Purpose - This study investigates whether a listing effect exists in cross-border M&As and whether the effect can be attributed to the uncertainty of the GDP growth rate in the target firm's home country. We apply a joint variable analysis using M&A announcement data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) from 2004 to 2013. We also conduct an event study using the measure of the uncertainty of the GDP growth rate (based on IMF statistics) in 55 target countries. Design/methodology - We measure the abnormal return (AR) using the market-adjusted model. We test the significance of the AR and the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) using a one-sample t-test. We examine the characteristics of the CARs depending on whether the target company is listed by applying a difference analysis using CAR as a test variable. In addition, we set CAR (-5, +5) as a dependent variable to identify the cause of the listing effect, and test both the financial characteristic variables of the acquirer and the collective characteristic variables of the merger as independent variables in the multiple regression analysis. Findings - First, we find the listing effect of cross-border M&As in the KRX, SSE, and TWSE, which represent the capital markets in Korea, China, and Taiwan, respectively. This listing effect persists during the global financial crisis and has a negative effect on the wealth of acquiring shareholders, especially when the target countries are emerging markets. Second, greater uncertainty regarding the target countries' economic growth in cross-border M&As has a negative effect on the wealth of acquiring firms' shareholders. Third, our empirical analysis demonstrates that the listing effect is attributable to the fact that firms listed in a target country with greater uncertainty of economic growth are more directly and greatly exposed to uncertain capital markets through stock markets, than are unlisted firms. Originality/value - This study is significant in that it presents a new strategic perspective in the study of cross-border M&As by demonstrating empirically that the listing effect is attributable to the uncertainty regarding the economic development of the target firms' home countries.

Purpose - This paper analyzes how to interpret the legal view of the precedents to the UK Insurance Act 2015, comparing it to the UK Marine Insurance Act (MIA) 1906 with a focus on the relationship between the duty of uberrimae fidei and the duty of disclosure. Furthermore, this study focuses on the judgment of the Korean Supreme Court in a case, that examined whether the legal nature of the duty of disclosure or duty of uberrimae fidei in insurance law can be considered as a matter related to the insurer's liability when the applicable terms of English law are incorporated under the insurance contract. Design/methodology - This paper belongs to the field of explanatory legal study, which aims to explain and test whether the choice of law is linked to the conditions that occur in the reality of judicial practice. The approach that is used toward this problem is the legal analytical normative approach. The juridical approach involves studying and examining theories, concepts, legal doctrines and legislation that are related to the problem. Findings - Regarding the requirements and effects of breach of the duty of disclosure, if English law and the Korean Commercial Act are handled differently from each other and Korean law is recognized as the applicable law outside of the insurer's liability, it may be whether the insurer's immunity under English law is contrary to s.633 of the Korean Commercial Act. In considering the breach of the duty of disclosure as a matter of the insurer's liability, even if English law is applied as a governing law, the question of how to interpret the agreement of the governing law in this case may also be raised in the interpretation of Korean International Private Law in relation to the applicable law that applies to the rest of the matter, excluding the matters of liability. Originality/value - According to the Korean Supreme Court judgement under the governing law of the MIA 1906, the basis for recognizing the assured's pre-and post-contractual duty of disclosure is separate, and the only important matters to be notified by the assured after the conclusion of the insurance contract are those that are "relevant" and "material circumstances" that are "relevant" to the matter in question after the conclusion of the insurance contract.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the direct and indirect impact of innovation space factors on the growth of semiconductor enterprises. Design/methodology - This empirical study uses the financial statements of 83 semiconductor listed companies in 23 provinces from 2004 to 2019 approved by CSRC (2019). A stepwise regression and backward regression are employed in order to examine the role of innovation space to expand technology investment in promoting business growth and uses South Korean Samsung's investment in China as a test case. Findings - Results indicate that innovation space, technology input, geographical area, owner's background, operating years and financing liabilities all contribute to a boost in business growth. Factors such as carbon emission, financial liberalization, government efficiency, technology input, and financing liabilities further influence management growth. Innovation space follows a nonlinear pattern, and this plays a positive role in magnifying the influence of technology on management growth. Additionally, operations of the state-owned companies and expansionary financing enterprises are influenced by the external economy. Regarding the spatial distribution, the Samsung investment in 24 companies in China shows that Samsung focuses on the acquisition of scarce resources for semiconductor production as a component of its investment and innovation strategy. Originality/value - Even though prior research has considered the concepts studied here, this study contributes to empirically evaluate the direct impact of innovation space on business growth, and the indirect impact of innovation space on business growth through technology investment. This study includes an in-depth discussion of the practical effects that innovation space has on China's economy, using a case of South Korean Samsung's investment in China as a test the empirical findings.

Purpose - This paper examines how the consumer animosity of partner country influences the purchase of foreign products. We analyzed news sentiment to determine whether Chinese consumer's animosity affect the purchase of the products made in Korea around the time when the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system was deployed in South Korea. Design/methodology - To measure the tone of Chinese consumer animosity more carefully, we utilized a text mining technique of the Chinese language to read the public's opinion. Using Chinese news paper's editorials of 2015.1-2018.10, we analyzed the sentiment toward Korea and regressed it with Korean export to China. Findings - Empirical results report that Chinese consumers tended to reduce their purchase of consumer goods from Korea when the animosity increased, that is, the sentiments of Chinese news editorials were negative. In contrast, the animosity did not affect the purchase of Korean intermediates or raw materials. We further analyzed the effect by dividing the animosity into three categories; politics, economics, and culture. Among these groups, political news exhibits a unique effect on Chinese purchase on consumer goods from Korea. Originality/value - Existing literature on animosity models has measured the animosity by collecting the consumers' opinions through survey at a given time point, whereas it is measured by analyzing the tone of the press release by sentiment analysis during the time period around the event occurrence in this study.

Purpose - This paper attempts to compare five free trade agreements with gender chapters ratified by Chile and Canada and derives lessons for Korea in terms of gender-aware trade policy. While Chile and Canada have three and two FTAs with gender chapter respectively, Korea has none so far, although it has already ratified an FTA with the two countries. Design/methodology - This study first investigates all the gender-provisions with the gender chapters, conducts a comparative analysis on the five chapters as well as a case study of one target FTA's implementation and achievements, and finally suggests policy implications for Korea's trade administration as well as trade-related agencies. Findings - According to the analysis, there are three phases in terms of advancement in gender-related trade policy. As Chile is in phase two and Canada is in phase three, Korea remains in phase one. It has a ministry related to gender within the government, but not within the OMT. It has statistics on female business, but not of women traders. It has a few gender-related provisions in its FTAs, but not a gender chapter. In this sense, new mandates related to gender-aware trade policy for OMT, KITA, and KOTRA should be provided to realize the concrete economic benefits resulting from empowering women traders and policies promoting them. Originality/value - Existing studies only focus on introducing gender-related international commitments and Korea's participation in them. This paper is the first attempt to compare actual gender chapters of five FTAs ratified by two countries with the most advanced gender chapters in the world. To gain benefits from the positive gender impact of trade agreements, negotiating and signing gender responsive FTA with future partners is one of the most efficient, as well as inclusive, trade policies urgently needed for Korea.

Purpose - This paper examines the "Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" (the Arrangement), which became effective on October 1, 2019, calling on courts of mainland China and Hong Kong for reciprocal commitment in support of court-ordered interim measures in aid of arbitral proceedings. Because the Hong Kong courts have granted interim measures in aid of arbitral proceedings seated in and outside of Hong Kong even prior to the Arrangement becoming effective, this paper focuses on the significance of the Arrangement making Hong Kong the first and only seat outside of mainland China from which parties to arbitral proceedings may successfully obtain interim measures to preserve of assets, properties, and/or evidence from Chinese courts to be enforced in China. Design/methodology - The significance of interim measures in international arbitration and the existing circumstances of interim measures in support of international arbitral proceedings in mainland China and Hong Kong are discussed first in this paper. Due to the confidential nature of arbitral proceedings, while the details of applications for interim measures pursuant to the Arrangement cannot be discussed, in examining the implications of the Arrangement, the relevant and necessary information was made available from the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, as it is one of the six qualified arbitral institutions under the Arrangement. Findings - This groundbreaking Arrangement provides a mechanism for parties with China-related matters to more effectively resolve their disputes, the opportunity for Hong Kong to become an unparalleled seat of arbitration, and for mainland China to overcome some of its negative perceptions in international arbitration. Because the Arrangement also allows parties to directly apply for interim measures from mainland Chinese courts, parties with China-related matters should take note of this potential bypassing of the procedural hurdle, which usually requires an arbitral institution to submit such applications in China, and make strategic decisions accordingly as may be appropriate. Originality/value - Because the Arrangement is a recent yet a significant agreement calling on courts of mainland China and Hong Kong for reciprocal commitment in support of court-ordered interim measures in aid of arbitral proceedings, this study will provide useful guidance for parties with China-related matters all over the world, especially in light of China's rapid economic growth and extensive and prominent trade relationships in today's world. Parties who foresee the need for interim measures from mainland Chinese courts should designate Hong Kong as their seat of arbitration and select one of the six qualified arbitral institutions under the Arrangement to administer their arbitral proceedings in order to benefit from the Arrangement.

Purpose - International trade leads to the international division of labor, improving the efficiency of the global economic system. Transport costs are a more serious barrier to international trade than customs tariffs. An increase in competition in the transport sector may thus lead to a reduction in transport costs. However, if a carrier's nationality significantly influences transport costs, simply adding more competing carriers of different nationalities would be ineffective. Therefore, it is necessary to establish national or regional carriers to influence competition and reduce transport costs. This study investigates this "nationality effect" by treating Hanjin Shipping's collapse as a natural experiment. Design/methodology - The theoretical basis of this study is the 3rd-degree price discrimination in container shipping market. By using the monthly data of container freight rates of Korea, China and Japan, this study shows the so-called Korea Premiums, which are the empirical counterparts of nationality effect in Korea container shipping market. For this empirical investigation, the structural model with state-space form is used and the dummy models are also estimated. In addition, because China has been also affected by the Hanjin's collapse, the China premiums are considered too. Findings - Compared with Japan's case, it is shown that there had been the so-called Korea premiums since the collapse of Hanjin Shipping. These results are robust from both the state-space model and dummy models. The time pattern of Korea premiums was consistent with the market evolution, especially the pattern of substitutability in container shipping markets. In addition, this paper shows the magnitude of Korea premiums. Originality/value - The argument of this study that the nationality effect can be interpreted as an extended concept of the home market effect is original, which is expected to evoke future research efforts. Further, the discussion on the shipping industrial policy from both horizontal and vertical aspects will provide the relevant policy makers with solid information, especially for the policy coordination in a global scale.

Purpose - This study investigates whether the internationalization process of traditional industry firms can be categorized as born global, early internationalization, or gradual internationalization, and examines what factors promote internationalization in traditional industries using a case study of two firms, one each in China and Korea. Design/methodology - This study elects to use case study methodology to determine the "how" and "why" of internationalization process of traditional industry firms. Taking into consideration that factors that impact the internationalization process of firms are diverse and unclear in terms of causality, this study utilizes exploratory case study methodology. This research performs a comparative two-case study of two firms in traditional industries, one each in China and Korea, to examine similarities and differences of study subjects in order to improve the validity and suitability of research results. Findings - The findings of this research are as follows: First, traditional industries are more likely go through early and rapid internationalization rather than being born global; born globals are far more likely to appear in high tech industries. Second, the internationalization process of companies that go through early and rapid internationalization differs from what is indicated by traditional internationalization theories, and are not limited by factors like psychological distance and lack of experiential knowledge. Third, international entrepreneurship, international market orientation, and imitation and learning are important internal driving factors for early and rapid internationalization. Fourth, conditions within the domestic market, policy support from the government, and pilot effect from industry leaders are external driving factors for early and rapid internationalization. Originality/value - This study shows that the internationalization process of traditional industry firms is more likely to be early and rapid internationalization rather than being born global and suggests answers to why this may be the case. In addition, through an examination of case studies, it reveals that the internationalization process of traditional industry firms that undergo early and rapid internationalization is different from traditional internationalization theory, in that they are not limited by the lack of psychological proximity and empirical knowledge, and are driven by international entrepreneurship, international market orientation, imitation and learning, competitive pressure within the domestic market, government's policy support, and the pilot effect of industry leaders. Therefore, this study contributes to literature by expanding the scope of application of born global theory to traditional industries, making born global theory more generalizable and identifying driving factors to internationalization of traditional industry firms.

Purpose - This research empirically proves the extent to which export insurance promotes Korean exports to research object countries among New Southern countries. The outcome of this research will present implications for the operations of export insurance for exports to these countries. Design/methodology - For the empirical analysis, the export equation was composed using a basic gravity model. Based on this, the determinants of Korea's exports to research object countries were analyzed. In this study, a panel unit root test and panel cointegration test were conducted. As a result of the panel unit root test, it was confirmed that the variables of the panel data are not belonging to I(0), but to I(1). As a result of the panel cointegration test, it was established that there are long-term stable relationships among all variables. Accordingly, the gravity model was estimated using original data in order to reduce the information loss caused by the first difference, in spite of individual data belonging to I(1). Findings - For the estimated results of panel OLS, the estimated coefficient of short-term export insurance was 0.56-0.64, with statistically significant results at the significance level of 1%. In addition, for the analysis results of the random effect model, the estimated coefficient of short-term export insurance was 0.59-0.64%, with a statistically significant result at the 1% significance level. This could indicate that Korean export insurance has positive influences on export promotion to New Southern countries. Originality/value - The research implies that export insurance has a 4.1 to 4.7 multiplier effect in expanding exports to the New Southern countries for Korea. This research has intensively analyzed the effects of export insurance on the promotion of exports to a selected area by a government foreign economic policy, which is the originality and value of this paper.

Purpose - This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurship of start-ups on export performance when the business closure rate is higher than business start-up rate in Korea. Thus, this study analyzes various factors for start-ups established within the past seven years and uses export performance as an indicator. Prior to analysis of factors, the study defines the concepts of start-up factors based on various studies. Design/methodology - In order to analyze the export performance of startups, this study conducted an empirical analysis using statistical analysis. Theories were established based on previous studies, and hypotheses and research models were designed based on the established theories. Subsequently, in order to verify the research hypothesis and research model, factor analysis such as validity and reliability, and structural equation modeling were analyzed. Findings - As a result of analysis based on previous studies, we found that there is a difference between theoretical and practical aspects. Whereas previous studies showed that market orientation, technology orientation, and social capital have a direct impact on export performance, the present study analyzed that there is no such impact, and that technology capabilities were important as a result of the unique traits of start-ups. Originality/value - Existing studies have limitations in understanding the overall characteristics of a company by using market orientation, technology orientation, and social capital as individual independent variables. In addition, the existing researches have been analyzed in relation to corporate performance, whereas this study has been limited to export performance, so it can be regarded as different from other studies.