• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.118-128
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• 2019

Purpose - This paper examines the international R&D contest in which the extent of intellectual property right (IPR) affects both the size of prize for the winning firm and the extent of positive spillover through cost of firms. Recognizing the possibility of incomplete protection of IPR, the present paper analyzes the effect of changes in the extent of IPR on payoffs to firms and social welfare. Design/methodology - This paper examines coordination of IPRs by countries in economic integration. The paper then develops a general model of international R&D contest with incomplete protection of IPR. An increase in the extent of IPR augments the share of the prize the winning firm can appropriate, while decreasing the positive cost externality. To derive sharper results, the paper considers the cases of linear and fixed spillovers. Findings - Under plausible assumptions, an increase in the IPR augments the payoff to each firm and the aggregate payoffs as well. The paper also shows that the number of firms participating in the R&D contest can be endogenously determined in the two-stage R&D contest. The higher the extent of cost spillover, and the larger the effective prize, the more firms participate in the international R&D contest. Originality/value - Existing studies assume that firms winning the R&D contest enjoy perfect IPR to the output of their R&D activities. This is a very restrictive assumption in that other firms can copy the new products or processes. By allowing for the incompleteness of the IPR, the present paper develops a more realistic model of R&D contest. The novelty of the present paper is to allow for the possibility that the higher extent of IPR increases the prize and decreases positive cost externality at the same time. The findings of the present paper can serve as a basis for government policy toward R&D activities of firms and protection of IPRs.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.95-100
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• 2022

Solar cell is a device that converts photon energy into electrical energy. Therefore, absorption of solar spectrum light is one of the most important characteristics to design the solar cell structures. Various methods have emerged to reduce optical losses, such as textured surfaces, back contact solar cells, anti-reflection layers. Here, the anti-reflection coating (ARC) layer is typically utilized whose refractive index value is between air (~1) and silicon (~4) such as SiN_x layer (~1.9). This research is to print a material called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to form a double anti-reflection layer. Light with wavelength in the range of 0.3 to 1.2 micrometers does not share a wavelength with solar cells. It is confirmed that the refractive index of PDMS (~1.4) is an ARC layer which decreases the reflectance of light absorption region on typical p-type solar cells with SiN_x layer surface. Optimized PDMS printing with analyzing optical property for cell structure can be the effective way against outer effects by encapsulation.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.670-676
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to examine influence of skimmed milk-based extender (SM), INRA 96 extender and BotuSemen Gold extender on parameters of stallions' ejaculate during storage. Methods: In this study, 14 stallions between 4 and 20 years of age were monitored. Total and progressive motility, viability and morphology of sperm were evaluated at time intervals of 24, 48, and 72 hours after collection. Results: The total motility, progressive motility, and values of sperm with normal morphology were significantly higher in the INRA 96 and BotuSemen Gold extenders than in the SM (p<0.01). The sperm viability differed significantly in all extenders (p<0.01). The highest value of sperm viability was in INRA 96 (64.69%±0.67%) and lowest in SM (59.70%±0.81%). The highest differences occurred at 72 hours of storage. Values of total motility, progressive motility and sperm viability decreased over time (p<0.01). In case of sperm morphology there was no statistically significant decrease between 48- and 72-hour time intervals. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the extenders with a chemically defined composition have shown better indicators of insemination capabilities in ejaculates than the SM. The BotuSemen Gold extender is a suitable alternative to the INRA 96, when used within 48 hours; after 72 hours of storage, however, the INRA 96 showed a higher share of viable spermatozoa.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.45-60
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• 2023

Purpose - This research focused on women who enjoy watching Korean dramas and K-pop, as well as how their desire to imitate are influenced by their viewing habits. Due to the influence of their idols, women who aspire to copy and are influenced by their idols will desire to purchase Korean products. This cultural export strategy has effectively persuaded the global community, particularly women. Indonesia with a large population can be a reference for the industry to increase sales of South Korean beauty products, especially in the ASEAN region. Design/methodology - This research used a quantitative approach with an online questionnaire. This questionnaire had two steps: the pre-questionnaire and the questionnaire itself. The different measuring tools that were already in use when the data were being collected helped to determine how much each variable meant. As a part of this research project, 410 Indonesian women filled out the questionnaire in order to share their thoughts as they were the focus of the study. SMART PLS was used to analyze the data. Findings - One of the most essential findings from establishing the Korean Wave effect on purchase intention was the imitation intention variable. Someone who has the aspiration to be just like their idol will be willing to give anything in order to achieve that goal. One strategy is to buy things that are similar to the ones you want to imitate in order to stimulate demand for Korean products. People's imitation intention and attitude toward Korean products will increase as a result of Korean drama and K-pop elements that display one's idols with fashionable appearances and good-looking faces, which will lead to purchase intentions. Originality/value - The Korean Wave has had a beneficial impact on the intention to imitate and the attitude toward Korean items, both of which will favorably boost the intention to acquire Korean goods. In order to boost sales in international markets, particularly in Indonesia, the Korean business sector needs to increase the number of artists and singers it employs for product promotion. . Mutualism effect between the government, the entertainment industry, and the beauty product industry to increase sales of South Korean beauty products.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.23-48
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• 2018

SK group has been a pioneer in overall brand management and, more recently, in CSR-imbedded brand management. SK vision of "improving itself to give greater happiness to all of its customers" and the symbol mark of "Wings of Happiness" are some good examples of integrating distinct brand identities of various member companies. After impressive growth and expansions into diverse business areas, SK group is ranked as the third largest company based on asset amounts according to the Fair Trade Commission of Korea, only after Samsung and Hyundai Motor groups. SK brand management can be analyzed, using the framework of 4 stages - 'infrastructure', 'planning', 'doing', and 'seeing' stages. In order to secure 'infrastructure' of brand management system, SK has invested huge resources to the 'SK BMS' (SK Brand Management System). At the 'planning' stage, the most important task of SK like other Korean business groups is perhaps to adopt a well-organized 'brand identity (BI) system' which may consolidate brand values of individual member companies. In actuality, SK BI consists of Customer Happiness located at the center and 3 other elements of Pride, Professionalism, and Customer-orientation. At the 'doing' stage, the slogan of 'OK! SK' and the logo of 'Wings of Happiness' have been placed at the core of the SK group brand building programs. SK adopts the principle of 'independent yet united', pinpointing that each member company independently works for its business performance but it is, at the same time, encouraged to integrate its capabilities for the SK group brand. In addition, SK has sought 'shared growth' with business partners for happiness for all the members in the society. 'Social Contribution Philosophy' based on SK value of 'creation of greater happiness' is again one of the most important guidelines for CSR (corporate social responsibility) at the doing stage. At the seeing stage, SK regularly evaluates its branding programs. SK has shown some very impressive achievements in brand management: (1) a core identity of 'Customer Happiness' participating member companies may share, (2) harmonious relationships between the group brand management office and brand management divisions of member companies, and (3) consistency-keeping in brand management over time. However, there remain two major challenges: (1) globalization of SK and (2) reinforcing sustainable superiority over not only Korean rivals but also global ones.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.65-97
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• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of exports on Korea's employment and to decompose driving factors of change in Korea's employment embodied in exports (EEX). This study uses a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) and structural decomposition analysis (SDA) for empirical analysis, and uses a dataset of World Input-Output Tables (WIOTs) and Socio-Economic Accounts (SEAs) from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD). The main findings of the empirical results are summarized as follows. First, Korea's EEX continues to increase and Korea's share of EEX compared to total employment shows an upward trend. However, Korea's employment inducement coefficient of value-added exports showed a downward trend during the 2000-2014 period. Second, final demand from three countries (China, the United States, and the Rest of the World (RoW)) has affected a significant portion of Korea's EEX. Finally, from the results of the SDA, the effect of changes in final demand was the most important driving factor for the increase in Korea's EEX. Based on the results of this empirical analysis, this study discusses useful policy implications that could increase domestic employment in Korea.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.185-202
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• 2022

Purpose - As overseas direct purchase transactions using e-commerce increase, the scale and scope of international trade are diversified, and the transaction volume using online platforms in e-commerce is increasing. The e-commerce market share will become more important because it is not only a medium connecting B2C, but also because it will expand the scope of trade. This study aims to reveal the factors that influence purchase intention according to Korean-Chinese consumers in e-commerce. In addition, the study has comprehensively confirmed the influence between each factor in the e-commerce environment by integrating and analyzing the characteristic factors of online information sources and platforms in one structural equation. Finally, the study confirmed that there is a significant difference in the influence relationship between Korean and Chinese consumers. Through this, the study will contribute to content production in the e-commerce market according to the target market and the expansion of the mutual entry of Korea and China. Design/methodology - This study aims to confirm the mediating effect of the details of the online information source characteristics and platform characteristics when the perceived quality affects purchase intention. It is confirmed that the factors affecting Korean and Chinese consumers differ. Findings - It was confirmed that differences exist according to the group of Korean or Chinese consumers for the entire research model. In the case of Korean consumers, the mediating factors when perceived quality affects purchase intention are expertise, reliability, entertainment, informativity, and convenience; in the case of Chinese consumers, the factors are expertise and informativity. Originality/value - This study proved that Korean and Chinese consumers cannot be regarded as having the same characteristics, and therefore, strategies aimed at each e-commerce market should be differentiated. In addition, although previous studies on online information sources and platform characteristics were not integrated, this study confirmed a significant influence relationship among the factors that could affect purchase intention in the actual e-commerce environment.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.23-44
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• 2022

Purpose - Recent issues such as vessel enlargement, strengthening of environmental regulations, and port smartization are expected to increase costs and intensify competition in the port industry. In the new normal era, when external growth has reached its limit, the efficient operation of ports is becoming indispensable for achieving sustainable growth. This study aims to identify the determinants of inefficiency by examining the cost structure and efficiency of container terminals in Korea and furthermore propose the political implications to derive the maximization of efficiency. Design/methodology - This study estimates the cost function of container terminal operators and identifies the efficiency of container terminals using stochastic cost frontier (SCF) in the first stage. In the second step, the SCF results are compared with the data envelopment analysis (DEA). Last, this paper proposes efficiency determinants on container terminal operation to establish appropriate strategies. Out of the 29 container terminal operators in South Korea, 13 operators participated in the survey. The translog cost function was estimated utilizing a total of 116 observations collected over the 2007-2017 period. Findings - Empirical analysis shows that economies of scale exist in Korea's container ports, which provides a rationale for the government's policy to establish the global terminal operator by integrating small terminal operators to enhance competitiveness. In addition, as a result of the determinants analysis, container throughput, weight of direct employment costs, and labour cost share have positive effects on improving cost efficiency, while inefficiency increases as the length of quay increases. More specifically, cost efficiency improves as the proportion of direct employment costs to outsourcing service costs increases. Originality/value - This study contributes to analyzing the inefficiency factors of container terminals through efficiency analysis with respect to a cost function. In addition, this study proposes the practical and political implications, such as establishing a long-term manpower pool, the application of the hybrid liner terminal system, and the construction of a statistical data system, to improve the cost inefficiency of terminal operators.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.145-158
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• 2022

Objectives: To identify changes in the subjects and methods of Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey, and analyze trend of the key results Methods: The population, methods, and items of the basic reports of all Surveys on Consumption of Herbal Medicine(HM) were organized in a time-series manner. The analysis items were trend in the purchase of standardized HM; consumption value share, and price of prepared HM; type of herbal dispensary; and awareness of HM policy in Koran Medicine(KM) institutions. Results: The price of HM preparations showed an upward trend in 2011, 2014, and 2017 surveys, and decreased in the 2020 survey. However, despite this recent decrease, the 2021 survey also saw the highest proportion of HM users reporting that price of herbal decoction is expensive. Furthermore, the demand for expanded coverage of herbal decoction was the greatest for the expansion of health insurance benefits. Efforts such as adjusting the number of covered diseases and the cost of health insurance coverage would be necessary. Regarding decoction dispensaries the proportion of HM hospitals using only extramural herbal dispensaries increased. Finally, the consumption of HM and the size of the HM industry has continued to expand due to the large-scale branding of KM institutions and the expansion of health insurance coverage. Conclusion: Future surveys must standardize and unify the items for the time-series continuity and compare the results with government statistics reports on HM to increase reliability. Moreover, specialized survey items may be developed for KM, to establish a better and efficient distribution system for domestic HMs.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.47-60
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• 2023

This study proposed to adopt consortium blockchain for the database in the research support system of national R&D projects in order to increase efficiency, to reduce administrative burden, and to promote transparent research environment focusing on servicing researchers. Specifically, storage methods were classified according to data characteristics. First, data that requires integrity and transparency is stored in the blockchain, Second, confidentiality and data that require modification and deletion are stored in the database, Third, data that requires confidentiality, integrity, and transparency at the same time stores the original in the database, and the hash value of the data is separately stored in the blockchain. If research support system adopts blockchain, it is possible to operate the system stably, to share quick exchange of information between research institutes, to reduce administrative burden, to improve transparency of process, to resolve asymmetry of information, and to secure integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data.