• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.145-166
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• 2022

Purpose - The field of online videos has seen rapid changes in information and communications technology (ICT) development. Despite active academic research on the use of online platforms, few studies have analyzed the relative importance among the factors determined. In this study, the relative importance of factors found in previous studies was identified for users of online video platforms in China and Korea. Through this, factors that should be considered first in research on online video use were derived. In addition, the quality level of online video platforms currently used in China and Korea was measured and used for analysis. The analysis results can provide information for companies to enter Chinese and Korean markets and also be useful to platform providers aiming to increase usage. Design/methodology - Among the factors of Online Video Usage identified in previous studies, 13 factors to be studied were selected through focus group interviews and hierarchized into 2 layers. For the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), each factor was designed as a pairwise comparison questionnaire. The survey included questions on the quality of online video platform currently in use. Data collection was conducted on 16 platforms in China and 11 platforms in Korea, and the relative importance of factors and user perspectives was compared and analyzed using importance performance analysis (IPA). In the analytical process, platforms were divided into over-the-top (OTT) group and Creator group according to the weight of user-generated content, and data analysis focused on these groups. Findings - As a result of AHP, China and Korea showed both "Fun" and "Interests" factors at the top, while the importance of the Entertainment factor "Vicarious satisfaction" was very different for China and Korea. "Relationship with content creators" was the most important factor in China, but it ranked the lowest in Korea. The IPA showed that the factors with high importance and performance were fun, interests, and easy accessibility for both China and Korea. In contrast, the factors that showed low performance compared to high importance in China were relationship with content creators, relationship with acquaintances/friends, and trustworthiness. As for Korea, vicarious satisfaction was observed; thus, this study has raised the need for academic and industrial interest in vicarious satisfaction. The results show that fun, interests, vicarious satisfaction, and easy accessibility of the platform are factors that must be included in further studies on online videos. Originality/value - Existing studies related to the use of online platforms have derived factors or focused on the influence relationship between factors and performance. However, few studies have analyzed the relative importance among the determined factors. This paper explores factors to be considered in future studies by deriving the relative importance between these factors from the perspective of users in China and Korea.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.23-38
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• 2022

Purpose - This research intends to find out whether R&D cost stickiness shows differentiated aspects depending on exports in Korea. A cost behavior that indicates a lower rate of costs decrease when sales decrease than the rate of costs increase when sales increase is called cost stickiness. This sticky cost behavior is caused by considering the adjusting costs. This study aims to empirically verify that R&D cost stickiness is greater in export firms than in non-export firms. We also investigate the effect of exports on R&D cost stickiness is nonlinear. Design/methodology - We obtain data for the analysis from Kis-Value and TS2000 from 2012 to 2020. This study tests for R&D cost stickiness of exports using the cost stickiness model developed by Anderson et al. (2003) that is used in a lot of prior literature. To explore the nonlinear behavior of R&D cost stickiness we include a quadratic term of exports in our model. Findings - The results of our analysis are as follows. First, we observed that R&D costs of export firms are more sticky than that of non-export firms. Our result indicated that export firms are less likely to reduce R&D costs in decreasing sales periods in preparation for future sales recovery. Second, our empirical evidence shows that export firms view R&D costs much favorably. However, we hypothesize that the effect of export intensity on R&D costs may not necessarily be linear. Our result shows the effect of exports intensity on R&D stickiness is thus nonlinear, forming a reverse U-shaped curve. When export intensity exceeds a certain threshold, the growth rate of R&D costs appears to be viewed negatively. Firms with relatively high export intensity do not support R&D costs, viewing them as taking away firms' resources from other more productive costs. On the contrary, those with export intensity under the threshold view R&D costs as beneficial and therefore promote further R&D costs when revenue decreases. Originality/value - The results of this research can contribute academically to the expansion of empirical research on R&D cost stickiness. R&D cost stickiness varies by industry. As a result of our research, the managers of export firms recognize the importance of R&D to lead innovation. We expected that this research contributes to further studies on R&D costs and cost stickiness. Second, this research has implications from a business perspectives. Our findings of export firms' R&D stickiness suggest that export firms' managers should consider keeping the stickiness of R&D when revenue decreases because it is essential for exporting firms to maintain their R&D stickiness to secure long-term competitiveness. R&D stickiness can be used on a practical basis to emphasize the need for continuous investment in exporting firms' R&D activities.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.56-75
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• 2022

Purpose - This study examines the influencing factors of China's cross-border e-commerce exports in the context of the current situation and trends of China's cross-border e-commerce development. Through an improved trade gravity model, it provides more in-depth research and constructive opinions on the development of cross-border e-commerce in China. In this paper, factors such as consumption gap, volume of trade frictions, number of tourists, Internet usage and trade openness are added to the formula of the traditional trade gravity model in the improved trade gravity model to examine the influencing factors on China's cross-border e-commerce exports. Design/methodology - According to the empirical analysis, China's cross-border e-commerce exports to ten countries are used as dependent variables, and consumption gap, trade friction volume, trade distance, trade openness and number of Internet users are taken as independent variables. Regression analysis is conducted through a modified gravity model to test whether the hypotheses hold. Findings - The analysis shows that the hypothesis that China's cross-border e-commerce exports are influenced by trade openness, trade distance, consumption gap between trade parties, and the number of Internet users in the importing country is supported by these four hypotheses, but not all independent variables have an impact on them. Specifically, the number of travelers, trade frictions do not have an impact on China's cross-border e-commerce. That is to say, trade friction between China and the United States and political issues such as China-India and China-Japan territorial disputes that emerged before do not affect the development of cross-border e-commerce in China. Originality/value - The analysis shows that the factors influencing China's cross-border e-commerce exports are the trade openness of the importing country, the trade distance, the number of Internet users in the importing country, and the consumption gap between the two sides of the trade. The trade openness and the number of Internet users positively contribute to China's cross-border e-commerce, while the consumption gap and trade distance are negatively related to them. And the analysis found that the Sino-US trade war and the Sino-Indian territorial disputes and other trade frictions to China's cross-border e-commerce exports did not have a substantial impact.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1-19
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• 2022

Purpose - This study empirically investigates the effects of Official Development Assistance (ODA) on the economic activities of private actors in recipient countries. As a proxy for the economic activities of private actors, we utilize the job creation activities of foreign subsidiaries in recipient countries. The foreign subsidiaries provide a foundation for economic development by creating paying jobs. That is, if ODA has been successfully transferred to foreign subsidiaries, then these foreign subsidiaries should help economic growth and help create a boom in the local market by providing jobs. These jobs eventually lead to the achievement of the primary aims of foreign aid, including poverty reduction. Thus, this study empirically examines the relationship between ODA and the number of jobs created by foreign subsidiaries in recipient countries. Design/methodology - This is the first study to examine the effects of the ODA on the job creation of foreign subsidiaries because it has been hard to obtain internal information related to the employment status of foreign subsidiaries. Fortunately, we have a unique panel dataset provided by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for 2006 to 2013. In terms of the empirical specification, we use the generalized least squares (GLS) method. The panel GLS estimator allows us to have an efficient estimation that overcomes the limitations of the panel data. It employs assumptions about the heteroscedasticity between the panels and makes an autocorrelation of the error term within each panel. Findings - We find that ODA influences job creation in foreign subsidiaries. In particular, we found that ODA creates more jobs in sales than in managerial or production positions. This study also shows that the effect of the ODA on the foreign subsidiaries' job creation activities depend on the purpose of the ODA. By examining ODA effects on the foreign subsidiaries' economic activities (e.g., job creation), this study fills a gap in the current literature. Originality/value - Existing studies that focus on the ODA effect have either a macroeconomic point or a microeconomic point of view. However, both approaches do not explain how well foreign aid has influenced private economic actors of recipient countries. In essence, previous researchers found it difficult to obtain the necessary data for internal employment status from foreign subsidiaries. However, thanks to the Korea Export-Import Bank, this study shows that ODA indeed influences the job creation activities of foreign subsidiaries even after controlling for other factors such as FDI, GDP growth rate, employment rate, household expenditure, mother firms' share, etc. By doing so, we can examine how ODA influences the job creation of foreign subsidiaries, which might help economic development and reduce the amount of poverty in recipient countries.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.20-40
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• 2022

Purpose - In recent times, the international trade environment has been changing rapidly, centering on the online market. In the post-COVID-19 era, small and medium-sized trading companies are facing the problem of not being properly provided with overseas market research, market trend analysis, and trade-related information. Cloud-based digital trade is being sought as an alternative to solve these problems; however, there is a lack of research on the intention to switch to digital trade among small and medium-sized trading companies. Therefore, this study empirically analyzes the intention to switch to digital trade based on the migration theory, and through this, attempts to identify each factor that affects the intention to switch to digital trade. Design/methodology - In this study, in order to identify factors influencing intention to switch to digital trade and innovation resistance of small and medium-sized trading companies, through previous research on migration theory and the PPM (Push, Pull, Mooring) model, each variable was selected for the purpose of the study. Based on this, a research model was established for the factors affecting switching to digital trade of small and medium-sized trading companies and empirically analyzed. In addition, considering the differences in the innovation propensity and maturity of information infrastructure of trading companies as the recipients of innovation, this study analyzes the moderating effect of the mooring effect and seeks ways to establish specific strategies according to the degree. Findings - As a result of empirical analysis, the pull effect was found to have the greatest influence on intention to switch to digital trade. However, the pull factor was found to have an effect on user resistance, and it was confirmed that it was a factor simultaneously inducing positive and negative consumption behaviors among users. In addition, it was found that the higher the company's innovation propensity, the higher the pull effect's influence on the intention to switch, and analysis showed that the push effect had no influence. In addition, companies with high information infrastructure maturity were expected to have a relatively high level of intention to switch compared to companies with low information infrastructure maturity, and the difference between the two groups was found not to be statistically significant. Originality/value - This study is a timely study in that it demonstrated the effect on the switching to cloud-based digital trade for small and medium-sized trading companies and that the cloud system related to digital trade is in full swing. There are academic implications in that it revealed that the pull effect is an important factor in the intention to switch to cloud service. Practical implications were presented in that small and medium-sized trading companies suggested ways to increase the value of the cloud system for switching to digital trade and a way to increase the switching ratio by minimizing the mooring effect. In addition, the study argues that active institutional support from the government is needed to activate cloud service.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.21-36
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• 2022

Purpose - Carbon emission standards are based on the "production-based carbon emissions" generated by the production of goods in the relevant country which were the existing measurement methods. However, can such carbon emissions measurement standards be established international? For example, some of the goods produced in developing countries are produced for the demand of developed countries. The method of measuring carbon emission based on the final demand of a certain country is called "consumption-based carbon emissions." This study compares productionand consumption-based CO₂ emissions according to economic growth in ninety-three countries categorized by income level. Design/methodology - Our empirical model considers the difference between production- and consumption-based CO₂ emissions according to economic growth. Also, our model investigated whether the EKC hypothesis in most of the previous studies that had been based on production-based emissions was also established in the consumption-based emission model. Considering the continuous characteristics of CO₂, we utilized the generalized method of moments (GMM), specifically a system GMM econometric technique because CO₂ in the previous period can affect CO₂ in the present period. Findings - Our main findings can be summarized as follows: The results show that for the consumption-based CO₂ emissions model, CO₂ continuously increases as economic growth increases in the upper-middle income countries. The inverted U-shaped result was found in the case of the production-based model. However, in the lower-income countries, an inverted-U shape in which CO₂ emissions decrease at some point as the economy grows in the production-based model does not appear. On the other hand, in the consumption-based model, an inverted U-shaped result was obtained when estimating with system-GMM. Additionally, the proportion of manufacturing, energy imports, and energy consumption had an effect on both the production- and the consumption-based model regardless of the group's CO₂ emissions. On the basis of such assessments, policymakers need to consider not only production- but also consumption-based options. Originality/value - Previous studies have mainly focused on production-based CO₂ emissions, with most of them revolving around economic growth or the effect of various social and economic factors on CO₂ emissions. However, this study considers the relationship with economic growth using consumption-based emissions as a dependent variable by classifying ninety-three countries by income level.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.61-76
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• 2023

Purpose - The digital service trade has become an important driver of the global service trade. The main purpose of this study is to explore the influencing factors of digital service exports from China and Korea to RCEP sample countries respectively, and to comprehensively study the export potential of China and Korea to RCEP countries, so as to provide theoretical guidance and a decision-making reference to promote digital service trade exports and digital economy development in China and Korea. Design/methodology - First, the stochastic frontier gravity model was improved by introducing nonefficiency factors affecting digital services trade, extending the gravity model of traditional services trade exports to digital services trade exports. Secondly, the panel data of China and Korea for the eight sample countries of RCEP from 2011 to 2021 were adopted for the empirical analysis of digital service export potential by a stochastic frontier model. Findings - China's economic growth plays a role in increasing China's digital service trade exports, while Korea's economic growth does not play a significant role in increasing Korea's digital service trade exports. However, the economic growth of trading partner countries can play a significant role in boosting the digital service trade in both China and Korea, and comparison shows that Korea has higher resilience in the digital services trade than China. In addition, the market size of target countries plays a positive role in promoting the digital service trade exports of both China and Korea, and the increase in the value-added share of services in target countries will lead to a decrease in the digital service trade exports of both China and Korea. Originality/value - This study is innovative in terms of research perspective and method. Academic research on the export potential of international trade has been extensive, but most studies are based on the perspective of the goods trade, fewer studies are based on the perspective of the service trade, and there are almost no studies based on the perspective of digital service trade. There is a gap based on the comparative analysis of the export potential of the digital service trade between China and Korea. This study extends the gravitational model of traditional service trade exports to digital service trade exports to comparatively analyze the export potential of China and Korea to RCEP countries. This study addresses this limitation by analyzing a comparative analysis of the digital service trade export potential of China and Korea.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.139-158
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• 2023

Purpose - The study of co-movements between stock markets is a crucial area of finance and has recently received much interest in a variety of studies, especially in international finance. Stock market co-movements are a major phenomenon in financial markets, but they are not necessarily independent of the real market. Several studies support the idea that bilateral trade linkages significantly impact stock market correlations. Motivated by this perspective, this study investigates whether real market integration due to trade agreements brings about financial market integration in terms of stock market co-movement. Design/methodology - Over the 10 free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by the United States, using a dynamic conditional correlations (DCC) multivariate GARCH (MGRACH) model, we empirically measure the degree of integration by finding DCCs between the US market and the partner country's market. We then track how these correlations evolve over time and compare the results before and after trade agreements. Findings - According to the empirical results, there are positive return spillover effects from the US market to eight counterpart equity markets, except Jordan, Morocco, and Singapore. Especially Mexico, Canada, and Chile have large return spillover effects at the 1% significance level. All partner countries of FTAs generally have positive correlations with the US over the entire period, but the size and variance are somewhat different by country. Meanwhile, not all countries that signed trade agreements with the United States showed the same pattern of stock market co-movement after the agreement. Korea, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Singapore show increasing DCC patterns after trade agreements with the US. However, Canada, Australia, Bahrain, Jordan, and Morocco do not show different patterns before and after trade agreements in DCCs. These countries generally have the characteristic of relatively lower or higher co-movements in stock markets with the US before the signing of the FTAs. Originality/value - To our knowledge, few studies have directly examined the linkages between trade agreements and stock markets. Our approach is novel as it considers the problem of conditional heteroscedasticity and visualizes the change of correlations with time variations. Moreover, analyzing several trade agreements based on the United States enables the results of cross-country pairs to be compared. Hence, this study provides information on the degree of stock market integration with countries with which the United States has trade agreements, while simultaneously allowing us to track whether there have been changes in stock market integration patterns before and after trade agreements.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.115-129
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• 2023

Purpose - This study empirically analyzes the consumer value of risk management associated with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing of fishery products imported to Korea. The global regulatory paradigm for IUU fishing has shifted from production-centered to market-centered. As a result, changes in the international fisheries trade environment emphasizing "transparency" and "legality" of the production process are accelerating. Therefore, changes in the management systems of fishery products entering the country are also needed. Accordingly, this study estimated the consumer value for risk management of IUU fishing, targeting major fish species imported to Korea, and derived the feasibility of introducing related policies. Design/methodology - This study used the choice experiment as an analysis model to estimate consumers' willingness to pay for the "possibility to check for IUU fishing." The choice experiment assumes that the value of a good or service is composed of separable attributes and that the sum of the part-worth of these individual attributes becomes the total value. In this study, respondents were presented with profiles comprising three attributes (country of origin, price, and possibility of checking IUU fishing) and the levels of frozen poulp squid, the subject of the analysis. The participants were asked to select their preferred profile. The marginal willingness to pay for each attribute was derived from the results of the respondents' choices using conditional logit model estimates. Findings - There is a marked difference in utility based on the preference of the country of origin of fishery products among consumers. In addition, the utility of fishery products that have undergone IUU fishing verification was observed to be higher, with the utility marked to be higher for lower prices. Originality/value - Estimating the policy value of the risk management in IUU fishing of imported fisheries products in this study is a novel attempt that has never been conducted before. Several studies have been conducted to assess the risk of IUU fishing associated with the import of fishery products internationally. However, such studies are yet to be conducted in Korea. Instead, policies and studies have focused on issues related to complying with trading partners' legal and transparent standards for exporting fishery products. This study should be the beginning of more in-depth empirical and theoretical explorations to establish order in the domestic seafood market and respond to changes in international regulations on IUU fishing.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.113-136
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• 2023

Purpose - Global production chains and their impacts on economic growth have drawn extensive attention from researchers. Close relationships among global production chains, export and economic growth have been illuminated, as evidenced by the fast and stable economic growth of East Asian economies. These economies perform various roles within global production chains using offshoring, in which the impact of import on domestic gross output is as strong as that of export. The impact of import on economic growth would depend on whether imported inputs substitute or complement domestic inputs production, which is likely to vary according to individual countries' functions within global production chains. The economic growth of concerned countries would also be diverse. However, little attention has been paid to the impact brought by imports compared to its significance. Design/methodology - The principal methodology used in this paper is structural decomposition analysis (SDA), widely chosen to elucidate the impact of various factors on domestic gross output using input-output tables. This paper extracts trade data of six Asian economies from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) 2016 release that covers 43 countries for the period 2000-2014. The extracted data is then categorised into 37 sectors. First, this paper calculates the Feenstra-Hanson Offshoring Index (OSI) of each country. It then applies SDA to measure the changes in each economy's gross output, export, import input coefficients, and domestic input coefficients. Finally, after taking the first difference from pooled time-series data, it estimates the correlations between imported input coefficients and OSI using the ordinary least square (OLS) method. Findings - The main findings of this paper can be summarised as follows. Firstly, all six countries have increasingly engaged in global production chains, as evidenced by the growing size of OSI. Secondly, there are negative correlations in five countries except Japan, with sectoral differences. Thirdly, changes in import input coefficients are not negative in all six countries, indicating that offshoring does not necessarily substitute for domestic inputs production but does complement it and, therefore, fosters their economic growth. This is observed in China, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan. Offshoring has led to an increase in the use of imported inputs, which has, in turn, stimulated domestic inputs production in these countries. Originality/value - While existing studies focus on the role of export in evaluating the impact of participating global production chains, this paper explicitly examines the unexplored impact of import on domestic gross output by considering both the substitution and the complementary effect, using the WIOD. The findings of this paper suggest that Asian economies have achieved fast and stable economic growth not only through successful export management but also through effective import management within global production chains. This paper recommends that the Korean government and enterprises carefully choose offshoring strategies to minimise disruption to domestic production chains or foster them.