• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.57-81
• /
• 2008

Knowledge is an essential strategic weapon for sustaining competitive advantage and is the key determinant for organizational growth. When knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout the organization, it increases an organization's value by providing the ability to respond to new and unusual situations. The growing importance of knowledge as a critical resource has forced executives to pay attention to their organizational knowledge. Organizations are increasingly undertaking knowledge management initiatives and making significant investments. Knowledge sourcing is considered as the first important step in effective knowledge management. Most firms continue to make an effort to realize the benefits of knowledge management by using various knowledge sources effectively. Appropriate knowledge sourcing strategies enable organizations to create, acquire, and access knowledge in a timely manner by reducing search and transfer costs, which result in better firm performance. In response, the knowledge management literature has devoted substantial attention to the analysis of knowledge sourcing strategies. Many studies have categorized knowledge sourcing strategies into intemal- and external-oriented. Internal-oriented sourcing strategy attempts to increase firm performance by integrating knowledge within the boundary of the firm. On the contrary, external-oriented strategy attempts to bring knowledge in from outside sources via either acquisition or imitation, and then to transfer that knowledge across to the organization. However, the extant literature on knowledge sourcing strategies focuses primarily on large organizations. Although many studies have clearly highlighted major differences between large and small firms and the need to adopt different strategies for different firm sizes, scant attention has been given to analyzing how knowledge sourcing strategies affect firm performance in small firms and what are the differences between small and large firms in the patterns of knowledge sourcing strategies adoption. This study attempts to advance the current literature by examining the impact of knowledge sourcing strategies on small firm performance from a holistic perspective. By drawing on knowledge based theory from organization science and complementarity theory from the economics literature, this paper is motivated by the following questions: (1) what are the adoption patterns of different knowledge sourcing strategies in small firms (i,e., what sourcing strategies should be adopted and which sourcing strategies work well together in small firms)?; and (2) what are the performance implications of these adoption patterns? In order to answer the questions, this study developed three hypotheses. First hypothesis based on knowledge based theory is that internal-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. Second hypothesis developed on the basis of knowledge based theory is that external-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. The third one based on complementarity theory is that pursuing both internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing simultaneously is negatively or less positively associated with small firm performance. As a sampling frame, 700 firms were identified from the Annual Corporation Report in Korea. Survey questionnaires were mailed to owners or executives who were most erudite about the firm s knowledge sourcing strategies and performance. A total of 188 companies replied, yielding a response rate of 26.8%. Due to incomplete data, 12 responses were eliminated, leaving 176 responses for the final analysis. Since all independent variables were measured using continuous variables, supermodularity function was used to test the hypotheses based on the cross partial derivative of payoff function. The results indicated no significant impact of internal-oriented sourcing strategies while positive impact of external-oriented sourcing strategy on small firm performance. This intriguing result could be explained on the basis of various resource and capital constraints of small firms. Small firms typically have restricted financial and human resources. They do not have enough assets to always develop knowledge internally. Another possible explanation is competency traps or core rigidities. Building up a knowledge base based on internal knowledge creates core competences, but at the same time, excessive internal focused knowledge exploration leads to behaviors blind to other knowledge. Interestingly, this study found that Internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing strategies had a substitutive relationship, which was inconsistent with previous studies that suggested complementary relationship between them. This result might be explained using organizational identification theory. Internal organizational members may perceive external knowledge as a threat, and tend to ignore knowledge from external sources because they prefer to maintain their own knowledge, legitimacy, and homogeneous attitudes. Therefore, integrating knowledge from internal and external sources might not be effective, resulting in failure of improvements of firm performance. Another possible explanation is small firms resource and capital constraints and lack of management expertise and absorptive capacity. Although the integration of different knowledge sources is critical, high levels of knowledge sourcing in many areas are quite expensive and so are often unrealistic for small enterprises. This study provides several implications for research as well as practice. First this study extends the existing knowledge by examining the substitutability (and complementarity) of knowledge sourcing strategies. Most prior studies have tended to investigate the independent effects of these strategies on performance without considering their combined impacts. Furthermore, this study tests complementarity based on the productivity approach that has been considered as a definitive test method for complementarity. Second, this study sheds new light on knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and small firm performance. Most current literature has insisted complementary relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies on the basis of data from large firms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study identifies substitutive relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies using data from small firms. Third, implications for practice highlight that managers of small firms should focus on knowledge sourcing from external-oriented strategies. Moreover, adoption of both sourcing strategies simultaneousiy impedes small firm performance.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.1-25
• /
• 2011

Internet-based commerce has undergone an explosive growth over the past decade as consumers today find it more economical as well as more convenient to shop online. Nevertheless, the shift in the common mode of shopping from offline to online commerce has caused consumers to have worries over such issues as private information leakage, online fraud, discrepancy in product quality and grade, unsuccessful delivery, and so forth, Numerous studies have been undertaken to examine the role of perceived risk as a chief barrier to online purchases and to understand the theoretical relationships among perceived risk, trust and purchase intentions, However, most studies focus on empirically investigating the effects of trust on perceived risk, with little attention devoted to the effects of perceived risk on trust, While the influence trust has on perceived risk is worth studying, the influence in the opposite direction is equally important, enabling insights into the potential of perceived risk as a prohibitor of trust, According to Pavlou (2003), the primary source of the perceived risk is either the technological uncertainty of the Internet environment or the behavioral uncertainty of the transaction partner. Due to such types of uncertainty, an increase in the worries over the perceived risk may negatively affect trust, For example, if a consumer who sends sensitive transaction data over Internet is concerned that his or her private information may leak out because of the lack of security, trust may decrease (Olivero and Lunt, 2004), By the same token, if the consumer feels that the online merchant has the potential to profit by behaving in an opportunistic manner taking advantage of the remote, impersonal nature of online commerce, then it is unlikely that the merchant will be trusted, That is, the more the probable danger is likely to occur, the less trust and the greater need to control the transaction (Olivero and Lunt, 2004), In summary, a review of the related studies indicates that while some researchers looked at the influence of overall perceived risk on trust level, not much attention has been given to the effects of different types of perceived risk, In this context the present research aims at addressing the need to study how trust is affected by different types of perceived risk, We classified perceived risk into six different types based on the literature, and empirically analyzed the impact of each type of perceived risk upon consumer trust in an online merchant and further its impact upon purchase intentions. To meet our research objectives, we developed a conceptual model depicting the nomological structure of the relationships among our research variables, and also formulated a total of seven hypotheses. The model and hypotheses were tested using an empirical analysis based on a questionnaire survey of 206 college students. The reliability was evaluated via Cronbach's alphas, the minimum of which was found to be 0.73, and therefore the questionnaire items are all deemed reliable. In addition, the results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) designed to check the validity of the measurement model indicate that the convergent, discriminate, and nomological validities of the model are all acceptable. The structural equation modeling analysis to test the hypotheses yielded the following results. Of the first six hypotheses (H1-1 through H1-6) designed to examine the relationships between each risk type and trust, three hypotheses including H1-1 (performance risk ${\rightarrow}$ trust), H1-2 (psychological risk ${\rightarrow}$ trust) and H1-5 (online payment risk ${\rightarrow}$ trust) were supported with path coefficients of -0.30, -0.27 and -0.16 respectively. Finally, H2 (trust ${\rightarrow}$ purchase intentions) was supported with relatively high path coefficients of 0.73. Results of the empirical study offer the following findings and implications. First. it was found that it was performance risk, psychological risk and online payment risk that have a statistically significant influence upon consumer trust in an online merchant. It implies that a consumer may find an online merchant untrustworthy if either the product quality or the product grade does not match his or her expectations. For that reason, online merchants including digital storefronts and e-marketplaces are suggested to pursue a strategy focusing on identifying the target customers and offering products that they feel best meet performance and psychological needs of those customers. Thus, they should do their best to make it widely known that their products are of as good quality and grade as those purchased from offline department stores. In addition, it may be inferred that today's online consumers remain concerned about the security of the online commerce environment due to the repeated occurrences of hacking or private information leakage. Online merchants should take steps to remove potential vulnerabilities and provide online notices to emphasize that their website is secure. Second, consumer's overall trust was found to have a statistically significant influence on purchase intentions. This finding, which is consistent with the results of numerous prior studies, suggests that increased sales will become a reality only with enhanced consumer trust.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.73-78
• /
• 2003

The Fontan operation has undergone a number of major modifications and clinical results have been improving over time. Nevertheless, during the follow-up period, life-threatening complications develop and affect the long-term outcomes. Surgical interventions for these complications are needed and are increasing. Material and Method: From April 1988 to January 2000, 16 patients underwent reoperations for complications after Fontan operation. The mean age at reoperation was 8.8 :-5.5 years. Initial Fontan operations were atriopulmonary connections in 8 and total cavopulmonary connections in 8. Total cavopulmonary connections were accomplished with intracardiac lateral tunnel in 5 and extracardiac epicardial lateral tunnel in 3. Five patients had variable sized fenestrations. The reasons for reoperations included residual shunt in 6, pulmonary venous obstruction in 3, atrial flutter in 3, atrioventricular valve regurgitation in 2, Fontan pathway stenosis in 1, and protein-losing enteropathy in 1 Result: There were 3 early and late deaths respectively Patients who had residual shunts underwent primary closure of shunt site (n=2), atrial reseptation for separation between systemic and pulmonary vein (n=2), conversion to lateral tunnel (n=1), and conversion to one and a half ventricular repair (n=1). Four patients who had stenotic lesion of pulmonary vein or Fontan pathway underwent widening of the lesion (n=3) and left pneumonectomy (n=1) In cases of atrial flutter, conversion to lateral tunnel after revision of atriopulmonary connections was performed (n=3). For the atrioventricular valve regurgitation (n=2), we performed a replacement with mechanical valve. In one patient who had developed protein-losing enteropathy, aorto-pulmonary collateral arteries were obliterated via thoracotomy. Cryoablation was performed concomitantly in 4 patients as an additional treatment modality of atrial arrhythmia. Conclusion: Complications after Fontan operation are difficult to manage and have a considerable morbidity and mortality. However, more accurate understanding of Fontan physiology and technical advancement increased the possibility of treatment for such complications as well as Fontan operation itself. Appropriate surgical treatment for these patients relieved the symptoms and improved the functional class, Although the results were not satisfactory enough in all patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2004

Background: We tested the effect of indomethacine and total spinal anesthesia on the improvement of placental flow during cardiopulmonary bypass on fetal lamb. Material and Method: Twenty fetuses at 120 to 150 days of gestation were subjected to bypass via trans-sternal approach with a 12 G pulmonary arterial cannula and 14 to 18 F venous cannula for 30 minutes. All ewes received general anesthesia with ketamine. In all the fetuses, no anesthetic agents were used except muscle relaxant. Ten served as a control group in which placenta was worked as an oxygenator during bypass (Control group). The remainder worked as an experimental group in which pretreatment with indomethacine and total spinal anesthesia was performed before bypass with the same extracorporeal circulation technique as control group (Experimental group). Observations were made every 10 minutes during a 30-minute bypass and 30-minute post bypass period. Result: Weights of the fetuses ranged from 2.2 to 5.2 kg. In Control group, means of arterial pressure decreased from 44.7 to 14.4 mmHg and means of Pa$CO_2$ increased from 61.9 to 129.6 mmHg at each time points during bypass. Flow rate was suboptimal (74.3 to 97.0 $m\ell$/kg/min) during bypass. All hearts fibrillated immediately after the discontinuation of bypass. On the contrary, in Experimental group, means of arterial pressure reamined higher (45.8 to 30 mmHg) during bypass (p<0.05). Means of Pa$CO_2$ were less ranging from 59.8 to 79.4 mmHg during bypass (P<0.05). Flow rates were higher (78.8 to 120.2 $m\ell$/kg/min) during bypass (p<0.05). There were slower deterioration of cardiac function after cessation of bypass. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated that the placental flow was increased during fetal cardiopulmonary bypass in the group pretreated with indomethacine and total spinal anesthesia. However, further studies with modifications of the bypass including a creation of more concise bypass circuit, and a use of axial pump are mandatory for the clinical application.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.401-409
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Recently multi-modal imaging system has become widely adopted in molecular imaging. We tried to fabricate animal-specific positioning molds for PET/MR fusion imaging using easily available molding clay and rapid foam. The animal-specific positioning molds provide immobilization and reproducible positioning of small animal. Herein, we have compared fiber-based molding clay with rapid foam in fabricating the molds of experimental animal. Materials and Methods: The round bottomed-acrylic frame, which fitted into microPET gantry, was prepared at first. The experimental mice was anesthetized and placed on the mold for positioning. Rapid foam and fiber-based clay were used to fabricate the mold. In case of both rapid foam and the clay, the experimental animal needs to be pushed down smoothly into the mold for positioning. However, after the mouse was removed, the fabricated clay needed to be dried completely at $60^{\circ}C$ in oven overnight for hardening. Four sealed pipet tips containing $[^{18}F]FDG$ solution were used as fiduciary markers. After injection of $[^{18}F]FDG$ via tail vein, microPET scanning was performed. Successively, MRI scanning was followed in the same animal. Results: Animal-specific positioning molds were fabricated using rapid foam and fiber-based molding clay for multimodality imaging. Functional and anatomical images were obtained with microPET and MRI, respectively. The fused PET/MR images were obtained using freely available AMIDE program. Conclusion: Animal-specific molds were successfully prepared using easily available rapid foam, molding clay and disposable pipet tips. Thanks to animal-specific molds, fusion images of PET and MR were co-registered with negligible misalignment.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.372-379
• /
• 2007

A high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI) tandem MS was developed for the rapid and simultaneous determination of forbidden medicines in dietary supplements. Thirteen medicinal components such as PDE-5 inhibitors and their analogues, and the newly identified dimethylsildenafil and xanthoanthrafil, were included in this study. After tentative standardization of molecular ions in both polarities using thirteen references on the mass spectrometer, with ESI-continuous infusion via the syringe pump method, the relative intensity of the ions present in the resulting spectra was quantitatively compared. From the results, the ion mode was selected depending on each reference's characteristics. A HPLC method coupled with the ESI mode was developed considering the matrix effect and interference depending on the type of sample. The validation test of the developed method was followed by carrying out precision, accuracy, recovery, sensitivity and linearity, etc. The method showed sufficiently high sensitivity, reproducibility, and specificity, and produced 4 times faster results when compared with the existing HPLC/UV method for the determination of forbidden compounds in dietary supplements.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.603-610
• /
• 2008

The principal objective of current study was to evaluate the potential of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) as a non-destructive method for the prediction of the amylose and protein contents of un-hulled and brown rice in broad-based calibration models. The average amylose and protein content of 75 rice accessions were 20.3% and 7.1%, respectively. Additionally, the range of amylose and protein content were 16.6-24.5% and 3.8-9.3%, respectively. In total, 79 rice germplasms representing a wide range of chemical characteristics, variable physical properties, and origins were scanned via NIRS for calibration and validation equations. The un-hulled and brown rice samples evidenced distinctly different patterns in a wavelength range from 1,440 nm to 2,400 nm in the original NIR spectra. The optimal performance calibration model could be obtained by MPLS (modified partial least squares) using the first derivative method (1:4:4:1) for un-hulled rice and the second derivative method (2:4:4:1) for brown rice. The correlation coefficients $(r^2)$ and standard error of calibration (SEC) of protein and amylose contents for the un-hulled rice were 0.86, 2.48, and 0.84, 1.13, respectively. The $r^2$ and SEC of protein and amylose content for brown rice were 0.95, 1.09 and 0.94, 0.42, respectively. The results of this study suggest that the NIRS technique could be utilized as a routine procedure for the quantification of protein and amylose contents in large accessions of un-hulled rice germplasms.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.302-306
• /
• 2009

The principal objective of this investigation was to identify adequate species for the harvest of Perilla frutescens leaves, which provide profound antioxidant activities, and harbor abundant caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid. Namchun, Donggeul-2, Bora, Sae-bora and Neul-bora variants of the plant were assessed herein. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant effects of these plants, and utilized an HPLC system to verify their caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid contents. Dried Perilla frutescens leaves were boiled at a temperature of $100^{\circ}C$ for three hours, and were lyopholized in a freezedryer. The extracts were then processed in order to confirm their antioxidant activities via 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity assay, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, total flavonoid content and total polyphenol content assays. According to the observed antioxidant results of the five tested species of Perilla frutescens leaves, Bora and Donggeul-2 were shown to have more potent antioxidant activities than the other tested variants. The scavenge 50% of DPPH radical ($SC_50$ of DPPH) values were 241 ${\mu}g$ DM/mL in Donggeul-2 and 261 ${\mu}g$ DM/mL in Bora. Based on the results of the FRAP assay, the Bora variant showed a value of 796 mM $FeSO_4$ $7H_2O/g$ DM, and Donggeul-2 exhibited a value of 748 mM $FeSO_4$ $7H_2O/g$ DM, of which the total polyphenol contents were measured as 69.4 g GAE/kg DM and 61.8 g GAE/kg DM, respectively. Moreover, the Bora variant had the highest level of caffeic acid, and Donggeul-2 showed the highest rosmarinic acid content among the tested samples (0.87 mg/100 g wet base and 121 mg/100 g wet base, respectively). According to the results of this experiment, we selected two species, Bora and Donggeul-2, which were both verified to contain adequate and favorable antioxidant activities.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.90-97
• /
• 2013

Purpose: Ten years have passed since the Korean government announced its plan to institutionally support hospice and palliative care in 2002. In line with that, this study aims to suggest future directions for Korea's hospice and palliative care policy. Methods: We conducted a survey on people's perception and acceptance of well-dying. Data were collected from 1,000 participants aged 19~69 years between June 1 and June 11, 2012 via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Results: The most important factor for well-dying was placing no burden of care on others (36.7%) and the second most important factor was staying with their family and loved ones (19.1%). Among nine suggestions of policy support for well-dying, the most popular was the promotion of voluntary care sharing (88.3%), followed by the palliative care training support for healthcare providers (83.7%) and the support for palliative care facilities instead of funeral halls (81.7%). The idea of formulating a five-year national plan for end-of-life care drew strong support (91%). According to the survey, the plan should be implemented by the central government (47.5%), the National Assembly (20.2%) or civic groups (10%). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the public consensus and their consistent direction toward policy support for well-dying. Results of this study may serve as a foundation for the establishment of policy support for people's well-dying and palliative care at the national-level.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.887-900
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to provide a job analysis for, and assess the job performance of horticultural therapists, as well as examine future educational needs. To this end, a chart developed using the DACUM method was chosen as the appropriate tool for the job analysis of horticultural therapists (Study 1). Based on the chart, a survey using an evaluation form was produced to investigate the current level of job performance and future required level of horticultural therapists (Study 2). A total of 8 duties and 45 tasks were classified to examine job performance, based on analysis of the DACUM Council (Study 1). These duties include A. Decide execution organization for horticultural therapy (HT) program, B. Diagnose and assess clients before starting the HT program, C. Plan HT program, D. Develop HT program, E. Prepare to implement HT program for each session, F. Implement HT program for each session, G. Implement overall assessment for HT program, and H. Develop oneself as a horticultural therapist. Their duties were broken down further into five to eight tasks per duty, totaling 45 tasks. Based on the horticultural therapist job performance sheet developed through this process, an assessment of the current job level of horticultural therapists was performed and future required level were examined (Study 2). The evaluation forms were sent to 779 horticultural therapists with level 1 or 2 certification via email or mail delivery. The analysis of 242 questionnaires (31.1%) revealed that horticultural therapists with level 1 certificates have a significantly higher job performance level for 34 of the 45 tasks. Regarding future required level, 20 out of 45 tasks were assessed as higher for level 1 horticultural therapists than level 2. In addition, a Borich formula was utilized to identify the priority of educational needs for the 45 horticultural therapist tasks. The results revealed the following top three tasks: H1. Receive feedback from the supervisor for the horticultural therapy program; A1. Distribute promotional materials about the horticultural therapy program; and H2. Submit a grant proposal for horticultural therapy program to organizations such as welfare foundations. The results of this study are anticipated to facilitate understanding and improve work conditions for current horticultural therapists or horticultural therapists-in-training. In addition, institutions that train horticultural therapists will be able to use this as basic research to develop a practical training curriculum.