• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.749-759
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• 2021

We investigate the relationship between ownership control disparity and future firm value in high-technology industries, and whether the effect of ownership control disparity on future firm value is differentiated when high-tech industry firms belong to chaebol groups. Using 11,848 firm-year observations of Korean firms listed on the stock market from 2006 to 2019, we employ univariate analysis and Heckman 2 stage analysis to test our hypotheses. We define high-technology industries as ICT industries based on the Korean Standard Industrial Classification. We measure future firm value using average Tobin's q for the next three years and ownership control disparity using the shareholding ratio of affiliated companies. Our univariate test results show that mean of Tobin's q is higher in ICT firms than non-ICT firms and firms largely owned by affiliates. In multivariate test, we find that the ICT firms with higher ownership control disparity are positively associated with future firm value. However, this association is lessened when firms belong to a chaebol group. Based on our findings, we suggest ownership control disparity has an additional positive effect on future firm in high-technology industries. The negative impact of chaebol groups on the association suggests the possibility of diversification discount in business group.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.373-396
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• 2015

This study analyzed the determinants of high-growth firms using the technology appraisal data of the Korea Technology Finance Corporation. This study is differentiated from previous studies for three reasons. First, it analyzed the determinants of firms that will grow into high-growth firms in the future, not the characteristics of current high-growth firms. Second, it analyzed high-growth firms by dividing them in two aspects: sales and employment. In other words, they were divided into three types: the case in which a firm achieves high growth in both sales increase and creation of jobs, the case in which a firm achieves high growth in creation of jobs but low growth in sales increase, and the case in which a firm achieves high growth in only sales increase but low growth in creation of jobs. Third, this study applied the technology appraisal indicators of Kibo Technology Rating System(KTRS) by the Korea Technology Finance Corporation as the explanatory variable. As a result of analysis, it was found that a firm achieved high growth in both sales and employment if the position in the technology life cycle was appropriate and the technology readiness level was high. However, it turned out that the management system of technical manpower had conflicting effects on high growth of employment and sales. In other words, a firm that had well managed its technical manpower achieved high growth in terms of employment, but rather showed low growth in terms of sales. This result suggests the inference that firms showing high growth in employment may appear mainly in the high-tech industry where management of technical manpower is important. Accordingly, as a result of adding dummy variables that represent whether or not firms are in the high-tech industry, it was found that the result supported the inference, as firms in the high-tech industry were highly likely to achieve high growth in employment.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.28-49
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• 2019

This paper explores the characteristics of innovation activities in high growth firms that contribute to national and regional economic growth and job creation. The analysis is based on the 2016 KIS data to analyze the difference in innovation activities between high growth firms and general firms. The main results are as follows: First, high growth firms have a higher proportion of R&D personnel than general firms. Second, high growth firms are actively introducing product innovation, process innovation, and organizational innovation as compared to general firms. In the innovation activities related to product innovation and process innovation, there is no statistically significant difference between high growth companies and general companies except for external R&D. Third, High growth firms are more likely to cooperate with other technology partners than general firms. But, there is no statistically significant difference between high growth firms and general firms in the external knowledge search and the diversity of cooperating partners. Fourth, in terms of protecting innovation, high growth firms are more likely to use all kinds of innovation protection method, such as 'utilizing intellectual property rights', 'maintaining confidentiality', 'adopting complex design methods', 'market preemption ahead of competitors', and the most important means is the intellectual property rights. Fifth, government innovation policies that high growth firms chose as important are 'innovation subsidies and loans', 'acquirement, utilization and protection of intellectual property rights' and 'human resource support'.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.153-164
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• 2014

This study is to investigate the effects of intangible assets such as research & development, education & training and advertisement on firm values of high-technology firms and low-technology firms listed in the KOSDAQ market, and to analyze the value-relativeness between the audit quality of companies and the expenditure of intangible assets. The substitute measurement of firm values is Tobin's Q model. The sample period for positive analysis is from 2003 to 2008, and the samples, excepting for financial business, are manufacturing companies of closing accounts corporate on December, based on companies of KOSDAQ that are listed in security. Finally, data from about 305 companies are used in this analysis. Followings are the results of the analysis. First, research & development, education & training of high-technology firms have an effect on firm values, and education & training of low-technology have an effect on firm values. Second, we find that audit quality(BIG4) increases the value relevance of R&D expenditures of high-technology firms and audit quality(BIG4) increases the value relevance of education & training expenditures of low-technology firms. This paper is meaningful in that it verified the value-relativeness of cost of intangible assets compared with high-technology firms to low-technology firms.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.351-363
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• 1998

This case study aims at investigating the factors which make venture firms successful. It analysedthree high-performance venture firms originated from the government-financed rese arch institute, the company and the university on the viewpoint of 'dynamic capability' theory. In this case study, technology integration capability and administrative innovation capability were identified as success factors of the three venture firms. The study also presented the role of the incubating organizations. Although incubating organizations supported technological and managerial resource-building of the entrepreneurs, there was not active interactive-learning between venture firms and incubating organizations after spin-off.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.128-145
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• 2021

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is thus to investigate the contingent effect of imitation strategies on firm performance in transition economies such as China, focusing on pure and creative imitation. Design/methodology - We conducted a survey targeting department heads of each company who have more than 10 years work experiences. We assessed that the ability to gain trust and to access information from high-ranking informants would be greater if the firms were from the same country - Korea - as the lead researcher. A total of 200 highly reliable samples were obtained, which could effectively explain the nine variables set in the study. Relevant hypotheses were tested using a hierarchical linear model (HLM). Findings - The findings suggest that SMEs' technology level also had a positive impact on performance. Firms with better technology had a positive impact on performance, irrespective of pure or creative imitation. This reflects the cases where many Korean SMEs entering China without high technology level lose their competitiveness due to Chinese firms' technology catch-up within a short period of time. Originality/value - SMEs that lack technology and know-how need to focus on pure imitation strategies. It is possible that SMEs can perform creative imitation, but it seems difficult under the current circumstances. Therefore, SMEs with limitations in technology and know-how should maintain their competitive advantage for a while, by maintaining their pure imitation strategy.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.75-106
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• 2015

The primary goal of this paper is to explore the microeconomic foundation of Korean firms' adoption of foreign technologies. The paper also reviews the overall trend of international technology transfers to Korea. The period covered in this paper is Korea's high growth era, from the 1960s to the 1990s. The works of this paper center on the two questions of what characterizes foreign technologies which had been imported through licensing contracts, and which driving forces expedite technology adoption by firms. The Korean experience provides the context of success in the catch-up growth. The co-movement of technology imports with capital goods imports manifests Korea's effort to improve the technical efficiency toward the world frontier. Underlying this trend are firms' decisions to adopt new technologies. The paper shows that firms respond proactively to wage increases by adopting newer technologies and thus, in turn, increasing employment, which implies the existence of a virtuous interactive mechanism among these factors.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.542-560
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• 2016

This study determines whether or not firms can achieve high productivity growth through external technology acquisition. It also identifies the key factors affecting adopting firms' productivity growth by employing the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) methodology, which features computational ease, low data dependency, and decomposition of productivity growth into technical efficiency change and technical change. Results showed that the effects of productivity growth arising from technology transfer became stronger over time. Moreover, patent transfer guaranteed firms' productivity growth, but no evidence was found that factors such as age and size could increase productivity. Finally, cultural similarity could be another factor conditioning the effectiveness of technology transfer in the productivity of adopting firms.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.235-247
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• 2021

The objective of this paper is to clarify the relationship between ICT application and labor productivity in Vietnamese manufacturing firms and connect it with the context of economic restructuring in Vietnam. The study uses data of 3,428 manufacturing firms from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and regression models. In addition to the general model, the study also runs the models for sub-samples of firms of different production technology levels. Research results show two main points. First, information technology can enhance the labor productivity of Vietnamese manufacturing firms. This is true for both ICT hardware applications, ICT services, ICT software solutions, and employees' ICT skills in firms. Second, manufacturing firms with higher levels of production technology use ICT more effectively and achieve a higher impact on labor productivity. The results confirm that the Vietnamese government can stimulate ICT application and digital transformation in firms, thereby increasing labor productivity and promoting economic restructuring in the direction of shifting from agriculture to industry and from low-tech industries to high-tech ones. The results also provide implications for business managers and policymakers in other developing countries who are adopting the digital economy as a development strategy.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.71-87
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• 2009

In this paper, the technology innovation for software firms are discussed. Through the literature study, the concepts about this issue and the environment and activity of software firm's the technology innovation related are described. The survey paper was developed for searching the obstacles, policy considerations, and performance of this issue etc. Also questionnaire sheet was made for identifying the relations on technology innovation activities and performance. The degree of understanding about the need of technology innovation were very high according to the analysis result from the response based on the 103 software firms. Among this survey the other results are described as follows; the motivation of technology innovation, the necessity and implementation, the duration acquired for innovation result, the favorite support program as for innovation policy, obstacles for innovation implementation, the reason for innovation collaboration etc. Finally, it is verified statistically that the performance of technology innovation be affected by the employment of external professional technician, research and development, the technical education.