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Korean Academic Society of Business Administration
[ Article ]
korean management review - Vol. 52, No. 6, pp.1293-1324
ISSN: 1226-1874 (Print)
Print publication date 31 Dec 2023
Received 21 Aug 2023 Accepted 11 Oct 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2023.52.6.1293

통제변수의 활용: 변수의 선택과 투입 절차에 관한 제언

Won-Woo Park ; Minju Oh ; Minjun Yoo
(First Author) Professor, College of Business Administration, Seoul National University wwpark@snu.ac.kr
(Co-Author) Seoul National University omj0216@snu.ac.kr
(Corresponding Author) Seoul National University leadership@snu.ac.kr
Control Variable Usage: Recommendations for Procedures of Selection and Inclusion


Copyright 2023 THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

In social sciences, controlling extraneous variables is crucial to enhance validity and generalizability of a research. However, due to the practical difficulties of experimental designs, most non-experimental research often relies on statistical methods to control the variables. Based on this reality, there have been numerous conceptual and theoretical discussions recently regarding the proper usage of control variables. However, previous studies on the selection, inclusion, and levels of control variables, despite the interrelated nature of their discussions, have limitations as they have been conducted independently and in fragmented ways. To overcome this, we propose an integrated model for the utilization of control variables by synthesizing previous research. Further, to offer a practical help, we provide standardized guideline of control variable usage. Based on the 13 criteria of the integrated model, we analyzed how the control variables were used in 771 articles of Korean Management Review and Korean Journal of Management published from 2011 through 2023. Then, recommendations for the desirable approaches in using control variables are provided, followed by discussions on future research directions.

Keywords:

Non-experimental research, Variance control, Control variable

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Institute of Management Research at Seoul National University.

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∙ The author Won-Woo Park is received Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from Seoul National University, and Ph.D. (1989) from the University of Pittsburgh. He worked as a faculty member of some private universities of the USA and of South Korea before joining Seoul National University in 1998. He published about 130 research articles and 16 books, received teaching awards from both the college (Business School) and the university (SNU). He was the recipient of the ‘2020 Emerald Literati Award’ from Emerald Publishing.

∙ The author Minju Oh is currently attending the Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at Seoul National University. She received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Political Science, and International Relations from Kyung Hee University and Master’s degree in Business Administration from Seoul National University. Her current research interests are leadership and motivation.

∙ The author Minjun Yoo is graduated from the Republic of Korea Naval Academy and received a master's degree in Defense Management (majoring in Leadership) from the Korea National Defense University (2019). Currently, he is serving as a Navy Lieutenant and is a Ph.D. candidate in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at Seoul National University. His current research interests are ethical leadership and motivation.