• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.39-55
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• 2022

Purpose - This study empirically examines the effect of the Korean government export promotion program (EPP) on small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) export performance using firm-level data. Unlike most previous studies that investigated some specific samples of firms, this study analyzes a vast amount of SME data of the Korean Small and Medium Business Administration over the period 2005 to 2008. Design/methodology - An endogeneity problem arises when a firm's probability of being selected is correlated with the likelihood of successfully implementing EPPs. To control for the endogeneity of the EPPs in a relatively short-period sample, we employ 2-Stage Residual Inclusion (2SRI) RE-Tobit and bivariate Tobit procedure. Findings - Analyses show that Korean government EPPs have positive significant effects on SME exports. Empirical results also show that SME export activities are significantly encouraged by R&D investment and capital intensity, but not obviously by labor productivity. Originality/value - This study provides evidence that SME capital intensity, R&D investment, and the number of workers are significant determinants to SME exporting activities, whereas per worker labor cost and employee education are not. These results imply that even for SMEs, firm size is a major factor in promoting exporting activities.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.93-110
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• 2022

Korea, a resource-scarce country, has been undergoing export-led economic growth in the form of processing and intermediary trade for the past several decades. In Korea, which has an export-led economic structure centered on processing trade, the export economy precedes the domestic economy, so Korea's monthly export performance has been used as an important indicator of economic indicators in itself. In recent decades, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for 99% of the total number of domestic enterprises, account for about 35% of exports as of 2021. In this study, from the viewpoint of emphasizing the export contribution of SMEs, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Export Business Index is developed based on the actual export performance of SMEs, through which this paper could present alternative index differentiated from the existing Business Survey Indexes.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.179-204
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• 2022

This study examines the extent to which policy-based loans to SME exporters affect their export performance (the intensive margin of exports). We also investigate the heterogeneous export effects of policy-based loans that may depend on firm- and industry-specific characteristics, such as credit ratings, debt-to-assets ratios, firm size and age. To do so, we conduct a survey, of 1,000 Korean SMEs, that collect information on firm-level exports and policy-based loans. The main empirical findings strongly support that SMEs that receive policy-based loans tend to increase their export volumes. However, these loans' positive impact on exports are only valid for SME exporters with credit scores of 12 or greater (that is, SMEs that have difficulty accessing the external financial market). The estimation results with respect to SMEs' dependence on external financing imply that policy-based loans for SMEs in sectors that are heavily dependent on external finance are effective in that they are instrumental in increasing these firms' exports. These empirical findings emphasize the importance of the external financial market to SME exporters who face various up-front investments that are related to their exporting activities.

• 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.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.171-184
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of internationalized human capital on SME's export performance and to examine the moderating effects of export experience and export market diversification of SMEs that can affect the relationship between internationalized human capital and export performance of SMEs. The results of empirical analysis of 150 small and medium-sized enterprises located in Jeonnam province are as follows. First, the internationalized human capital of SMEs was found to have a positive (+) effect on export performance. Second, as a result of empirically analyzing the moderating effect of internationalized human capital on export performance, the export experience of SMEs was found to have a negative (-) moderating effect on the relationship between internationalized human capital and export performance of SMEs, and the export market diversification had a negative (-) moderating effect on the relationship between internationalized human capital and export performance of SMEs. This study provides meaningful theoretical implications in that this study identified the role of human capital by analyzing the relationship between internationalized human capital as an important source of competitive advantage of SMEs and export performance.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.107-125
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of FTA information learning in export SMEs. Therefore, this study has constructed an integrated model including the moderating effects of FTA information learning on the of export performance in SME. The relationship between SMEs' localization strategy, product innovation capacity, and FTA information learning was linked to export performance, and an empirical analysis was conducted on 195 export SMEs. The path analysis was performed using the structural equation model(SEM), and six hypotheses including the control effect were tested. As a result, the localization strategy of SMEs positively influenced product innovation capacity. On the other hand, FTA information learning did not show significant results. Product innovation capacity and FTA information learning as an antecedents showed significant results in terms of export performance. In the moderated effects analysis, the moderated effect between the localization strategy and FTA information learning did not show significant effect on the product innovation capacity. Whereas the moderated effect between the product innovation capacity and the FTA information learning significant influence on the export performance of SMEs.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.93-112
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of FTA information learning in export SMEs. Therefore, this study has constructed an integrated model including the moderating effects of FTA information learning on the of export performance in SME. The relationship between SMEs' localization strategy, product innovation capacity, and FTA information learning was linked to export performance, and an empirical analysis was conducted on 195 export SMEs. The path analysis was performed using the structural equation model(SEM), and six hypotheses including the control effect were tested. As a result, the localization strategy of SMEs positively influenced product innovation capacity. On the other hand, FTA information learning did not show significant results. Product innovation capacity and FTA information learning as an antecedents showed significant results in terms of export performance. In the moderated effects analysis, the moderated effect between the localization strategy and FTA information learning did not show significant effect on the product innovation capacity. Whereas the moderated effect between the product innovation capacity and the FTA information learning significant influence on the export performance of SMEs.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.131-149
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• 2007

E-tade has the potential to accelerate existing trends and introduce new ways of conducting traditional trade. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate performance factor and analyzes influence between performance of e-Trade and implementation of company. This research will be used as a basis for examining the actual results of e-Trade usage and export productivity. In order to facilitate the process, analysis began after a research prototype was created and research thesis established.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.103-124
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• 2022

For venturing into international markets, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have not only emphasized internal resources but entrepreneurial orientation has also become the need of the day due to its significant role in increasing firm's competitive capabilities. Although research indicates that the competitive strategies can significantly impact export performance, minor attention is given to the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, business competitive strategy and export performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study scrutinizes the effect of each dimension of entrepreneurial orientation (i.e., innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness) and each of generic competitive strategies (i.e., cost leadership and differentiation) on the export performance of Chinese SMEs. And we investigated the moderating effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between the competitive strategies and export performance. We surveyed 217 Chinese SMEs through a structured questionnaire. For the data analysis and hypotheses testing, we used AMOS. 27. The findings display that differentiation and cost leadership strategies significantly improve export performance. The innovativeness, risk-taking and proactiveness also spur Chinese SME's export performance. Further we find that adding entrepreneurial orientation significantly improves our model of the relationship between the competitive strategies and export performance. Thus, our study extends the entrepreneurial orientation literature and provides interesting new insights into how entrepreneurial orientation helps firms create more successful export operations.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.131-148
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• 2023

This study analyzed the effect of marketing ability of SMEs using online export marketing on market performance. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are making efforts to expand their markets from the domestic market to the overseas market and increase sales. We studied the factors that can produce results in the fiercely competitive overseas market. A total of 400 export SMEs were surveyed, and 159 companies directly participating in online export marketing were selected as final targets. The survey was analyzed using SMART PLS 4.0 and SPSS 26.0 statistical programs, and research hypotheses were verified. The results of the study are as follows. First, it was found that the marketing ability of SMEs had a positive (+) effect on online export marketing. Second, it was confirmed that online export marketing had a significant positive (+) effect on market performance through its mediating role. In addition, the intensity of competition in the export market was found to have a moderating effect in online export marketing. The implications of this study are as follows. The theoretical basis was established that the marketing capabilities (product development capability, distribution capability, pricing capability, public relations capability) of exporting SMEs have a positive effect on overseas market performance through online export marketing. In the market, the use of online export marketing by SMEs can provide implications in that it can be an important means for overseas market development and performance. As a result, it is necessary to actively utilize online export marketing for SMEs to enter overseas markets and achieve results.