• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.65-80
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• 2017

Purpose - The purpose of the present study is to discover success factors for small and medium-sized exporting enterprises and to derive factors that can positively influence the export of small and medium-sized enterprises. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the problem solution mentioned above. Research design, data, and methodology - A total of 258 filled-in questionnaires were collected; afterwards, frequency and cross tabulation analyses were conducted. The PPML analytic technique was applied to the core factors analyzed in Stages 1 and 2 to conduct regression analysis (cause and effect analysis and estimation method), thereby deriving success factors. Result - Based on detailed factors, a total of 15 success factors directly/indirectly involved in the success of export in small and medium-sized enterprises comprising 9 success factors, three positive effect factors for export, and three governments support policy factors were identified. Conclusions - The present paper is a rare empirical study paper that found and presented three detailed factors that positively influence on export and three government support policy factors, in addition to the above factors. Therefore, the results can be used by small and medium-sized enterprises that require not only previous studies, but also actual export success factor.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.59-71
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• 2018

Purpose - Recognizing the importance of small and medium enterprises and venture enterprises for the domestic economy, the purpose of the present study is to select factor termed export modes from among various export success strategies and factors that can help those enterprises secure export competitiveness in the world market to analyze the effects of export modes on the amounts of exports and periods until export after the foundation of those enterprises. Research design, data, and methodology - A structured questionnaire was used as a tool to derive the purpose of the study, and a questionnaire survey was conducted using a mobile survey technique that facilitated the distribution of questionnaire sheets and the collection of results. The main methodology used is crossover analysis, and the regression analysis technique was applied to verify the study results derived, thereby securing the reliability and validity of the final results derived. Results - Small and medium venture enterprises with shorter periods of time until the first export success after establishment adopted direct export modes more frequently, and those enterprises with larger amounts of the first export after establishment adopted direct export modes more frequently. The results of quantitative analysis, indicating that 66.1% of those enterprises with an export amount exceeding one billion won adopted direct export modes, can be said to support the foregoing. The crossover analysis results derived as such were reanalyzed using the PPML regression analysis technique to quantitatively identify that the amounts of the first export of enterprises that adopted direct export modes were larger than those of enterprises that adopted indirect export modes by 120%. Conclusions - The present study implies differentiated values in three aspects. First, the present study investigated and presented the export success factors and strategies of small and medium venture enterprises in a total of 14 countries in the Asian region, European region, North American region, African region, and South American region. Second, it intensively investigated five export modes to identify and verify that they were affecting the export success of small and medium venture enterprises. Third, based on the results of the investigation, the present study presented two marketing implications in the pragmatic aspect.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.76-104
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• 2012

For many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation activities to lead a market with technology development and a globalization strategy tend to be a haphazard process due to a lack of capabilities. Thus, this paper aims to explore success factors of the global leading SMEs in Korea that are not only the first mover through technology innovation but also outstanding in export. The analysis utilizes data from Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) and statistical analyses such as t-test and chi-square are performed to compare global leading SMEs and normal SMEs, concentrating on various factors such as information sources, collaboration and non-technology innovation activities. The results indicate that critical success factors involve information from outside companies (information from conferences and government institutes) and government supports through logistic regression analysis. This research suggests a strategic direction for policy makers to promote innovation and growth in SMEs.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.341-366
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• 2013

The term, Mittelstand, has no exact english translation for the definition, but, today, Mittelstand refers to small and medium-sized enterprises(SME), mostly family-owned firms in Germany. The Mittelstand is called the backbone of the German economy because it drove the economic miracle after World War II. During the global recession and the euro zone's debt crisis in recent years, in which european businesses have faced the near-collapse of competitiveness particularly in manufacturing, the German exports are booming and exceeded exports of China in 2012. Most importantly, the Germany economic performance has been widely attributed to the strength of the Mittelstand. Many of countries, even some leading public companies are seeking to emulate the success of the Mittelstand. Investors evaluate that many of Germany's investable "hidden champions" are Mittelstand companies. The purpose of this study is to present some of answers to the following questions: Firstly, what makes the German Mittelstand so successful? Secondly, what does the success of the German Mittelstand mean for the Korean SMEs in global competitiveness? Thirdly, what Korean government has to do improve the global competitiveness of the Korean SMEs? Some discussions in this study mention the managerial implications for Korean exporting SMEs particularly in manufacturing. Several factors that account for the success of the German Mittelstand are technological excellence and the tradition of family-owned management, concentration on niche market and globalization, and institutional supports. There are some of important lessons to be learned from the German Mittelstand. If the purposes of Korean SMEs want to remain in the sustainable competitive advantage and withstand unforeseen economic turbulences in the future, they must be able to meet the followings: 1) Technology that meets the global standard or exceeding it 2) Competitiveness in price in the global market 3) Active involvement in the globalization process, utilizing various entry modes Innovative products at globally competitive price are a crucial point for Korean exporting SMEs to achieve their competitive edge over others in the target markets abroad. It is time for Korean SMEs to cultivate a core competence in manufacturing in order to position Korea as a global manufacturing hub with SMEs leading.

• 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.