• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2016

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the moderating effects of social capital on antecedents factors path of export performance in the materials and components SMEs(Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) of Busan and Kyungnam region. In case of materials and components SMEs, they are always trying to achieve business performance including export sales and market share, but it is difficult for them to increase performance due to the limitation of inner & tangible resources. Therefore intangible asset such as technology capability and its antecedents factors which are technology innovation and learning orientation are getting more important to SMEs. In addition, it is supposed that social capital such as local network including distribution channel in overseas market plays an essential role to enhance export performance. Accordingly, the main goal of this study is to find out the relationship between export performance and antecedents factors and the validity of social capital as a moderating valuable. Research design, data, and methodology - Technology innovation, learning orientation and technology capability have been used as antecedents factors for export performance and social capital such as network diversity and intensity has been used for moderating effects analysis. In order to select these valuables mentioned above, this study examined the existing researches on a basis of Resources Based View, Organizational Learning Theory and Social Capital theory. To achieve the objective of this paper, 7 hypotheses including the moderating effects have been proposed with 6 potential variables measured by 24 questions. The survey was carried out from December 2014 to March 2015 and 137 samples out of total 175 were selected for the analysis. PLS(Partial Least Squares) has been used for the methodology of empirical analysis for both antecedents factors path and moderating effects. Results - Research findings are as follows. First, technology innovation has a significant impact on learning orientation, learning orientation has a positive effect on the technology capability and technology capability also has a significant impact on export performance. Therefore 3 valuables are proved as antecedents factors of export performance. Second, the social capital(both network diversity and intensity) plays a moderating role with learning orientation to technology capability. However, there is no moderating effects between both of social capital and technology capability regarding export performance. Conclusions - According to path analysis results, it is suggested that the materials and components SMEs should raise technology innovation and learning orientation in order to improve technology capability and export performance. Meantime, the moderating effect analysis shows that SMEs should consider local network diversity and intensity along with learning orientation to add up technology capability. But local network diversity and intensity does not work systematically with technology capability for export performance and it means that SMEs should find the appropriate local partners for the purpose of establishing concrete distribution channels based on marketing perspective, not for improving technology capability.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.192-207
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• 1998

This paper focuses on the relationship between innovation and export performance of technology-based firms in Korea. This study analyses the relationship between innovative activity and firm's performances using a sample of 760 technology-based firms in Korea. As for the firm's performance indicators, export is employed. The empirical results support that innovation has a positive effect on firm's export performance. However, for small and medium firms, the relationship between innovative activity and export performance is an U-shape quadratic form, which shows that small firms takes a minimum innovative expenditure in order to access the abroad market. Also, with product differentiation, innovative firms tends to devot more to domestic market than to abroad market. Therefore, it can be concluded that innovative activity builds market power and accelerates export performance. And product differentiation through advertising expenditure make innovative firms less exporting.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.231-248
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• 2021

This study aims to examine an effective path that links the use of export promotion programs(EPPs) to the export performance of SMEs. In particular, the study focuses on what role the export innovativeness of SMEs plays between EPPs and export performance. In order to verify the conceptual model, the structural equation modeling is applied, using the data collected from a sample of 152 Korean SME exporters. The study highlights the notion that the relationship between the use of EPPs and export performance is not direct and that higher performance can be achieved through export innovativeness, the ability to reconstruct internal resources and to respond quickly to changes in the export market. The results of the empirical analysis show that EPPs partially mediate the relationship between export market-orientation and export innovativeness, and that such mediated export innovativeness continues to fully mediate the relationship between EPPs and export performance. That is, if SMEs make good use of EPPs that meet their needs, they can be encouraged to re-bundle or strengthen their existing resources and capabilities, which in turn lead to higher export performance. The study thus helps extend understanding of EPPs and export performance literature.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.61-67
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• 2015

Purpose - Exports have long been regarded as significant drivers of sustainable competitive advantage and growth among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The export activities of SMEs are particularly important in the context of export-oriented economies such as Korea. Although many studies have examined the determinants of exports, it is difficult to find empirical studies about the determinants of the export performance of regional SMEs. This study investigates the determinants of export performance in the regional SME context based on an integrated approach that combines the environment factor of industrial organization theory, competitive strategy theory, and the competences of the resource-based view. Research design, data, and methodology - To empirically analyze the determinants of export performance in the regional SMEs, data were collected from firms in the Daegu metropolitan area. Data were collected directly through questionnaire surveys; in addition, secondary financial data were also taken from the KIS-VALUE database. Out of the 175 responses that were received, 143 were considered to be worth examining. After testing the reliability and validity of the variables through multiple items such as environmental turbulence and competitive strategy, hypotheses were verified by using five multi-regression models. These models were: a control model with organizational size and age, an environmental model with technology and market turbulence, a competency model with R&D and foreign distribution channels, a strategy model with product and market differentiation, and an integrated model including all of these variables. Results - First, as a control variable, the organization size has significant positive effects on export performance. Second, technology turbulence based on industrial organization theory has significant positive effects on export performance, but market turbulence does not affect export performance. Third, the foreign market distribution competency of the resource-based view has strong positive effects on export performance, but the R&D competency does not affect export performance. Fourth, the product differentiation strategy from competitive strategy theory positively impacts export performance, but market differentiation does not affect export performance. Finally, in the integrated model, only the foreign distribution competency of the resource-based view has a significant effect on export performance. Conclusions - The empirical results of this study verified the usefulness of the rationales behind the three theories to explain the export performance of the regional SMEs, especially the importance of the foreign market distribution competency from the resource-based view. With regard to practical considerations, this study's implications suggest that the use of technological environmental changes by industries is better than the use of market changes. Further, the use of the product differentiation strategy is more effective than the use of the market-driving strategy, and the distribution channel competency plays a stronger role than the technology-oriented competency with regard to the export performance position of regional SMEs. Future studies should examine relational perspectives, such as trust among channel partners. Therefore, the configuration approach is more useful in enhancing pragmatism by comparing high- and low-export companies.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.173-193
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• 2020

Purpose - This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurship of start-ups on export performance when the business closure rate is higher than business start-up rate in Korea. Thus, this study analyzes various factors for start-ups established within the past seven years and uses export performance as an indicator. Prior to analysis of factors, the study defines the concepts of start-up factors based on various studies. Design/methodology - In order to analyze the export performance of startups, this study conducted an empirical analysis using statistical analysis. Theories were established based on previous studies, and hypotheses and research models were designed based on the established theories. Subsequently, in order to verify the research hypothesis and research model, factor analysis such as validity and reliability, and structural equation modeling were analyzed. Findings - As a result of analysis based on previous studies, we found that there is a difference between theoretical and practical aspects. Whereas previous studies showed that market orientation, technology orientation, and social capital have a direct impact on export performance, the present study analyzed that there is no such impact, and that technology capabilities were important as a result of the unique traits of start-ups. Originality/value - Existing studies have limitations in understanding the overall characteristics of a company by using market orientation, technology orientation, and social capital as individual independent variables. In addition, the existing researches have been analyzed in relation to corporate performance, whereas this study has been limited to export performance, so it can be regarded as different from other studies.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.123-150
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• 2015

The present study examined the moderating influences of firm type(B2B, B2C) on the relationships between SMEs' utilization of government export assistance programs, firm capabilities(marketing & technology capabilities) and export performances(financial and strategic performances). The results of regression analyses on 247 B2B and 137 B2C cases showed that the positive influence of utilization of export assistance programs on financial performance was greater for B2B than for B2C SMEs. This construct, however, had no influence on strategic performance for neither B2B nor B2C cases. Further, both marketing and technology capabilities have positive influences on each of financial and strategic performances. Marketing capability, however, had a greater influence on financial performance for B2C than for B2B SMEs. Technology capability had a greater influence on financial performance for B2B than for B2C SMEs. Implications, limitations, and future studies were also discussed.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.253-272
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• 2022

As the digital era accelerates, traditional perspectives have limitations in explaining the success or failure of export performance. The purpose of this study is to analyze new factors affecting export performance from the perspective of customer experience, which has emerged as an important factor in securing a competitive advantage and generating organizational performance. After deriving hypotheses based on literature review and discussion, a research model is designed in which three factors of customer experience such as understanding customer's objectives, customer value creation capability, and customer journey management are the antecedents, and export performance is the dependent variable. This model also includes organizational agility and personal contact as the moderating variables. To verify the hypotheses, multiple regression analysis was conducted on the collected data drawn from 198 SME exporters. According to the analysis results, it was found that all three antecedents positively affected export performance. In particular, the organizational agility and personal contact were confirmed to have a moderating effect that creates better export performance by interacting with customer value creation capability. The theoretical significance of this study is to find that effective customer experience management can be a key factor in creating export performance. The results suggest that checking the overall customer journey, exporters should select and intervene to intensively manage key touch points that can have a decisive impact on the quality of customer experience. At the end of the paper, practical implications to be considered in creating export performance through effective customer experience management are presented.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.181-204
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• 2007

Trade Portal Site(TPS) is one of the innovative skills which makes it possible for small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) to manage international trade activities more efficiently by using the newest information and telecommunication technology. Based on performance and an existing research related to using information technology, this research analyzed the user's degree of utilization of TPSs which moderates effects between SMEs characteristics and export performance of SMEs. According to the results of the empirical study on actual data of 194 sample firms by using moderated regression analysis, there are significant only organizational characteristics among determinants(such as organizational characteristics, export characteristics) as the degree of utilization of TPSs. These research results provide many useful insights to the CEOs of SMEs using the services of TPSs, e-Trade system developers, and government policy makers. First, CEOs and managers of SMEs should have thorough understanding of the importance of the new information technology and e-Trade and positively adopt new e-Trade solutions and systems to their export processes to enhance global competitiveness. Second, TPS managers and e-Trade systems developers must concentrate on improving the user's degree of utilization of TPSs. Finally, the government agency should develop the various e-Trade promotion policies to support the efforts of SMEs organizational characteristics and TPS to increase the degree of utilization of TPS, which have positive effects on the export performance of SMEs.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.307-344
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• 2020

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine effects of productization and organizational competences on export performance of electromagnetic shielding companies and to analyze moderating effects of overseas market adaptation competences. For this, hypotheses were established by reviewing previous studies and an empirical analysis was conducted for testing. Design/methodology/approach - For this study, a survey was conducted for workers at electromagnetic shielding companies and 250 valid responses out of 300 questionnaires were aquired. A frequency analysis of related variables was conducted. Through an exploratory factor analysis, validity and reliability tests of measuring tools were conducted and a descriptive statistics was analyzed for collected data result and hypotheses testing. Findings - A correlation analysis was conducted to examine relationships among variables. Construct, convergent and discriminant validities were analyzed after a confirmatory factor analysis and a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, with a verified model, the hypotheses and the moderating effects were tested. The results are as follows: First, the productization competence has a positive effect on export performance; Second, the organizational competence has a positive effect on export performance. Especially, the organizational competence has more effect on export performance than the productization competence. Although a development of new technology and product is important in terms of performance, along with these competences, a way of acquiring new skills and knowledge, and internalization and adaptation in organizations have more effect on export performance. Third, overseas market adaptation competence moderates effects of organizational and productization competences. Research implications or Originality - It is necessary to seek out opportunities for workers to participate in actively, such as conferences and seminars, to strengthen organizational competence. It is strongly believed that a constant development of high quality product will contribute to export performance. Lastly, in a policy level, supports on SMEs by governments are to be strengthened by providing with finance and human resource.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.323-335
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• 2021

With the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution, there is a rising interest in the impact of these changes on Korea's trade. While the previous studies related to the 4th Industrial Revolution are very limited in the field of trade research, this study attempts an empirical analysis regarding the effect of the use of the 4th Industrial Revolution technology on the performance of exporters, based on the data of the Survey of Business Activities during 2017-2019 by the Korean government statistical office. Through the empirical analysis in combination with the propensity score matching (PSM) and the difference-in-difference (DID) analysis, this research confirms that the use of the 4th Industrial Revolution technology has a positive effect on the export performance of Korean exporters.