• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 2022

Purpose: This study predicted cost asymmetry as a determinant of investment efficiency, and empirically analyzed the relationship between cost stickiness and investment efficiency. Research design, data and methodology: Using a sample of 4,382 Korean firm-year observations over 2011-2017 period, I examined the relationship between cost stickiness and investment efficiency. Asymmetrical cost behavior is measured as model of Homburg and Nasev (2008) and model of Park, Koo, and Pae (2012). Investment efficiency is measured as Chen, Hope, Li, and Wang (2011)'s model. Results: Firms with cost stickiness are less efficient in their investment than firms with non-cost stickiness. In other words, cost stickiness is an empirical result that supports the previous research on cost decision-making from perspective of managers pursuing private benefits due to information asymmetry. Conclusions: By showing that the manager's decision-making on the cost behavior affects the investment efficiency corresponding to capital management, the implications for the mechanism for efficient capital management are provided. Through the empirical results, it was shown that the cost stickiness is a product of opportunistic cost decision-making due to information asymmetry, and it is to present evidence that expands the meaning of the causes of asymmetric cost behavior.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.5-13
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• 2020

Purpose: This research investigates the cost behavior of the distribution industry. Specifically, we investigate if the ratio of the increase in costs with an increase in sales is consistent with the ratio of the decrease in costs when sales decrease. Traditionally, cost is assumed to be symmetrical. In the case of the distribution industry, it was expected that the downward rigidity of the cost would be shown because it would be very difficult to decide to adjust resources when sales temporarily decrease. Therefore, studies have looked at Korean capital markets based on manufacturing and steel industries. However, no research has been done on the distribution industry. Research design, data, and methodology: To verify the hypothesis of this study, the asymmetry of cost was measured by Anderson et al. (2003). The sample used 28,695 firm-year data from 2002 to 2019 for the KOSPI and KOSDAQ stock markets. Results: The empirical analysis results are as follows. First, asymmetry of cost was observed in the case of the distribution industry. We confirm cost rigidity when sales decreased. Conclusions. This is the first study to look at cost behavior in the distribution industry, and the downward rigidity of cost in the distribution industry is observed.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.302-312
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• 2020

This study examined whether there is a difference in cost asymmetry between a corporate listed on KOSDAQ and a corporate listed on KOSPI, and whether there is a difference in cost asymmetry depending on the size of the listed corporate. In the previous study, cost asymmetry was examined only for listed corporate, but the difference in size between KOSDAQ-listed corporate and KOSPI-listed corporate was not examined. However, according to many studies, since the characteristics of corporate and firm risks are different between corporate listed on KOSPI and corporate listed on KOSDAQ, or even for listed corporate, such an impact may affect the decision-making of internal resource allocation. The analysis was conducted that there would be a difference in the impact. For this study, the results of analyzing the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets from 2011 to 2019 using the cost behavior model of Anderson et al. (2003), There was a difference in cost behavior in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. Overall, as in previous studies, Cost Stickiness was appeared. but in the case of the KOSPI market, Cost Stickiness was mitigated.It was found that corporate with large corporate size made the decision to dispose of idle resources more clearly when sales decreased. In addition, it was observed that the higher the foreign investor's ownership ratio, the KOSPI market, and the larger the corporate size, the more clearly the Stickiness of cost was mitigated. This study expands research on cost asymmetry and reveals that there is a difference between the KOSPI market and the KOSDAQ market, and between the size of the corporate, and has a differentiation from previous studies.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.145-155
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• 2020

The purpose of this study investigates the relationship between business strategy and cost behavior according to the corporate life cycle. To do so, I first examine the relationship between cost behavior and business strategy. And then, I analyze the effect of the business strategy on cost behavior conditional upon corporate life cycle based on listed Korean firms from 2000 to 2019. Specifically, the business strategy index is calculated by using the six continuous financial factors and the Prospector and Defender was defined on the score. Also, the corporate life cycle is distinguished based on the cash flow pattern. I find the evidence that the Prospector firms are likely to strengthen the asymmetry of cost behavior (cost stickiness), and examined that such a relationship was most strongly represented in the Introduction. This study is meaningful in that this is a more comprehensive analysis by examining business strategy and cost strategy according to the corporate life cycle and expand the application of financial information by using financial indicators to distinguish business strategies.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.259-266
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• 2020

This study analyzes the effects of the obsolescence assets on the asymmetry of costs. Cost asymmetry refers to a lower percentage of costs when sales fall than increases in costs when sales increase. the obsolescence asset induces various decisions, including high maintenance costs and management improvements and replacement of facilities. This study is to analyze the cost behavior according to those decisions. The analysis showed that the higher the obsolescence of assets rate, we found cost elasticity, with a greater reduction in costs when sales decrease than the increase in costs when sales increase. Second, the lower the cost will not appear as the obsolescence of assets rate increases in case that the concentration of an item of property, plant and equipment is high, and when sales decrease. The above result means that the obsolescence of assets rate acts as operating risk and thus operates resources flexibly according to changes in sales, but when the concentration of property, plant and equipment is high, the decision-making constraint make it difficult for the flexible operation.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.231-246
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• 2023

Purpose - This study attempts to provide a new theoretical perspective on the quality signaling and its impact on a market under information asymmetry, focusing on how the accuracy and the cost of quality signaling affect sellers' and buyers' profit, suggesting appropriate designs of quality signaling methods which mitigates information asymmetry. Design/methodology/approach - In order to examine the effect of quality signaling on strategic interactions within the market, we establish an analytic model where market outcomes are determined by seller's quality claim and price, and buyers are risk-neutral. By investigating this analytic model through relevant game trees, we find the subgame perfect Nash equilibria of the market and predict related market outcomes based on sellers' quality signaling strategy. Findings - Our analytic model shows counterintuitive results that seller profit will be the lowest with inaccurate quality signaling and the highest with no quality signaling, mostly due to the certification cost. Consequently, sellers should proceed with caution if the quality signaling is less than accurate, as it may backfire. We believe that this is due to the fact that the inaccuracy of quality signaling causes some confusion and uncertainty in both sellers and buyers' decision to maximize profit, making it hard for sellers to predict buyers' behavior. Research implications or Originality - Although the sources and types of quality signaling errors have been investigated in the literature, there has not been satisfactory understanding regarding how inaccuracy of quality certification affects specific market outcomes. We expect that our theoretical model would provide important implications on how to utilize quality signaling to solve adverse selection issues in markets under information asymmetry.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.177-191
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• 2020

This study examines the effect of the self-overviewing attributes derived from agency problem on the cost behavior in franchise industry. To solve the research problem, we developed the proxies for self-overviewing attributes of domestic franchise CEO and used Anderson et al. (2003)'s cost behavior model to test hypothesis. Moreover, we grouped the self-overviewing variables for additional test. We find that operating costs are more sticky for firms which present higher CEO's self-overviewing attributes in franchise industry. Second, we find that the greater the self-overviewing tendency, more strengthened cost stickiness when sales decrease. This study is meaningful in that we developed proxies for self-overviewing propensity, such as the hypodermic behaviors of franchise CEO, which have not been performed in previous studies, to enhance future studies of franchise CEO. Futhermore, we empirically provide the effects of CEO's self-overviewing attributes on the operating costs behaviors, suggesting useful information to franchise stakeholders such as prospective start-ups, franchisee and investors.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.215-224
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• 2022

This study tried to examine the effect of cost asymmetry on food service companies and what characteristics affect such cost behavior. This study analyses cost behavior for cost of good sold, selling, general and administrative cost over the 2019-2020 period. Also, the rate of change in activity level was measured using change in sales. This study measures the behavior of cost using the research model of [1]. As a result of the analysis, it was found that food service companies exhibited cost asymmetric behavior as their sales level decreased. In addition, the cost asymmetric behavior has been strengthened since the corona virus, and the shorter the operating cycle. Lastly, the shorter the inventory holding period and the collection period of accounts receivable, which are components of the operating cycle, more strengthen asymmetric behavior of costs. These results seem to be meaningful in examining the cost structure and factors that may affect the structure for food service industry. This has approached the cost aspect of the situation faced by service food companies due to COVID-19, and it can be suggested that this pandemic can lead to cost reduction due to a decrease in corporate sales.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.281-288
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• 2019

This study examines the relationship between R&D intensity and disclosure. R&D activities are essential in bringing innovation to companies. However, R&D activities are naturally uncertain and increase information asymmetry. Thus, firms with high R&D activities are more likely to have the incentive to communicate the potential of R&D investment to the market through voluntary disclosure and, concurrently, resolve information asymmetry. Meanwhile, incentives to less voluntary disclosure exist because of the proprietary cost and the risk of competitiveness loss. Furthermore, the uncertainties inherent in R&D activities caused the possible decrease in the information accuracy. For the two opposing views, this study investigates the relationship between R&D intensity and disclosure frequency using the Regulation Fair Disclosure data in Korea. Moreover, the relationship between R&D intensity and usefulness of the information disclosed is also examined. Using firm sample listed in the 2011-2016 Korea Stock Market, results show that firms with high R&D intensity make disclosures more frequent. Subsequently, the analysis using forecast sample shows that management forecast error is higher in firms with high R&D intensity. This research contributes to the existing literature by presenting evidence that R&D intensity is a significant factor affecting manager's disclosure behavior and information usefulness.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2008

How health care providers compete and how competition among them affects their behavior are crucial questions in theory and health policy. In ordinary markets, competition improves social welfare, However in health care markets facing uncertainty and information asymmetry, competition can take the form of wasteful quality competition and result in cost increase. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of hospital service markets and examine the impact of hospital competition on hospital behavior, more specifically hospital cost and the size of personnel. Based on patient discharge data of 2002 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, and health insurance EDI claims data of 2002, this study measures the degree of competition in the inpatient service market of hospitals, using variable radius method and Herfindahl index. The result of the study shows that the hospital service market consists of on average 3.13 government administrative units(shi, gun, or gu). Compared with hospitals, general or general specialized hospitals cover larger markets and operate in more competitive markets. Nearly 60% of patients use hospitals, which are not located in their government administrative units, meaning that market definition based on variable radius is better than the conventional method of market definition based on government administrative units. The results of multivariate analysis show that competition is not associated with high cost index of hospitals. But hospitals in more competitive markets employ larger(more intensive) input of personnel per 100 beds, implying that hospital competition in Korea can have the form of quality and cost-increasing competition.