• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.363-394
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• 2012

WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) was designed to liberalize and expand trade in government procurement. Revised GPA was implemented in 1996 and the latest revision was completed (but not yet implemented) in 2012, but as a plurilateral agreement. Since the end of the UR, there has been attempts by various WTO members to liberalize trade in the government procurement market - through an expansion of Parties who are signatories to GPA, and through a negotiated agreement on transparency in government procurement. The attempt to expand the Parties who are signatories to the GPA - attempt to increase the width of the coverage of the agreement - has been somewhat successful, but I argue that the goal should be to further liberate the government procurement markets of the current Party members - to reduce thresholds and other barriers which limit market access even to other GPA members, in other words, to increase the depth of coverage. Taking cue from Korea's FTA, I propose a two-level liberalization of the government procurement market under the GPA: A "light" level which would be the same as the current level of liberalization; and a "deep" level with lower thresholds and less exemptions. I argue that, as seen in Korea, with FTAs, many GPA Parties already have multiple levels of liberalization (i.e, spaghetti-bowl effect of FTAs), but by limiting the levels of liberalization to two, we can seek the best of deep liberalization but reduce the spaghetti-bowl effect.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.8
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• pp.565-572
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• 2021

The role of the garment and textile industry is particularly important in the economies of many countries in the context of international goods trade. There is no denying that the garment and textile industry contributes significantly to the economic growth in the global economy. The study seeks to investigate the relationship between control variables and Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garment products. While previous research has found some control variables influencing consumers' intention to buy products, little research has been done about the influence of control variables on consumers' intention to buy Chinese garment products, in developing countries like Vietnam. In particular, the textile industry plays an important role in export, but outsourcing is accounting for a high proportion of trade, hence, it is necessary to increase innovation to increase consumers' intention to buy domestic garment products. The data is collected from a survey of 406 Vietnamese consumers' in Hanoi city and Ho Chi Minh City. The methodology includes a mixed-method, i.e. qualitative method and quantitative method. The quantitative method applies SPSS analysis to measure the control variables' influence on Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garment products. The results identify 1 control variable that impacts Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garment products, which is domicile.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.133-151
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• 2021

Purpose - This study examines the effects of expatriate transfer on foreign affiliate's labor productivity. Design/methodology - Using Korean-owned foreign affiliate-level data, we estimate the effect of expatriate transfer on foreign affiliate's labor productivity using the system generalized method of moments model. We also consider foreign affiliate- and host country-specific contingencies and test how they are associated with expatriates in enhancing foreign affiliate's labor productivity. Findings - We consider foreign production intensity and cultural distance between the home (i.e., South Korea) and host countries as key contingencies that influence the effect of expatriates on foreign affiliate's labor productivity. We find that expatriates are effective in enhancing the labor productivity of less production-intensive foreign affiliates. This effect is strengthened as expatriates are deployed to countries that share cultural similarities with the home country. Originality/value - Considering that previous studies provide mixed results on the effect of expatriates, our findings suggest that foreign affiliate-specific operational orientation and cultural distance should be considered jointly to understand the true effect of expatriate staffing on foreign affiliate performance.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.82-108
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• 2023

As tension escalates between the US and China, scenarios for maintaining peace in Northeast Asia imply that secondary powers will perceive increasing incentives to reappraise their respective international roles. This analysis proposes that an analysis of France's Cold War role in Europe and the world under President Charles de Gaulle provides insights into conflict management in an increasingly multipolar international political environment. Their respective interests in preventing a so-called new Cold War emerging between the US and China include avoiding its excessive economic costs, if only because China is a massive trade partner. This study engages in theoretical framework-informed process tracing of de Gaulle's role. It explicates the assumptions that functionally underpinned de Gaulle's policy of soft balancing between the US and China. The analysis explores de Gaulle's contribution to the decay of the Cold War. It illuminates de Gaulle's contribution to a regional international environment that made West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik strategy more feasible politically. This study applies these findings in the formulation of strategy recommendations focusing on Japan. Valid inferences regarding the predominant motivations driving American and Chinese international interaction are necessary for this task. To the extent to which the US and China have entered into a conflict spiral, Japan's hedging towards Washington is further incentivized. Tokyo would necessarily need to convince the Chinese that Japan is no longer Washington's unsinkable aircraft carrier off its coast. Tokyo, like de Gaulle's France, would maintain close relations with Washington, but it would need to project to its interlocutors its commitment to its own strategic autonomy. Tokyo's emphasis on closer relations with liberal democratic Indo-Pacific actors would potentially fit well with a commitment to strategic autonomy to defend the global liberal order.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.437-454
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• 2013

The information exchange becomes active in the online due to the rapid development of the Internet over the various fields. It is the tendency that it acquires not only information related to the on-line related to the off line depended on the traditional oral tradition but also information in the on-line. It is the competitive environment of the hospital more competitive over the time. The felt feeling for the hospital to the consumer plays the important role as to the assessment of hospital and choice. It is very the critical matter whether it approaches the consumer to any kind of way through the on-line information transfer, and the inappropriate feeling can be caused. That is, it can install whether any kind of point about one will be embossed through the e-business marketing, and the evaluation or useful feeling for choice can be caused in the hospital to the medical consumer in being the critical matter. This research compared and analyze the results expected with the Samsung Seoul Hospital, which was most active and uses the e-business marketing among the major hospital put through in the utilization by marketing view as the domestic Big 5 Severance hospital, and feature of SNS channels of Sungmo Hospital through the case analysis. How it tried to present each channels the individual, or, the strategic frame about the unificational it utilized and can maximize the marketing result and implication according to the marketing activity purpose and direction.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.113-190
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• 2002

The purpose of this paper is to perform empirical studies on the impact of pollution intensity on international competitiveness using 1993 and 1998 data, and to estimate the change in environmental regulation level faced by the firms during 1993~1998. Collecting relevant data and providing them for further studies in the area are another purposes of the paper. The first method is the regression of various indices of international competitiveness on factor costs, such as labor, capital, R&D and pollution abatement costs. Goal of the regression analysis is to estimate the scarcity and comparative advantage effect of each production factor, especially environmental resource. Regression results show that those industries which employ more environmental resource have higher comparative advantage in both years, which implies that Korean firms are endowed with abundant environmental resource compared to other countries. The second method is to compute the relative scarcity indices(HOVL indices) of production factors, proposed by Leamer based on Vanek's generalized Hecksher-Ohlin Theorem. This method estimates the relative scarcity of production factors by computing factor costs embodied in import and export of commodities. This method shows similar results as the regression method; i.e., trade pattern of production factors implies that the manufacturing sector in Korea is endowed with abundant environmental resource compared to other countries. Considering population density, water resource endowment, intensity of economic activity per unit area and current air and water pollution levels, it is evident that Korea is never endowed with abundant environmental resource compared to other countries. Then the abundance of environmental resource revealed by the trade patterns of commodities and production factors implies that Korea's environmental regulation level is excessively generous compared to environmental capacity, and that this increased the environmental resource endowment supplied to firms and thus distorted the inter-industry comparative advantages. Both regression and HOVL methods, on the other hand, show that overall environmental regulation level faced by the firms has been strengthened during 1993~1998.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.21-40
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• 2016

This study mainly deals with a recent case held as to the formation of contract under the United Nations Convention on International Sale of Goods(CISG). In order to analyse the fact of the case and the justification of its holdings, it examines the rules on the formation of contract under the CISG, focusing on the requirements of offer and acceptance, the time when such offer and acceptance become effective, the issues on the battle of forms. In addition to these, it particularly investigates the rules on a delayed acceptance under the CISG. After looking into those rules, it criticizes the holdings and provides legal and practical advice to contracting parties who intend to conclude a contract under the CISG as a governing law. It finds that whose e-mail in the case amounts to an offer and an acceptance is depended upon the interpretation of intention of the parties expressed in their statement. According to such interpretation, even if a purchase order is requested by the seller for the formation of contract, a contract may be concluded by a simple statement which commits the buyer himself to purchase the seller's goods. This is particularly the case where such request is made only to clarify the buyer's intention to purchase them.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.30 no.6 s.112
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• pp.483-489
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to suggest logical foundation and points which are necessary for establishing E-commerce cf Korean shipping companies' development strategy and activation plan. In order to do empirical analysis, two step analyses are adopted. Firstly, this study examines the effects of the shipping company character and the shipping environment character on the usage of E-commerce in the shipping companies. Secondly, this study examines the effects of usage of E-commerce on the performance in shipping companies. In the empirical analysis, research hypotheses are being tested mainly by a structural equation model(SEM).

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.91-110
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• 2008

Trust is emphasized as one of the most important factors in various e-commerce related studies. It is no exaggeration to say that in the area of e-commerce, trust-building with customers determines a company's success or failure. That is why most e-commerce based companies spare no time and effort in building trust with customers. Without exception, trust is one of the most critical factors influencing a customer's decision making process of whether to purchase Internet automobile insurance. This study attempts to provide useful guidelines for the sales-enhancing strategies of Internet automobile insurers, by delving into research questions concerning 1) gender differences in Internet automobile insurance customers' recognition of trust, and 2) gender differences in the effective trust factors influencing one's intention to purchase of Internet automobile insurance. The study finds that while the shape of trust-recognition toward three types of trust factors is very similar for both gender groups, the intensity of trust for each gender group in overall is pretty different. The results indicate that there exist gender differences in the trust factors influencing one’s intent to purchase Internet automobile insurance. The results of this study will provide useful guidelines for Internet automobile insurers in establishing effective and differentiated marketing strategies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2006.06b
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• pp.259-264
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to suggest logical foundation and points which necessarily for establishing E-commerce of Korean shipping companies' development strategy and activation plan. In order to empirical analysis, two step analyses are adopted. Firstly, this study examines the effects of the shipping company character and the shipping environment character on the usage of E-commerce in the shipping companies. Secondly, this study examines the effects of usage of E-commerce on the performance in shipping companies. In the empirical analysis, research hypotheses are being tested mainly by a structural equation model(SEM).