• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2014

This study examines the relationship between firms' external search strategy and their innovation performance. In addition to revisiting the relationship between open search strategy and product innovation, we further extend the impact of use of external knowledge sources to process and organizational innovation. Using the 2010 Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) of manufacturing firms, we report that on average, venture firms search more widely (external search breadth) and deeply (external search depth) across a variety of external search channels than non-venture firms. We then further explore the impact of venture and non-venture firms' use of external search strategies on innovation performance. We find that both searching widely and deeply increase the likelihood of non-venture firm's successes in product, process and organizational innovation. Similar results can be found for the venture firm's success in organizational innovation. However, only searching deeply increases the likelihood of venture firms' success in product and process innovation.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.101-113
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• 2018

This paper investigates the relationship between external search strategy and radical innovation performance. As the discrepancies that can exist among the varying sources of external knowledge is overlooked, the existing literature on the effect of external search strategy on radical innovation performance remains inconclusive. This study aims to reconcile such mixed findings by recognizing that external knowledge can be distinctive depending on the environment in which its source is embedded in; specifically, this paper examines the relationship between external search strategy and radical innovation performance by distinguishing external search from 'market' and 'non-market' relationships. We test our hypotheses with a sample of 431 firms from the manufacturing industries from the 2010 STEPI survey. Our empirical findings suggest that external search strategy from market relationships positively influences radical innovation performance, while the influence of external search strategy from non-market relationships is found to be not significant. Our research suggests that in order to improve radical innovation performance, firms must be able to maintain a cooperative relationship with other actors connected with market relationships and to effectively exploit the market knowledge obtained from these actors.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1-16
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• 2015

This paper aims to explore the small and medium sized enterprises'(SMEs') technological innovation through an open innovative strategy. Researchers have identified open innovation as external search 'breadth' and 'depth'. Although an open innovation strategy is well known as an effective way for SMEs' innovation, this stream of research examines differences between pursuing breadth of external knowledge and depth of external knowledge for SEMs' innovation. The sample comprises a total of 1106 SMEs included in the Korean Innovation Survey, and logistic regression analysis and odds ratio comparison were used to evaluate the relationship between external knowledge search and innovation outcomes. The results show that both 'breadth' and 'depth' positively affect the SMEs' innovation. When SMEs are simultaneously pursuing external searching for breadth and depth, however, a negative result on innovation outcome followed because of the lack of their internal resources and capacities. Despite these contributions, we have certain limitations that can be regarded as means of future research. Even though breadth and depth are adopted to measure the way of how a firm sources the external knowledge, companies may place the different weight on each source of knowledge. And also, it is difficult to understand how the knowledge gained through external search contributes to a firm's incremental and radical innovation, respectively.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.173-180
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• 2014

In this research, we aim to analyze how different external knowledge search strategies of small and medium enterprises affect technological innovation. In particular, since there has been little comparison between Korean small and medium firms, we investigated the differences of the two groups by employing the "Korean Innovation Survey 2010." As a result, it was found that "external search breadth", which refers to expanding the spectrum of external knowledge search due to lack of resources and capabilities inside small firms, spurred technological innovation. On the other hand, "external search depth", which implies seeking a long-term and close relationship with the subjects that provide outside knowledge for medium firms, catalyzed technological innovation. These results emphasize that we need to separately analyze technological innovation of small and medium firms, which was, in most previous studies, viewed as one group, i.e. SMEs. In addition, the results can be, from the perspective of a firm's growth, interpreted as follows. That is, it is more effective to formulate a "diversity" pursuing strategy in the "small firm" stage where little time has passed since its establishment, whilst it is more useful to apply a "focus" strategy on sophisticated knowledge in the "medium firm" stage where a firm has grown to some extent.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.199-228
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• 2013

Globalization has been accelerated in today's business environment. In this situation, the opening of economies can be either an opportunity or a treat for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who have limited resources. Especially, managerial perception to the opening of economies carries on significant meaning because managerial perception determines future responses and strategies. Therefore, this study examined which innovation activities are related with SMEs' positive perception to the opening of economies. The activities of innovation are classified by types of generic strategy. Also, this study scrutinized the moderating effects of external search strategy and market entry strategy. In order to test hypotheses, this study analyzed data on Korean manufacturing firms collected in the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS). As a result, SMEs conducting innovation for differentiation strategy perceived the opening of economies positively. Search breadth and search depth moderated this relationship negatively and the first entry strategy moderated this relationship positively.

• Korean small business review
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.1-24
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• 2019

This paper seeks to explore the effects of search strategies on innovation performance in the context of small and medium enterprises. The empirical results of 3,398 Korean SMEs demonstrate that there is a substitutive relationship between search depth and search width, and this substitutive relationship is weakened when a firm possesses collaboration experience. Furthermore, although these two types of search enhance innovation performance, the impact of search depth is greater than that of search width. The positive effect of search width on innovation performance is weakened when the firm adopts formal information protection mechanisms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1403-1414
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• 2010

Consumer decisions and responses about the price to pay vary. Some consumers might decide the appropriate price range prior to shopping, while others compare and evaluate prices. Especially, consumers can have different reference points for price evaluation based on various price searching behavior that represent heterogeneous responses for prices in the clothing purchase decision-making process. This research identifies how consumers evaluate the price and helps explain their decision-making based on price searches. By analyzing qualitative research, we found that consumers recalled price information as a representative indicator and product level price information through the internal search. Their level of internal references can be an important factor affecting price evaluations. In addition, each consumer groups were subdivided into high and low external searching. The four types of responses to price were classified in the price search process and the identified differences in the price evaluation. Therefore, pricing strategy needs to be differentiated for these various consumer types.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.125-136
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• 2021

Innovation is essential for the survival of a company in the fierce competitive environment of the global era of borders along with rapid technological development and changes from the environment. It is very important to secure your own competitive advantage. In this study, the relationship between internal R&D capability and organizational support as a company internal factor and external R&D capability, external knowledge search, and absorptive capability as a company external factor on performance was examined. As a result of the analysis, it was found that internal R&D capability, organizational support, and external knowledge search had a significant effect on absorptive capability, and innovation performance had a positive effect on new product performance. However, the mediating effect of absorptive capacity has not been verified, suggesting that absorptive capacity has a low correlation between innovation performance and new product performance, or that other important factors act between absorptive capacity and performance variables. The results of this study are expected to be utilized as useful guidelines when establishing R&D strategies in companies.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.537-548
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• 2009

Consumers' price related response in the clothing purchase decision-making process includes their expectation of price, price perception, attitude toward price and consequent behaviors. The purposes of this research are to systematically organize consumers' price related responses in the clothing purchase decision-making process, and to explain the effect of price on their purchasing. The qualitative research including shopping observation and in-depth interview was conducted. The result identified stages that showed different price related responses in clothing purchase decision-making process, and clarified each stage's characteristics. In the internal search stage, consumers recalled price information from memory and had a specific expectation about the price. This set a direction for the external search. In the external search stage, consumers selected brands or stores by a non-compensatory evaluating with an expectation of the price, and narrowed these down to several determinant alternatives by actively evaluating the products. In case a sufficient amount of price information was not recalled, the consumer established reference price through the external search. Finally, in the purchasing stage, consumers evaluated the determinant alternatives based on their compensatory evaluation. When perception of price was negative, consumers evaluate price combined with the higher criteria of clothing benefits, such as symbolic value and usability. The research is expected to contribute to predicting consumers' responses to price, and to establishing an effective pricing strategy.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.13-24
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• 2018

Purpose - This study investigates the moderation effect of internal factor, a firms size, on the external knowledge sourcing strategy and its effectiveness in generating radical innovation. We incorporate concepts of breadth and depth as two measures to gauge the degree of openness in firms external search Research design and methodology - The dependent variable in the regression model is the percentage of innovative sales and therefore, Tobit regression is employed for estimating significant factors affecting on the ratio of first-to-market by breadth and depth in external knowledge, internationalization, and size. Results - The results show that the external knowledge, in terms of both breadth and depth, has a positive relationship with radical innovation. However internationalization as external knowledge resources is not statistically accepted. Firm size has moderating effect on innovation negatively only in case of using external knowledge resources to a high degree. Conclusions - Firms obtain external information mostly from customers, competitors, and suppliers etc. empirical knowledge in terms of scope and intensity is an important contributor to innovation. And intensity use of external knowledge and information resources can work in favor of smaller firms rather than larger ones. Internationalization seems to have little effect on innovation but it requires further researches with clear criteria and more data.