• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.35-52
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• 2023

Recently, as the non-face-to-face environment has developed due to COVID-19 and environmental pollution, the importance of online digital healthcare is increasing, and venture start-ups and activities such as health care, telemedicine, and digital treatments are also actively underway. This study conducted the impact on the acceptability of digital healthcare smartwatches with an integrated approach of the expanded integrated technology acceptance model (UTAUT2) and the behavioral inference model (BRT). The most advanced integrated technology acceptance model for innovative technology acceptance research was used to identify major factors such as utility expectations, social effects, convenience, price barriers, lack of alternatives, and behavioral intentions. For the study, about 410 responses from ordinary people in their teens to 60s across the country were collected, and based on this, the hypothesis was verified using structural equations after testing reliability and validity of the data. SPSS 23 and AMOS 23 were used for research analysis. Studies have shown that personal innovation has a significant impact on the reasons for acceptance (use value, social impact, convenience of use), attitude, and non-use (price barriers, lack of alternatives, and barriers to use). These results are the same as the results of previous studies that confirmed the influence of the main value of innovative ICT on user acceptance intention. In addition, the reason for acceptance had a significant effect on attitude, but the effect of the reason for non-acceptance was not significant. It can be analyzed that consumers are interested in new ICT products and new services, but purchase them more carefully and selectively. This study has evolved from the acceptance analysis of general-purpose consumer innovation technology to the acceptance analysis of consumer value in smartwatch digital healthcare, which is a new and important area in the future. Industrially, it can contribute to the product's purchase and marketing. It is hoped that this study will contribute to increasing research in the digital healthcare sector, which will play an important role in our lives in the future, and that it will develop into in-depth factors that are more suitable for consumer value through integrated approach models and integrated analysis of consumer acceptance and non-acceptance.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.115-125
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to empirically identify the influence of social entrepreneurship on the formation of entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial intention. In order to effectively achieve the purpose of the study, a research model and hypotheses are developed based on the results of a comprehensive review of relevant prior literature. The research model is set as social entrepreneurship including innovativeness, risk-taking, initiative, and social value orientation as independent variables, and entrepreneurship motivation is divided into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For the study, data were collected from a total of 114 social enterprise-related prospective entrepreneurs and early start-ups, and a research model and hypotheses analysis are conducted. The results of the empirical analysis are summarized as follows. First, all four components of social entrepreneurship were found to have a positive effect on intrinsic motivation. However, it is found that innovativeness and initiative among the components of social entrepreneurship has a positive effect on extrinsic motivation, whereas risk-taking and social value orientation has no significant effect on extrinsic motivation. Second, all four components of social entrepreneurship were found to have a positive effect on the entrepreneurial intention. Third, both intrinsic and extrinsic entrepreneurial motivation are found to have a positive effect on entrepreneurial intention. Finally, in the relationship between social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention, both intrinsic and extrinsic entrepreneurial motivation are confirmed to have a positive mediating effect. This study specified the factors of social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship motivation that affect entrepreneurship awareness and behavior targeting social enterprises with differentiated characteristics from existing for-profit enterprises. And through an empirical analysis of the influence relationship between these factors, an attempt was made to derive academic and practical implications.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.127-139
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• 2023

During the process of preparing for and initiating a startup, startup entrepreneurs allocate a significant amount of time to developing a business plan. Within this process, the documented business plan serves not only as a roadmap for the venture but also as a communication tool for capital acquisition and internal team collaboration. However, is the business plan, meticulously crafted by entrepreneurs, actually effective in generating startup performance? To answer this question, this study empirically analyzed the impact of a business plan on startup performance. Additionally, it examined how the relationship between the business plan and performance changes based on the satisfaction levels of entrepreneurs regarding the business plan. Through the analysis, the study validated the influence of the completeness of the business plan and entrepreneurial satisfaction on startup performance, and derived implications. To conduct the empirical analysis, a survey was conducted among 150 entrepreneurs. Regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the completeness of the business plan and performance, and the sample was further divided into two groups: startups with less than three years of operation and startups with three or more years of operation, for secondary analysis. The analysis results revealed that the completeness of the startup's business plan has a positive impact on both financial and non-financial performance. Furthermore, it is observed that the entrepreneur's satisfaction with the business plan had a moderating effect on the relationship between the business plan and financial performance. Moreover, for startups that are less than three years old, the entrepreneur's satisfaction with the business plan exhibits a moderating effect on the relationship between the completeness of the business plan and non-financial performance. This study holds significance as it reaffirms the importance of business plan development as a means to achieve sustainable growth for early-stage startups and empirically validates its significance. It is expected that this study will provide valuable insights for future startup entrepreneurs to better understand the importance of business planning and contribute to reducing the failure rate of early-stage startups.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.191-209
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• 2023

Amid rapid changes in technological innovation due to the influence of the 4th Industrial Revolution and COVID-19, research related to absorption capacity and patent activities to promote technological innovation of Korean technology start-ups is important in this uncertain environment. This study aims to examine the effects on entrepreneurial performance and patent activities by reconstructing absorptive capacity, an organizational capability, for technology-based startups in fields such as BT and ICT with less than seven years of establishment, distinguishing between potential absorptive capacity and realized absorptive capacity. The study also seeks to develop a theoretical research model. To accomplish this, data was collected from managerial executives, including CEOs of 215 technology startups. The following hypotheses were tested: Firstly, potential absorptive capacity had a significant impact on patent activities, while realized absorptive capacity did not. Secondly, potential absorptive capacity had a significant impact on technological performance, while realized absorptive capacity did not. Thirdly, both potential and realized absorptive capacity had a significant impact on financial and non-financial performance. Fourthly, patent activities indirectly influenced potential absorptive capacity and technological performance, but did not affect realized absorptive capacity. Fifthly, patent activities indirectly influenced potential absorptive capacity and financial performance, but did not affect realized absorptive capacity. Lastly, patent activities indirectly influenced potential absorptive capacity and non-financial performance, but did not affect realized absorptive capacity. The practical significance of this study lies in providing useful guidelines for building the core capabilities of organizations through absorptive capacity and patent activities. Furthermore, it is expected that startups that have not recognized the formation process of absorptive capacity for patent activities will perceive the formation mechanism of absorptive capability anew and show considerable interest in future potential and realized absorptive capacity as part of their management strategies. This is anticipated to play an important role in adapting to rapidly changing technological advancements, the startup ecosystem, and securing sustainable competitive advantages.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.17-32
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• 2023

In recent years, the need for social ventures that aim to grow while solving social problems through the efficiency and effectiveness of commercial organizations in the market has increased, while there is a limit to how much the government and the public can do to solve social problems. Against this background, the number of social venture startups is increasing in the domestic startup ecosystem, and interest in impact investors, which are investors in social ventures, is also increasing. Therefore, this research utilized judgment analysis technology to objectively analyze the validity and weight of judgment information based on the cognitive process and decision-making environment in the investment decision-making of impact investors. We proceeded with the research by constructing three classifications; first, investment priorities at the initial investment stage for financial benefit and return on investment as an investor, second, the political skills of the entrepreneurs (teams) for the social impact and ripple power, and social venture coexistence and solidarity, third, the social mission of a social venture that meets the purpose of an impact investment fund. As a result of this research, first of all, the investment decision-making priorities of impact investors are the expertise of the entrepreneur (team), the potential rate of return when the entrepreneur (team) succeeds, and the social mission of the entrepreneur (team). Second, impact investors do not have a uniform understanding of the investment decision-making factors, and the factors that determine investment decisions are different, and there are differences in the degree of the weighting. Third, among the various investment decision-making factors of impact investment, "entrepreneur's (team's) networking ability", "entrepreneur's (team's) social insight", "entrepreneur's (team's) interpersonal influence" was relatively lower than the other four factors. The practical contribution through this research is to help social ventures understand the investment determinant factors of impact investors in the process of financing, and impact investors can be expected to improve the quality of investment decision-making by referring to the judgment cases and analysis of impact investors. The academic contribution is that it empirically investigated the investment priorities and weighting differences of impact investors.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.21-35
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• 2023

Expectations surrounding generative AI technology and its profound ramifications are sweeping across various industrial domains. Given the anticipated pivotal role of the startup ecosystem in the utilization and advancement of generative AI technology, it is imperative to cultivate a deeper comprehension of the present state and distinctive attributes characterizing venture capital (VC) investments within this domain. The current investigation delves into South Korea's landscape of VC investment deals and prognosticates the projected VC investments by juxtaposing these against the United States, the frontrunner in the generative AI industry and its associated ecosystem. For analytical purposes, a compilation of 286 investment deals originating from 117 U.S. generative AI startups spanning the period from 2008 to 2023, as well as 144 investment deals from 42 South Korean generative AI startups covering the years 2011 to 2023, was amassed to construct new datasets. The outcomes of this endeavor reveal an upward trajectory in the count of VC investment deals within both the U.S. and South Korea during recent years. Predominantly, these deals have been concentrated within the early-stage investment realm. Noteworthy disparities between the two nations have also come to light. Specifically, in the U.S., in contrast to South Korea, the quantum of recent VC deals has escalated, marking an augmentation ranging from 285% to 488% in the corresponding developmental stage. While the interval between disparate investment stages demonstrated a slight elongation in South Korea relative to the U.S., this discrepancy did not achieve statistical significance. Furthermore, the proportion of VC investments channeled into generative AI enterprises, relative to the aggregate number of deals, exhibited a higher quotient in South Korea compared to the U.S. Upon a comprehensive sectoral breakdown of generative AI, it was discerned that within the U.S., 59.2% of total deals were concentrated in the text and model sectors, whereas in South Korea, 61.9% of deals centered around the video, image, and chat sectors. Through forecasting, the anticipated VC investments in South Korea from 2023 to 2029 were derived via four distinct models, culminating in an estimated average requirement of 3.4 trillion Korean won (ranging from at least 2.408 trillion won to a maximum of 5.919 trillion won). This research bears pragmatic significance as it methodically dissects VC investments within the generative AI domain across both the U.S. and South Korea, culminating in the presentation of an estimated VC investment projection for the latter. Furthermore, its academic significance lies in laying the groundwork for prospective scholarly inquiries by dissecting the current landscape of generative AI VC investments, a sphere that has hitherto remained void of rigorous academic investigation supported by empirical data. Additionally, the study introduces two innovative methodologies for the prediction of VC investment sums. Upon broader integration, application, and refinement of these methodologies within diverse academic explorations, they stand poised to enhance the prognosticative capacity pertaining to VC investment costs.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.131-148
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial competency on entrepreneurial intention by setting degree of self-determination as a moderating variable for pre-entrepreneur of agriculture industry. The entrepreneurial environment was divided into perceived support and perceived barriers, and the sub-variables of entrepreneurial competence were set as creativity, problem solving, communication, marketing, and business plan. 253 questionnaires were used for empirical analysis. The results of the analysis using SPSS v25.0 and Process macro v4.2 are as follows. First, the perceived support and perceived barriers of the entrepreneurial environment have a significant effect on entrepreneurial intention. Creativity, problem solving, marketing and business plan of entrepreneurial competency have a significant effect on entrepreneurial intention, but the effect of communication was non-significant. Second, the degree of self-determination did not moderate the relationship between perceived support, barriers and entrepreneurial intention. This means that the level of self-determination may not have a significant effect on the relationship between entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial intention. Third, the degree of self-determination was found to moderate the relationship between creativity, problem solving, communication, marketing and business plan of entrepreneurial competency and entrepreneurial intention. Specifically, as the degree of self-determination increases, the size of the influence of creativity, problem solving, marketing, and business plan on entrepreneurial intention plays a role of strengthening in a positive direction. On the other hand, as the degree of self-determination increases, the degree of self-determination, which weakens the relationship between communication and entrepreneurial intention. Future research will require exploration of other factors that can explain entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial capacity, and follow-up studies are needed to analyze the moderated mediating effects through conditional process models that include new mediating and moderating variables.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.33-44
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• 2023

Entrepreneurial self-efficacy is an important variable that explains people's attitudes and behaviors toward start-ups. In this study, we focused on individual psychological characteristics variables such as luck in belief and positive cognitive bias that affect entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Among these variables, we paid particular attention to luck in belief. The belief that business success depends on luck is widespread, but scientific verification about it has not been much. The reason for the academic indifference is that luck is a kind of superstition, related to precognition or extrasensory perception, and randomly caused by the external environment. The study of luck began in earnest as a measure to measure luck as an individual characteristic variable such as personality was developed. The purpose of this study is to examine the existing studies on luck in belief and to examine the effect of this luck in belief on positive cognitive bias and entrepreneurial self-efficacy through empirical analysis. For empirical analysis, this study conducted an on-line survey of 400 ordinary people and conducted a structural equation model analysis using AMOS 21.0 to verify the hypothesis. As a result of hypothesis testing, all hypotheses that luck in belief would have a positive effect on positive cognitive bias(self-enhancement bias, illusion of control bias, unrealism optimistic bias) were adopted. The hypothesis that positive cognitive bias(self-enhancement bias, illusion of control bias, unrealistic optimism bias) will have a positive effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy was also adopted. Additional analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of positive cognitive bias in the relationship between luck in belief and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, which showed that 'luck in belief→positive cognitive bias →entrepreneurial self-efficacy' were statistically significant. Through this, we confirmed the mediating effect of positive cognitive bias in the relationship between luck in belief and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. In the conclusion, the implications and limitations of the study were presented based on the results of this study.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.65-80
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• 2022

Despite the uncertainty and risky factors of startups, the special and critical role of accelerators in carrying out professional nurturing and investment for them is becoming increasingly significant in the startup social-system. However, academic research on investment determinants that have a profound impact on the survival of accelerators is lacking, and there are only a few empirical studies on the classification and importance of factors, and they do not enjoy the benefits of theoretical studies. This study proposes a business model innovation framework based on the business model innovation theory that reflects the nature and properties of startups that are investment targets of accelerators and derives 12 investment decision factors. The framework defines that the target, direction, and performable force of startup innovation are a business model, strategy, and dynamic capability. Besides, the framework analyzes the investment decision factors of the existing accelerators based on the business model innovation framework to verify the suitability and sufficiency of the composition. As a result of the analysis, first, most of the items were faithfully composed from a static point of view of business model innovation, but it was found that the factors related to the core activities to evaluate the activity and customer relationship were insufficient. Second, from the strategic point of view, the necessity of developing factors that can encompass the definition and content of core resources, which are internal strategic factors, was raised. Third, from the dynamic point of view, it was found that many of the investment determinants of accelerators were concentrated on the lower level of dynamic competencies. This can be judged as a result of reflecting the characteristics of a startup that needs to develop a solution with few resources and a small number of team members. In addition, the roles and interrelationships between each factor are not clear, thus it was found as a limiting point for startups to view and evaluate the direction and process in which startups dynamically innovate their business models. This study is considerably differentiated in that it provides a business model innovation framework and offers a theoretical basis for investment determinants by deriving the investment determinants of accelerators based on the framework and design the foundation for subsequent research. The business model innovation framework presented in this study has great implications in that it contributes to the achievement of startups, accelerators, and startup support organizations.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.15-31
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• 2022

This study was conducted to suggest a start-up policy that includes start-up education and support for active seniors with various careers who try to change their careers before and after retirement. From this point of view, this study divided the factors affecting the entrepreneurial will of active seniors into entrepreneurship organizational and functional competency and identified the effect of these competencies on entrepreneurial efficacy and entrepreneurial intention. In the proposed model, start-up competency is divided into organizational competency (leadership, creativity problem-solving, communication, decision-making) and functional competency (management strategy, marketing, business plan). And this study examined the mediating role of entrepreneurial efficacy in the relationship between entrepreneurial competency factors and entrepreneurial intention. Meanwhile, PLS-POS analysis was performed to uncover the heterogeneity and pattern in the proposed structural model. The survey was conducted with the help of an online survey company from November 27 to December 15, 2020 for the active senior age group from 40 to under 65 years old. Data were collected from a total of 433 panelists and analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 3.3.7 programs. The findings are as follows. First, the finding shows that the entrepreneurial organizational and functional competencies of active seniors had significant positive(+) effects on entrepreneurial efficacy. Second, the result shows that entrepreneurial organizational and functional competencies of active seniors had significant positive(+) effects on entrepreneurial intention. Third, the findings show that entrepreneurship efficacy had a significantly positive(+) effect on entrepreneurial intention. The findings of PLS-POS show that entrepreneurship education needs to be carried out by identifying the needs that require entrepreneurial organizational and functional competency when training for entrepreneurship competency. In summary, the findings of the current study are to determine what the competency factors are for the government (local government) to increase the policy direction necessary for establishing and implementing entrepreneurship education and training programs to develop policies to enhance the economic activity participation rate of active seniors.