• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.111-127
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• 2003

In this paper, a new method of product function analysis is presented to categorize various design information generated in product development processes. In order to improve product functions, designers must understand unit functions and modified parts of products. The product function analysis (PFA) is based on the designer's understanding of product functions. The proposed PFA provides the methodology to classify the various functions systematically and understand the relation between functions easily. Using this approach, efficient design support system can be developed and used for designers to support decision-making with design knowledge.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.47-72
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• 2007

Ideas do not become exhausted, and there are no diminishing returns in the creation of knowledge. Nonetheless, growth ultimately ceases in this simplest model of endogeneous innovation. The reasons are similar to those that are discussed in the context of the neoclassical model of capital accumulation. Even if the resource cost of creating new goods does not rise, the economic return to invention may decline as the number of available products increases. When the rate of return to R&D falls to the level of the discount rate, private agents cease to be willing to defer consumption in order to invest in product development. But, if we treat knowledge capital as a public capital considering of its non-appropriable benefits, economic growth can be sustained in the economy. Romer(1986) has pointed out that growth might be sustainable if the accumulation of knowledge is not subject to long-run diminishing returns. Actually Romer assumed diminishing returns in the production of private knowledge from available resources, but increasing returns in the production of output from labor and total (public and private) knowledge. His condition for the sustainability of long-run growth amounts to an assumption that the diminishing returns in the former activity do not outweigh the increasing returns in the latter. The Johansen(1988) cointegration test method is used for finding long-run equilibrium relationship between R&D input and the product innovation. Test results indicate the existence of cointegrating equation between each pair of regression variables including dependent variable in the knowledge production function. And, the signs of cointegrating vectors are well accord to the prediction of sustainable growth. In the empirical analysis, from all cases of the form for the knowledge production function, we could not reject the null hypothesis that R&D spillover effect is significant($H_{0}:\;{\gamma}=1$). In summary, we showed that considering goodness of fit of regression model, we can see that the empirical evidence is strongly in favor of the character of knowledge as the public knowledge capital. So, we can expect that by product innovation, economic growth can be sustained in the Korean economy.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.587-601
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• 2015

The purposes of this study were to segment outdoor wear market based on consumer knowledge and consumer demand for function/design development, and to examine the differences of demographic characteristics and purchase behavior among the segmented markets. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey. Respondents were adults aged over 20 and who have experiences of purchasing outdoor wear. The survey was made up of the questions on consumer knowledge to outdoor wear, consumer demand for product development, purchase behavior, and demographic characteristics. Frequency analysis, descriptive analysis and chi-squared test were used to conduct the data analysis on 454 questionnaires. The results of this study were as follows. It showed that the consumer knowledge was a little high and the consumer demands for function/design development were high. Six segmented markets based on consumer knowledge and consumer demand for function development were significantly different in terms of gender, income, purchase frequency and total item holdings. Also, six segmented markets based on consumer knowledge and consumer demand for design development were significantly different in terms of age, income, purchase frequency, purchase objective, purchase place and total item holdings. Compared to the segmented markets based on the consumer demands for product development, the gender was the key of the marketing strategies for the segmented markets by the consumer demand for function development while the age was the one in the markets by the consumer demand for design development. After considering all the results, the characteristics of the segmented markets were made out and the marketing strategies were established.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.291-305
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to explore the consumer responses such as willingness to pay premium and purchasing cost for fair trade coffee as an ethical product while considering the treatment effect of consumer knowledge. First, the levels of consumer knowledge, willingness to pay premium and purchasing cost were presented. Then, the influencing factors on willingness to pay premium and purchasing cost of fair trade coffee were analyzed by applying the treatment effect model. From the results, first, the level of willingness to pay premium was high and consumers having purchasing experience of fair trade coffee spent 9,923 won at once, while less than half of the consumers knew the fair trade coffee. Second, consumer knowledge, ethical judgement, perception of price value, education level and pocket money significantly influenced to willingness to pay premium, while consumer knowledge, information evaluation, importance of fair trade criteria and level of education significantly influenced to purchasing cost for fair trade coffee. Especially, consumer knowledge of fair trade coffee was an important influencing factor for willingness to pay premium and purchasing cost indirectly as well as directly. Thus, this study might provide some useful information for consumers to choose the ethical behavior and the related companies to create effective promoting strategies for ethical products.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.41-70
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• 2013

In this paper, we analyzed whether there exists positive relation between firm's global activity and various innovation output and, if it exists, what are the major factors by which innovation outputs can be generated, focusing on the different degree of global activity. We found that for foreign MNC affiliates, their superior information access to existing knowledge is much more important and for non-MNC exporters and domestic MNC parents not only access to existing knowledge but also active investment in new knowledge is important. When we analyze the product and the process innovation separately, we found that for the process innovation information flows from existing knowledge is relatively more important while for product innovation investment in new knowledge and information flows from existing knowledge are almost equally important. Thus in Korea policies that promote both direct R&D activities and information flows should be pursued at the same time to enhance firms' innovativeness.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.325-355
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• 2010

Knowledge-based exporting companies in Korea have reached a stage to develop new technological innovation and to pioneer new markets. But, developing new technologies and launching new products require an enormous sum of money for Research and Development(R&D) and there is still uncertainty in technological development and markets. Therefore, through open technological innovation, they are encouraged to actively use external technological sources and ideas. They also need to enhance the efficiency of the relatively little R&D investment. In this paper, firstly, it conducts a precedent study on the concept and influence factors of knowledge-based exporting companies and open technological innovation. Secondly, it sets a study model and estimates a regression coefficient to analyze the influence factors of open technological innovation of knowledge-based exporting companies which are using external resources on the process of innovation. Through case study and empirical analysis, we are going to find the implication of open technological innovation and prepare the way of the innovation for the knowledge-based exporting companies. According to the empirical analysis, variables such as firm size, processing degree, product life, patent registration, maintaining internal security didn't have positive effects on open innovation performance. On the other hand, research capability and market preoccupancy had positive effects. Therefore, to succeed in open innovation, knowledge-based exporting companies not only need to secure research capability through open innovation, but also need to preoccupy the market through commercialization of developed product.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.884-908
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• 2006

The focus of this study is to analyze the link between existing knowledge in the organization and NPD performance. After a comprehensive literature review, we identified factors influential in the management of existing knowledge, such as efficiency of information acquisition, shared interpretation, structure of organization. Through an empirical research, we found that existing knowledge was positively associated with the efficiency of information acquisition and shared interpretation. Additionally, a strong relationship was found between information acquisition efficiency and NPD. Shared information, however, was not found to be associated with NPD. This result, make us recognize the necessity to better understand some subprocesses through which existing knowledge affects new product performance.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.149-165
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• 2001

This paper analyses characteristics of the numerical controller industry in market formation and the flow of information between users and producers and the characteristic of knowledge base of the industry and discuses the difficulties derived, from the characteristics, in accumulation of technological capability. In market formation between users and producers, the multi-layered market is not favorable to domestic producers in that lower end market is not large enough to provide cradle market to them which produce inferior quality and lower price than imported products. The credibility of the performance of a product is different to prove until a critical mass of products are sold. Therefore gaining market share is deterred by unproven credibility of the performance of the product. The flow of information between users and producers is limited. The flow of information on users environment through mass market to producers is essential for improving credibility of a product. The nature of knowledge base is tacit and the means of knowledge transmission is limited. Technological licensing and reverse engineering, which have been conventional means of knowledge transmission, are not useful in the numerical controller industry. These characteristics provide conditions of vicious circle in accumulation of technological capability of the numerical controller industry. This paper argues that these characteristics of the industry challenge existing approach to R&D management and framework of science and technology policy.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.246-259
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• 1998

This paper describes a research work of developing a computer-aided design and manufacturing of irregular shaped sheet metal product for blanking or piercing and bending operations. An approach to the system is based on the knowledge-based rules. Knowledge for the system is formulated from plasticity theories experimental results and the empirical knowledge of field experts, This system has been written in AutoLISp on the AutoCAD and in customer tool kit on the SmartCAM with a personal computer and is composed of nine modules which are input and shape treatment, flat pattern-layout, pro-processor module. Based on the knowledge-based rules, the system is designed by considering several factors, such as material and thickness of product complexities of blank geometry and punch profile sheet metal to give flat pattern and automatically account for the adjustment of bending allowances to match tooling requirements by checking dimensions and generating NC data automatically according to drawings of die-layout module. Results carried out in each module will provide efficiencies to the designer and the manufacturer of blanking or piercing and bending die in this field.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technology Innovation Society Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.411-430
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• 2001

This Paper analyses characteristics of the numerical controller industry in market formation and the flow of information between users and producers and the characteristic of knowledge base of the industry and discusses the difficulties derived, from the characteristics, in accumulation of technological capability In market formation between users and producers, the multi-layered market is not favorable to domestic producers in that lower end market is not large enough to provide cradle market to them which produce inferior quality and lower price than imported products. The credibility of the performance of a product is difficult to prove until a critical mass of products are sold. Therefore gaining market share is deterred by unproven credibility of the performance of the product. The flow of information between users and producers is limited. The flow of information on users environment through mass market to producers is essential for improving credibility of a product. The nature of knowledge base is tacit and the means of knowledge transmission is limited. Technological licensing and reverse engineering, which have been conventional means of knowledge transmission, are not useful in the numerical controller industry. These characteristics provide conditions of vicious circle in accumulation of technological capability of the numerical controller industry. It is conjectured that these characteristics are derived from the fact that the numerical controller is the result of IT based technological convergence in controlling machining process. This paper argues that these characteristics of the industry challenges existing approach to R&D management and framework of science and technology Policy.