• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.121-138
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• 2019

A term 'Wolabal' which is an abbreviation of the words, in South Korea means the balance between work and life. The term reflects on people's thoughts to seek for their happiness these days. In fact, they think that the quality of the life is more valuable than any other things on their lives, reflecting on the issues caused by modern societies. 'Wolabal' has emerged as an alternatives to solve the social issues like economic recession, high unemployment rate, aging society, low birth rate and etc. However, in order to establish 'Wolabal' as a culture the comprehensive agreement between an individual and society should be considered first. In society, the system or policies to forster cultural business should be settled while in individual, it is necessary to change the way they think about their work and the qualities of their lives. From this view we have to focus on the relationship between their work and leisure. On the relationship between their work and leisure we should understand that the relationship is not conflicted but co-exists and understanding the real meaning of the relationship is critical in balancing between work and life. The recognition to the labor which has been from the past would give not only the meaning of individual survival but the one of their whole lives. Despite this, modern society has faded away the real meaning of labor because it has focused on the mass manufacturing and sometimes the long-termed economic sluggish has emerged. This trend has made people think about their lives and seek for their lives' real value.

• Korean small business review
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.53-73
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• 2019

Recently, as the number of shopping facilities has increased, such as complex shopping malls, warehouse type superstores, large fashion outlets, and so on, the conflicts over the opening of large stores between neighboring municipalities are increasing. However, current regulations on the opening of large-scale stores, such as the impact analysis on commercial area, do not adequately reflect the characteristics of new type shopping facilities. In this study, we tried to suggest a rational policy alternative with more realistic suitability by analyzing the characteristics of 'regional shopping facilities' beyond the scope of the municipalities, and analyzing the impact on the regional merchants. The main results of the study are summarized as follows. First, unlike previous researches, which are limited to small business sector, this study presents the results of comprehensively comparing and analyzing the impact on the detailed sectors of the whole distribution market, including the large distribution sector and online distribution sector. Second, in this study, we calculated the total (average) amount of market penetration rate of existing shopping facilities by the entire regional shopping facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area, and this is considered to be of great value in relation to the recognition of problems at the whole level of the metropolitan area and the search for alternative solutions.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.31-46
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• 2019

Materials and Parts acts as the bridge in the manufacturing industry. In 2018, the materials and parts industry became the leading industry in Korea as its export reached $316.2 billion, accounting for 52.3 percent of the country's total exports. As such, it is the main industry of Korea leading the trade surplus, but when it comes to Japan, it is not. The trade deficit with Japan shrinks to $24 billion last year but the materials and parts industry still accounts for 60 percent of total deficit, which is about $15.1 billion. Today Japan has the top competitiveness in the high-tech materials and parts industry and the factors can be found in cooperation and symbiosis among companies, monotsukuri spirit, and long-term government policy. In order for Korean economy to pursue the Japan's high-tech materials and parts industry, the following change of perception is necessary. First, the material and parts industry requires win-win cooperation. In general, materials and parts are intermediate products. Therefore, it is important to understand the characterist that the transactions are all made up between companies not the with consumers. Second, expansion of joint technology development is absolutely necessary. South Korea is a leading country in the field of general-purpose materials and parts. However, the research shows that South Korea has structure which small and medium-sized companies could have difficulties in developing high-tech products as finding demand and developing market are hard due to low participation of large corporations at R&D stage. It is necessary for large corporations to participate in joint R&D and share opinions of customers from the beginning stage of R&D. Third, a long-term approach is needed. Structural vulnerabilities in the Korea's materials and parts industry, including the lack of advanced technologies is the main reason of solidification of Korea's trade deficit with Japan but there are also cultural differences about technology in the background. Even if it takes time, a long-term approach is absolutely necessary to build up technology and know-how in order to secure competitiveness in the high-tech materials and parts industry. This approach applies to act of corporation and government policy.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.81-93
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• 2020

This study is based on workplace learning, which has revealed its significant influence in the previous enterprise case studies. Why do small business owners have the opportunity to participate in workplace learning based on authenticity? It was intended to clarify whether it was necessary and to increase the growth and development potential of small business owners based on its contents. Moreover, this study is focused on identifying the influence of workplace learning on management performance through this series of processes. In order to investigate the influence of small enterprise workplace learning on management performance, research hypotheses were set based on a review of previous studies, and empirical analysis was carried out. A total of 203 questionnaires were empirically analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. As a result, first, workplace learning had partially significant positive influence on job satisfaction. Second, workplace learning had significant positive influence on management performance. Third, job satisfaction had significant positive influence on management performance. Fourth, job satisfaction had partial mediating effect in the relationship between workplace learning and management performance. The analysis result showed that among sub-factors of workplace learning, only formal learning did not affect job satisfaction and that job satisfaction did not have mediating effect in the relationship between formal learning and management performance. According to analysis, this was because in poor small enterprise environments, opportunities to participate in formal learning like external training or in-house training were not kept. In other words, poor small enterprise environments were plainly revealed from the managerial, economic and social standpoint. Therefore, there is a need to establish the foundation of growth for them to solve problems and develop win-win development capabilities and an institutional system that can make a contribution to policy and education, and management, by helping small enterprises keep opportunities to participate in workplace learning. In spite of these significant study results, there can be a limitation. For improving this limitation, further research will need to target diverse fields focusing on samples, which can explain relations of many different variables. Also, working-level relation research connected to studies that can highly enhance management performance will be required.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.117-128
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• 2021

In order for the users (shipping firms and shippers) and suppliers (stevedoring firms) in the container terminal industry to win-win, it is necessary to have some appropriate diverse market conditions for the industry. This study analyses the basic conditions and demand and supply characteristics of the industry and investigates the market performance of Busan container ports. First, this article analyses the basic characteristics of demand and supply. As the demand characteristics, there are five ones such as 1) exogeneity of demand, 2) function as export/import transportation and hub for transshipment, 3) increase of users' bargaining power, 4) high substituting elasticity, 5) reduction of volume growth. As the supply characteristics, there are seven ones such as 1) inelasticity of supply, 2) homogeneity of stevedoring services, 3) over-supply, 4) adoption of cutting-edge stevedoring technology, 5) scale economy and impossibility of storage, 6) labor market rigidity, 7) enhancing port's role in SCM. In addition, this study conducts the so-called structure-conduct-performance analysis. For the structure analysis, 1) lacks of scale economy in stevedoring companies, 2) high entry barrier, 3) strengthening of shipping firms' bargaining power, 4) transitory permission scheme for tariff are analyzed. For the conduct analysis, 1) price discrimination between export/import and transshipment, 2) mid-term length of terminal use contract, 3) continuous investment in equipment, 4) low level of cooperation among terminal operating firms are derived. For the performance analysis, 1) inequality in profitability, 2) reduction of export/import cost, 3) delay in adopting cutting-edge technology, 4) idle equipment are analyzed. Following this logical flow, the hypothesis that the market structure influences the market conduct is tested based on the actual dataset. As a future agenda in the conclusion, this article recommends the so-called port industrial policy.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.27-40
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• 2024

This study empirically derives the factors affecting the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of venture firms in Korea from the perspective of Slack Resource Theory and the company's growth strategy, and provides implications for future expansion of venture firm's CSR activities. In Korea, venture firms have grown into important players in the national economy since the late 1990s through social contributions such as economic value creation, job creation, and technological development. As venture companies grow in status, positive relationships with stakeholders and responsibility for environmental and social values are required. Now, CSR is becoming an important strategic choice for SMEs and venture firms. However, until now, CSR-related academic research has mainly focused on large or listed corporations, and there is not much research on SMEs or venture firms. In particular, research on the factors that lead venture companies to make important business decisions of participating in CSR activities is not there yet. This study applied logistic multiple regression analysis using the '2023 Survey on Venture Firms' conducted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. As a result of this study, operating profit, which is an available resources of venture companies, and government support, which is a potential resource, have a positive impact on venture firms's CSR activities. Also, business relationships with large corporations and expectation for future cooperation also have a positive impact on CSR activities as the determinants. On the other hand, it was analyzed that in venture firms where ownership and management are not separated, the higher the CEO's shareholding ratio, the more negatively it affects CSR activities. This study contributes academically as the first empirical study on the determinants of CSR activities of venture firms in Korea and provides implications that government policy support and collaboration between large corporations and venture firms are important in order to expand CSR activities of venture firms.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-316
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• 2023

As global energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged as social issues, there is a growing demand for companies to move away from profit-centric business models and embrace sustainable management that balances environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. ESG activities of companies vary across industries, and industry-specific weights are applied in ESG evaluations. Therefore, it is important to develop strategic management approaches that reflect the characteristics of each industry and the importance of each ESG factor. Additionally, with the stance of strengthened focus on ESG disclosures, specific guidelines are needed to identify and report on sustainable management activities of domestic companies. To understand corporate sustainability strategies, analyzing ESG reports and news articles by industry can help identify strategic characteristics in specific industries. However, each company has its own unique strategies and report structures, making it difficult to grasp detailed trends or action items. In our study, we analyzed ESG reports (2019-2021) and news articles (2019-2022) of six companies in the 'Finance,' 'Manufacturing,' and 'IT' sectors to examine the sustainability strategies of leading domestic ESG companies. Text mining techniques such as keyword frequency analysis and topic modeling were applied to identify industry-specific, ESG element-specific management strategies and issues. The analysis revealed that in the 'Finance' sector, customer-centric management strategies and efforts to promote an inclusive culture within and outside the company were prominent. Strategies addressing climate change, such as carbon neutrality and expanding green finance, were also emphasized. In the 'Manufacturing' sector, the focus was on creating sustainable communities through occupational health and safety issues, sustainable supply chain management, low-carbon technology development, and eco-friendly investments to achieve carbon neutrality. In the 'IT' sector, there was a tendency to focus on technological innovation and digital responsibility to enhance social value through technology. Furthermore, the key issues identified in the ESG factors were as follows: under the 'Environmental' element, issues such as greenhouse gas and carbon emission management, industry-specific eco-friendly activities, and green partnerships were identified. Under the 'Social' element, key issues included social contribution activities through stakeholder engagement, supporting the growth and coexistence of members and partner companies, and enhancing customer value through stable service provision. Under the 'Governance' element, key issues were identified as strengthening board independence through the appointment of outside directors, risk management and communication for sustainable growth, and establishing transparent governance structures. The exploration of the relationship between ESG disclosures in reports and ESG issues in news articles revealed that the sustainability strategies disclosed in reports were aligned with the issues related to ESG disclosed in news articles. However, there was a tendency to strengthen ESG activities for prevention and improvement after negative media coverage that could have a negative impact on corporate image. Additionally, environmental issues were mentioned more frequently in news articles compared to ESG reports, with environmental-related keywords being emphasized in the 'Finance' sector in the reports. Thus, ESG reports and news articles shared some similarities in content due to the sharing of information sources. However, the impact of media coverage influenced the emphasis on specific sustainability strategies, and the extent of mentioning environmental issues varied across documents. Based on our study, the following contributions were derived. From a practical perspective, companies need to consider their characteristics and establish sustainability strategies that align with their capabilities and situations. From an academic perspective, unlike previous studies on ESG strategies, we present a subdivided methodology through analysis considering the industry-specific characteristics of companies.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.95-110
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• 2011

As global economic conditions are getting uneasy and polarization of our economy is intensified, the economic sentiment of small businesses is still low and unstable. The collapse of worldwide banking systems due to sub prime crisis in 2007 became the catalyst that shakes financial industries in each country in the world; the most sentiment people, small businesspersons, also have hard time facing survival way out, facing a great crisis. All organizing powers including manufactures, wholesales and retails are being gradually greater in mutual relations and dependence, and unstable factors about risks are also increasing. For exterior environmental and physical risk factors which cannot make small businesses survive themselves by developing ways out are eventually increasing, those who cannot cope with these factors face a great crisis. Although the government tries hard to overcome this situation conducting many ways, the effect does not continue. It is the real state that independent business markets including overall employment and establishing business have vicious cycle that they cannot be improved, due to increase of employment centered on short-term labors which lack durability in creation of employment and decline of household income. Recently, growth shows indication of slowdown because of multinational risk factors including financial crisis in each country in Europe, the death of Kim Jung-il, relationship with North Korea, and unstability of war situation in the Middle East Asia. Experts expect that growth rate will be about 4%, and independent business that ordinary people feel is still gloomy. It's reality that there is no adequate alternative for lack of jobs, unstable employment and a means of living after retirement. Also, the fact that large companies enter the market which is narrow and in the excessive competition should be an environmental factor that makes the situation worse. The business concept, a franchise, is the part we should think about whether it is the institutional solution that can guarantee independent businessmen stable life. Major companies are frightfully entering the market today, breaking the barrier to entry and shouting of a win-win with independent businesses. It's the small businesspersons who go through painful domestic recession, cannot predict the future and manage confusing and unstable independent business. It's very important to restore the domestic economy through wisely boosting consumption as soon as possible. It's also important to lead the situation by gathering powers of the government and related organizations, agonizing, suggesting solutions, and establishing accurate directions. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to suggest ways to strengthen competitiveness of small businesspersons by examining small business support policies which are currently implemented.