• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.115-137
• /
• 2010

Information technology (IT) outsourcing, the use of a third-party vendor to provide IT services, started in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Korea, and has increased rapidly since 2000. Recently, firms have increased their efforts to capture greater value from IT outsourcing. To date, there have been a large number of studies on IT outsourcing. Most prior studies on IT outsourcing have focused on outsourcing practices and decisions, and little attention has been paid to objectively measuring the value of IT outsourcing. In addition, studies that examined the performance of IT outsourcing have mainly relied on anecdotal evidence or practitioners' perceptions. Our study examines the contribution of IT outsourcing to economic growth in Korean industries over the 1990 to 2007 period, using a production function framework and a panel data set for 54 industries constructed from input-output tables, fixed-capital formation tables, and employment tables. Based on the framework and estimation procedures that Han, Kauffman and Nault (2010) used to examine the economic impact of IT outsourcing in U.S. industries, we evaluate the impact of IT outsourcing on output and productivity in Korean industries. Because IT outsourcing started to grow at a significantly more rapid pace in 2000, we compare the impact of IT outsourcing in pre- and post-2000 periods. Our industry-level panel data cover a large proportion of Korean economy-54 out of 58 Korean industries. This allows us greater opportunity to assess the impacts of IT outsourcing on objective performance measures, such as output and productivity. Using IT outsourcing and IT capital as our primary independent variables, we employ an extended Cobb-Douglas production function in which both variables are treated as factor inputs. We also derive and estimate a labor productivity equation to assess the impact of our IT variables on labor productivity. We use data from seven years (1990, 1993, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007) for which both input-output tables and fixed-capital formation tables are available. Combining the input-output tables and fixed-capital formation tables resulted in 54 industries. IT outsourcing is measured as the value of computer-related services purchased by each industry in a given year. All the variables have been converted to 2000 Korean Won using GDP deflators. To calculate labor hours, we use the average work hours for each sector provided by the OECD. To effectively control for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation present in our dataset, we use the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) procedures. Because the AR1 process may be industry-specific (i.e., panel-specific), we consider both common AR1 and panel-specific AR1 (PSAR1) processes in our estimations. We also include year dummies to control for year-specific effects common across industries, and sector dummies (as defined in the GDP deflator) to control for time-invariant sector-specific effects. Based on the full sample of 378 observations, we find that a 1% increase in IT outsourcing is associated with a 0.012~0.014% increase in gross output and a 1% increase in IT capital is associated with a 0.024~0.027% increase in gross output. To compare the contribution of IT outsourcing relative to that of IT capital, we examined gross marginal product (GMP). The average GMP of IT outsourcing was 6.423, which is substantially greater than that of IT capital at 2.093. This indicates that on average if an industry invests KRW 1 millon, it can increase its output by KRW 6.4 million. In terms of the contribution to labor productivity, we find that a 1% increase in IT outsourcing is associated with a 0.009~0.01% increase in labor productivity while a 1% increase in IT capital is associated with a 0.024~0.025% increase in labor productivity. Overall, our results indicate that IT outsourcing has made positive and economically meaningful contributions to output and productivity in Korean industries over the 1990 to 2007 period. The average GMP of IT outsourcing we report about Korean industries is 1.44 times greater than that in U.S. industries reported in Han et al. (2010). Further, we find that the contribution of IT outsourcing has been significantly greater in the 2000~2007 period during which the growth of IT outsourcing accelerated. Our study provides implication for policymakers and managers. First, our results suggest that Korean industries can capture further benefits by increasing investments in IT outsourcing. Second, our analyses and results provide a basis for managers to assess the impact of investments in IT outsourcing and IT capital in an objective and quantitative manner. Building on our study, future research should examine the impact of IT outsourcing at a more detailed industry level and the firm level.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.5-40
• /
• 2002

Using detailed data of women's work history, this study analyses the transition process between employment and non-employment over the life history in order to identity individual and structural determinants in the processes. Korean women comprise very heterogeneous groups in terms of work continuity: one group having a continuous work history and another having an interrupted work experience. While 4.0% of total women have stayed in the labor market since leaving school, 17.3% have not worked outside at all and remaining 87.9% have experienced into and out of the labor market at least once. On the average, the cumulated time of employment per woman is 8.2 years and the cumulated time of unemployment is 13.1 years. Thus Korean women work a total of only 38.5% of their whole lifetime after leaving school. We can conclude that the increase of the employment rate of married women in Korea since the 1970s has been due to the increase of the new entrants with short or little working careers into the labor market, not to the increase of women's work continuity on the whole. A women's educational achievement does not seem to be positively related to employment duration, contrary to the suggestion of the human capital theory, Rather, family variables, especially the existence of the child under 6 yens old, is a more significant determining factor for an individual's exit from employment. And there is little difference among different age cohorts which implies little improvement in the employment continuity of younger women. This study also documents the importance of structural variables, such as the type of occupation, as significant determining factors for the hazard rate. Specially women with professional jobs tend to stay longer in the labor market. Therefore, women's entry into more professional occupations is expected to contribute to the continuity of employment. Our results also show that duration-dependence is not spurious. When unobserved heterogeneity is controlled, the negative relation between the rate from employment and the duration of employment does not disappear.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.147-165
• /
• 2012

Recently, the theory of open innovation emerges as a new innovation paradigm. This paper aims to examine open innovation activities of SMEs. Many firms tend to search new knowledge from various external sources and to pursue to achieve innovation resources or knowledge of external innovators. Particularly, this paper focus on the process of external knowledge networking and open innovation occurred in the process of technology innovation. The data used in this study were those that had been collected for total 3,400 sample SMEs that had conducted R&D. and in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 SMEs located at Chungbuk-Technopark. Empirical findings can be summarized as follows; SMEs tend to search new knowledge from various external sources and to pursue to achieve innovation resources or knowledge of external innovators, because they have lack of innovation resources. therefore, the conducting of open innovation affected positively the innovation performance of SMEs. In addition, empirical findings also indicated that expanding flexibility of labor market enhances open innovation activities of SMEs.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.15-30
• /
• 2021

Purpose: Year of 2020, COVID-19 has been changing the people's everyday life to ways never been thought of before all over the world. The IT and electronic industry, the methods of supplying goods and services have been changed from contact to un-tact environments based on un-tact systems very rapidly. COVID-19 has been striking the tourism and the travel industry, especially the airline and hotel industry of which services are provided by human. For the passenger service of airliner, automation has been propelled and un-tact style of service has become mainstreams except cabin service since 2000's. For passenger transportation, due to traffic regulations and exclusions etc., switching to new ways is not easy. However, under the new environment made by COVID-19, kiosk check-in, web check-in and mobile check-in has become more important. In this study, the characteristics of airline customers using mobile goods are investigated to find ways to raise the rate of utilizing mobile check-in and to increase the efficiency of boarding process. Research design, data, and methodology: Considering the COVID-19 environment, survey was done by online research company. The research model is designed to integrate the user characteristics and usage/purchase motive and technology acceptance theory. Especially considering infectious diseases prevention, concern of safety is adopted as one of the usage motive variable. Results: Extraversion or conscientiousness characteristics prefers counter check-in(contact service), while openness characteristics prefers mobile check-in(un-tact service). Concern of safety for infectious disease shows strong non-preference on counter check-in. Conclusions: Regarding service type regardless of type of the industry, automation and un-tact have been mainstreams due to high costs of labor, efficiency and standardization issue, etc., and COVID-19 has given impetus to them. For airliner, un-tact service including boarding process service has been more and more important. To raise the rate of un-tact service use, the characteristics of the user should be analyzed first. The study results indicate that for extraversion or conscientiousness, some kinds of methods to induce them to use un-tact service more are needed.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.167-197
• /
• 1991

This paper is intended as an introductory essay to explain endogenous changes in the scope of firm activities in the competitive structure of a deregulated, multi-product financial industry. Recently, the global financial industry has been experiencing a widespread reshuffling in its activities, reflecting both consolidation and specialization. The spread of the universal banking system, which involves the integration of various kinds of financial activities, has resulted in the so-called financial supermarket. At the same time, the traditional set of banking activities has been unbundled into so-called financial boutiques. A relevant question is where the current reshuffling process of integration and disintegration in financial activities might lead the financial industry. However, presently popular theories of the financial industry are not really appropriate for the analysis of this issue. This paper attempts to integrate the theory of specialization [George J. Stigler, "The Division of Labor is Limited by the Extent of the Market," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. LIX, No.3, June 1951] and the theory of the multi-product firm [William J. Baumol, John C. Panzar, and Robert D. Willig, Contestable Markets and the Theory of Industry Structure, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York, 1982] and to apply the resulting hybrid theory, a theory on the scope of financial activity, to the financial industry. The implications of this theory for the issues raised above are formalized under five hypotheses on the reshuffling of financial activities as listed below: Hypothesis I: The differences in the organization of financial industries among countries are determined by differences in the size of the financial markets, other things being equal. Hypothesis II: A financial firm will separate those financial activities simultaneously having relatively strong economies of scale and relatively weak economies of scope (alternatively, diseconomies of scope) from other activities. Conversely, the firm will integrate those activities simultaneously having relatively weak economies of scale (alternatively, diseconomies of scale) and relatively strong economies of scope with incumbent activities. Hypothesis III: A competitive equilibrium in the deregulated financial industry will consist of both specialized and multi-product financial firms, resulting in a mixed form of specialized and universal banking systems. Hypothesis IV: As world financial markets fully integrate and all countries consequently face this single, common world market, the financial structures of individual countries will become increasingly similar. Hypothesis V: A more universal banking system will dominate the deregulated financial industry in countries with relatively small financial markets, while a more specialized banking system will dominate in countries with relatively large financial markets. However, equilibrium will ultimately be mixed, with specialized and universal banks coexisting, as stated in Hypothesis III. Based on these hypotheses, this paper interprets the historical development of specialized vs. universal banking systems in major industrial countries as a process driven by the evolution of the financial market in each country - i.e. the change in the size of the financial market over time. In addition, this paper anticipates that the final equilibrium of the world financial industry, which is currently under the pressure of financial innovations and deregulation, will be a mixed equilibrium with both specialized boutiques and universal supermarket-type financial firms, instead of an exclusively specialized or universal banking system. Future research should seek continued theoretical elaboration and empirical verification of this paper's hypotheses.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.111-125
• /
• 2010

For a shift to a new paradigm that allows restoring solidarity among class, gender, and race, it is necessary to closely investigate the differences between Marxist view and poststructuralist view which provide theoretical basis for labor movement and for feminist movement, respectively. However, little effort has been devoted to this task. This paper critically compares two best wellknown geographers; Harvey's class-centered theory and Gibson-Graham's post-structuralist feminist approach by focusing on their understandings of "difference". David Harvey argues that racial/gender discrimination is another form of class-exploitation and puts priority on the solidarity based on the commonality of labor. On the contrary Gibson-Graham argues that the privileging of class above all else marginalizes other political dimension, and proposes the deconstruction of hegemonic discourse of capitalism and the construction of "community economies", Based on the critical survey of both theories, I propose that understanding the role that spatiality plays in capital accumulation process is the key to compromise two different approaches.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.215-221
• /
• 2020

The paradigm of agriculture is also changing to address the problem of food shortages due to the increase of the world population, climate conditions that are increasingly subtropical, and labor shortages in rural areas due to aging population. With the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT), our daily lives are changing rapidly and heralds a major change in agricultural management. In a hyper-connected society, the introduction of high-tech into traditional Agriculture of the past is absolutely necessary. In the development process of Agriculture, the first generation produced by hand, the second generation applied mechanization, and the third generation introduced automation. The fourth generation is the current ICT operation and the fifth generation is artificial intelligence. This paper investigated Smart Farm that increases productivity through convergence of Agriculture and ICT, such as smart greenhouse, smart orchard and smart Livestock. With the development of sustainable food production methods in full swing to meet growing food demand, Smart Farming is emerging as the solution. In overseas cases, the Netherlands Smart Farm, the world's second-largest exporter of agricultural products, was surveyed. Agricultural automation using Smart Farms allows producers to harvest agricultural products in an accurate and predictable manner. It is time for the development of technology in Agriculture, which benchmarked cases of excellence abroad. Because ICT requires an understanding of Internet of Things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence as predicting the future, we want to address the status of theory and actual Agriculture and propose future development measures. We hope that the study of the paper will solve the growing food problem of the world population and help the high productivity of Agriculture and smart strategies of sustainable Agriculture.

• Journal of Korea Society of Digital Industry and Information Management
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.93-110
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to explore business investment and operation of O2O (Online-To-Offline) combined service. The study will analyze the necessary factors for growing the business by dividing the O2O service by industry. The Online-to-Offline is a method of inducing purchases of products and services by connecting between online and offline This research methodology organized the four stages of the analysis process. The analysis of all stages was performed with association rules in big data techniques. It is divided into the start-up period, growth period, maturity period, and decline period, and analysis is conducted on the business investment, expenditure cost, business operation, and conflict factors. As the research result, the first analysis has shown commonality with government subsidies, bank loans, and personal funds in all industries. The second analysis showed a lot of expenditure on labor costs of internal employees, marketing/sales, facility facilities, equipment, and equipment purchase costs. The third analysis showed difficulty in raising the investment resources necessary for business operations in all industries. The last analysis showed conflicts in the industry, businesses license, legal systems, and small business owners in all industries. This study contributed to the abundance and diversity of research methodologies in management information systems using association rules. In addition, the description of organizational development theory was updated while explaining the business investment and operation of O2O combined services. In practical implication, the O2O services include environmental factors that cause convergence between industries. Accordingly, this is required for new O2O services through new laws and systems and reorganization of existing laws and regulations.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.83-103
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of customer-contact employees support on service recovery efforts. Service companies should try to prevent the service failure situation from occurring, but it is realistic that the service failure occurs due to the characteristics of the service. Service recovery efforts of service providers are important because effective responses to service failures can enhance customer satisfaction despite service failures. Social support for customer-contact employees needs to improve service recovery efforts. Specifically, this study focuses on the mediation roles of job burnout and customer orientation in relationship between social support for customer-contact employees and service recovery efforts. Social exchange theory was used as the theoretical underpinning of the research model. Based on reciprocity principle, this paper suppose that support for customer-contact employees and service recovery effort are a kind of social exchange relationship. Social supports for customer-contact employees are categorized into internal and external organization. Internal organization is POS(perceived organizational support) and external organization is customer support. The research model was tested with the data gathered from the flight attendants whose emotional labor intensity was relatively high and the service failure frequently occurred. As a result of analysis, social supports for customer-contact employees classified into organizational support, supervisor support, and customer support are found to have differential impacts on job burnout and customer orientation. It has been found that job burnout of service providers is negatively affecting service recovery efforts. On the other hand, customer orientation of service providers has a positive influence on service recovery efforts. Based on the results of the analysis, we provide practical implications for effective service recovery efforts in service failure situations, and suggest the theoretical implications to explain the process of service recovery effort. Finally, limitations of the study and directions for future research are suggested.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.51-81
• /
• 2023

This study aimed to study its required performance requirements and proposes a competency framework necessary for the digital workforce of the Provincial Offices in Thailand. The specific primary informants were determined as 17 people. The collecting process was performed using the Delphi technique and the electronic Delphi technique in two phases, totaling four rounds. In the first time, a structured interview was used to conduct online interviews for 15 people. Content validation was performed to determine issues of the competency framework essential for the digital workforce with 7-level scaled questionnaires, and then online reviews were collected between 10-15 people (2nd to 4th times). A consensus was found and confirmed four times with descriptive statistics, namely frequency, mean, standard deviation, mode, median, and the absolute value of the difference between mode and median, interquartile range, and application of the conceptual framework. The research findings revealed that the essential competency requirements for the digital workforce were covered in digital literacy (six aspects), digital skills (four aspects), and digital characteristics (four aspects). Consensus was confirmed for 84 issues. Therefore, it was concluded that 61 points for building an essential competency framework for the digital workforce made them effective in using digital technology as a labor-saving instrument, as well as for expanding the breadth of development of digital expertise to include members of the organization's digital practitioner network. This development will benefit government agencies and the private sector, both national and international, in the future.