• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.417-437
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• 2008

Korean firms have had a short history of foreign direct investment and export in China market entry. This present study empirically analyzed determinants of the choice of foreign market entry modes, Particularly forcusing on the China market entry on Korean manufacture firms. This study developed a research model to determinant factor in the China market entry and collected 77 survey responses from the Korean manufacture firms. This study model construct in the third factor, China market character, company character and product character. In China market character, the variance are China trade barrier, culture different, competition power. The variance in company character are internationalization experience, enterprise rage and entry motivation. Also the variance in product character are product different, customer service and cost advantage. It is researcher's main interest that which type of China market entry format brought most positive evaluation form the Korean manufacture firms. therefor, these research results turned out to be different a little both export and direct investment in China market of Korean manufacture firms.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.277-297
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• 2006

Joined WTO, China has revised or removed continuously some of existing enter barriers which have been protecting Chinese distribution market. Chinese government intend to open completely it's distribution market in 2007. Such as the open policy of Chinese distribution impact on Korean firms which invest in China. in order to occupy China's market, Korean firms needs to prepare counterplan on change of China's distribution environments. China's distribution environment is uncertain on account of remaining communism system even though opening it's distribution market. The purpose of this paper is to suggest diverse counterplan of Korean firms and answer how Korean firms can enter the China's distribution market successfully. through exmaninig how China's distribution channel is formulated and implemented. this study exhibits a model for strategy of Korean firms and shows implementations schemes.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.311-335
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• 2009

This study investigates the factors barrier the performance of Korean manufacturing firms in China. Also an empirical data use the field survey of Korean manufacturing firms in China. as a result, First, we find that employment-cost factor, that is rising labor costs, a change of occupation is an effect the performance of Korean manufacturing firms in China. Second, business beginning year and by 7 region factor is very significant on the performance of Korean FDI firms in china. And then, Korean corporate investment in China is a desirable form of long-term investment shall be determined. also we know that regions of China, differentiated investment approach is effective. finally, The result shows that FDI to China is need of the long term plan, and In actual use, these FDI should be applied flexibly in china business environment.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.137-155
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• 2007

Since China joined the WTO, the trade between Korea and China has continued to grow by leaps and bounds, making both nations become mutually important trading partners to each other. The volume of trades with China showed a rapid upward trend with an average annual increase rate of 20% and the resultant dispute is also rising. Thus, this study was aimed to make some suggestions and come up with ways of responding claims by surveying Korean trading firms which have experience in making transactions with China to investigate the current status and the actual condition of their occurrence. As a result of this study, firstly, the main cause of such dispute was shown to be the failure to perform the agreement. Secondly, there were malty verbal agreements and due to a deterioration of trust in Chinese firms, the method of a letter of credit was adopted by many Korean firms. Thirdly, the payment and credit appeared to be most important in transactions with China. A credit inquiry is a must in future transactions with China. Fourthly, the indirect cause of the occurrence of trade claims was the difference in commercial practices and as for the way of settling disputes, the agreement through negotiations between the parties involved was the most. Fifthly, small and medium firms should make more of their credit and English proficiency than large ones do.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.253-268
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• 2019

This paper analyses the characteristics of partner countries when multinational firms of Korea, China, and Japan make greenfield FDI in foreign countries. Particularly, this paper applies the gravity model for greenfield FDI flows for the period 2003-2017. This paper finds that multinational firms of Korea, as compared to those of China and Japan, are very significantly and negatively responsive to political risks of partner countries. In contrast, multinational firms of Korea as well as those of China and Japan tend to make greater amounts of greenfield FDI in financially high-risk countries. This result indicates that multinational firms from these three countries should take financial risks of partner countries into more serious consideration.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.1-26
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• 2019

Purpose - We examine the disclosures on foreign divestment from China by 77 Korean firms between 2007 and 2016 to identify the effects (and their determinants) on parent firm value. Design/methodology - We analyze how divestment affects firm value by examining the disclosure of divestment from China by Korean firms. Then, we examine the determinants of these disclosure effects using cross-sectional regression analyses. Findings - We find negative effects on parent firm value in the short and medium term, and both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ stock markets show negative correlations between foreign divestment and firm value. The parent firm's financial condition and profitability and the reason for divesting are statistically significant determinants. Practical implications - Most Korean firms in China belong to the manufacturing industry. As a result, divestment signifies a loss of important manufacturing bases and assets. Originality/value - We analyze foreign direct divestment, which has not been studied in detail previously owing to a lack of data. In addition, this research is the first to compare the disclosure effects in the KOSPI market with those in the KOSDAQ market for the same period.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.65-88
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• 2021

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the determinants of SWFs' investment in Asian countries and to identify consistent investment patterns of SWFs in specific target firms from Asia, particularly China and South Korea. Design/methodology - This study extends the Tobin's Q model to examine the relationship between SWF investments in target firms and their returns with other firm-level control variables. We collect consistent data on SWF investments and the matched firm-level data on target firms, which of observation is 1,512 firms (333 in South Korea and 1,179 in China) targeted by 20 SWF sources during 1997-2017. The panel random effect model is used to estimate the extended Tobin's Q model. The robustness of the estimations is tested by the simultaneous equation models and the panel GEE model. Findings - The evidence shows that sovereign wealth funds are more inclined to invest in the financial sector with a monopoly position and in large firms with higher growth opportunity and superior cash asset ratios in China. In contrast to their investments in China, sovereign wealth funds in South Korea prefer to invest in strategic sectors, such as energy and information technology, and in large firms with high performance and low leverage. Sovereign wealth funds' investments tend to significantly improve the target firm's performance measured by sales growth and returns in both Korea and China. Originality/value - The existing literature focuses on examining the determination of SWFs investment in the developed countries, such as Europe and the United States. Our paper contributes to the literature in three ways; first, we analyzes case studies of SWF investments in Asian markets, which are less developed and riskier. Second, we examine whether the determination of SWF investment in Asian target firms depends on the different time periods, on types of sources of SWFs, and on acquiring countries. Third, our research uses vast sample data on target firms in longer time periods (1997-2017) than other previous studies on the SWFs for Asian markets.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.7-16
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• 2019

Purpose - Economic globalization provides firms with a new channel to gain benefits from foreign countries. Therefore, using the real MNEs, this paper set China's firms as an example to explore the relationship between multinationality and performance. Research design, data, and methodology - Panel data from 2008 to 2017 was used and 390 multinational firms listed in China's A-share market was selected. Additionally, related econometric methods were employed to analyze the relationship between multinationality and performance in this study. The return on assets was treated as a dependent variable, and the sales of a firm, the firm age, the debt asset ratio of a firm, the ratio of foreign sales to total sales and the enterprise properties were treated as independent variables. All of these factors were used to conduct an empirical analysis. Results - The empirical findings in this study revealed that there is a linear relationship between multinationality and performance, as well as that non state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) have a greater effect on the relationship between multinationality and performance than that of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Conclusions - On the basis of evidences this paper provided, China's government should take measures in the future to help China's firms when they fulfil international economic activities.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.128-145
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• 2021

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is thus to investigate the contingent effect of imitation strategies on firm performance in transition economies such as China, focusing on pure and creative imitation. Design/methodology - We conducted a survey targeting department heads of each company who have more than 10 years work experiences. We assessed that the ability to gain trust and to access information from high-ranking informants would be greater if the firms were from the same country - Korea - as the lead researcher. A total of 200 highly reliable samples were obtained, which could effectively explain the nine variables set in the study. Relevant hypotheses were tested using a hierarchical linear model (HLM). Findings - The findings suggest that SMEs' technology level also had a positive impact on performance. Firms with better technology had a positive impact on performance, irrespective of pure or creative imitation. This reflects the cases where many Korean SMEs entering China without high technology level lose their competitiveness due to Chinese firms' technology catch-up within a short period of time. Originality/value - SMEs that lack technology and know-how need to focus on pure imitation strategies. It is possible that SMEs can perform creative imitation, but it seems difficult under the current circumstances. Therefore, SMEs with limitations in technology and know-how should maintain their competitive advantage for a while, by maintaining their pure imitation strategy.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.35-58
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• 2020

Purpose - This study examines the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) location choice for Chinese firms, focusing on the agglomeration effect for firms of the same nationality. Design/methodology - The empirical data are China's inward FDI from the top 19 economies (excluding tax havens and Taiwan) in terms of FDI during 1997-2015 and China's outward FDI from the top 18 economies (excluding tax havens). This study uses a random effects generalized least squares model for panel data analysis. Findings - The results confirm that both host countries' costs and market conditions and the degree of agglomeration affect these countries' attractiveness for FDI inflows. Specifically, agglomeration has a significant effect on China's inward and outward FDI. This study confirms that the agglomeration of firms of the same nationality has predictive power for multinational enterprises' FDI location choices. The host countries' real GDP and trade openness also positively affect FDI inflows. Interestingly, however, China's production cost has a positive effect. Thus, inward FDI aimed at entering the Chinese market is increasing in recent years relative to the previous efficiency-seeking FDI. Inward FDI in China is therefore the market-entry type, whereas outward FDI by Chinese firms is the market-oriented type. Originality/value - These results suggest that the effects of the potential determinants of Chinese outward FDI are similar to those of inward FDI as China's trade liberalization progresses.