Investigating the Relationship between Agile Leadership and Startup Organizational Performance : Exploring the Mediating Role of Learning Agility

Investigating the Relationship between Agile Leadership and Startup Organizational Performance : Exploring the Mediating Role of Learning Agility

As the 4th Industrial Revolution progresses, the importance of startups was increasingly emphasized. Nevertheless, the five-year survival rate of Korean startups was lower than that of OECD countries. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between agile leadership, learning agility, and organizational performance of startups under the premise that organizational performance was most important for startups to achieve sustainable growth. For the empirical analysis, agile leadership was set as an independent variable, learning agility was set as a mediating variable, and organizational performance was set as a dependent variable. Data was collected from startup employees across the country, and 197 valid samples were selected for analysis. The empirical analysis used Process Macro 4.2. As a result of the empirical analysis, agile leadership was found to have a significant positive effect on startup organizational performance. Additionally, agile leadership had a positive (+) effect on learning agility, and learning agility had a positive (+) effect on startup organizational performance. As a result of analyzing the mediating effect of learning agility, learning agility was found to play a mediating role between agile leadership and organizational performance. Academically, these research results tested the usefulness of agile leadership suited to the startup culture among various leadership styles that can improve the organizational performance of startups. In practical terms, such agile leadership not only directly affects organizational performance, but also through the learning agility of startup employees. This means that by creating a culture of learning agility that encourages startup employees to continuously learn and adapt, startups can increase their chances of survival and success.

As the 4th Industrial Revolution progresses, the importance of startups was increasingly emphasized. Nevertheless, the five-year survival rate of Korean startups was lower than that of OECD countries. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between agile leadership, learning agility, and organizational performance of startups under the premise that organizational performance was most important for startups to achieve sustainable growth. For the empirical analysis, agile leadership was set as an independent variable, learning agility was set as a mediating variable, and organizational performance was set as a dependent variable. Data was collected from startup employees across the country, and 197 valid samples were selected for analysis. The empirical analysis used Process Macro 4.2. As a result of the empirical analysis, agile leadership was found to have a significant positive effect on startup organizational performance. Additionally, agile leadership had a positive (+) effect on learning agility, and learning agility had a positive (+) effect on startup organizational performance. As a result of analyzing the mediating effect of learning agility, learning agility was found to play a mediating role between agile leadership and organizational performance. Academically, these research results tested the usefulness of agile leadership suited to the startup culture among various leadership styles that can improve the organizational performance of startups. In practical terms, such agile leadership not only directly affects organizational performance, but also through the learning agility of startup employees. This means that by creating a culture of learning agility that encourages startup employees to continuously learn and adapt, startups can increase their chances of survival and success.