• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.153-167
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to guide the operation managers who plan daily production of large mass-processing facility that services multi-customers with multi-product, small-batch item characteristics by providing the practical best production quantity and the inventory allowed to build. Methods: Close observation of a subcontract paint-shop operator captured the daily decision process which was reflected in the subcontractor-unique mathematical model and the system dynamics simulation model. Multiple simulations were run to find the practical best production quantity and the maximum allowable stock level of inventory that did not undermine the profit from practical best daily production. Actual data and a few constant values were obtained from the firm under study. Results: While the inventory holding cost for the customer-owned material harms the total profit of the subcontractor, the running cost of the processing facility hinders production in small batches. This balances the maximum possible productions and results in practical best daily production which can be found through simulation runs with actual data. The maximum level of stocked inventory is deduced from the practical best daily production. Conclusion: To build a large volume that enables economy-of-scale production, operators should deal with multi-product small-batch items from multiple customers. When the planned schedule of the time and amount of material in-flow tend not to be reliable, operators can find it practical to execute level production across the planning horizon instead of adjusting to day-to-day in-flow fluctuations.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.666-677
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• 2016

This study analyzes determinants of strategic marketing alliances' performance using 'continuous use intention' of consumers in the Korean credit card industry. Specifically, this study aims to provide comprehensive and synthetic understanding of these factors divided into firm- level and consumer- level variables. Thirty alliance cards were chosen randomly. For firm- level data, managers from the thirty selected cards were interviewed concerning their respective firm and alliance operation. For collection of consumer- level data, 610 card holders from these thirty cards were surveyed concerning card benefits, benefits information, brand image, and continuous use intention. The hierarchical linear model (HLM) was employed to analyze this multi-level data, yielding the following results: First, consumers identified three factors that positively influence continuous use intention. Second, with respect to firmlevel factors, alliance partner's marketing capability is not positively related to intention, whereas fit of alliance goal influences consumer's continuous use of card. Third, contrary to expectation, the positive interaction effects between consumer level variables and firm level variables were found to be not present.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.93-103
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• 2014

The rapid trends toward outsourcing have created more complex and fragmented multi-tier supply chains for Engineering, Procurement & Construction(EPC) industry. Working with suppliers and sub-suppliers requires continuous integration activities during project execution. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing the performances and relationship satisfaction of second-tier suppliers participating in the project-based supply chain. This study proposes the network embeddedness, collaboration, information-sharing and flexibility as antecedents variables, and collected the survey responses from the second-tier suppliers having experiences with complex projects. The statistical results indicate that the collaboration with supply chain leading firm and first-tier supplier has significant impact on the performances and relationship satisfaction of second-tier suppliers. It was also found that the information-sharing and flexibility influence the network embeddedness as well as collaboration, and that the embeddedness have significant impact on the collaboration.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.269-286
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• 2007

Business Incubators(BI) guide starting-up firms through their growth process and as such constitute a strong instrument to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. This study classified the incubating services into communication, physical facilities, human resources, marketing, financial, legal, technology, and networking services. The research problem was tested with data from 103 BI centers and 561 starting-up firms in BI. The results from the survey are as follows: First, incubating services to important for the BI's performance are networking, communication, human resources, physical facilities, and marketing services. Second, the incubating services to satisfy on the firms in the BI are financial, human resources, marketing, communication, networking, and physical facilities services. Third, there are the differences between BI center and the firms in the BI by each incubating service except communication service. Finally, the results of MSEM(Multi-group Structured Equation Modeling) indicate the communication and networking services are more strongly affected to the performance at the BI centers. Vice versa, the marketing and financial services are more strongly affected to the satisfaction at the firms in the BI centers. Starting-up firms in business incubators showed strong desire to receive better support in such fields as marketing and financial services. BI needs to recognize such demand and provide improved services in such areas. Starting-up firms did not recognize the utility and importance of services in networking with other firms and supporting human resources. BI needs to promote services in such areas. Concerning communication services and physical facility support service, both BI and starting-up firms showed satisfactory levels of services.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.8
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• pp.157-167
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• 2022

The global laundry detergents market in 2021 was valued at nearly $121 billion, with consumers being reported as heightening their search for hygienic products capable of fighting viruses. Therefore, the researchers undertook a study to determine how product innovation (PI), product quality (PQ), and product attitude (PA) effects Thai consumers' satisfaction (CS) with their purchase of laundry detergent and fabric softener. After the questionnaire's validity and reliability confirmation, the authors used multi-stage random sampling by region and province in January and February 2022 to collect 520 questionnaires. LISREL 9.10 was used in the CFA and SEM analysis of the six hypotheses, which were determined to be supported. The results showed that all three causal variables positively influenced CS, with a total effect (TE) R² value = 87%. Also, latent variable total effect (TE) values showed that PI was strongest (0.93), then PQ (0.56), and finally, PA (0.54). Therefore, consumer satisfaction is essential in a firm's ongoing development and sustainability in a highly competitive, globalized world. Organizations must develop competitive strategies that adjust to consumer needs. Management must monitor online and social media sources where product reviews are given and adjust their strategies accordingly.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.1-16
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• 2012

Under the international business circumstance, global supply chain management is considered a vital strategic challenge to small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) suffering from deficient resources and capabilities to exploit overseas markets comparing with large corporations. That is because they can expand their business domains into overseas markets by establishing strategic alliances with global supply chain partners. Although a wide range of previous researches have emphasized the cooperative networks in the chain, most are ignoring the importance of developing relational characteristics such as trust and reciprocity with the partners. Besides, verifying the relational factors influencing firms' export performances, some studies proposed different and inconsistent factors. According to the social capital theory, which is the social quality and networks facilitating close cooperation of inter-individual and inter-organization, provides the integrated view to identify the relational characteristics in the aspects of network, trust and reciprocal norm. Meanwhile, a number of researchers shows that global entrepreneurship is the internal and intangible resource necessary to promote SMEs' internationalization. Upon closer examination, however, they cannot explain clearly its influencing mechanism in the inter-firm cooperative relationships. This study is to verify the effect of social capital accumulated within global supply chain on SMEs' qualitative and quantitative export performance. In addition, we shed new light on global entrepreneurship expected to be concerned with the formation of social capital and the enhancement of export performances. For this purpose, the questionnaires, developed through literature review, were collected from 192 Korean SMEs affiliated in Korean Medium Industries Association and Global Chief Executive Officer's Club focusing on their memberships' international business. As a result of multi-regression analysis, the social capital - network, trust and reciprocal norm shared with global supply chain partner - as well as global entrepreneurship - innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking - have positive effect on SMEs' export performances. Also global entrepreneurship affects positively social capital which has mediating effect partially in the relationship between global entrepreneurship and performances. These results means that there is a structural process - global entrepreneurship(input), social capital(output), and export performances(outcome). In other words, a firm should consistently invest in and develop the social capital with global supply chain partners in order to achieve common goals, establish strategic collaborations and obtain long-term export performances. Furthermore, it is required to foster the global entrepreneurship in an organization so as to build up the social capital. More detailed practical issues and discussion are made in the conclusion.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.45-61
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• 2022

Despite of the consensus on the critical role of CEO and slack resources for strategic decision making, how they affect in the selection of strategic alliance type is limited. This study investigated the effect of CEO's experiential attributes and the venture firms' slack resource on the selection of strategic alliance type. To this end, this study used multi-variate logistic regression analysis with 1,813 Korean venture firms. The findings indicated that higher education level and large firm experience of CEO positively contributed to form an explorative alliance. And these two experiential attributes has negative effects on the probability of exploitative alliance formation. On the other hand, the entrepreneurial experience has no effect on the selection of strategic alliance type. This study also investigated the effect of slack resource - available slack, recoverable slack, and potential slack-. The more venture firms have available and potential slack, the higher probability of pursuing an explorative alliance. In addition, recoverable slack of venture firms has negative effect only on the selection of explorative alliance. The results of this study are expected to contribute the literatures of strategic management and venture firms by illustrating which CEO and firm-level factors affect the selection of strategic alliance type. This study also extends recent effort to better understand the selection of strategic alliance type with upper echelons theory and slack resource. And this study suggests implications that can increase the probability of successful decision making by venture firms in selection of strategic alliance type.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.25-47
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• 2010

Over the past 20 years new and small firms have been identified as significant components of economic strategies for job and wealth creation. Implicit in these strategies has been the search for policies which will increase the supply of new firms, and will encourage established firms' growth. Yet the majority firms spend the whole of their economic life within the small firm sector. The aim of this paper is to suggest a multidimensional approach to the understanding of the comparative characteristics of the small firm by providing evidence as to the factors which describe firms of different sizes, regions and industries. And I discuss in the context of policy options for regional economic development in Korea. The results from the analyses are summarized as follows. The size of the small firms in the sample measured in terms of both number of employees and sales revenue are characterized by regions, export performance and R&D. There is also some indication that growing firms may develop more complex environment. These results are based upon a multi-dimensional analysis of the strategic profile of a sample of small firms using KIS. From this observation of the firms during the data collection period, this is a conclusion that I find intuitively appealing.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.65-72
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• 2018

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of ex ante governance mechanisms that can be exercised by franchisers on franchise contract compliance and various relationship outcomes. There are many previous studies on control mechanisms in inter-firm relationship, however, most studies focus on ex post governance mechanisms and identify the effects of behavior control and outcome control on performances. Based on transaction cost theory and agency theory, this study defines the ex ante governance mechanisms of franchisers as contractual completeness and extra contractual incentives. The author have examined the two ex ante control mechanisms on contract compliance, recontract intention, multi-shop running intention and opportunistic behaviors of franchisee. Research design, data, and methodology - In this study, 137 questionnaires of food and beverage franchise stores were collected through a specialized research company. The reliability and validity of the variables were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 programs and hypotheses were verified through the structural equation modeling. Results - As a result of hypothesis testing, contractual completeness and extra contractual incentives have a positive effect on the contract compliance of the franchisee. It is shown that franchisee's contract compliance has a positive effect on recontract intention and multi-shop running intention and has a negative effect on opportunistic behaviors. Conclusions - This study examines the ex ante governance mechanisms such as contractual completeness and extra contractual incentives, which is relatively rare compared to ex post governance mechanism in B2B relationship. According to the results of this research, these two tools can be used as ex ante control mechanisms for franchise headquarters to use their franchisees. In addition, franchisee's contract compliance affects various relationship outcomes between franchisor and franchisees.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.27-53
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• 2008

This paper investigates factors determining the level of nontraditional activities at banks around the world. Specifically, the paper examines what kinds of firm-specific and country-specific characteristics determine the level of noninterest income using a comprehensive multi-country database. This paper focuses beyond the traditional U.S. based analyses and provides detailed asset-liability management practices of banks around the world.The findings suggest that banks' size and loan loss provision, explicit deposit insurance, banking restriction, banking freedom ranking of respective countries, the extent of state and foreign ownership, governance, and transparency of the country have positive effects on the level of nontraditional activities. Greater dependence on traditional lending and financing, market based economy, and multiple bank supervisory bodies in the country have negative associations with noninterest income. The economic development of country however affects the extent of the relationship.