• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.509-532
• /
• 2013

This paper analyzed the functional global entry process of firms by real business cases. We reviewed the global firm Zara and Uniqlo's functional global entry process by Malnight (1995) four-step model which is composed of appendage, participation, contribution, integration stages. We found that both Zara and Uniqlo made successful internationalization using integrated global value chain. However, Zara maintained the home-initiated internationalization strategy on whole value chain, Uniqlo operated subsidiary-initiated functional strategy in specific value chain activities. This study suggests that internationalization occurs at the level of the function, rather than the firm. In addition, this study suggests practical implication to Korean fashion firms that global firms should maintain the functional global entry strategy basing on firm's internationalization steps.

• Management & Information Systems Review
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.45-68
• /
• 2013

The goal of supply chain integration is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of supply chain in order to deliver customer value. So, the fit of between supply chain integration strategy and customer value strategy is very important. Therefore, this study explores the different types of relationship between supply chain integration and customer value, as well as in the firm performances. Cluster analysis is used to develop the typology of supply chain integration, and five typology (High Internal Oriented Integration, Medium Oriented Internal Integration, High Supply Chain Integration, High Customer Oriented Integration, Medium Oriented External Integration) are identified. Analysis of variance is used to test the relationship between supply chain integration typology and customer value, and firm performances. The results show that there are statistically significant differences in customer value and firm performances.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.1-25
• /
• 2006

This paper studied the performance of momentum strategy and contrarian strategy based or past stock return ratio of Korean stock market. The comparative study shows that the volatility of stock markets that can be found the performance of momentum strategy is smaller than that of emerging stock market. Accordingly, This paper examines that the performances of momentum strategy and contrarian strategy are affected by the larger volatility in Korean stock market. Further analysis using the 6 years sub-portfolios reveals that the momentum strategy is significant only during 1980 to 1986 time period when it had the least market volatility. Additionally, we investigate whether firm-level volatility as well as market volatility influence on the performance of contrarian strategy, and figure out that the momentum strategy is significant for the portfolio composed of firms with smaller volatility for previous period, while not significant for the portfolio composed of firms with larger volatility.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.215-227
• /
• 2017

The development of information technology are leading to the rapid evolution of SNS (Social Networking Services) in various directions and industries. Initially, SNS have been used as the form of networking between user's groups. Currently SNS has been developed towards multiple purposes and platforms such as the promotion and the advertising of a company. There are many SNSs including QQ, Weibo, and Wechat and so on in China. However, the use of companies in terms of advertising and information sharing with the customers do not meet the trend in China. Especially, there were little researches for Chinese travel agencies how to utilize SNS for attracting new customers and making them contribute to the firm's performance. In this study, we try to investigate the impact of the firm's characteristics and the usage of SNS on the performance of Chinese travel agencies. Based on Top 100 China travel agencies in 2009, we analyzed the relationships between firm's characteristics and the usage of SNS, and firm's performances in 2013. We expect that our study can contribute to the increasing academic and practical needs on the empirical evidence of the impacts of the SNS utilizations on the firm's performance.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.151-171
• /
• 2014

Firms today have sought management effectiveness and efficiency utilizing information technologies (IT). Numerous firms are outsourcing specific information systems functions to cope with their short of information resources or IT experts, or to reduce their capital cost. Recently, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) as a new type of information system has become one of the powerful outsourcing alternatives. SaaS is software deployed as a hosted and accessed over the internet. It is regarded as the idea of on-demand, pay-per-use, and utility computing and is now being applied to support the core competencies of clients in areas ranging from the individual productivity area to the vertical industry and e-commerce area. In this study, therefore, we seek to quantify the value that SaaS has on business performance by examining the relationships among firm strategies, SaaS technology maturity, and business performance of SaaS providers. We begin by drawing from prior literature on SaaS, technology maturity and firm strategy. SaaS technology maturity is classified into three different phases such as application service providing (ASP), Web-native application, and Web-service application. Firm strategies are manipulated by the low-cost strategy and differentiation strategy. Finally, we considered customer acquisition as a business performance. In this sense, specific objectives of this study are as follows. First, we examine the relationships between customer acquisition performance and both low-cost strategy and differentiation strategy of SaaS providers. Secondly, we investigate the mediating and moderating effects of SaaS technology maturity on those relationships. For this purpose, study collects data from the SaaS providers, and their line of applications registered in the database in CNK (Commerce net Korea) in Korea using a questionnaire method by the professional research institution. The unit of analysis in this study is the SBUs (strategic business unit) in the software provider. A total of 199 SBUs is used for analyzing and testing our hypotheses. With regards to the measurement of firm strategy, we take three measurement items for differentiation strategy such as the application uniqueness (referring an application aims to differentiate within just one or a small number of target industry), supply channel diversification (regarding whether SaaS vendor had diversified supply chain) as well as the number of specialized expertise and take two items for low cost strategy like subscription fee and initial set-up fee. We employ a hierarchical regression analysis technique for testing moderation effects of SaaS technology maturity and follow the Baron and Kenny's procedure for determining if firm strategies affect customer acquisition through technology maturity. Empirical results revealed that, firstly, when differentiation strategy is applied to attain business performance like customer acquisition, the effects of the strategy is moderated by the technology maturity level of SaaS providers. In other words, securing higher level of SaaS technology maturity is essential for higher business performance. For instance, given that firms implement application uniqueness or a distribution channel diversification as a differentiation strategy, they can acquire more customers when their level of SaaS technology maturity is higher rather than lower. Secondly, results indicate that pursuing differentiation strategy or low cost strategy effectively works for SaaS providers' obtaining customer, which means that continuously differentiating their service from others or making their service fee (subscription fee or initial set-up fee) lower are helpful for their business success in terms of acquiring their customers. Lastly, results show that the level of SaaS technology maturity mediates the relationships between low cost strategy and customer acquisition. That is, based on our research design, customers usually perceive the real value of the low subscription fee or initial set-up fee only through the SaaS service provide by vender and, in turn, this will affect their decision making whether subscribe or not.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 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
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.121-130
• /
• 2016

Amidst a competitive environment, success and innovation of a company hinge on establishment of competitive strategies through CEO's capabilities for discovering new businesses. In other words, several alternatives that are being considered as new businesses and the ensuing selection that a top management makes lead to a company's success and innovation. Examples of this are numerous among global corporations as well as Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This research has analyzed the role of a CEO to be a condition for success in the growth and innovation of a company. Starting from the topic of entrepreneurship, the research on the role of a CEO has been actively conducted in context with the latest innovations. A prime example involves research related to the innovativeness of a CEO. In this regard, this research was an empirical analysis on the impact that a CEO's ability to discover new business opportunities and competitive strategies has on the performance of a firm. This analysis was conducted based on nationwide data of 286 large conglomerates and smaller-sized companies alike. Based on the analysis, "experimenting" and "association", among abilities of discovery, have been found to strengthen competitive strategies. Also in the context of abilities needed for discovery, differentiation strategy has a greater effect on a firm's performance than the cost leadership strategy. Furthermore, the mediating effect of competitive strategies was prominently displayed in experimenting and corporate performance.

• Korean Management Science Review
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.83-100
• /
• 2015

We analyze a duopoly competition when two firms face input cost increases. The objective of this study is to determine the firms' optimal strategy between a price increase and downsizing under conditions of a spatially differentiated market and consumers' diminishing utility on the product size. We develop a theoretical model of two competing firms offering homogenous products using the standard Hotelling model to determine how firms' optimal strategies change when facing input cost increases. In this paper, there are two types of duopoly competitions: symmetric and asymmetric. In the symmetric case, the two firms have the same marginal cost and are producing and selling identical products. In the asymmetric case, the two firms have different marginal costs. The results show that the optimal strategy decision depends on the size of the input cost increase and the cost differences between the two firms. We find that when two firms are asymmetric (i.e., they have different marginal costs), the two firms might choose asymmetric pairs of strategies in equilibrium under certain conditions. When the cost differences between the two firms are sufficiently large and the cost increase is sufficiently small, the cost leader chooses price increase, and the cost-disadvantaged firm chooses downsizing in equilibrium. This asymmetric strategy reduces price competition between two firms, and consumers are better off. When the cost differences between the two firms are sufficiently large, downsizing is the dominant strategy for the cost-disadvantaged firm. The cost-disadvantaged firm finds it more profitable to reduce the product size than to increase its price to reduce price competition, because consumers prefer downsizing to price increases. This paper might be a good starting point for further analytical research in this area.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.80-87
• /
• 2021

Shortage of SOC budget and inappropriate initial construction cost planning have worsened the economic sentiment of the construction firm. Construction VE can be one of the solutions for improving the profitability of construction projects. This study identifies the strong and weak points of construction firms for establishing the strategy of effective construction VE by using importance-performance analysis. As a result, construction firms have strong points on support, cooperation, and knowledge about construction VE, but have weak points on 'VE experience of VE leader', 'Detailed cost estimation', and 'Idea generation and evaluation'. This paper contributes to establishing the strategy of effective construction VE from the perspective of the construction firm, which is differentiated from previous studies that have focused on the institutional approach for construction VE.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.57-81
• /
• 2008

Knowledge is an essential strategic weapon for sustaining competitive advantage and is the key determinant for organizational growth. When knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout the organization, it increases an organization's value by providing the ability to respond to new and unusual situations. The growing importance of knowledge as a critical resource has forced executives to pay attention to their organizational knowledge. Organizations are increasingly undertaking knowledge management initiatives and making significant investments. Knowledge sourcing is considered as the first important step in effective knowledge management. Most firms continue to make an effort to realize the benefits of knowledge management by using various knowledge sources effectively. Appropriate knowledge sourcing strategies enable organizations to create, acquire, and access knowledge in a timely manner by reducing search and transfer costs, which result in better firm performance. In response, the knowledge management literature has devoted substantial attention to the analysis of knowledge sourcing strategies. Many studies have categorized knowledge sourcing strategies into intemal- and external-oriented. Internal-oriented sourcing strategy attempts to increase firm performance by integrating knowledge within the boundary of the firm. On the contrary, external-oriented strategy attempts to bring knowledge in from outside sources via either acquisition or imitation, and then to transfer that knowledge across to the organization. However, the extant literature on knowledge sourcing strategies focuses primarily on large organizations. Although many studies have clearly highlighted major differences between large and small firms and the need to adopt different strategies for different firm sizes, scant attention has been given to analyzing how knowledge sourcing strategies affect firm performance in small firms and what are the differences between small and large firms in the patterns of knowledge sourcing strategies adoption. This study attempts to advance the current literature by examining the impact of knowledge sourcing strategies on small firm performance from a holistic perspective. By drawing on knowledge based theory from organization science and complementarity theory from the economics literature, this paper is motivated by the following questions: (1) what are the adoption patterns of different knowledge sourcing strategies in small firms (i,e., what sourcing strategies should be adopted and which sourcing strategies work well together in small firms)?; and (2) what are the performance implications of these adoption patterns? In order to answer the questions, this study developed three hypotheses. First hypothesis based on knowledge based theory is that internal-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. Second hypothesis developed on the basis of knowledge based theory is that external-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. The third one based on complementarity theory is that pursuing both internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing simultaneously is negatively or less positively associated with small firm performance. As a sampling frame, 700 firms were identified from the Annual Corporation Report in Korea. Survey questionnaires were mailed to owners or executives who were most erudite about the firm s knowledge sourcing strategies and performance. A total of 188 companies replied, yielding a response rate of 26.8%. Due to incomplete data, 12 responses were eliminated, leaving 176 responses for the final analysis. Since all independent variables were measured using continuous variables, supermodularity function was used to test the hypotheses based on the cross partial derivative of payoff function. The results indicated no significant impact of internal-oriented sourcing strategies while positive impact of external-oriented sourcing strategy on small firm performance. This intriguing result could be explained on the basis of various resource and capital constraints of small firms. Small firms typically have restricted financial and human resources. They do not have enough assets to always develop knowledge internally. Another possible explanation is competency traps or core rigidities. Building up a knowledge base based on internal knowledge creates core competences, but at the same time, excessive internal focused knowledge exploration leads to behaviors blind to other knowledge. Interestingly, this study found that Internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing strategies had a substitutive relationship, which was inconsistent with previous studies that suggested complementary relationship between them. This result might be explained using organizational identification theory. Internal organizational members may perceive external knowledge as a threat, and tend to ignore knowledge from external sources because they prefer to maintain their own knowledge, legitimacy, and homogeneous attitudes. Therefore, integrating knowledge from internal and external sources might not be effective, resulting in failure of improvements of firm performance. Another possible explanation is small firms resource and capital constraints and lack of management expertise and absorptive capacity. Although the integration of different knowledge sources is critical, high levels of knowledge sourcing in many areas are quite expensive and so are often unrealistic for small enterprises. This study provides several implications for research as well as practice. First this study extends the existing knowledge by examining the substitutability (and complementarity) of knowledge sourcing strategies. Most prior studies have tended to investigate the independent effects of these strategies on performance without considering their combined impacts. Furthermore, this study tests complementarity based on the productivity approach that has been considered as a definitive test method for complementarity. Second, this study sheds new light on knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and small firm performance. Most current literature has insisted complementary relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies on the basis of data from large firms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study identifies substitutive relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies using data from small firms. Third, implications for practice highlight that managers of small firms should focus on knowledge sourcing from external-oriented strategies. Moreover, adoption of both sourcing strategies simultaneousiy impedes small firm performance.