• Proceedings of the Technology Innovation Conference
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• 1996.12a
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• pp.265-295
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• 1996

This paper investigates empirically the relationship between various business portfolio properties (particularly technological properties) and chaebol′s performance using data on the 50 largest chaebols in Korea. In addition to the traditional indexes to measure diversification such as entropy index we calculated inter-industry technological similarity using R&D expenditure data by industry and 1990 Input-output Table in Korea, and obtained chaebol-level technological relatedness and internal transaction proportion from chaebols′business profile, inter-industry technological similarity and 1990 input-output table. We applied factor analysis on 13 business portfolio property indexes and showed that they could be grouped into 3 dimensions, diversification scope, inter-business relatedness and degree of vertical integration. In this paper, using 50 largest chaebols′financial data (1989-1994), we analyzed empirically the effect of business portfolio properties on ROS (Return On Sales) which is conventional index for firm performance and on TFP(Total Factor Productivity) growth which is a pure measure of firm performance. To utilize the advantage of panel data, FEM(Fixed Effect Model) and REM(Random Effect Model) were used. The empirical result shows that the entropy index as a measurement of inter-business relatedness is not significant but technological relatedness index is significant. OLS estimates on pooled data were considerably different from FEM or REM estimates on panel data. By introducing interaction effect among the three variables for business portfolio properties, we obtained three findings. First, only VI (Vertical integration) has a significant positive correlation with ROS. Second, when using TFP growth as an dependent variable, both TR(Technological Relatedness) and f[ are significant and positively related to the deepened variable. Third, the interaction term between TR and VI is significant and negatively affects TFP growth, meaning that TR and VI are substitutes. These results suggest strategic directions on restructuring business portfolio. As VI is increased, chaebols will get more profit. A higher level of either TR or W will increase TFP growth rate. but increase in both TR and VI will have a negative effect on TFP growth. To summarize, certain business portfolio properties such as VI and TR can be considered "resources" themselves since they can affect profit rate and productivity growth. VI and TR have a synergy effect of change in profit rate and productivity growth. VI increases ROS and productivity growth, while TR increases productivity growth representing a technological synergy effect.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2019

Purpose - The international market provides a growth momentum for firms by allowing them to tap into a new market. Given information asymmetry between firms and financial analysts, firms' international growth can be perceived as a higher business prospect by analysts. This paper explores the possibility of analysts' over-emphasis on foreign income growth in predicting earnings. Research design, data, and methodology - We utilize a sample of U.S. firms to test the relationship between foreign income growth and analysts' forecast optimism. Our sample of publicly listed and traded U.S. firms between 1976 and 2016 consists of 6,120 firm-year observations. Results - Empirical analyses show that firms that show higher international growth in earnings are likely to face forecast inaccuracy by financial analysts. From the perspective of firms, their earnings are less than what analysts forecasted. Contrary to our prediction on the moderating effect of innovative capabilities, optimistic bias is not intensified - rather, it is reduced - when firms have higher innovative capabilities. Conclusions - Our results imply that while analysts favor firms with higher international growth, innovative capability on the international market places additional risks to firms' operation.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.235-245
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• 2012

The purpose of this paper is to develop an online analytical processing (OLAP) database system for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) growth support. In this paper, we made a model of measuring SME size first. The model is composed of five determinants of firm growth such as employment, sales, the amount of export, own technology, and the ratio of R&D expenditure to sales. Second, we designed the FREQUENCY dimension table which will make staged support of R&D expenditure. We developed the OLAP database system by using three dimensions including the FREQUENCY dimension, and using the model of measuring SME size. Also we assessed past decisions on R&D expenditure support in the Small Business R&D Support Project by using the OLAP database system.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1-29
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• 2013

This paper examines the effect of trade liberalization or globalization, more broadly, on plants' growth as well as on "bi-polarization". To do so, we reviewed the possible theoretical mechanisms put forward by recent heterogeneous firm trade theories, and provided available micro-evidence from existing empirical studies on Korean manufacturing sector. Above all, the empirical evidence provided in this paper strongly suggests that globalization promoted growth of Korean manufacturing plants. Specifically, evidence suggests that exporting not only increases within-plant productivity but also promotes introduction of new products and dropping of old products. However, the empirical evidence also suggest that globalization has some downsides: widening productivity differences across plants and rising wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. Specifically, trade liberalization widens the initial productivity differences among plants through learning from export market participation as well as through interactions between exporting and R&D, both of which increase plants' productivity. We also show that there is only a small group of large and productive "superstar" plants engaged in both R&D and exporting activity, which can fully utilize the potential benefits from globalization. Finally, we also show evidence that trade liberalization interacts with innovation to increase the skilled-unskilled wage inequality.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1474-1492
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• 2018

This study empirically analyzes the direct effects of government support for SMEs (project success) and indirect effects (sales growth) focusing on the differences between financially difficult firms (so-called 'zombie' firms) and 'normal' firms. If the zombie firm has a problem in technology development (success of the project) and the economic resilience capability (sales growth), then excluding them from the government's R&D support programs would enhance the overall efficiency of the programs. If not, government R&D could complement the market failure and play a positive role in revitalizing marginal firms. In this study, we collected data about 7,575 firms who participated in seven government R&D programs in 2013 and 2014. As a result of the logistic regression analysis, we did not find evidence that the likelihood of success for zombie firms was lower than that for the normal firms. However, the tendency of sales growth after the project was smaller for the zombie firms than for the normal firms. For zombie firms, we also found that firms that succeeded in the project were more likely to increase sales than those that failed.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.23-58
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• 2014

This study investigates the effects of product strategies and CEO characteristics on the growth of venture firms. These factors are related with strategic behaviors and managerial capabilities of small and dynamic firms. According to empirical results of FGLS regression with the data of the Korean venture firms, both product strategies and CEO characteristics have significant effects on firm growth and additionally explanatory powers. In general, the growth rates of venture firms tend to increase with the level of product's diversity and marketing-enhancing strategy, but decrease with the degree of product's innovation-enhancing strategy. The growth rates are higher when CEO is non-founder and has sufficient experience related to current business, and CEO's career development is focused on general management area. The effects of product strategies and CEO characteristics are moderated by the firm-internal factor such as organizational growth stage. The positive effects of some product strategies (e.g. marketing-enhancing strategy) and CEO characteristics(e.g. career focused on general management) become stronger for firms operating in the stage of start-up or initial growth, while their effects become negative or insignificant for firms operating in the mature or declining stage in which the negative effect of innovation-enhancing strategy does not exist.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.1-10
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• 2013

Porter(2011)'s CSV(Creating Shared Value) is a more strategically advanced perspective of CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility). CSV creates corporates' value by exploiting the firms' own core competence and social value of the stakeholders in the community such firms simultaneously belong to. In this points of view, CSV is more appropriate for the principles of capitalism than CSR. A case study on food producing firms that adopted the concept of CSV to their business management was conducted. Considering the characteristics of food industry, the researchers have investigate many existing cases, especially focused on the CSV activities toward rural area and agriculture. As result of the case analysis, the 'mutual firm-establishing-CSV,' which refers to the new organization established on the point of contact where corporate value and social value meet, was observed. The aspects of establishing a new organization by firms' collaborating with rural area and agriculture is different in accordance with each firm's method of creating shared value. However, the cases have common grounds that the created value is for pursuing both firms' and stakeholders' value. This study is significant, in that the study deducts implications about accompanied growth and win-win management by suggesting the establishment of firms based on CSV.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.657-670
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• 2011

China has gone through rapid economic growth due to transitional economies since 1978. In particular, Chinese transitional economies has led to fundamental changes in firms' activities under the socialist system. Nevertheless, Chinese firms have formed new industrial production organizations and spatial orders by sustaining personal networks based on existing traditional firm practice, which is called 'guanxi'. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to identify the influence of personal networks, guanxi, on the business activities of Chinese firms by investigating the formation of guanxi mechanism. The main characteristics of guanxi represented in inter-firm relations are as follows. First, guanxi has played a role in facilitating inter-firm relations and business activities, because it has an inter-debt relations based on inter-reciprocal relations between firms. Second, Chinese firms has depended on posteriori guanxi rather than inherent guanxi by the internalization of personal networks through 'guanxi communicators'.Third, guanxi between firms and local government in extra-firm relations has been established to minimize risks from unstable legal regulations.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.87-100
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• 2012

This study is to determine the key factors of internal situational characteristics, affecting the motivation and performance for overseas expansion of Korean venture business in global markets and to investigate the moderating effect of them on the relationship between entrepreneurship and overseas expansion. To meet the research purpose, by reviewing previous researches, we categorized internal factors into four situational factors of firm size with sales growth, firm age with main product's life cycle, overseas experience and organizational structure and into three entrepreneurship sub-categories of innovativeness, pro-activeness and risk-taking. As result of the statistical analysis of 289 small and medium-sized enterprises with Korean Venture Certificate, it is verified that the motivation for globalization has been influenced by firm size, entrepreneurship, and overseas experience. On the other hand, all factors excepting firm size have positive effects on globalization performance overseas. And, it also verified that there are positive moderating effects of internal situational factors on the relationship of entrepreneurship and the performance of globalization, wheres overseas experience only plays positive moderating effects on the relationship between entrepreneurship and the motivation of globalization. On the basis of these results, we discussed and suggested practical and political issues and implications in order to vitalize globalization of Korean SMEs in the conclusion.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.113-121
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• 2014

Purpose - Recently, the number of corporations that practice environmental and social responsibility, besides engaging in traditional profit-seeking activities, has been growing steadily, as interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is increasing. Recent research on CSR practices has identified the relationship between CSR activities and corporate value as one of the main issues in this respect. Considering that donations constitute a large proportion of a company's charitable activities, we considered the extent of donation expenses as a charitable activity in order to mitigate sample selection bias. Specifically, we analyzed the impact of donation expenses on firm value, while investigating if this impact varied in response to the level of corporate governance of firms. Research design, data, and methodology - We used non-financial firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange, having their fiscal year end in December, and the sample period was 2006-2013. For the dependent variable, Tobin's q was used as the corporate value, and for the independent variable, donations were measured as the donation-expense-to-sales ratio. Corporate governance scores, as rated by the Korea Corporate Governance Service, were used to measure corporate governance levels because they consider the overall aspects of governance, including ownership structure, the board of directors, and the audit mechanism of individual companies. To examine the impact of donations on a company in relation to the level of corporate governance, we estimated regression models using the interaction terms of the governance dummy and donation variables. Then, we further estimated the regression models of two sub-samples that were classified according to the level of corporate governance. Similar to previous studies, the study uses variables that affect firm value, such as R&D expenditure, advertising expenses, EBITDA, debt-to-equity ratio, sales growth, company age, and company size as control variables. Results - The empirical results show that firm value significantly increased in response to an increase in donation expenses. Upon including the interaction terms of governance level dummy variables and donations, the coefficients of the interaction terms show significant positive values, while those of donation variables show significant negative values. In the strong governance sub-sample, the relationship between the donation expenses and corporate value was statistically positive (+) and significant. However, in the weak governance sub-sample, the relationship between the donation expenses and corporate value was statistically insignificant and negative (-). Conclusions - The empirical results suggest that donation expenses are significantly linked to an enhanced corporate value if firms have a good corporate governance structure. However, if the corporate governance structure is weak, the same relationship is not necessarily observed. The results of this study show that if a firm has high corporate governance, CSR practices enhance the company's reputation such that it has a positive (+) relationship with corporate value. If a firm has weak corporate governance, on the other hand, CSR practices are recognized as an agency cost and do not increase corporate value.