• 한국벤처창업학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2020.11a
• /
• pp.131-153
• /
• 2020

'기업 생태계'에서 '유니콘'이란 표현법은 2013년 'Aileen Lee'에 의해 명명된 이래, 특히 한국에서 '스타트업 생태계'의 국제적 수준 비교의 차원에서 활발하게 다루어졌다. 정부 차원에서는 이를 정책적 목표로 설정하여, '2022년까지 유니콘 기업 20개 목표'를 제시한 바 있다. 이와 같이 '유니콘 클럽 기업'에 대한 현상이 정책적 목표 차원에서 다루어지며, 대중적으로 더욱 확산된데 반해, 이에 대한 실체적 및 본질적 이해 목적의 학술적 연구는 충분치 못하였다. 본 연구는, 첫째, 2018년 기준 '유니콘 클럽' 기업 326개 및 2019년 479개의 기업을 대상으로 이들의 특성을 심층적이고 다면적으로 분석하였다. 그동안 주로 국가 별 '유니콘 기업' 수 및 산업 분류 기준 일반현황 중심의 대중적 소개가 주된 내용이었다. 그러나, 본 연구는 투자자를 포함한 기초 현황을 상세 분석하였고, 사례분석을 포함한 질적 탐색을 수행하였다. 또한 군집분석, 판별분석, 다층 회귀분석 등 양적 탐색을 함께 수행하였다. 개별기업의 '기업가 요인-산업(시장)환경 요인-자원 요인-전략 요인', 즉 'ERIS 모델'에 기반하여 그 특성을 살펴보았다. 둘째, 기업가치에 영향을 미치는 요인들을 앞서 분석한 특성 요인 및 투자자 특성과 연계하여 살펴보았다. 그리고 마지막으로는 이들을 토대로 '기업 생태계' 관점에서 유니콘 현상'을 바르게 이해하고, 또한 정책적 측면에서 이를 생산적으로 활용하는 방향을 제시하였다.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.63-77
• /
• 2022

The importance of start-ups and venture companies in the Korean economy is growing. However, the successful growth of startups and venture companies are still challenging as 70% of startups fail within 5 years. A new perspective on innovation is essential to overcome the liability of newness and the liability of smallness in the existing market and obtain the competitive advantage. Recent phenomenon in the Korean startups ecosystem is the remarkable growth of unicorns and future unicorns. Their business models, types of business, and success cases serve as a good example. Neverthless, the process of unicorn and future unicorn startups making new industries and innovative business has poorly understood. In this paper, we first define 175 unicorns and future unicorn startups participating in the K-unicorn project as a unicorn group and analyze current trends of the group. Then the in-depth analyses of industry sectors are conducted. Specifically, focusing on the unicorn forming the new market, we examine the unicorn making the processes of industry category innovation through the business innovation model. Lastly, broadening the scope of the analysis to the unicorn group, policy implications in startups and venture ecosystem are suggested.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.1-26
• /
• 2020

The term 'Unicorns' in the corporate ecosystem was firstly introduced by Aileen Lee in 2013. It has been actively discussed in South Korea particularly to compare the level of the 'start-up ecosystem' from a global perspective. Accordingly, the Korean government has recently set a policy goal 'to nurture 20 Korean unicorn companies by 2022'. While the phenomenon of 'Unicorn Club Company' has been brought to the level of policy objectives and spread more widely to the public, existing academic research to understand its substantial and underlying implications has been insufficient. First, in this study, the characteristics of 479 'Unicorn Club' companies in 2019 were analyzed in-depth. Previous research has focused on the general status and trend by analyzing the number of unicorn companies by country and industry classifications. However, this study conducted a qualitative exploratory analysis by investigating descriptive statistics about unicorn companies, including their investors, while providing case studies. Also, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and multi-level regression were employed for quantitative exploration. The characteristics of individual companies were examined based on the "ERIS Model (Entrepreneur - Industry(Market) - Resource - Strategy Model)". Secondly, factors influencing its valuations were examined in connection with the previously analyzed characteristic variables and investor characteristics. Finally, based on these, the future direction of the "Unicorn Phenomenon" from the perspective of "Enterprise Ecosystem" and productively using it from the perspective of the public policy is suggested.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2020

Increasing the number of unicorn startups has recently received much attention. In this study, we attempt to investigate that startups achieving an extremely high valuation could postpone their exit to raise more investment and receive more benefits. This study tested the hypotheses using data from Crunchbase, World Bank, Global Competitiveness Report, and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Using 140 unicorn startups that have already exited through an initial public offering (IPO) or mergers and acquisitions (M&A), we find out that unicorn startups tend to acquire higher valuation as their investment duration increases. Furthermore, we also examined the moderating effects of governmental policy and institutional distance from foreign investors in order to consider the institutional aspects of startups. The results of the moderating variables show significant supports. We expect to provide a better understanding with respect to making an exit decision of unicorn startups. Furthermore, managers and investors need to acknowledge the institutional factors of startups when they decide to fund.

• Korean small business review
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.165-186
• /
• 2021

Startups are undergoing a change throughout the growth process of startups that appear in existing studies as they move away from the existing B2B or B2C frame and expand their target customer groups to O2O, C2C. In this regard, a new type of startup known as unicorns, a unicorn which has grown rapidly in a short period of time, is being created by successfully attracting government support and external investment in recognition of the potential value of the startup. This study examined the relationship between investment attraction and growth after founding for five representative unicorns in the U.S. and Korea. As a result, it was found that private investment in Korea is passive and defensive, and is attracted after the Series A stage, compared to the U.S., where the growth potential of the startup ecosystem is positively evaluated. In addition, it found that government's support policy throughout the startup's growth process is an abstract and comprehensive policy focusing on initial funding for startups. Therefore, it was suggested that the scope of government policies should be expanded to forster startups as unicorns, and that it is necessary to establish and implement differentiated support policies for each growth of the scale-up of startups. This study is significant in that it presented the criteria for the growth stage and support of startups as well as policy support for scale-up through practical case analysis of unicorns.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.173-188
• /
• 2023

This paper analyzed the Earnings management of firms selected as preliminary Unicorn. If a manager is selected as a preliminary unicorn firm, he can receive financial support of up to 20 billion won, creating a factor in managing the manager's earnings. The motive for management's earnings management is related to the capital market. Accounting information is used by investors and financial analysts, and corporate profits affect corporate value. Therefore, if the accounting earning is adjusted upward, the corporate value will be raised and investment conditions will be favorable. In this paper, earnings quality was measured by the modified Jones model of Dechow et al.(1995) by the ROA control model of Kothari et al.(2005) among the discretionary accruals estimated using an alternative accrual prediction model. Competing similar companies in the same market as the selected companies were formed, and the discretionary accruals were mutually compared to verify the research hypotheses, and only the selected companies were analyzed for the audit year and after the audit year. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the companies selected as preliminary unicorns had higher earnings management compared to the corresponding companies in question, which had a negative impact on the quality of accounting profits. It was found that the companies selected as preliminary unicorns continued to receive incentives for management's earnings management even after being selected. These results indicate that the companies selected as prospective unicorns are recognized for their value in the market through external growth rather than internal growth, and thus, incentives for management's earnings management to attract investment from external investors under favorable conditions are continuing. In the future preliminary unicorn selection evaluation, it was possible to present what needs to be reviewed on the quality of accounting earning. The implication of this paper is that the factors of management's earnings management eventually hinder investors and creditors from judging the reliability of accounting information. It was suggested that a policy alternative for the K-Unicorn Project, which enhances reliability were presented by reflecting the evaluation of earnings quality through discretionary accruals.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.55-73
• /
• 2024

Unicorn companies are attracting attention around the world as they are recognized for their high corporate value in a short period of time as an innovative business models. Their growth process presents good lessons for the startup ecosystem and have a positive impact on national economic development and job creation. However, previous studies related to unicorn companies are focused on 'event studies' and 'case studies' such as characteristics of founders, environmental factors, business models and success/failure cases of companies already recognized as unicorns rather than a multifaceted approach. The occurrence of unicorn companies and Macroscopic analysis of related factors is lacking. Against this background, this study are considering the characteristics of unicorns examined through previous research and the current status unicorns with a high proportion of technology companies, the purpose was to analyze the impact of the country's technological competitiveness, such as 'technology human resource index', 'R&D index', and 'technology infrastructure index', on the increase in unicorn companies. For statistical analysis, data published by various international organizations, the Bank of Korea, and Statistics Korea from 2017 to 2020 and unicorn company data compiled by CB Insights were used as panel data for 44 countries to be tested by multiple regression analysis. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the number of science majors had a positive (+) effect on the increase of unicorn companies in the case of technology human resource index, and in the case of R&D index, the total amount of R&D investment had a positive (+) effect on the increase of unicorn companies, while the number of Triad Patents Families and the number of scientific and technological papers published had a negative (-) effect on the increase of unicorn companies. Finally, in the case of technology infrastructure index, it was confirmed that the number of the world's 500th-ranked universities had a positive (+) effect on the increase of unicorn companies. This study is the first to reveal the causal relationship between national technological competitiveness and unicorn company growth based on country-specific and time-series empirical data, which were insufficiently covered in previous studies. and compared to the UN's ranking of the global industrial competitiveness index and the OECD's total R&D investment by country, Korea is considered to have technological and growth potential, while the number of unicorn companies driving growth as leaders of the innovative economy is relatively small, so the research results can be used when establishing policies to discover and foster unicorn companies in the future.

• 한국벤처창업학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2019.11a
• /
• pp.33-37
• /
• 2019

공공기술을 활용한 스케일업(Scale-up)이 기업의 새로운 성장 전략으로 주목받고 있다. 스케일업의 사전적 의미는 '규모 확대'다. 기술, 제품, 서비스, 경영 등 기업의 외형과 내실이 크게 개선되거나 그에 상응하는 성과 창출의 뜻이 담겨있다. 기업가치 10억 달러($1 billion) 이상, 설립된 지 10년 이하로 통칭되는 유니콘(Unicorn) 기업의 등장이 스케일업에 대한 관심으로 옮겨 붙은 양상이다. 스케일업은 이러한 차원에서 고성장 기업을 통칭하는 말로 쓰인다. 국가별로 차이는 있지만 직원 수 10명 이상, 최근 3년간 매출이나 연평균 고용 성장률이 20% 이상인 기업을 스케일업으로 정의한다. 문제는 미국과 같은 선진기업 환경에서는 핵심 기술이나 신성장 동력 확보차원에서 다양한 기업인수합병(M&A)이 추진되거나 오픈 이노베이션(Open Innovation, 개방형 혁신) 방식의 기업간 기술협력이 활발히 일어나고 있지만 우리나라는 상대적으로 그러하지 못하다는데 있다. 결과적으로 국내 기업 환경과 사회적 분위기를 감안해 공공연구기관으로부터 기술을 이전받거나 연구개발특구진흥재단이 추진하는 연구소기업 제도를 활용한 스케일업의 중요성이 커지고 있다. 4차산업 시대를 맞아 기업간 합종연횡이 더욱 빈번하고 일어나고 기술간 융복합이 가속화되는 지금의 상황에 비춰볼 때 공공기술을 활용한 연구소기업들의 다양한 스케일업 사례는 우리에게 많은 시사점을 안겨준다. 기업성장을 위한 새로운 전략적 도구로 활용될 소지가 충분하다고 판단된다.

• 한국벤처창업학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2024.04a
• /
• pp.67-73
• /
• 2024

유니콘기업을 목표로 하고 있는 국내 스타트업들이 아직까지 국내 투자유치와 코스닥시장 IPO를 목표로 삼고 있고, 해외 판로개척, 해외투자 유치 및 M&A를 통한 글로벌 진출이 활성화 되어 있지 않기 때문에 현재까지의 제2벤처붐은 절반의 성공이라 볼 수 있다. 현 정부에서도 스타트업의 글로벌 진출을 중요한 정책 아젠다로 보고 있는 바, 중소벤처기업들의 글로벌 진출 및 사업화 성공 요인을 분석하기 위한 연구가 필요한 시점이라 할 수 있다. 본 논문은 중소벤처기업의 글로벌 경영성과에 미치는 요인들을 살펴보기 위해 국제경영이론 중, 글로벌진출 성공요인과 관련된 자원기반관점과 동적역량관점의 선행연구를 검토해보고, 기업의 혁신역량과 개방형 혁신활동이 기업의 글로벌 성과에 미치는 영향을 실증분석을 통해 살펴보고자 한다. 아직까지 스타트업 또는 벤처기업들을 대상으로 글로벌 진출 성공요인을 도출한 연구가 부족하다는 측면에서 본 연구는 기존 연구들과 차별성이 있음을 밝힌다.

• 한국벤처창업학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2023.11a
• /
• pp.97-100
• /
• 2023

스타트업은 우리 경제의 성장 동력으로 자리매김하고 있으며, 다양한 분야에서 스타트업이 탄생해 일부는 스케일업(scale-up)하여 유니콘 기업으로 발전하는 반면 일부는 데스밸리(Death Valley)를 넘지 못하고 실패한다. 스타트업이 창업 이후 성공적인 사업화를 통해 지속적인 성장을 이룰 수 있도록 공공과 민간부문에서 다양한 노력을 펼쳐 나가고 있으며, 창업자 보육에 필요한 서비스를 종합적으로 제공하는 액셀러레이터가 스타트업 육성 모델로 주목받고 있다. 액셀러레이터에 대한 관심이 증가하는 것에 비례하여 액셀러레이팅 프로그램의 효과에 대한 연구도 최근 활발하게 이루어지고 있으며, 많은 연구에서 액셀러레이팅이 기업성과에 미치는 긍정적인 효과가 검증되고 있다. 액셀러레이팅 프로그램의 운용 주체와 내용이 다양하여 프로그램 효과 분석도 다각적인 시각에서 이루어질 필요가 있으며, 본 연구에서는 동일한 프로그램에 참여하였음에도 불구하고 기업성과에 차이가 발생하는 것이 참여자의 특성에 기인하는지를 분석하고자 한다. 이를 위해 액셀러레이팅 프로그램에 참여하는 스타트업 CEO의 특성에 초점을 맞춘 연구모형을 설정하였다. 액셀러레이팅 프로그램에 대한 만족도를 독립변수로, 기업성과인 재무적성과와 비재무적성과를 종속변수로 설정하고, 자기효능감, 낙관주의, 희망, 회복탄력성인 긍정심리자본을 매개변수로 설정하여 CEO의 긍정심리자본 정도에 따라 액셀러레이팅 프로그램의 효과에 차이가 있는지 실증적 분석을 통해 검증하고자 한다. 연구 대상은 중소기업 지원 정책금융기관인 신용보증기금과 중소기업은행의 액셀러레이팅 프로그램인 스타트업 네스트(Start-up NEST)와 IBK창공에 참여한 경험이 있는 스타트업 CEO를 대상으로 하였다.