This study aimed to empirically investigate the drivers of sustainable growth in the hair and beauty service industry, an area centered on human emotion, skilled techniques, and face-to-face services, amid the accelerating wave of Digital Transformati...
This study aimed to empirically investigate the drivers of sustainable growth in the hair and beauty service industry, an area centered on human emotion, skilled techniques, and face-to-face services, amid the accelerating wave of Digital Transformation (DX) catalyzed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic. The research sought to analyze the structural relationships among the leader's Authentic Leadership, the organization's Organizational Culture Types, the perception of Digital Transformation, and the Innovative Behavior of members, considering the unique characteristics of the beauty sector, such as high emotional labor, frequent turnover, and the master-apprentice technical transfer system.
Valid survey data were collected from 453 hair salon workers in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area, and the causal relationships between variables were verified using multiple regression analysis. The analysis results confirmed the theoretical construct validity of the measurement tools used: Authentic Leadership (Relational Transparency, Self-Awareness, Internalized Moral Perspective, Balanced Processing), Organizational Culture Types (Hierarchy Culture, Market Culture, Clan Culture, Adhocracy Culture), Digital Transformation (Digital Acceptance, Digital Utilization), and Innovative Behavior (Work Implementation Capability, Creative Thinking).
The key hypothesis testing results are as follows.
First, all four sub-factors of the leader's Authentic Leadership and all four sub-factors of the Organizational Culture Types were found to have a significant positive (+) influence on both the Digital Acceptance and Digital Utilization of members. This confirms that the leader's genuine attitude and a positive organizational environment are crucial antecedents that enhance employees' psychological safety toward change, enabling them to accept and apply new digital technologies in their work.
Second, Authentic Leadership and all four Organizational Culture Types significantly and positively influenced Innovative Behavior (Work Implementation Capability, Creative Thinking). In particular, Internalized Moral Perspective within Authentic Leadership showed the greatest influence on Creative Thinking, confirming that the trust generated by a leader who operates the organization fairly and ethically is the greatest foundation for driving employees' voluntary generation of creative ideas. Furthermore, regarding Organizational Culture, not only the Innovation-Oriented culture but also the Hierarchy Culture, Market Culture, and Relationship-Oriented Culture all positively influenced innovation. This suggests that, given the specific nature of the beauty industry, innovation is stably manifested when the four cultures interact complementarily and create synergy.
Third, the analysis of the influence of Digital Transformation on Innovative Behavior revealed that both Digital Acceptance and Digital Utilization had a positive (+) influence on Innovative Behavior, with Digital Utilization generally showing a stronger effect on innovative behavior than acceptance. This proves that active DX execution capability—such as analyzing CRM data and planning SNS marketing strategies—beyond mere technology adoption, is the core driver of innovation in hair salons.
These findings present a concrete, practical roadmap for hair salon managers, suggesting that successful digital transformation and organizational innovation require prior investment in the leader's genuine attitude and the establishment of a balanced organizational culture, rather than just the adoption of expensive equipment. Ultimately, this study contributes to the expansion of organizational behavior theory in high-emotion, high-skill, and human-resource-intensive industries and provides academic and practical groundwork for achieving sustained growth in a rapidly changing digital environment.
However, to compensate for the limitation of the current cross-sectional study confined to the metropolitan area, future research using longitudinal designs and objective performance indicators to verify mediating effects is suggested.