• ETRI Journal
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.55-73
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• 1998

In this paper we analyze the technological accumulation processes in the Korean semiconductor industry from the institutional approach. Institutional approach, which is closely connected with Neo-Schumpeterian tradition, has emerged as an alternative theoretical framework to neoclassical approach to understand the process of producing technological knowledge. Traditional wisdom of neoclassical approach revealed the limitation to explain the complex nature of knowledge creation and diffusion. US patent data are analyzed in terms of the increasing trend of numbers and its content to measure the rate and direction of technological capability accumulation. This analysis shows that semiconductor technologies are one of the fastest growing fields among Korean technological activities. Moreover, the analysis of patent content suggests that fabrication technologies are the most important area within the technological development of semiconductors, whilst circuit design and testing technologies are beginning to increase in significance. In addition, it is examined how private sectors and public institutions have contributed to generate technological capabilities, and the relationship between them has been changed during the development processes. It is found that Korean firms enhanced their technological capabilities from the learning and assimilation of imported technology to enhanced in-house R&D capabilities in the later stage. The support of public institution and government policy also played significant role to this successful transformation in conjunction with vigorous R&D investment of public sector.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.9 no.12
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• pp.30-38
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of competitiveness of semiconductor design firms of Korea. The categories of competitiveness are divided into product development, accumulated technology, market-related competencies, human resources, and management system. The sample of 73 semiconductor design companies were used, and the analysis data were gathered by parallel with the questionnaire and the surveyor visited. For respondents, importance of competitiveness factor was prioritized using nominal scale and the competitiveness of each item is expressed based on 100 points. It was confirmed that there was a difference between the order of importance and the actual level of core competence. The ranking of the importance of core competencies is in the order of product development, technical capability, market-related competencies, human resources, and management system. However, in terms of actual competitiveness in each category, human resources were the best, followed by the management level. The product development and technology competencies were in order. The market-related competitiveness was found to be the most urgently raised. In order to increase the market related competitiveness, a new customer base must be developed and the information acquisition capability of the customer, and the ability to analyze their data needs to be improved.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.382-390
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• 2019

As there is severe competition in the global foldable display market, strategic technology planning is required. Patent analysis as a tool for technology planning has frequently been used due to data characteristics such as openness, formality, and detailed information. However, traditional patent analysis has various limitations such as quantitative approaches are limited in evaluating contents of patents and identifying core technologies of firms as they rely on number of patents, and qualitative approaches have time and cost problems as researchers have to investigate each patent on a case-by-case basis. In this research, we analyze core technologies of firms in the foldable display sector analyzing patent co-classification Network. Results show that the number of patent applications has rapidly increased since 2014, and 92% of these patents are held by two panel manufacturers, SDC and LGD, and two device manufacturers, SEC and LGE. Network analysis shows that the two panel manufacturers' core technologies are similar and two device manufacturers are notably different. This research provides implications to the sector. Moreover, this study provides unique results drawn from co-classification network analysis, and therefore, our research suggests patent co-classification analysis as an effective tool for technology planning.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.20 no.3_spc
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• pp.279-293
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• 2013

In general, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners consider innovation by producers as a primary mode in a market economy. However, the recent research has shown that some of the most important, novel products and processes have been developed by users-both user firms and individual end-users. According to von Hippel [1988], he found that they were the developers who made about 80 percent of the most important scientific instrument innovations as well as the major innovations in semiconductor processing. In this research, we conducted grounded research on user-led innovation at the corporate-level. Also, we analyzed the train development project (SR000) of Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation (SMRT). We focused on identifying the success factors of user-led innovation, and development process.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.305-319
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• 2022

The Chinese government has been promoting core industries in accordance with the 'Made in China 2025'. As a result of injecting huge subsidies to develop core industries, a great success has been achieved in the electric vehicle and battery industry, however, the semiconductor industry has almost no performance. This study aims to examine whether the subsidy policy of a developing country helps their own domestic firm to overcome the first mover advantage of an advanced country's firm. From the game theoretical analysis, the results have shown that the subsidy policy of the developing country's government creates the profits shifting effect which arises from the developed country's firm to the developing country's firm. When there exists R&D efficiency gap between the two firms, however, most of these profit shifting effects are offset, which implies that the subsidy policy of developing countries is likely to fail.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.73-87
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• 2018

Creativity, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation orientation are key factors for technological innovation. The main driver of technological innovation in the enterprise is the executives of the firm. According to the Upper Echelons Theory of D.C. Hambrick(2007), the creativity of the managerial individual will be put into various aspects within the organization's innovation system. The organizational innovation system is positively influenced by the creativity of the executives, and is achieved by manifesting innovation orientation and technological innovation orientation with innovative performances. The purpose of this study is to investigate using Structural Equation Modeling(SEM), whether individual creativity of executives of 132 companies with research organizations among domestic semiconductor companies in Korea influences innovation performance of firms through entrepreneurship orientation and technology innovation orientation. We applied the personal creativity level measurement index, the entrepreneurial orientation measurement factor, and the technology innovation orientation measurement factor identified in the previous research literature. The results of the Structural Equation Modeling analysis show that the creativity of executives have a positive (+) relationship with the innovation performance of firms when they are only mediated by technological innovation orientation, and entrepreneurial orientation. On the other hand, the results of the SEM shows the direct effects between the creativity of executives and innovation performance are not statistically valid. As a result, the individual creativity of executives who lead the innovation of the firm, entrepreneurial orientation, and technological innovation orientation of the researcher organization are very important factors and an inseparable relationship for the successful innovation of the firms.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.145-154
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• 2017

Technology innovation is regarded as the quintessential process to acquire a competitive advantage. This is especially true in high-tech industries, and firms that recognize the importance of technological innovation concentrate their capacities on developing new technologies, new products, and new processes. In general, such research requires many resources, but not all technological breakthroughs are followed by positive feedbacks. Consequently, the firms in high-tech industries are compelled to find new directions in acquiring technologies. This study examines the factors that influence technological innovation and empirically tests the effect these factors have on its diffusion. Radicality, discontinuity, and exploitation/exploration were selected as the factors from the previous literature on technological innovation and organizational learning. For the empirical test, patent data from the US semiconductor industry were used to describe innovation activities from various fields. From the result, these three factors (Ed- is this what you mean, i.e., radicality, discontinuity, and exploitation/exploration?)were found to have significant meaning as proxies for the diffusion of technological innovation.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.1159-1191
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• 2017

This study considered technology commercialization as a sort of external R&D of the licensee firm. Then, this study analyzed industrial characteristics of technology commercialization and interactions between internal R&D and technology commercialization from the licensee's viewpoint. Data from NTIS (National science and Technology Information Service) and KED (Korea Enterprise Database) were matched. 7,645 technology commercializations from 1,980 firms were extracted. Afterward, OLS and quantile regression were applied to the extracted data. The impact of technology commercialization on firm growth was concentrated to few high-tech and medium high-tech firms. Technology commercialization was effective in the growth in a year while internal R&D was effective in the growth in two years. The firm size was insiginificant variable. In analysis of 4 selected industries (automobile, electronics, semiconductor, chemistry), the impact was skewed among industries. Though the importance of technology commercialization is widely acknowledged, quantitative analyses like this study are uncommon. Therefore, this study can be useful for the tailored industry solutions for technology commercialization.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.451-465
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• 2007

It is true that every country which includes the developing country has planned own economic development through government subsidies. Korea also has developed their some major industry through supporting government subsidies. Under the WTO structure, however, government's specific supports for export firms come under prohibited subsidy and subsidy supporting must be based on WTO ASCM(Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures). The purpose of this paper was to study on the WTO ASCM and to analyze cases on the shipbuilding and Hynix DRAM dispute which Korean concerned major subsidy issue. Korea has been undergoing subsidy dispute with EU and U.S.A. concerned matter of shipbuilding and Hynix DRAM respectively. From this research results were as follow : First of all, the WTO ASCM introduced a definition of subsidy and divided subsidies into three categories and was legally bound through dispute settlement mechanism and implemented by all WTO members. Also, through analyzing cases, results were indicated that Korea wins a lawsuit against the matter of shipbuilding subsidy whereas losing the lawsuit against the matter of DRAM subsidy. It means that the case of shipbuilding subsidy do not violation WTO ASCM and the case of Hynix DARAM is against WTO ASCM. Additionally, as we see the dispute cases concerned Korean industry, it is necessary that government should operate subsidies which were provided for certain governmental policy as consisted with WTO ASCM.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2018

This study examines the relationship between the organizational general characteristics (industry, size, location, development stage, and company age) and success factors of Korean venture firms using secondary data. Among the industries with the highest sales figures in 2016 are food / fiber / (non) metals, and the smallest category was software development. The sectors with the highest net profit were computer / semiconductor / electronic components, and the smallest category was telecommunication equipment / broadcasting equipment. The industries with the largest sales growth rate are IT / broadcasting services and software development. The industries with the highest net profit margin of sales are energy / medical / precision, and the smallest is telecommunication equipment / broadcasting equipment. In terms of the number of employees, venture firms with more than 100 employees have the largest sales and net profit, with employees between 1 and 9 have the smallest. However, these results are predictable. In general, the number of employees is highly correlated with sales and net profit. Rather, the sales growth rate and the net profit margin of sales may be meaningful. In particular, with employees between 50 ~ 99, the growth rate of sales and the net profit margin of sales were high. In terms of location, Seoul / Incheon / Gyeonggi were the regions with the highest sales and Daejeon / Sejong / Chungcheong / Gangwon were the least regions. Gwangju / Jeolla / Jeju and Seoul / Incheon / Gyeonggi were almost similar in the areas with the largest net profit. However, Daejeon / Sejong / Chungcheong / Gangwon had the lowest net profit. Unusually, the areas with the highest sales growth rate and the highest net profit margin of sales were Gwangju / Jeolla / Jeju, and the smallest areas were Busan / Jeonnam / Ulsan In the relationship between the stage of development and the performance of the company, the sales of maturity and decline stages were the highest and establishing stage was the lowest. Net profit was also the highest in mature stage and the smallest in establishing stage. The sales growth rate shows a typical pattern in the order of establishing stage, early growth stage, high growth stage, maturity stage, and decline stage. In terms of business performance, sales and net profit are the highest with 21 years or more of company age, and the smallest is less than 3 years. In addition, the sales growth rate was the highest in three years or less, and the net profit margin of sales was the highest in 4 to 10 years. This study can present lots of useful implications by suggesting integrated research model and examining the success factors of Korean venture firms and presenting the application methods of secondary data in analyzing the current status of venture industry in Korea.