Sven Horak is the Zizza Tobin Professor of Management at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John's University in New York. He works in the area of global management, international HR and leadership. His research enhances the theoretical and practical understanding on how informality and informal networking influences the practice of global management in its respective domains. In his work, he explores informal structures and the drivers and ideals of informal networking, which helps global managers to connect and to improve their networking capabilities.

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Infographics on Informal Networks - Free to use for educational purposes (click image)

                   

Based on book: Horak, S. (Ed.), 2022. Informal Networks in International Business. Emerald Publishing, Bingley, UK.
ISBN 978-1839828799 » Get it from Amazon

Talks, Panels, Podcasts, Keynotes, etc.

  

   

Publications

Freiberg, T., Horak, S., & Bonchev, B., 2024.
Sustainable Talent Acquisition: Five Best Practices for Referral-based Hiring.
Mercer White Papers, Mercer, New York.
   » DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36153.58726
   » Link
   » Print


Farndale, E., Horak, S., Piyanontalee, R., Puffer, S. M., & Vidović, M., 2024.
Looking back to look forward: disruption, innovation and future trends in International Human Resource Management.
International Business Review, forthcoming.
   » DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102362
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102362
   » Preprint


Alsarhan, F., Horak, S., & Darwish, T. K., 2024.

Relational Gatekeeper Behaviour of HR Managers in the Middle East: The Role of Informal Networks.
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 35(16), 2635-2673.
   » DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2024.2359517
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2024.2359517
   » Preprint


Horak, S., Klein, A., Ahlstrom, D., & Li, X., 2024.
Resilience or Decline of Informal Networks? Examining the Role of Trust Context in Network Societies.
International Business Review, forthcoming.
   » DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102301
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102301
   » Preprint


Horak, S.; Freiberg, T.; Bonchev, B.; Eger, M., 2024.
Strategic AI Adoption in Talent Acquisition Today: Overcoming Barriers and Unveiling Future Possibilities.
Mercer White Papers, Mercer, New York.
   » DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13923.77608
   » Link

   » Print


Horak, S., 2024.
Informal Networks.
In C. Asmussen, N. Hashai, & D. Minbaeva (Eds.), Encyclopedia of International Strategic Management (pp. 166-167). Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
   » DOI: 10.4337/9781800884045.ch45
   » Link:https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800884045.ch45
   » Preprint


van Bakel, M. & Horak, S., 2024.
Social Capital Theory.
In Hutchings, K., Michailova, S., & Wilkinson, A. A Guide to Key Theories for Human Resource Management Research (pp. 261-267), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
   » DOI: 10.4337/9781035308767.ch33
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035308767.ch33
   » Preprint


Farndale, E., Paauwe, J., Boselie, P. & Horak, S., 2024.
Corporate Scandals as Punctuating Events That Change Human Resource Roles.
Journal of Management, inpress.
   » DOI: 10.1177/01492063231226137
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063231226137
   » Preprint


Horak, S.; Abosag, I.; Hutchings, K.; Alsarhan, F.; Ali, S.; Al-Twal, A.; Weir, D.; ALHussan, F.B., & AL-Husan, F.B., 2023.
Questioning the Appropriateness of Examining Guanxi in a Wasta Environment: Why Context Should be Front and Center in Informal Network Research.
Management and Organization Review, 19(5), 1040–1045.
   » DOI: 10.1017/mor.2023.26
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2023.26 
   » Preprint


Horak, S. & Suseno, Y., 2023.
Informal Networks, Informal Institutions, and Social Exclusion in the Workplace: Insights from Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations in Korea.
Journal of Business Ethics, 186(3), 633-655.
   » DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05244-5
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05244-5 
   » Manuscript (open access)


Minbaeva, D.; Ledeneva, A.; Muratbekova-Touron, M., & Horak, S. (2023).
Explaining the persistence of informal institutions: The role of informal networks.
Academy of Management Review, 48(3), 556-574.
   » DOI: 10.5465/amr.2020.0224
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2020.0224 
   » Preprint


Horak, S. & Paik, Y., 2023.
Informal Network Context: Deepening the Knowledge and Extending the Boundaries of Social Network Research in International Human Resource Management.
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(12), 2367-2403.
   » DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2022.2090268
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2022.2090268
   » Preprint


Jakobsen, M.; Worm, V, & Horak, S., 2023.
Compassion in the International Business Studies – Prospects for Future Research
critical perspectives on international business, forthcoming
   » DOI: 10.1108/cpoib-01-2021-0012
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-01-2021-0012
   » Preprint


Horak, S. & Bader, V. 2023.
Persistence and strengths of informal networks - Clientelism in the post-Soviet Union.
European Journal of International Management, 19(2), 265-294.
   » DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2020.10021180
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2020.10021180
   » Preprint


Arya, B.; Horak, S.; Bacouël-Jentjens, S. & Ismail, K., 2023.
Leading Entrepreneurial Sustainability Initiatives in Emerging Economies.
International Journal of Emerging Markets, 18(1), 64-85.
   » DOI: 10.1108/IJOEM-08-2020-0951
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-08-2020-0951
   » Preprint


Stefanidis, A.; Casselman, M. & Horak, S., 2022.
Twenty-five Years of Management Research on Poverty: A Systematic Review of the Literature and a Research Agenda. 
Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility, forthcoming.
   » DOI: 10.1111/beer.12503
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12503
   » Preprint


Klein, A.; Horak, S.; Ahlf, H. & Nihalani, K., 2022.
Influence of Informal Institutions on Commitment to Customer Service in Confucian Asia.
Management Decision, forthcoming.
   » DOI: 10.1108/MD-10-2021-1286
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2021-1286
   » Preprint


Heinrich, T.; Arya, B.; Haering, A., & Horak, S., 2022.
Costly information acquisition: The influence of stakeholder earnings.
Journal of Economic Psychology, in press.
   » DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2022.102504
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2022.102504
   » Preprint


Lee, J.; Paik, Y.; Horak, S., & Yang, I., 2022.
Turning a liability into an asset of foreignness: Managing informal networks in Korea.
Business Horizons, 65(3), 351-364.
   » DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2021.04.002
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2021.04.002
   » Preprint


Horak, S.; Klein, A.; Li, X. (2022).
Can general and particularistic types of trust mix? Advancing the trust (dis-)continuity debate in a Chinese context.
International Journal of Emerging Markets, 17(5), 1273-1291.
   » DOI: 10.1108/IJOEM-07-2020-0745
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-07-2020-0745 
   » Preprint


Horak, S.; Afiouni, F.; Bian, Y.; Ledeneva, A.; Muratbekova-Touron, M., Fey, C., 2020.
Informal Networks: Dark Sides, Bright Sides, and Unexplored Dimensions.
Management and Organization Review, 16(3), 511-542.
   » DOI: 10.1017/mor.2020.28  
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/mor.2020.28
   » Preprint


Yang, I.; Horak, S. & Kakabadse, N.K., 2021.
An Integrative Ethical Approach to Leader Favoritism.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 30(1), 90-101.
   » DOI: 10.1111/beer.12309
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/beer.12309
   » Preprint


Yang, I.; Horak, S. & Chi, S.-C., 2021.
Leader humor effectiveness – The divergent dynamics of leader humor over time in East Asia and North America.
Thunderbird International Business Review, 63(3), 383-395.
   » DOI: 10.1002/tie.22180
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tie.22180
   » Preprint


Horak, S., 2020.
Are Informal Networks Predominantly an Emerging Market Phenomenon? (pp. 125-137).
In C. Storz & M. Taube (eds.), Firms, Institutions, and the State in East Asia: A Festschrift in Honour of Werner Pascha. Marburg: Metropolis.
  » Preprint 


Farndale, E.; Horak, S.; Phillips, J. & Beamond, M., 2019.
Facing complexity, crisis and risk: Opportunities and challenges in International Human Resource Management.
Thunderbird International Business Review, 61(3), 465-470.
   » DOI: 10.1002/tie.22037
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tie.22037
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2018.
From Cross-Cultural Economic Experiments to Experimental Indigenous Management Research.
Management and Organization Review, 14(4), 651-691.
   » DOI: 10.1017/mor.2018.39
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/mor.2018.39
   » Preprint  


Ahlf, H.; Horak, S.; Klein, A. & Yoon, S.W., 2019.
Demographic Homophily, Communication, and Trust in Intra-Organizational Business Relationships.
Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 34(2), 474-487.
   » DOI: 10.1108/JBIM-03-2018-0093
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-03-2018-0093 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Long, C., 2018.
Dissolving the Paradox: Toward a Yin–Yang Perspective on the Power and Trust Antagonism in Collaborative Business Relationships.
Supply Chain Management, 23(6), 573-590.
   » DOI: 10.1108/SCM-01-2018-0013
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/SCM-01-2018-0013
   » Preprint  


Klein, A.; Horak, S.; Bacouël-Jentjens, S. & Li, X., 2020.
Does culture frame technological innovativeness? A study of millennials in triad countries.
European Journal of International Management, forthcoming.
   » DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2019.10016816
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2019.10016816
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. 2019.
Yongo
Global Informality Project (INF), 2019.
Online, based on The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality (Ed. A. Ledeneva)
   » Further information


Horak, S. 2019.
Jinmyaku
Global Informality Project (INF), 2019.
Online, based on The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality (Ed. A. Ledeneva)
   » Further information


Horak, S., Taube, M.; Yang, I. & Restel, K., 2019.
Two not of a kind: Social network theory and informal social networks in East Asia.
Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(2), 349-372.
   » DOI: 10.1007/s10490-018-9602-z
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-018-9602-z
   » Preprint  


Horak, S.; Klein, A.; Svirina, A., 2020.
Trust, Reciprocity and Reputation in Informal Networks in Post-Soviet Russia.
European Journal of International Management, forthcoming.
   » DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2019.10016844
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2019.10016844
   » Preprint  


Yang, I. & Horak, S., 2018.
Emotions, indigenous affective ties, and social network theory - The case of South Korea.
Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(2), 395-414.
   » DOI: 10.1007/s10490-017-9555-7
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-017-9555-7 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., Farndale, E., Brannen, M.Y. & Collings, D., 2019.
International Human Resource Management in an Era of Political Nationalism.
Thunderbird International Business Review, 61(3), 471-480.
   » DOI: 10.1002/tie.21959
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tie.21959
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., Arya, B. & Ismail, K., 2018.
Organizational Sustainability Determinants in Different Cultural Settings: A Conceptual Framework.
Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(4), 528-546.
   » DOI: 10.1002/bse.2018
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.2018
   » Preprint 


Horak, S. & Yang, I., 2019.
Whither seniority? Career progression and performance orientation in South Korea.
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(9), 1419-1447.
   » DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2017.1362659 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1362659 
   » Preprint  


Yang, I. & Horak, S., 2019.
Formal and informal practices in contemporary Korean management.
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(22), 3113-3137.
   » DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2017.1342683 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1342683 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Yang, I., 2018.
A complementary perspective on business ethics in South Korea – Civil religion, common misconceptions, and overlooked social structures.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 27(1), 1-14.
   » DOI: 10.1111/beer.12153 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/beer.12153 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2016.
Decision-making behavior, gender differences, and cultural context variables.
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 16(3), 281-299.  
   » DOI: 10.1177/1470595816665131
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1470595816665131
   » Preprint  


Rowley, C.; Bae, J.; Horak, S. & Bacouël-Jentjens, S., 2017.
Distinctiveness of Human Resource Management in the Asia Pacific Region: Typologies and Levels.
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(10), 1393-1408.
   » DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2016.1189151 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1189151 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Cui, J.J., 2017.
Firm Size, Financial Performance and Risk Behavior of Gender-Diversified Boards in the Chinese Automotive Industry – Initial Insights.
Personnel Review, 46(4), 847-866.
   » DOI: 10.1108/PR-10-2015-0274 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2015-0274 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Nihalani, K. 2016.
Social Networks, Vertical Core Competencies and Sales Management in Korea.
Management Decision, 54(8), 1929-1946.
   » DOI: 10.1108/MD-06-2015-0230 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MD-06-2015-0230 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2018.
Join in or opt out? A normative-ethical analysis of affective ties and networks in South Korea.
Journal of Business Ethics, 149(1), 207-220.
   » DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3125-7 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3125-7
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Yang, I., 2016.
Affective networks, informal ties, and the limits of expatriate effectiveness.
International Business Review, 25(5), 1030-1042.
   » DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.01.006
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.01.006
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Restel, K., 2016.
A dynamic typology of informal institutions: Learning from the case of Guanxi.
Management and Organization Review, 12(3), 525-546.
   » DOI: 10.1017/mor.2015.51 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/mor.2015.51 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Taube, M., 2016.
Same but different? Similarities and fundamental differences of informal social networks in China (guanxi) and Korea (yongo).
Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 33(3), 595-616.
   » DOI: 10.1007/s10490-015-9452-x 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-015-9452-x 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2017.
The informal dimension of Human Resource Management in Korea - Yongo, recruiting practices and career progression.
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(10), 1409-1432.
   » DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2015.1089062 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1089062 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2015.
Extreme males - balanced females: sharing behavior in Korea.
Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(8), 652 - 662.
   » DOI: 10.1108/GM-12-2014-0121
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/GM-12-2014-0121 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S. & Klein, A., 2016.
Persistence of informal social networks in East Asia: Evidence from South Korea.
Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 33(3), 673-694.
   » DOI: 10.1007/s10490-015-9416-1 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-015-9416-1 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2015.
Culture or anonymity? Differences in proposer behaviour in Korea and Germany.
International Journal of Psychology, 50(5), 397–401.
   » DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12142 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12142
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2015.
The multi-dimensional influence of informal social networks in Korea – Propositions for future management research.
Journal of General Management, 40(2), 47-65.
   » DOI: 10.1177/030630701404000204
   » Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/030630701404000204
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2015.
Approaching Korean business and management ideals through the lens of Yongo. A scholar-practitioner perspective.
Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 16(3), 210-222.
   » DOI: 10.1080/10599231.2015.1062315 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10599231.2015.1062315 
   » Preprint  


Saeki, Y. & Horak, S., 2014.
Trust and the cultivation of relation-specific skills. Evidence from a multinational automotive supplier in Japan and Germany.
Management Decision, 52(8), 1433- 1450.
   » DOI: 10.1108/MD-09-2013-0460 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MD-09-2013-0460 
   » Preprint  


Horak, S., 2014.
Antecedents and characteristics of informal relation-based networks in Korea: Yongo, Yonjul and Inmaek.
Asia Pacific Business Review, 20(1), 78-108.
   » DOI: 10.1080/13602381.2013.791567 
   » Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13602381.2013.791567 
   » Preprint

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