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Knowledge Extraction Methodology and Framework from Wikipedia Articles for Construction of Knowledge-Base (지식베이스 구축을 위한 한국어 위키피디아의 학습 기반 지식추출 방법론 및 플랫폼 연구)

  • Kim, JaeHun;Lee, Myungjin
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.43-61
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    • 2019
  • Development of technologies in artificial intelligence has been rapidly increasing with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and researches related to AI have been actively conducted in a variety of fields such as autonomous vehicles, natural language processing, and robotics. These researches have been focused on solving cognitive problems such as learning and problem solving related to human intelligence from the 1950s. The field of artificial intelligence has achieved more technological advance than ever, due to recent interest in technology and research on various algorithms. The knowledge-based system is a sub-domain of artificial intelligence, and it aims to enable artificial intelligence agents to make decisions by using machine-readable and processible knowledge constructed from complex and informal human knowledge and rules in various fields. A knowledge base is used to optimize information collection, organization, and retrieval, and recently it is used with statistical artificial intelligence such as machine learning. Recently, the purpose of the knowledge base is to express, publish, and share knowledge on the web by describing and connecting web resources such as pages and data. These knowledge bases are used for intelligent processing in various fields of artificial intelligence such as question answering system of the smart speaker. However, building a useful knowledge base is a time-consuming task and still requires a lot of effort of the experts. In recent years, many kinds of research and technologies of knowledge based artificial intelligence use DBpedia that is one of the biggest knowledge base aiming to extract structured content from the various information of Wikipedia. DBpedia contains various information extracted from Wikipedia such as a title, categories, and links, but the most useful knowledge is from infobox of Wikipedia that presents a summary of some unifying aspect created by users. These knowledge are created by the mapping rule between infobox structures and DBpedia ontology schema defined in DBpedia Extraction Framework. In this way, DBpedia can expect high reliability in terms of accuracy of knowledge by using the method of generating knowledge from semi-structured infobox data created by users. However, since only about 50% of all wiki pages contain infobox in Korean Wikipedia, DBpedia has limitations in term of knowledge scalability. This paper proposes a method to extract knowledge from text documents according to the ontology schema using machine learning. In order to demonstrate the appropriateness of this method, we explain a knowledge extraction model according to the DBpedia ontology schema by learning Wikipedia infoboxes. Our knowledge extraction model consists of three steps, document classification as ontology classes, proper sentence classification to extract triples, and value selection and transformation into RDF triple structure. The structure of Wikipedia infobox are defined as infobox templates that provide standardized information across related articles, and DBpedia ontology schema can be mapped these infobox templates. Based on these mapping relations, we classify the input document according to infobox categories which means ontology classes. After determining the classification of the input document, we classify the appropriate sentence according to attributes belonging to the classification. Finally, we extract knowledge from sentences that are classified as appropriate, and we convert knowledge into a form of triples. In order to train models, we generated training data set from Wikipedia dump using a method to add BIO tags to sentences, so we trained about 200 classes and about 2,500 relations for extracting knowledge. Furthermore, we evaluated comparative experiments of CRF and Bi-LSTM-CRF for the knowledge extraction process. Through this proposed process, it is possible to utilize structured knowledge by extracting knowledge according to the ontology schema from text documents. In addition, this methodology can significantly reduce the effort of the experts to construct instances according to the ontology schema.

A Study on Daytime Transparent Cloud Detection through Machine Learning: Using GK-2A/AMI (기계학습을 통한 주간 반투명 구름탐지 연구: GK-2A/AMI를 이용하여)

  • Byeon, Yugyeong;Jin, Donghyun;Seong, Noh-hun;Woo, Jongho;Jeon, Uujin;Han, Kyung-Soo
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.38 no.6_1
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    • pp.1181-1189
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    • 2022
  • Clouds are composed of tiny water droplets, ice crystals, or mixtures suspended in the atmosphere and cover about two-thirds of the Earth's surface. Cloud detection in satellite images is a very difficult task to separate clouds and non-cloud areas because of similar reflectance characteristics to some other ground objects or the ground surface. In contrast to thick clouds, which have distinct characteristics, thin transparent clouds have weak contrast between clouds and background in satellite images and appear mixed with the ground surface. In order to overcome the limitations of transparent clouds in cloud detection, this study conducted cloud detection focusing on transparent clouds using machine learning techniques (Random Forest [RF], Convolutional Neural Networks [CNN]). As reference data, Cloud Mask and Cirrus Mask were used in MOD35 data provided by MOderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the pixel ratio of training data was configured to be about 1:1:1 for clouds, transparent clouds, and clear sky for model training considering transparent cloud pixels. As a result of the qualitative comparison of the study, bothRF and CNN successfully detected various types of clouds, including transparent clouds, and in the case of RF+CNN, which mixed the results of the RF model and the CNN model, the cloud detection was well performed, and was confirmed that the limitations of the model were improved. As a quantitative result of the study, the overall accuracy (OA) value of RF was 92%, CNN showed 94.11%, and RF+CNN showed 94.29% accuracy.

A Study on the Method of Christian Youth Education for the Improvement of Relationship (관계성 향상을 위한 기독 청년교육 방안 연구)

  • Park, Eunhye
    • Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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    • v.71
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    • pp.121-154
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    • 2022
  • This study is to summarize the relationship between youth in terms of developmental psychology, university education, faith, and spirituality in order to form and improve relationships, which are major developmental tasks of youth, and to suggest Christian youth education by the elements of education. Relationships are formed when you are connected to another person and community, feel interested in each other, feel a sense of bond and belonging, and maintain a stable and satisfactory relationship. This is not skill or technology, but is related to life attitude and value, and continuous learning and training are required. Various developmental tasks in youth have something in common with relationships. Relationships positively affect the lives of young people, such as satisfaction with college life in the early stages of youth, adaptation to college life, personality, and career decision. Relationships are also very important in faith because human existence and faith are defined and formed through relationships. The relationship between the community and others plays an important role in spiritual development for the meaning of life and inner growth. In the aspects of learners and educational environment, it was suggested to understand learners with desire for relationships, the generation they live in, and the educational environment in which the relationship between young people occurs. In terms of teachers, teachers have to try to change their roles such as facilitators, guides, managers, and mentors. For the educational purpose and content, it was suggested that relationships should be the ultimate purpose and the educational content for this was presented in three different types of relationships and each main contents to be dealt with. In terms of educational method, it was proposed to select a learner-centered group learning method that induces communication and active participation of learners to cause interaction by considering other elements of education according to the content of the relationship in the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions. In the aspects of educational results and evaluation, it was proposed to confirm that what was considered during the educational planning stage was effectively carried out in actual education, to evaluate various evaluation methods, various aspects, and to summarize the evaluation results for the specific application.

A Comparative Study on the Characteristics of Cultural Heritage in China and Vietnam (중국과 베트남의 문화유산 특성 비교 연구)

  • Shin, Hyun-Sil;Jun, Da-Seul
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.34-43
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    • 2022
  • This study compared the characteristics of cultural heritage in China and Vietnam, which have developed in the relationship of mutual geopolitical and cultural influence in history, and the following conclusions were made. First, the definition of cultural heritage in China and Vietnam has similar meanings in both countries. In the case of cultural heritage classification, both countries introduced the legal concept of intangible cultural heritage through UNESCO, and have similarities in terms of intangible cultural heritage. Second, while China has separate laws for managing tangible and intangible cultural heritages, Vietnam integrally manages the two types of cultural heritages under a single law. Vietnam has a slower introduction of the concept of cultural heritage than China, but it shows high integration in terms of system. Third, cultural heritages in both China and Vietnam are graded, which is applied differently depending on the type of heritage. The designation method has a similarity in which the two countries have a vertical structure and pass through steps. By restoring the value of heritage and complementing integrity through such a step-by-step review, balanced development across the country is being sought through tourism to enjoy heritage and create economic effects. Fourth, it was confirmed that the cultural heritage management organization has a central government management agency in both countries, but in China, the authority of local governments is higher than that of Vietnam. In addition, unlike Vietnam, where tangible and intangible cultural heritage are managed by an integrated institution, China had a separate institution in charge of intangible cultural heritage. Fifth, China is establishing a conservation management policy focusing on sustainability that harmonizes the protection and utilization of heritage. Vietnam is making efforts to integrate the contents and spirit of the agreement into laws, programs, and projects related to cultural heritage, especially intangible heritage and economic and social as a whole. However, it is still dependent on the influence of international organizations. Sixth, China and Vietnam are now paying attention to intangible heritage recently introduced, breaking away from the cultural heritage protection policy centered on tangible heritage. In addition, they aim to unite the people through cultural heritage and achieve the nation's unified policy goals. The two countries need to use intangible heritage as an efficient means of preserving local communities or regions. A cultural heritage preservation network should be established for each subject that can integrate the components of intangible heritage into one unit to lay the foundation for the enjoyment of the people. This study has limitations as a research stage comparing the cultural heritage system and preservation management status in China and Vietnam, and the characteristic comparison of cultural heritage policies by type remains a future research task.

The Contents of Namsan Park Records at the Seoul Metropolitan Archives (서울기록원 소장 남산공원 기록물의 현황과 내용)

  • Kim, Jung-Hwa;Gil, Jihye;Seo, Young-Ai;Park, Hee-Soung;Choi, Hyeyoung;Lee, Myeong-Jun
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.50 no.6
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    • pp.110-123
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    • 2022
  • Namsan Park in Seoul was designated as a "grand park" in 1954 and is currently operated as an 'Urban Nature Park Area' and four 'neighborhood parks.' However, despite the park's historical and cultural value as an urban park, it has been discussed mainly from a perspective revolving around notions of a mountain or a city wall. To ensure a comprehensive exploration of Namsan Park's history, this study examined public records at the Seoul Metropolitan Archives (SMA), which houses the city's permanent records for preservation and organization. To this end, documents in the SMA Database (DB) were analyzed, yielding 1,359 records concerning Namsan Park. Based on the contents, general characteristics of the urban park were identified through production periods, record types, and disclosure types. Then, essential keywords concerning organizations, people, geographical areas, subjects, and business functions were examined. Finally, the contents and characteristics of Namsan Park in public records were scrutinized, focusing on specific spaces. This research also uncovered important information, such as park drawings, photos, planting lists, plant parcel lists, and significant discussions and decisions regarding the operation and management of the park. Although the public records do not contain a comprehensive history of Namsan Park, it was possible to check the primary historical changes and deliberation processes pertaining to the park's history. Therefore, continuous research intended to interpret and describe public records is expected to identify many implications. In addition, because the public records showed heterogeneous characteristics that center on specific periods and events, an essential task is to advance collaboration and networking with various related institutions, designers, researchers, and citizens.

The Crisis of AIDS and responses of South African Churches in the task of new national building (새로운 민주주의 국가건설의 과제 속에 직면한 AIDS와 이에 대한 교회의 반응과 과제: 남아프리카 공화국을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Dae-Yoong
    • Journal of the Korean Association of African Studies
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    • v.29
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    • pp.27-53
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    • 2009
  • At the start of the new century, South Africa probably had the largest number of HIV-infected people of any country in the world. The only nation that comes close is India with a population of one billion people compared to South Africa's figure of 57 million. The tragedy is that this did not have to happen. South Africa was aware of the dangers posed by AIDS as early as 1985. In 1991, the national survey of women attending antenatal clinics found that only 0.8percent were infected. In 1994, when the new government took power, the figure was still comparatively low at 7.6 %. The 2004 figure which has been published is 26.5%. This article tracks the epidemic globally, in the region and in South Africa. I explain some of the basic concepts around the disease and look at what may happen with respect to numbers. The situation is bad, and the number of people falling ill, dying and leaving families will rise over next few years. This will impact on South Africa in a number of important ways. This article assesses the demographic, economic and social consequences of the epidemic. It disposes of a number of myths and present the real facts. The AIDS in South Africa is not related to individuals only. It warns that AIDS in Africa is becoming a community and systemic problem. The acuteness of the problem does not stem merely from the fact that communities are affected, or could even be wipe out by the end of this decade, but from the fact that AIDS will place incredible burdens and obligations upon medical services, health care and religious communities such as churches. The facts confront churches' mission with the important question: who is going to take care of all the patients and where? The reality is that people dying of AIDS will have to be cared for at home by relatives and friends. A further question that arises is whether our people are prepared for this. AIDS was considered to be a homo-plague and the hunt was on for a scapegoat in the light of the fatal implication of the disease. At present we are in the strategic phase where we all realize that it will be of no avail to scare people with the ominous threat of AIDS AIDS destroys the optimism of our achievement ethics. This exposure of the culture of optimism is also an exposure of the so-called 'human basic fear which accuses Christianity that their concept of sin is a damper on man's search for liberation and basic need to be freed from all Imitation. AIDS is also a test for our ecclesiastical genuineness and the sincerity of our mission sensibility. It poses the question: How unconditional is Christian love? Is there room for the AIDS sufferer in the community of believers, despite the fact he is an acknowledged homosexual? The question to put to the church is whether the community of believers is an exclusive to put to the koinonia which excludes homosexuals. They may be welcome on principle, but in actual fact are not acceptable to the church community. As South Africa enters the new century, it is clear that the epidemic is not having a measurable impact. However, the impact of AIDS is gradual, subtle and incremental. The author's proposal of what is currently most needed in South Africa is that the little things will make a difference. It's about doing lots of little things better at grassroots level, with the emphasis on doing. There are so many community, churches and NGOs initiatives worth building on and intensifying. One must not underestimate the therapeutic value of working together in small groups to overcome a problem

Exploring the Model of Social Enterprise in Sport: Focused on Organization Form(Type) and Task (스포츠 분야 사회적기업의 모델 탐색: 조직형태 및 과제)

  • Sang-Hyun Park;Joo-Young Park
    • Journal of Industrial Convergence
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.73-83
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    • 2024
  • The purpose of this study is to diagnose various problems arising around social enterprises in the sport field from the perspective of the organization and derive necessary tasks and implications. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the study was largely divided into three stages, and the results were derived. First, the main status and characteristics of social enterprises in the sport field were examined. The current status was analyzed focusing on aspects such as background and origin, legislation and policy, organizational goals, organizational structure and procedures, and organizational characteristics. Social enterprises in the sport sector were in their early stages, and the government's social enterprise policy goal tended to focus on increasing the number of social enterprises in a short period of time through financial input. In addition, it was found that most individual companies rely on government subsidy support due to insufficient profit generation capacity. In the second stage, we focused on the situational factors that affect the functional performance of social enterprises in the sport field. As a result of reviewing the value, ideology, technology, and history of the organization, which are situational factors, it was derived that when certified as a social enterprise in the sport field and supported by the central government or local governments, political control is strong to some extent and exposure to the market is not severe. In the last third step, tasks and implications were derived to form an appropriate organization for social enterprises in the sport field. After the social enterprise ecosystem in the sport sector has been established to some extent, it is necessary to gradually move from the current "government-type" organization to the "national enterprise" organization. This is true in light of the government's limited financial level, not in the short term, but in order for the organization of social enterprises in the sports sector to survive in the long term.

An Analysis of Subject Competencies Applied in the Activity Tasks of the 'Human Develop ment and Family' Area in High School Technology & Home Economics Textbook Based on the 2015 Revised National Curriculum (2015 개정 교육과정 고등학교 기술·가정 교과서 '인간 발달과 가족' 영역 활동과제에 반영된 교과역량 분석)

  • Lim, Mo Seop;Choi, Seong Youn
    • Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.21-45
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    • 2023
  • The purpose of this study was to analyze the curriculum competencies of relationship-forming ability and practical problem-solving ability reflected in the activity tasks corresponding to the content elements of 'Love and marriage', 'Preparation for parenthood', 'Pregnancy and childbirth', 'Child care', and 'Family culture and intergenerational relationship' in the 2015 revised high school technology & home economics textbooks. The data are 330 activity tasks from 12 kinds of high school technology & home economics textbooks. The sub-factors of the relationship-forming ability were selected as Respect for Diversity, Consideration and Care, Family Relationship and Community Spirit, Empathy Ability, Conflict Management, and Communication, and the sub-factors of practical problem-solving ability were selected as Practical Reasoning, Decision Making, Value Judgment, Critical Thinking, and Executive Power. Based on the analysis criteria, the results of the two analyses and the expert review are as follows. First, regarding both the core concepts 'Development' and 'Relationship', the share of relationship-forming ability was relatively higher than practical problem-solving ability, and conflict management and executive power were the least reflected. For the core concept 'Development', Family Relationship and Community Spirit and Critical Thinking were the most reflected sub-factors, and for the core concept 'Relationship', Consideration and Care and critical thinking were the most reflected sub-factors. Second, in the case of the relationship-forming ability, the examples of activity tasks across sub-factors of each subject competency were devised to understand diverse opinions and sentiments and to develop competencies to care for each other and maintain healthy family relationships. In the case of practical problem-solving ability, the tasks allowed students to objectively analyze the socio-cultural background underlying the real-life problem, explore alternatives, and apply in their own lives.

A Study on Medium-Sized Enterprises of Japan (일본의 중견기업에 관한 연구 : 현황과 특징, 정책을 중심으로)

  • Kang, Cheol Gu;Kim, Hyun Sung;Kim, Hyun Chul
    • Korean small business review
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.209-223
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    • 2010
  • Korea's business is composed of a few large-sized enterprises (which can be abbreviated as LSE) and a majority of small-sized enterprises (SSE). Although there has been a growing recognition of the need for the development of medium-sized enterprises (MSE) which can serve as a link between SSE and LSE, as yet there has not yet been a consensus on the definition, characteristics and the function of the MSE in Korea. Nowadays, the world is being globalized, and Japan and China are in competition to ne a great economic power. While East Asia is experiencing rapid changes, promoting MSE which can secure flexibility and efficiency through covering up the limitation of LSE and SSE is needed in order to respond the global market which is being specialized. The features of MSE in Japan can be listed as follows. First, the MSE in Japan is developing the company through getting into niche markets which are hard for major companies to enter rather than developing markets in order to compete against major companies directly. While MSEs are endeavoring to build the business firmly in the domestic market, they can possess special and competitive technical skills through trials and errors; so that they can get a chance develop their business through independent business system rather than putting their effort to compete against major companies. Second, from the MSEs with competitive edge in the market, there are many contributions to the national exportation. Those MSEs produce in domestic and maintain the quality of high price products which need cutting-edge technology, while they relocate the low and middle priced goods to the country where manufacturing costs are low, so that they can maintain the price competitiveness. Third, the industrial structure in Japan is formed from dual structure between major companies and small sized companies. In other words, in Japan's industrial structure which are composed of subcontract structure, this dual structure has taken a major role of small sized companies' growth and manufacturing businesses' international competitive power. Forth, MSE in Japan adopt a strategy of putting their value on qualitative scale growth rather than quantitative scale growth. In this paper, the case of Japanese MSE is analyzed. Along with its long history of Industrialization, Japan has a corporate environment where the SSEs can develop as a MSE and later a LSE through a full-support system. Among its SSEs, there are a number of world class corporations equipped with a large domestic market, win-win cooperation with the LSEs and an independent technology development. It can also be observed that these SSEs develop into MSEs with sustainable growth potentials. This study will focus on the condition under which the MSEs of Japan have been developed, and how they have survived the competition between SSEs and LSEs. Through this study, this paper attempts to offer solutions to Korea's polarization between the SSE and LSE, while providing the basis for SSEs revitalization. In general, if both extremities phenomenon deepen between LSE and SSE, there are possible fears of occurring disutility in national economy by the monopolization of LSE. For that reason, enterprise group, which can make SSE or MSE compete LSE in some area and ease the monopoly and oligopoly problem, is needed. This awareness has been shared for ages long. Nevertheless, there is no legal definition for MSE in Japan, and there is no definition about the enterprise size or unified view of MSE between scholars, but it is defined differently by each of academical person or research institution and study meeting. For that reason, this paper will organize the definition of MSE in Japan, and then will propose the characteristics of the background which has made MSE secure competitiveness and sustainable growth in global market. This study focus on that because through this process, the positive change to the awareness of MSE can be proposed in Korea and to seek the policy direction for building institutional framework which can make SSE become MES. Through this way, the fundamentals for SSE to become MSE can be managed and some appropriate suggestions which will be able to make MSE enter the global market in the future can also be proposed. Due to these facts, this study is very important and well timed task. In a sense of this way, this study will examine the definition and role of MSE in Japan. after this examination, this study will deal with the status, special feature, and promotion policy for MSE. Through this analysis of MSE in Japan, the foundation which be able to set the desirable role model for MSE in Korea can be proposed. Also, the political implication which is needed to push ahead to contribute to creating employment and economic growth through sustainable growth of MSEs in economic system of Korea can be offered through this study. It has been found that Japan's MSE functions as an indispensable link among various industrial structures by holding a significant position in employment rate, production and value added. Although the MSEs took up less than 1% of the entire number of businesses with 2700 manufacturing firms and 7000 non-manufacturing firms, its employment ratios are about 15%, while taking about 25% of the manufacturing industry's exports. In industries such as machinery and electronics which is considered Japan's major industry, the MSEs showed a higher than average ratio of manufacturing exports and employment rate. It can be analyzed that behind Japan's advantageous industries, close and deeply knit MSEs exist. Although there are no clearly stated policies geared towards the MSEs by the Japanese government, various political measures exist such as the R&D Project and the inducement of cooperation between enterprises which gives room for MSEs to participate in the SSE policies. In relation to these findings, the following practical measures can be considered in order to revitalize Korea's MSEs: First, there is a need for a legal definition of MSE and the incentives to provide legal support for its growth. Second, if a law to support the MSEs is established, it could provide a powerful inducement for the SSE to grow as a MSE, rather than stay as a SSE. Third, there is a need for a strategy of MSEs to establish a stable base in the domestic market and then advance to the global market with the accumulated trial and error and competitiveness. Fourth, the SSE themselves need the spirit of entrepreneurship in order to make the leap to a MSE. Because if nothing is to be changed about the system on the firms that grew, and the parts of the past custom was left to be managed alone, confusion and absence of management can take place. No matter how much tax favors the government will give and no matter how much incentive there could be through the policies, there are limits for industries to higher the ability to propagate. And because of that it is a period where industries need their own innovative skills to reform their firms.

Business Relationships and Structural Bonding: A Study of American Metal Industry (산업재 거래관계와 구조적 결합: 미국 금속산업의 분석 연구)

  • Han, Sang-Lin;Kim, Yun-Tae;Oh, Chang-Yeob;Chung, Jae-Moon
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.115-132
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    • 2008
  • Metal industry is one of the most representative heavy industries and the median sales volume of steel and nonferrous metal companies is over one billion dollars in the case America [Forbes 2006]. As seen in the recent business market situation, an increasing number of industrial manufacturers and suppliers are moving from adversarial to cooperative exchange attitudes that support the long-term relationships with their customers. This article presents the results of an empirical study of the antecedent factors of business relationships in metal industry of the United States. Commitment has been reviewed as a significant and critical variable in research on inter-organizational relationships (Hong et al. 2007, Kim et al. 2007). The future stability of any buyer-seller relationship depends upon the commitment made by the interactants to their relationship. Commitment, according to Dwyer et al. [1987], refers to "an implicit or explicit pledge of relational continuity between exchange partners" and they consider commitment to be the most advanced phase of buyer-seller exchange relationship. Bonds are made because the members need their partners in order to do something and this integration on a task basis can be either symbiotic or cooperative (Svensson 2008). To the extent that members seek the same or mutually supporting ends, there will be strong bonds among them. In other words, the principle that affects the strength of bonds is 'economy of decision making' [Turner 1970]. These bonds provide an important idea to study the causes of business long-term relationships in a sense that organizations can be mutually bonded by a common interest in the economic matters. Recently, the framework of structural bonding has been used to study the buyer-seller relationships in industrial marketing [Han and Sung 2008, Williams et al. 1998, Wilson 1995] in that this structural bonding is a crucial part of the theoretical justification for distinguishing discrete transactions from ongoing long-term relationships. The major antecedent factors of buyer commitment such as technology, CLalt, transaction-specific assets, and importance were identified and explored from the perspective of structural bonding. Research hypotheses were developed and tested by using survey data from the middle managers in the metal industry. H1: Level of technology of the relationship partner is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H2: Comparison level of alternatives is negatively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H3: Amount of the transaction-specific assets is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H4: Importance of the relationship partner is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H5: Level of structural bonding is positively related to the level of commitment to the relationship. To examine the major antecedent factors of industrial buyer's structural bonding and long-term relationship, questionnaire was prepared, mailed out to the sample of 400 purchasing managers of the US metal industry (SIC codes 33 and 34). After a follow-up request, 139 informants returnedthe questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 35 percent. 134 responses were used in the final analysis after dropping 5 incomplete questionnaires. All measures were analyzed for reliability and validity following the guidelines offered by Churchill [1979] and Anderson and Gerbing [1988]., the results of fitting the model to the data indicated that the hypothesized model provides a good fit to the data. Goodness-of-fit index (GFI = 0.94) and other indices ( chi-square = 78.02 with p-value = 0.13, Adjusted GFI = 0.90, Normed Fit Index = 0.92) indicated that a major proportion of variances and covariances in the data was accounted for by the model as a whole, and all the parameter estimates showed statistical significance as evidenced by large t-values. All the factor loadings were significantly different from zero. On these grounds we judged the hypothesized model to be a reasonable representation of the data. The results from the present study suggest several implications for buyer-seller relationships. Theoretically, we attempted to conceptualize the antecedent factors of buyer-seller long-term relationships from the perspective of structural bondingin metal industry. The four underlying determinants (i.e. technology, CLalt, transaction-specific assets, and importance) of structural bonding are very critical variables of buyer-seller long-term business relationships. Our model of structural bonding makes an attempt to systematically examine the relationship between the antecedent factors of structural bonding and long-term commitment. Managerially, this research provides industrial purchasing managers with a good framework to assess the interaction processes with their partners and, ability to position their business relationships from the perspective of structural bonding. In other words, based on those underlying variables, industrial purchasing managers can determine the strength of the company's relationships with the key suppliers and its state of preparation to be a successful partner with those suppliers. Both the supplying and customer companies can also benefit by using the concept of 'structural bonding' and evaluating their relationships with key business partners from the structural point of view. In general, the results indicate that structural bonding gives a critical impact on the level of relationship commitment. Managerial implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.

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