• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.127-140
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• 2010

The benefit that a consumer derives from the use of a good often depends on the number of other consumers purchasing the same goods or other compatible items. This property, which is known as network externality, is significant in many IT related industries. Over the past few decades, network externalities have been recognized in the context of physical networks such as the telephone and railroad industries. Today, as many products are provided as a form of system that consists of compatible components, the appreciation of network externality is becoming increasingly important. Network externalities have been extensively studied among economists who have been seeking to explain new phenomena resulting from rapid advancements in ICT (Information and Communication Technology). As a result of these efforts, a new body of theories for 'New Economy' has been proposed. The theoretical bottom-line argument of such theories is that technologies subject to network effects exhibit multiple equilibriums and will finally lock into a monopoly with one standard cornering the entire market. They emphasize that such "tippiness" is a typical characteristic in such networked markets, describing that multiple incompatible technologies rarely coexist and that the switch to a single, leading standard occurs suddenly. Moreover, it is argued that this standardization process is path dependent, and the ultimate outcome is unpredictable. With incomplete information about other actors' preferences, there can be excess inertia, as consumers only moderately favor the change, and hence are themselves insufficiently motivated to start the bandwagon rolling, but would get on it once it did start to roll. This startup problem can prevent the adoption of any standard at all, even if it is preferred by everyone. Conversely, excess momentum is another possible outcome, for example, if a sponsoring firm uses low prices during early periods of diffusion. The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of the adoption process in markets exhibiting network effects by focusing on two factors; switching and agent heterogeneity. Switching is an important factor that should be considered in analyzing the adoption process. An agent's switching invokes switching by other adopters, which brings about a positive feedback process that can significantly complicate the adoption process. Agent heterogeneity also plays a important role in shaping the early development of the adoption process, which has a significant impact on the later development of the process. The effects of these two factors are analyzed by developing an agent-based simulation model. ABM is a computer-based simulation methodology that can offer many advantages over traditional analytical approaches. The model is designed such that agents have diverse preferences regarding technology and are allowed to switch their previous choice. The simulation results showed that the adoption processes in a market exhibiting networks effects are significantly affected by the distribution of agents and the occurrence of switching. In particular, it is found that both weak heterogeneity and strong network effects cause agents to start to switch early and this plays a role of expediting the emergence of 'lock-in.' When network effects are strong, agents are easily affected by changes in early market shares. This causes agents to switch earlier and in turn speeds up the market's tipping. The same effect is found in the case of highly homogeneous agents. When agents are highly homogeneous, the market starts to tip toward one technology rapidly, and its choice is not always consistent with the populations' initial inclination. Increased volatility and faster lock-in increase the possibility that the market will reach an unexpected outcome. The primary contribution of this study is the elucidation of the role of parameters characterizing the market in the development of the lock-in process, and identification of conditions where such unexpected outcomes happen.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.23-39
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• 2021

This study aims to explore research trends in Blockchain studies in South Korea using dynamic topic modeling and network analysis. To achieve this goal, we conducted the university & institute collaboration network analysis, the keyword co-occurrence network analysis, and times series topic analysis using dynamic topic modeling. Through the university & institute collaboration network analysis, we found major universities such as Soongsil University, Soonchunhyang University, Korea University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and major institutes such as Ministry of National Defense, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute that led collaborative research. Next, through the analysis of the keyword co-occurrence network, we found major research keywords including virtual assets (Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Virtual currency), blockchain technology (Distributed ledger, Distributed ledger technology), finance (Smart contract), and information security (Security, privacy, Personal information). Smart contracts showed the highest scores in all network centrality measures showing its importance in the field. Finally, through the time series topic analysis, we identified five major topics including blockchain technology, blockchain ecosystem, blockchain application 1 (trade, online voting, real estate), blockchain application 2 (food, tourism, distribution, media), and blockchain application 3 (economy, finance). Changes of topics were also investigated by exploring proportions of representative keywords for each topic. The study is the first of its kind to attempt to conduct university & institute collaboration networks analysis and dynamic topic modeling-based times series topic analysis for exploring research trends in Blockchain studies in South Korea. Our results can be used by government agencies, universities, and research institutes to develop effective strategies of promoting university & institutes collaboration and interdisciplinary research in the field.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.226-240
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• 2022

Local governments over a certain size in Republic of Korea may conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) considering regional characteristics if it is necessary, in accordance with Article 42 of the 「Environmental Impact Assessment Act」. However, it was investigated that the number of local government EIA operation in many local governments was less than initial expectations. In order to improve it, the status of ordinances and consultation guidelines which are different for each local government need to be compared, and the institutional issues forthe relevant local governments must be found considering regional characteristics. Furthermore, detailed regulation and guidance on the local government EIA procedure should be included in the consultation guidelines and related information need to be provided. In this study, focusing on the case of Incheon Metropolitan City, the status of local government EIA ordinances in metropolitan cities and provinces with a similar condition was investigated, and the types and scope of target projects were compared and analyzed. In addition, consultation guidelines forIncheon Metropolitan City were written, and improvements on the procedure flow and overall schedule designation derived from the process were presented. In the case of Incheon Metropolitan City, there were no detailed information officially announced regarding the regulations of the local government EIA ordinance and follow-up management, so the administrative system of the local government needed to be reinforced in this field. Meanwhile, considering the status of local environment and geography, some target project types were deemed necessary to be added: port construction projects, water resource development projects, railroad construction projects, and military facilities installation projects. The results of this study will provide useful information to local governments which want to improve their operation effectiveness by reorganizing the local government EIA system and preparing specific guidelines.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.17-25
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• 2015

This research is to analyze the mediating effect of corporate reputation between the organizational slack and corporate performance in venture SMEs. That is, after controlling the firm size, firm age, social capital, environmental uncertainty, we test three hypothesis. First, we test the hypothesis that organizational slack has a positive effect on corporate reputation. Second, we test the hypothesis that corporate reputation has a positive effect on corporate performance. Third, we test the positive mediating role of corporate reputation between organizational slack and corporate performance. For this research, we administered the questionnaire surveys, and got the 250 effective data(companies) of korean venture SMEs. We use SPSS 18.0, and analysis the validity, reliability, correlation and multiple regression analysis of research model. As a result, we can find the three meaningful results. First, organizational slack, especially not absorbed slack but unabsorbed slack, has positive effect on the corporate reputation. Second, corporate reputation has positive effect on corporate performance. Third, corporate reputation has mediating effect between organizational slack, especially not absorbed slack but unabsorbed slack, and corporate performance. Although this research has some limitations of generalization because of the limited size of samples, we has meaning information related to the venture companies in the academic and business field.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.49-57
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• 2015

This research is to analyze the mediating effect of product innovation between work-life balance (work-family balance, work-leisure balance and work-development balance) and corporate performance in venture SMEs. We test four hypothesis. First, we test the hypothesis that work-life balance has a positive effect on product innovation. Second, we test the hypothesis that product innovation has a positive effect on corporate performance. Third, we test the hypothesis that work-life balance has a positive effect on corporate performance. Fourth, we test a positive mediating role of product innovation between work-life balance and corporate performance. For this research, we administered the questionnaire surveys, and got the 162 effective data of korean venture SMEs. We use CFA and SEM analysis of research model by AMOS 18.0. As a result, we can find the four meaningful results. First, work-life balance, especially only work-development balance, has a positive effect on product innovation. Second, product innovation has a positive effect on corporate performance. Third, the relationships between work-life balance (work-family balance, work-leisure balance and work-development balance) and corporate performance are no significant after the mediating variable (product innovation) is added. Fourth, product innovation has a positive mediating effect between work-life balance, especially only work-development balance, and corporate performance. Although this research has some limitations of generalization because of the limited size of samples, we has meaningful information related to the venture companies in the academic and business field. Additionally, the Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause(MIMIC) model is recommended in the future research.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.53-62
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• 2018

Follofwing the accelerating speed-up of trains and rising demand for large-volume transfer capacity, not only in Korea, but also around the world, track structures for trains have been improving consistently. Precast concrete slab track (PST), a concrete structure track, was developed as a system that can fulfil new safety and economic requirements for railroad traffic. The purpose of this study is to provide the information required for the development and design of the system in the future, by analyzing the behavior of each structural member of the PST system. The stress distribution result for different combinations of appropriate loads according to the KRL-2012 train load and KRC code was analyzed by conducting a three-dimensional finite element analysis, while the result for different thicknesses of the grouting layer is also presented. Among the structural members, the largest stress took place on the grouting layer. The stress changed sensitively following the thickness and the combination of loads. When compared with a case of applying only a vertical KRL-2012 load, the stress increased by 3.3 times and 14.1 times on a concrete panel and HSB, respectively, from the starting load and temperature load. When the thickness of the grouting layer increased from 20 mm to 80 mm, the stress generated on the concrete panel decreased by 4%, while the stress increased by 24% on the grouting layer. As for the cracking condition, tension cracking was caused locally on the grouting layer. Such a result indicates that more attention should be paid to the flexure and tension behavior from horizontal loads rather than from vertical loads when developing PST systems. In addition, the safety of each structural member must be ensured by maintaining the thickness of the grouting layer at 40 mm or more.