Leadership and organizational culture in two international maquiladora companies: a comparative case between Mexico and South Korea

Abstract

Introduction. Leadership has an impact on the work culture of companies, this is the product of the communication flows that emerge within it. Objective. To compare the relationship between leadership and organizational culture of two international maquiladora companies, one located in Mexico and the other in South Korea. Materials and methods. A quantitative case study was made from 283 questionnaires. The variables of interest were organizational culture and leadership. Results. There is a positive link between leadership and the organizational culture of companies. Regarding the context of the company, the geographical location has a great influence, not only due to the physical environment that surrounds it, but also due to cultural, economic and political factors that affect its way of operation. Conclusion. The closer the leader is to his collaborators; the culture will be strengthened and there will be better labor synergy. Despite the fact that different leaderships prevail in the two companies studied, in none of the cases was an authoritarian or transforming leadership observed.