Facework and Its Effects in Korean Firms

Facework is a dominant form of interaction behavior in Confucian culture. Traders from Western culture may confront difficulties to build up sound business relationship with Korean managers if they do not understand the role of facework in Korean firms. This paper examines the effects of facework on manager s emotional, behavioral and judgmental responses in Korean firms. An In-Basket material experiment using a 2 (the other s performance: high versus low) x 2 (the other s facework: face-giving versus face-impairing) factorial design was conducted on Korean managers. The results show that managers respond favorably toward the face-giving person who causes them to save face. Managers show negative emotions and would not support the face-impairing person who causes them to lose face in front of others. The results imply that, in Korea, facework as well as performance is one of the crucial elements to build up constructive relationship.