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

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.177-182
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• 2005

This paper examines to focus on General Strategy of e-logistics activity for SCM(Supply Chain Management) Build-up, especially the field service logistics integration. And this research analyzes the case study(Business of Strategy Group Unit) Survey involving effective logistics management that leads customer satisfaction, seeking to find out the key elements of competitive policy. Because problems arise from the differences between their goals and structures, which cause each side to feel vulnerable to opportunism or shirking of responsibilities by the other. The goal of a logistics system is to ensure that every family planning client always receives the contraceptives partner wants, and that they are in good condition and have not expired. In order to select, procure, and distribute the right quantities of the right contraceptives, managers of the logistics system must keep informed of the rates of use of each contraceptive and of the quantity of available supplies. As a result, We propose that a firm's e-logistics safe strategy is an important locus innovation and a crucial source of value creation for the firm its suppliers, partners, and customers.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.71-82
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• 2018

This study verifies whether the sustainable tax strategy provides unique information on earnings persistence and brings about the difference of value relevance of accounting information. Sustainability is measured by the 5-year coefficient of variation in cash ETR, such as in McGuire et al.(2013), which measures variability in long-term performance of tax avoidance. The value relevance of accounting information in this study is modified by the Ohlson model(1995), which explains the value of the firm by using accounting information such as net assets and net income and other non-accounting information. The samples of this study are the firms listed on the securities market from 2004 to 2015 and the final samples are 3,133 firm-year. The results of this empirical analysis show that the value relevance of accounting information increases as firms have long-term and sustainable tax strategies. Most of the prior studies on tax strategies have examined the tax minimization strategy that minimizes the tax cost. However, this study is different in that the sustainability of the tax strategy affects the value relevance of accounting information. The results of this study will be useful for the users to make decision using the value relevance of accounting information.

• Journal of East Asia Management
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.1-19
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• 2022

This study suggests an integrated theoretical framework for the relationship between political risk and multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiary's performance in the emerging market. The political risk would have a negative impact on MNC subsidiary's performance in the emerging countries that are developing in Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, and South America. The major reason is that political risks could generate a loss of benefit or a loss of control for MNC's subsidiary. In this study, I suggest that corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy would be a solution to overcome various political risks. Specifically, the affiliated firms with diversified industries or greater financial resources could mitigate the negative impact of political risk than unaffiliated firms. Because they can use their tangible or nontangible asset such as information, technology, and construction in order to gain legitimacy and trust from local government, local community, and local firms in the emerging market. Finally, I claimed the costs of the affiliated firms would exceed the benefits at the initial stages, while the benefits of affiliated firms would exceed the costs over time when political risks become higher. The reason is that the trust gained from local stakeholders accumulates over time and the impact of CSR strategy would become an important solution to overcome the risks in and unstable context.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.159-175
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• 2023

Purpose - This paper empirically investigates the relationship between born global strategy and the accounting- and market- based financial performance of Korean firms. Further, this study identifies the characteristics of born global firms (BGs) in comparison with non-BG counterparts in terms of size, R&D, and liability. Design/methodology - Using a database of listed Korean SMEs in the manufacturing sector from 2010 to 2020, this study applies panel generalized least squares (GLS) estimation and logistic regression techniques. Findings - This study finds that BG strategy is negatively related to the firm's accounting-based financial performance, while it is positively related to the market-based financial performance. This study also finds that BGs have higher sales volume and more total assets compared to their non-BG counterparts. In addition, Korean BGs spend more on R&D, and at the same time have higher liability. Originality/value - BGs, by definition, are firms that are actively penetrating foreign markets from the early stages of their establishment. Previous studies of Korean BGs have tried to identify the determinants of BGs' rapid internationalization and their superior performance. However, most of these studies have utilized either qualitative case- or survey-based analyses with relatively limited numbers of observations. From a different perspective, this study provides more objective evidence by investigating how the BG strategy affects the financial and market performance of firms, and by characterizing BGs in terms of financial data.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.117-125
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• 2019

Purpose - We investigate how to increase consumer incentives to buy public offering funds, resulting in activating the public offering fund market. In particular, this study aims to find ways to expand diversity and to improve efficiency of public offering fund. The public fund market of Korea has been stagnant in recent years. However, the public offering fund market plays a very significant role in terms of consumer welfare. Since only a few wealthy investors can participate in the private equity market, the stagnation in the public offering fund market usually reduces the opportunity of consumer's buying funds thus ultimately affecting their future wealth. Research design, data, and methodology - To attain our purpose, the 'factor-based portfolio strategy' has been considered. It is an alternative portfolio strategy, which composites the advantages of the passive management and active management. For our empirical anaylsis, we used global stock distribution market data over the period of 1991 and 2016. Then we constructed portfolios based on firm-size, firm-value, and momentum. Finally, a regression model was set, then hypotheses were tested, analyzing the performances. Results - First, among the 15 factor-based portfolios of global, Europe, Asia-Pacific(ex Japan), US and Japan, in eight portfolios, positive excess returns are observed at 5% significance level. Further, there is another portfolio with positive excess return at 10% significance level. Second, most of the portfolios with significant excess performance show positive relationship with the market portfolio. However, the firm-value based portfolio in Asia-Pacific region shows no relationship, and the firm-value based portfolio in US shows negative relationship. Third, we confirmed that the two firm-value factor portfolios in Asia-Pacific region and US, not having positive relationship with market portfolio, provide significant excess returns. Conclusions - In this paper, we provide empirical evidences supporting that the factor-based portfolios expand the diversity of funds and improve the efficiency of investment performance. However, there is no guarantee that the efficiency will continue in the future. In addition, various constraints and costs must be considered. Nevertheless, our novel findings in the advanced financial market such as US and Asia-Pacific are very interesting and offers important implications.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.343-368
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• 2006

The rapid expansion of regionalism has resulted in the creation of blocs of the global economy, so that those countries not belonging to one or more blocs can be discriminated. The purpose of this paper is to examine the competition policy theoretically, international background with issues, and discussion trend of global enterprise. By doing them, this paper suggests the responsive plan, future prospects, and policy directions for the competition policy by distribution service. There is not a statistically significant relationship between international diversification strategy and firm performance. However, we observed some tendency that the larger the firm size, the higher the firm performance, assuming the degree of international diversification or multinationality to be constant. However, the export productivity increase after 1~2 years, and there exits a clear evidence that the innovation investment increases a firm's export competitiveness as time goes on.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.224-232
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• 2012

The paper proposes a non-parametric methodology, data envelopment analysis, for measuring efficiency and productivity in service delivery systems with capacity constraints. The methodology provides allocation approaches for studying behaviors of firm and customers in service delivery strategy. The experimental study is carried out to investigate allocation behaviors and conduct an objective tradeoff between efficiency approach and productivity approach. The experimental result indicates that the efficiency approach allocates resource via maximizing customer efficiency rather than firm productivity as in the productivity approach. Moreover, the experiment reveals that there exists an objective tradeoff between the efficiency approach and the productivity approach. These findings provide strategic options for allocation policy in service delivery systems.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.185-195
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• 2012

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how strategically the bilaterally monopolistic firms, only-one-seller and only-one-buyer, behave in a situation in which each firm has uncertain information on its opponent firm's cost. Even though the two firms know that seeking integrated profit leads to the optimized profit for both firms, each firm has an incentive to opportunistically behave to increase its share of the integrated profit. These opportunistic behaviors of the firms are analyzed through a game theoretic approach especially finding Nash equilibrium mixed strategies for the strategic profiles such as true-report or not and monitoring or not. The comparative statics to the Nash equilibrium mixed strategies shows that as the profit share increases the probability of monitoring an opponent firm is decreased while the probability increases as the size of the overstated production cost increases. This study also shows that high penalty and low monitoring cost lead to high probability to tell the truth of the production cost.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.1-13
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• 2019

Purpose - Based on transaction cost perspective and institution-based perspective, this research attempts to investigate the effect of outsourcing on a firm's performance and how it interacts with institutional context in which the firms operate. Research design, data, and methodology -With a sample of 164 manufacturing firms form South Korea, we examine the direct effects of outsourcing on the a firm's level of product innovation and internationalization and the moderating effects of competitive pressure and property right protection as important external factors that could affect the effectiveness of outsourcing decision. Result - The findings show that outsourcing not only enhance a firm's capability to concentrate on its core competencies, but also to increase a firm's combinative capacity to acquire external knowledge. Furthermore, we finds that in a highly competitive environment, potential knowledge spillovers to other competitors may attenuate the potential benefits of outsourcing. Conclusion - Outsourcing can enhance a firm's innovation activities by providing valuable access to external knowledge and also to complementary resources from the external partners, which in turn enables firms to focus on core competences.