• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.370-379
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• 2018

The Korean government announced plans for the International Science Business Belt as a spatial area for promoting the linkage between scientific knowledge and commercialization in 2009. R&D and entrepreneurial activities are essential for the success of the International Science Business Belt. In particular, prioritizing the types of businesses is critical at the cluster establishment stage in that this largely affects the features and development of clusters comprising the International Science Business Belt. This research aims to predict the entry and growth of firms that specialize in four industrial clusters, including Big Science Cluster, Frontier Cluster, ICT Cluster, and Bio-Healthcare Cluster. For this purpose, we employ the Swann & Prevezer's industrial clustering model to identify sectors that affect the establishment and growth of industrial clusters in the International Science Business Belt, focusing on ICT, Bio-Healthcare and Frontier clusters. Data was collected from the 2014 Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) and University Alimi for the ICT cluster, 2014 National Bio Industry Survey and University Alimi for the Bio-Healthcare Cluster, and the 2015 National Nano Convergent Industry Survey and Annual Report of Nano Technology for the Frontier cluster. Empirical results show that the ICT service sector, bio process/equipment sector, and Nano electronic sector promote clustering in other sectors. Based on the analysis results, we discuss several policy implications and strategies that can attract relevant firms for the development of industrial clusters.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.565-577
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• 2020

This study empirically examined how a firm size affects the determinants of innovative activities using the data of the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) 2016. With data from 2,003 firms in the manufacturing sector, we performed logistic regression analysis and zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis. R&D expenditure and patent applications were used as proxies for innovative activity. The independent variables included the firm's characteristics variables such as the firm's age, tech-level industry, RDemp (R&D employee ratio), venture, export, and industrial characteristics variables such as networking, appropriability, and spillovers. The empirical findings are that there are some differences in firms' innovative activity determinants among the firms' size groups. Next, strategic appropriability has negative impacts on small firms' R&D expenditure and medium-firms' patents. Networking is an important determinant of innovative activity for all firms, except for large firms. Furthermore, in deciding R&D activities, small and medium-sized firms were significantly influenced by industrial characteristics as compared to that of large firms. Our findings suggest some R&D promotion policies. Policies fostering firms' technological interaction would allow firms to take advantage of technological spillovers and thus raise the probability of investing in R&D.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.149-175
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• 2014

This study analyzed the effect of corporate innovation strategies on patent production and ultimately on technological change and new product development of firms in South Korea. The intent was to derive efficient strategies for enhancing technological performance of the firms. For the empirical analysis, three sources of data were combined: four waves of the Human Capital Corporate Panel Survey (HCCP) data collected by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), corporate financial data obtained from the Korea Information Service (KIS), and corporate patent data provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The patent production function was estimated by zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression. The technological performance function was estimated by two-stage regression, taking into account the endogeneity of patent production. An ordered logit model was applied for the second stage regression. Empirical results confirmed the critical role of corporate innovation strategies in patent production and in facilitating technological change and new product development of the firms. In patent production, the firms' R&D investment and human resources were key determinants. Higher R&D intensity led to more patents, yet with decreasing marginal productivity. A larger stock of registered patents also led to a larger flow of new patent production. Firms were more prolific in patent production when they had high-quality personnel, intensely investing in human resource development, and adopting market-leading or fast-follower strategy as compared to stability strategy. In technological performance, the firms' human resources played a key role in accelerating technological change and new product development. R&D intensity expedited new product development of the firm. Firms adopting market-leading or fast-follower strategy were at an advantage than those with stability strategy in technological performance. Firms prolific in patent production were also advanced in terms of technological change and new product development. However, the nexus between patent production and technological performance measures was substantially reduced when controlling for the endogeneity of patent production. These results suggest that firms need to strengthen the linkage between patent production and technological performance, and take strategies that address each firm's capacities and needs.