Empowering leadership and socio-technological practices: an empirical investigation of BTS’s success

Purpose This study explores the global phenomenon of BangTan Sonyeondan (BTS), a Korean singing group, from an under-researched art and entertainment market perspective. We introduce a research model to delineate the impacts of leadership motivation, socio-technological practices and global prominence outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical foundation clarifies the research context, justifying the relevance of key concepts, linking them to primary research questions and forming the basis for a well-structured empirical investigation. Our research model presents the flows of leadership influence, training practices, technology use and global prominence outcomes. Utilizing a survey instrument, we gathered data from BTS fans and analyzed the empirical findings. Findings BTS’s success is attributed to unique factors: (1) upstream flow of leadership influence; (2) process flow of internal service training and technological excellence, fostering stakeholder enthusiasm. The results indicate that service empowerment leadership is crucial in driving talent development and appropriate technology use, enhancing brand reputation. Fan loyalty and collective passion are key moderators in these dynamics. Research limitations/implications While focused on BTS, our findings have broader applicability in entertainment organizations, underscoring the relevance of socio-technological theory in understanding phenomena similar to BTS’s success. Practical implications Long-term brand performance in service organizations extends beyond financial metrics and necessitates empowering service leadership, training for key performers, technological infrastructure and managing personal interactions and group dynamics. Originality/value This study is unique in applying a leadership motivation perspective and socio-technological theory to BTS’s long-term success, utilizing BTS fans’ views to examine and assess their success factors and outcomes.