• Journal of Service Research and Studies
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.25-35
• /
• 2022

Covid-19, of which the first patient in Korea occurred in January 2020, has affected various fields. Of these, the tourism sector might havebeen hit the hardest. In particular, since tourism-based industrial structure forms the basis of the region, Gangwon-province, and the tourism industry is the main source of income for small businesses and small enterprises, the damage is great. To check the situation and extent of such damage, targeting the Chuncheon region, where public access is the most convenient among the Gangwon regions, one-day tours are possible using public transportation from Seoul and the metropolitan area, with a general image that low expense tourism is recognized as possible, this study conducted empirical analysis through data analysis. For this, the general status of the region was checked based on the visitor data of Chuncheon city provided by the tourist information system, and to check the levels ofinterest in 2019, before Covid-19, and in 2020, after Covid-19, by comparing keywords collected from the web service sometrend of Vibe Company Inc., a company specializing in keyword collection, with SK Telecom's T-map search site data, which in parallel provides in-vehicle navigation service and communication service, this study analyzed the general regional image of Chuncheon-city. In addition, by comparing data from two years by developing a tourism popularity index applying keywords and T-map search site data, this study examined how much the Covid-19 situation affected the level of interest of visitors to the Chuncheon area leading to actual visits using a data analysis approach. According to the results of big data analysis applying the tourism popularity index after designing the data mart, this study confirmed that the effect of the Covid-19 situation on tourism popularity in Chuncheon-city, Gangwon-provincewas not significant, and confirmed the image of tourist destinations based on the regional characteristics of the region. It is hoped that the results of this research and analysis can be used as useful reference data for tourism economic policy making.

• Korean small business review
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.73-88
• /
• 2009

This study examines the characteristics of 24 Korean hidden champions such as key success factors, core competences, strategic problems, and desirable future directions. The study categorized them into 8 types with Danny Miller's four trajectories and top manager's decision making style(rationality and passion). Danny Miller argued in his book, Icarus paradox, that outstanding firms will extend their orientations until they reach dangerous extremes and their momentum will result in common trajectories of decline. He suggested four very common success types: Craftsmen, Builders, Pioneers, Salesmen. He also suggested common trajectories of decline:Focusing(from Craftsmen to Tinkers), Venturing(from Builders to Imperialists), Inventing(from Pioneers to Escapists), Decoupling(from Salesmen to Drifts). In Korea, successful startups appear to possess three kinds of drive: Technology-drive, Vision-drive, Market-drive. Successful technology-driven firms tend to grow as craftsmen or pioneers. Successful vision-driven and market-driven ones tend to grow as builders and salesmen respectively. Korean top managers or founders seem to have two kinds of decision making style: Passion-based and Rationality-bases. Passion-based(passionate) entrepreneurs are biased towards action or proactiveness in competing and getting things done. Rationality- based ones tend to emphasis the effort devoted to scanning and analysing information to better understand a company's threats, opportunities and options. Consequently this study suggested 4*2 types of Korean hidden champions: (1) passionate craftsmen, (2) rational craftsmen, (3) passionate builders, (4) rational builders, (5) passionate pioneers, (6) rational pioneers, (7) passionate salesmen, (8) rational salesmen. These 8 type firms showed different success stories and appeared to possess different trajectories of decline. These hidden champions have acquired competitive advantage within domestic or globally niche markets in spite of the weak market power and lack of internal resources. They have maintained their sustainable competitiveness by utilizing three types of growth strategy; (1) penetrating into the global market, (2) exploring new service market, (3) occupying the domestic market. According to the types of growth strategy, these firms showed different financial outcomes and possessed different issues for maintaining their competitiveness. This study found that Korean hidden champions were facing serious challenges from the transforming economic structure these days and possessed the decline potential from their success momentum or self-complacence. It argues that they need to take a new growth engine not to decline in the turbulent environment. It also discusses how firms overcome the economic crisis and find a new business area in promising industries for the future. It summarized the recent policy of Korean government called as "Green Growth" and discussed how small firms utilize such benefits and supports from the government. Other implications for firm strategies and governmental policies were discussed.

• Korea Trade Review
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.43-68
• /
• 2023

In this study, in relation to "Chapter 3 Support for Priority Purchase of Technology Development Products" of the 「Market Channel Support Act」, this study investigated the positive growth impact of technology development products subject to preferential purchase on small and medium sized enterprises. The data used for empirical verification is for 371 companies that obtained certification for technology development products subject to preferential purchase in 2016 and Data from SMEs were collected from 2017 to 2021, Sales, operating profit, and net profit was identified, and empirical verification. And conducted through statistical analysis to determine whether it had a positive effect on the growth factors of SMEs. In addition, data from 225 technology development product certification companies were collected, and empirical testing was conducted through t-test analysis on the change in growth factors before and after acquiring certification. As a result of statistical analysis, it was found that the total assets, certified sales, operating profit, and net profit, which are the growth factors of a company, are all positively affected according to the type of technology development product certification. However, in the case of authentication types, some authentications showed significant negative results. In addition, significant results were derived that after acquiring certification had a positive effect on growth factors than before acquiring certification. Consistent with this conclusion, I think that it is effective for technology development-based SMEs to enter the public procurement market and utilize the technology development product priority purchase policy for market exploitation and corporate growth. And the government should strengthen the market support policy to create demand so that SMEs can enter the procurement market and actively utilize the preferential purchase system, and come up with an improvement plan so that public institutions can actively utilize the preferential purchase system.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.41-76
• /
• 2020

This study confirmed factors affecting smart factory technology acceptance through empirical analysis. It is a study on what factors have an important influence on the introduction of the smart factory, which is the core field of the 4th industry. I believe that there is academic and practical significance in the context of insufficient research on technology acceptance in the field of smart factories. This research was conducted based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), whose explanatory power has been proven in the study of the acceptance factors of information technology. In addition to the four independent variables of the UTAUT : Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, and Facilitating Conditions, Government Assistance Expectancy, which is expected to be an important factor due to the characteristics of the smart factory, was added to the independent variable. And, in order to confirm the technical factors of smart factory technology acceptance, the Task Technology Fit(TTF) was added to empirically analyze the effect on Behavioral Intention. Trust is added as a parameter because the degree of trust in new technologies is expected to have a very important effect on the acceptance of technologies. Finally, empirical verification was conducted by adding Innovation Resistance to a research variable that plays a role as a moderator, based on previous studies that innovation by new information technology can inevitably cause refusal to users. For empirical analysis, an online questionnaire of random sampling method was conducted for incumbents of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, and 309 copies of effective responses were used for empirical analysis. Amos 23.0 and Process macro 3.4 were used for statistical analysis. For accurate statistical analysis, the validity of Research Model and Measurement Variable were secured through confirmatory factor analysis. Accurate empirical analysis was conducted through appropriate statistical procedures and correct interpretation for causality verification, mediating effect verification, and moderating effect verification. Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Government Assistance Expectancy, and Task Technology Fit had a positive (+) effect on smart factory technology acceptance. The magnitude of influence was found in the order of Government Assistance Expectancy(β=.487) > Task Technology Fit(β=.218) > Performance Expectancy(β=.205) > Social Influence(β=.204). Both the Task Characteristics and the Technology Characteristics were confirmed to have a positive (+) effect on Task Technology Fit. It was found that Task Characteristics(β=.559) had a greater effect on Task Technology Fit than Technology Characteristics(β=.328). In the mediating effect verification on Trust, a statistically significant mediating role of Trust was not identified between each of the six independent variables and the intention to introduce a smart factory. Through the verification of the moderating effect of Innovation Resistance, it was found that Innovation Resistance plays a positive (+) moderating role between Government Assistance Expectancy, and technology acceptance intention. In other words, the greater the Innovation Resistance, the greater the influence of the Government Assistance Expectancy on the intention to adopt the smart factory than the case where there is less Innovation Resistance. Based on this, academic and practical implications were presented.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.57-75
• /
• 2021

KHNP's shared growth activities are based on such public good. Reflecting the characteristics of a comprehensive energy company, a high-tech plant company, and a leading company for shared growth, it presents strategies to link performance indicators with its partners and implements various measures. Key tasks include maintaining the nuclear power plant ecosystem, improving management conditions for partner companies, strengthening future capabilities of the nuclear power plant industry, and supporting a virtuous cycle of regional development. This is made by reflecting the specificity of nuclear power generation as much as possible, and is designed to reflect the spirit of shared growth through win-win and cooperation in order to solve the challenges of the times while considering the characteristics as much as possible as possible. KHNP's shared growth activities can be said to be the practice of the spirit of the times(Zeitgeist). The spirit of the times given to us now is that companies should strive for sustainable growth as social air. KHNP has been striving to establish a creative and leading shared growth ecosystem. In particular, considering the positions of partners, it has been promoting continuous system improvement to establish a fair trade culture and deregulation. In addition, it has continuously discovered and implemented new customized support projects that are effective for partner companies and local communities. To this end, efforts have been made for shared growth through organic collaboration with partners and stakeholders. As detailed tasks, it also presents fostering new markets and new industries, maintaining supply chains, and emergency support for COVID-19 to maintain the nuclear power plant ecosystem. This reflects the social public good after the recent COVID-19 incident. In order to improve the management conditions of partner companies, productivity improvement, human resources enhancement, and customized funding are being implemented as detailed tasks. This is a plan to practice win-win growth with partner companies emphasized by corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ISO 26000 while being faithful to the main job. Until now, ESG management has focused on the environmental field to cope with the catastrophe of climate change. According to KHNP is presenting a public enterprise-type model in the environmental field. In order to strengthen the future capabilities of the nuclear power plant industry as a state-of-the-art energy company, it has set tasks to attract investment from partner companies, localization and new technologies R&D, and commercialization of innovative technologies. This is an effort to develop advanced nuclear power plant technology as a concrete practical measure of eco-friendly development. Meanwhile, the EU is preparing a social taxonomy to focus on the social sector, another important axis in ESG management, following the Green Taxonomy, a classification system in the environmental sector. KHNP includes enhancing local vitality, increasing income for the underprivileged, and overcoming the COVID-19 crisis as part of its shared growth activities, which is a representative social taxonomy field. The draft social taxonomy being promoted by the EU was announced in July, and the contents promoted by KHNP are consistent with this, leading the practice of social taxonomy

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.109-115
• /
• 2022

As the 4th industrial revolution progresses, foreign countries are promoting smart manufacturing innovation through digital transformation as a priority task early on to secure a competitive edge in the manufacturing industry. In response, the Korean government is also promoting a policy to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies by promoting digital transformation in the corporate sector to meet the global trend of the 4th industrial revolution era. Manufacturing powerhouses such as Germany and Japan see manufacturing as a key sector in digital transformation and are leading related policies, while emerging countries such as China are also promoting manufacturing innovation strategies such as building digital infrastructure and creating a digital innovation ecosystem. Korea is promoting the 'Korean-style smart factory dissemination and expansion strategy' by transforming Germany's manufacturing innovation strategy for smart factory supply to suit the domestic situation. However, the policy to supply smart factories so far has been conducted with support from individual companies under the leadership of the government, and most of the smart factories are at the basic level, and it is evaluated that there are limitations such as the lack of manpower to operate smart factories. In addition, while the current policy focuses on expanding the supply of smart factories in SMEs, it is necessary to establish a smart manufacturing system through linkages between large and small businesses in order to achieve the original goal of establishing a smart manufacturing system. Therefore, it can be said that from the standpoint of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who are consumers of smart factories, it can be said that the digital transformation policy can achieve the expected results only when appropriate incentives are provided for the introduction of smart factories in a situation where management resources such as funds, technology, and human resources are lacking. In addition, it is judged that the uncertainty of the performance of digital investment always exists, and as long as large and small companies are maintained as an ecosystem of delivery and subcontracting, there is very little incentive for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to voluntarily invest in or advance digital transformation. Therefore, the digital transformation policy of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the future has practical significance in that it suggests that there is a need to seek ways to attract SMEs' digital-related voluntary investment.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.41-65
• /
• 2023

This study was conducted to empirically analyse the factors that influence SMEs' intention to adopt ESG. For this purpose, we first derived the variables of usefulness of ESG and ease of adoption. In addition, we adopted CEO's will because of the importance of CEO's role in decision-making in SMEs. In addition, we added customer's request, government support, and credit evaluation reflection as institutional factors for ESG management. To examine the mediating role of attitudes and employees' innovation resistance in these relationships and how they affect ESG adoption, we set up a research model. These factors were used in the empirical analysis with 368 valid responses from the survey. Hierarchical regression analysis method using SPSS 24.0 was used for statistical analysis, and Process Macro 4.0 based on SPSS 24 was used for mediation and moderation effects. The results of the empirical analysis of this study showed that the usefulness of ESG adoption, ease of adoption, CEO's will, customer's request, government support, and credit evaluation reflection all had a positive and significant effect on the intention to adopt ESG management. In particular, among the variables affecting ESG adoption, CEO's will was found to be the most influential. Attitudes were also found to play a mediating role between the influencing factors and intention to adopt ESG management, as well as the mediating effect of employee' innovation resistance. The academic implications of this study include the identification and empirical testing of each of the influencing variables of ESG management adoption in the scarce literature on ESG in SMEs, and the prioritisation of the influence of these factors on adoption intention, which can be used to promote the adoption of ESG management. In terms of practical implications, it is important for SMEs to have a win-win relationship with large corporations, an ecosystem such as government support, in order to improve CEO awareness and motivate the CEO's will, and for smooth introduction of ESG management, it is necessary to find ways to reduce resistance through sufficient communication with organizational members to make them aware of the need.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.25-37
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to survey startup founders within 7 years of founding the importance and satisfaction of the components of the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem at the national level in Korea and analyze the direction of scale-up policy by component using IPA (importance-performance analysis). Since the perception of founders, who are the subjects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, affects the quantity and quality of start-ups, research is needed to analyze and diagnose the perception of scale-up components. For the development of the national economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem, companies that emerge from startups to scale-up and unicorns must be produced, and for this, elements for the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem are needed. The results of this study are as follows. First, the importance ranking of the components of the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem recognized by founders was in the order of "Financial support by growth stage," "Support for customized scale-up for enterprises," "Improvement of regulations," "Funds dedicated to scale-up," "large-scale investment," and "nurturing technical talents." Second, the factors that should be intensively improved in the importance-satisfaction matrix in the future were 'Pan-Government Integration Promotion Plan', 'Scale-Up Specialized Organization Operation', 'Company Customized Scale-Up Support', 'Regulatory Improvement', and 'Building a Korean Scale-Up Model'. As a result, various and large financial capital for the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem, diversification of scale-up programs by business sector, linkage of start-ups and scale-up support, deregulation of new technologies and new industries, strengthening corporate-tailored scale-up growth capabilities, and providing overseas networking opportunities can be derived. In addition, it is expected to contribute to policy practice and academic work with research that derives the components of the domestic scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem and diagnoses its perception.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.185-196
• /
• 2023

This paper investigates the effects of entrepreneurs' cognitive biases on business opportunity evaluation, given their strong entrepreneurial spirit, which is characterized by innovation, proactivity, and risk-taking. When making decisions related to business activities, entrepreneurs typically make rational judgments based on their knowledge, experience, and the advice of external experts. However, in situations of extreme stress or when quick decisions are required, they often rely on heuristics based on their cognitive biases. In particular, we often see cases where entrepreneurs fail because they make decisions based on heuristics in the process of evaluating and selecting new business opportunities that are planned to guarantee the growth and sustainability of their companies. This study was conducted in response to the need for research to clarify the effects of entrepreneurs' cognitive biases on new business opportunity evaluation, given that the cognitive biases of entrepreneurs, which are formed by repeated successful experiences, can sometimes lead to business failure. Although there have been many studies on the effects of cognitive biases on entrepreneurship and opportunity evaluation among university students and general people who aspire to start a business, there have been few studies that have clarified the relationship between cognitive biases and social networks among entrepreneurs. In contrast to previous studies, this study conducted empirical surveys of entrepreneurs only, and also conducted research on the relationship with social networks. For the study, a survey was conducted using a parallel survey method using online mobile surveys and self-report questionnaires from 150 entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results of the study showed that 'overconfidence' and 'illusion of control', among the independent variables of entrepreneurs' cognitive biases, had a statistically significant positive(+) effect on business opportunity evaluation. In addition, it was confirmed that the moderating variable, social network, moderates the effect of overconfidence on business opportunity evaluation. This study showed that entrepreneurs' cognitive biases play a role in the process of evaluating and selecting new business opportunities, and that social networks play a role in moderating the structural relationship between entrepreneurs' cognitive biases and business opportunity evaluation. This study is expected to be of great help not only to entrepreneurs, but also to entrepreneur education and policy making, by showing how entrepreneurs can use cognitive biases in a positive way and the influence of social networks.

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