the high number of hypotheses in the study, the presentation of results is confusing. This aspect has special relevance in the discussion chapter. In my opinion, the authors should systematize the discussion of the results, eventually schematically. A table with the results of the hypotheses and the confirmation or not of other studies, would perhaps clarify the added value of this study.
The conclusion is too long. It starts with a description that is unnecessary. The citations in the conclusions are not appropriate.

Author Response

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