• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.1-12
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• 2024

Purpose: Marketing networks are essential for firms to gain new information and resources, yet their effect on innovation performance under uncertainty remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the effects of technological and demand variability on the innovation performance of first-tier suppliers, considering different levels of structural holes. It particularly explores how structural holes moderate the relationship between uncertain factors and innovation performance. Research design, data and methodology: To assess the hypotheses, a survey was conducted with the first-tier suppliers. The survey targeted internal networks and the relationships between manufacturers, suppliers, and subsuppliers. Structural equation modeling was employed to validate the hypotheses using measures from previous research. Results: The findings indicate that the impact of technological uncertainty and demand variability on innovation performance varies based on the extent of structural holes in the network. Conclusions: This study provides both theoretical and practical insights for distribution channels, highlighting the competitive advantage of interfirm networks in uncertain conditions. However, the focus on the engineering industry may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research should explore a broader range of industries to improve result applicability.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.25-35
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• 2018

Purpose - Although marketing networks are crucial competitive advantage in terms of firm's new information and resource acquisition ability, their impact on new product development performance remains vague, especially under environmental uncertainty. The principal objective of this research is to provide a better understanding of effects of technological uncertainty and volume uncertainty on first tier supplier's perceived performance of new product development under conditions reflecting varying levels of structural holes. Specifically, this research examines the moderating effect of structural holes on the relationship between environmental uncertainty and new product development performance. Research design, data, and methodology - To test the hypotheses, a questionnaire survey was conducted with a Korean engineering firm's major first-tier suppliers in the context of internal network entities, manufacturer-supplier-subsupplier relationships, and to verify the proposed hypotheses, structural equation modeling was established. Construct measures were based on existing measures and previous research. Results - The survey results indicate that technological uncertainty and volume uncertainty differentially affect NPD performance under conditions of high and low structural holes. Conclusions - This study offer some theoretical and practical implications among distribution channel members, especially, this study suggests that interfirm networks have critical competitive advantage in uncertain environments. The distinctiveness of engineering industry might limit the generalizability of the results. Thus, future research should consider a wider range of industries.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.402-417
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• 2001

This study empahsized the nature of spatial patterns, characteristics and embeddeness of foreign business service firms in Korea utilizing questionnaire survey and interview data. Foreign business services firms are active in forming interfirm networks with clients and supply firms in Korea for widening the market share in Korea. But a low proportion of foreign firms is engaged in academies-industry linkages, government organizations, research institutes, and trade associations. Knowledge transfer and interaction also shows low level of network and the regional development of foreign firms is still in the process of developing, not quite embedded yet. Policy guidances and instituional supports are very essential to strenthen interfirm network and collective learning process of foreing firms in Korea lather than mechanical accumulation of investments. Thus, regional foreign direct investment policy should be targeted towards the incrementation of the potential of foreign firms as a knowledge-intensive industry.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.1-20
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• 2001

The amount of financial information in sophisticated large data bases is huge and makes interfirm performance comparisons very difficult or at least very time consuming. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether neural networks in the form of self-organizing maps (SOM) can be successfully employed to manage the complexity for competitive financial benchmarking. SOM is known to be very effective to visualize results by projecting multi-dimensional financial data into two-dimensional output space. Using the SOM, we overcome the problems of finding an appropriate underlying distribution and the functional form of data when structuring and analyzing a large data base, and show an efficient procedure of competitive financial benchmarking through clustering firms on two-dimensional visual space according to their respective financial competitiveness. For the empirical purpose, we analyze the data base of annual reports of 100 Korean listed companies over the years 1998, 1999, and 2000.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.667-690
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• 2016

This paper reviews the evolution process of global production network(GPN) discourse, from its origin to the recent theorization, namely GPN 2.0. In so doing, the discursive formation of global production networks is introduced in comparison with a competing discourse global commodity/value chains, with particular attention to conceptual and analytical lacunae in the latter. This article also outlines how the global production network perspective has become a useful discursive and practical tool that allows the examination of the nexus of global economy, transnational corporations, and regional development. Subsequently, a theoretical dearth in the approach is discussed in reference to key critiques, and in this context Yeung and Coe's recent theorization GPN 2.0, which is centered on casual mechanisms and network configurations is reviewed. This paper suggests that the theory adequately addresses the problem of casuality lacking in its precedented conceptual framework, and that it helps exploring the formation and evolution processes of varied production networks(including intrafirm coordination, interfirm control, strategic partnership, and extrafirm bargaining) in connection with competitive dynamics and risky environments. As a result of the theorization, the difference between GPN and the chain approaches has become more apparent, and the idea of extrafirm bargaining is particularly important in the differentiation. Extrafirm bargaining is seen to be a comprehensive networking form inclusive of such GPN 1.0 analytical concepts as value, embeddeness, and power, and research attentive to, and engaging with, the extrafirm networks is expected to help transcending the chain governance approaches' analytical excess of interfirm linkages and industry-centeredness.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.55-74
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• 1997

This paper investigates the spatial characteristics of networks, which arise as a firm's strategy to enhance its competitiveness to cope with the changing economic environments characterized by technological changes and increasing competitiveness. The theoretical framework in this study proposes that networks emerge as a firm's strategies to promote its competitiveness through the vertical/horizontal disintegration of the production system. Futhermore, regional industries of networks. The study examines the types of cooperation and the spatial boundary of the computer industry networks in Korea. Questionnaire survey was conducted on 1, 128 computer companies which had more than 10 employees, with 126 questionnaires being used for analysis. In addition, newpaper articles were used to supplement the foregoing work on network characteristics. The review of these articles covers the period from Jan. 1994 to June 1996. Major findings of this study are as follows: The spatial range of cooperative networks varies according to the specific characters of cooperation(R & D, production, and seles). Intralocal networks are being developed in Kangnam and Youido area, the computer industry agglomeration clusres of Seoul. There are the regional differnces in the agents and contents of cooperation. In intra-national R & D and production networks, regional differnces in agglomeratins and non-agglomerations are not detercted. Most networks of this type are found between large firms and small firms. In contrast, foregn R & D and production networks, which are operated mostly by large firms, are found in Kangnam, Youido, and CBD. Intra-national and foreign productino networks are also focused in Kangnam, Youido, and CBD. Small firms are playing an active role in making this type of cooperation possible. In the perspective of localization-globalization, Korean computer industry can be analyzed in two respects: industrial and regional. The localization of small firms and the localization-globalization of large firms' networks are being developed in industrial contexts, while the localization-globalization of agglomerations and the localization of non-agglomerations networks are being developed in regional contexts. As networks for the localization-globalization of industry are growing in agglomerations, interfirm networks could be related to trends in the formation or intensification of industrial agglomerations. industrial agglomeration areas function as a facilitator of localization through subcontracts, intraregional network and interregional network. They also facilitate globalization via foregn networks. In non-agglomeratin areas, localization networks, which are connected with agglomeration areas via subcontracting, interregional R & D. or production cooperation.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1105-1117
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• 2015

During the last decade, the business infrastructure has become digital with increased interconnections among products, processes, and services. Across many firms spanning different industries and sectors, digital technologies are fundanmentally transforming business stratiges, business processes, firm capabilities, productes and services, and key interfirm relationships in extended business networks. With the emergence of smartphones, the paradigm of the ICT industry is rapidly changing as the line between global and local markets are being blurred. In the changing global environment, although some game companies are accelerating the improvement of their global competitiveness and cases of successes of venture enterprises by developing biosimilar technology are being discovered, majority of ICT companies are focusing on limited marketing activities to get subcontracts or projects from large companies. Thus the aim of this study is to find out how digital ecosystems evolve and how business models and strategies have changed of individual companies according to the evolution of the digital ecosystems.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.226-244
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• 2012

This paper aims to analyze the process of the evolution of Gumi electronics industrial cluster and to understand the role of governments for local industrial dynamics. Gumi was a typical satellite platform type new industrial district up to mid-1990s. At that time, Gumi industrial park was the agglomeration of branch plants headquartered in Capital Region with weak local linkages. During the last two decades, however, Gumi has evolved to an electronics industrial cluster with considerable local interfirm linkages and innovation activities of SMEs. Recognizing government industrial policies is critical in understanding the process of the evolution of Gumi electronics cluster. At the early stage, the state was the developer and locator of business activities within the confines of the Gumi industrial park. In recent years, central government's innovative cluster policy contributed to strengthening networks among firms, universities, and research centers to form local innovation networks as well as networks between large branch plants and SMEs. Gumi city and Gyungsangbuk-do promoted innovative activities of SMEs through the supports of cooperative networks between universities and SMEs. The increasing roles of SMEs and local governments in addition to the large branch plants and the central government have become the basis of the evolution of industrial cluster in Gumi.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.43-61
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• 2000

This study investigate the spatial characteristics and corporate networks of foreign business service firms in Korea. Specifically intrafirm and extrafirm organization of foreign firms are addressed utilizing the corporate network perspective. For this purpose, this study conducted questionnaire and interview surveys for the foreign firms. Parent-subsidiary relationships are focused on the mechanisms by which Transnational Corporations (TNCs) headquarters control and coordinate their foreign affiliates and subsidiaries in order to achieve investment purpose in Korea (overseas market expansion). But extrafirm networks of foreign business services firms in Korea do not appear to play an important role in regional development to date. A low proportion of foreign firms is engaged in academics-industry linkages, and a low number o( foreign firms is formally linked with government organizations, research institutes, and trade associations. To conclude, Foreign direct investment firms in business services in Korea are characteristics by globalized intrafirm networks and localized interfirm and extrafirm networks. It is understood that regional development can be vitalized when Korean local firms have close relationships with technologically advanced foreign firms in tacit knowledge capacity. Foreign firms are able to play an important role in the development of business services in Korea. This study suggests that regional foreign direct investment policy should be targeted towards the corporate networking with foreign firms and domestic firms and incrementation of the potential of foreign firms as a knowledge-intensive industry.