• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-99
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• 2019

Startups need proper external supports to survive and build strong foundations for growth in their early stage. Accelerators help such startups by providing tangible and intangible resources. Accordingly, accelerators are creating a social environment that can effectively support the startups in the early stage, distinct from other institutions that fund or help the startups. However, the actual impact of accelerators on startups has not been yet fully scrutinized thoroughly, especially with the lack of theoretical lenses to comprehend accelerators. This paper aims to build a theoretical foundation to understand the role of accelerator, focusing on the network-based perspective. We briefly overview the concept of accelerator and the current status of the accelerator industry. Subsequently, focusing on the network that accelerators and startups create, this paper examines how the characteristics of the network relationships affect the growth and survival of the early-stage startups. Thus, by offering systematic analysis of the underlying mechanisms of the effects of the accelerators under network-based approach, this paper suggests a direction for the future empirical research on the topic of startup accelerator.

• Korean small business review
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.47-67
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• 2020

This study analyzed the papers provided by Asia Pacific Journal of Small Business (APJSB) for 40 years. The purpose of this study is looking at the research trends about small and medium business. We tried to identify some stream and feature without manipulation. Textmining and Frequency analysis are executed on topics of every published paper in APJSB to 2019 from 1979. The result suggest that important keyword and feature of research topics in APJSB. And the result show the period feature as well as the whole of research trend in APJSB for 40 years. Futhermore, we suggest some implications derived from the results by adapting business ecosystem model and business managerial system model.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.109-124
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• 2024

The value of platform companies is rapidly increasing, exerting significant influence across industries. Identifying and fostering promising platform companies is crucial for enhancing national competitiveness. Consequently, tailored evaluation standards are necessary for such companies. This study derived investment decision factors specific to platform companies and compared the importance of each factor using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis. Key factors included platform characteristics, finance, entrepreneur (team), market, and product/service attributes. The findings revealed that platform characteristics were deemed the most crucial factor for investors. Specifically, factors such as platform size, ease of value fixation, core participant group, and data value were identified as pertinent for evaluating platform companies. Moreover, analysis distinguished between investors with prior platform investment experience and those without. Significantly, investors with platform investment experience placed greater emphasis on the value of data secured by platform Furthermore, it was observed that investors prioritized future value and growth potential over current value when investing in platform. Notably, founder/team characteristics, typically highly regarded in previous studies, ranked lower in importance in this study, highlighting a shift in focus. The discrepancy between this study's results and prior research on investment decision factors is attributed to the specificity of the questions posed. By focusing on investment decision factors for platform startups rather than generic startup inquiries, investor responses aligned more closely with platform-focused considerations. Given the burgeoning venture investment landscape, there's a growing need for detailed research on startups within specific sectors like IT, travel, and biotech. This approach can replace extensive research covering all startup types to identify investment decision factors suited to the characteristics of each individual industry.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.597-615
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• 2016

Since 1997 the United Kingdom has pursued creative industry and creative city development in accordance with the New Labor Party policy, strengthening its cluster policy by assigning creative city policies to traditional manufacturing-oriented regions. Tech City in London, one of the most successful examples of digital clusters, is an area in which diverse ecosystems for venture business integration have been established, as the once barren space began to spontaneously develop. For this region, systematic linkages including universities, private companies, start-ups, and accelerators have been added, along with the UK government's active support system. As a result of this opportunity, the scale of the UK start-up ecosystem has significantly grown, the number of local companies has surged, and brand effect has greatly improved. Tech City is an example of a well-balanced combination of public effort and private governance, based on the region's historical background and its potential for growth. It is an effective coordination of public policy and private active investment, services, research, and education. The market platform for institutional technology and commercialization, and aggressive investment shares in the risk, have lead to its growth as a start-up and an innovative city. Britain's efforts to expand the nationwide cluster for the future-oriented digital economy is most noteworthy.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.49-56
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• 2013

KakaoTalk, a Korean mobile instant messenger service launched by KAKAO Inc., has grown remarkably popular in a short period of time, with its number of subscribers exceeding 100 million as of July 2013. Today, KakaoTalk is an everyday communication tool among most Korean mobile users. Although KAKAO has been the subject of many business and consumer studies, the KakaoTalk platform strategy has not been studied thoroughly. In this study, we analyze its platform strategy through the lens of several widely utilized frameworks such as Platform Leadership (Gawer & Cusumano 2002, 2008), Winner-take-all dynamics (Eisenmann et al. 2006), and Open Service Innovation (Chesbrough 2011). Our results show that Eisenmann et al (2006)'s "Winner-Take-All" platform best explains how KakaoTalk dominated its rivals, Mypeople by Daum Communications and Line by Naver Corporation. In surpassing its rivals, KAKAO delivered a solution to the 'essential problem' that mobile social communication should be upgraded from mobile companies' paid "Short Message Service" (SMS). By doing so, KakaoTalk fulfilled the first requirement of Gawer & Cusumano (2008)'s "Coring" strategy, which explains how a new platform is created. KakaoTalk also satisfied the second requirement of "Coring" by providing economic incentives for KakaoTalk members to interact through its Games and Items store. Actively accepting its customers' ideas and upgrading its services, KAKAO reinforced its platform leadership to its customers and put Chesbrough (2011)'s "Outside In - Open Service" innovation strategy into practice.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 2017

Innovative cluster theory promotes cluster growth as the tacit knowledge and know-how approach becomes easier through industry-academia cooperation. Industry-academia cooperation is an innovation network policy that supports joint research between industry and academia. In this respect, The Flow of recent government policy is activating I-U support office in university & research institute for enable I-U Cooperation ecosystem. Then SMB Administration was first performed "research village support program", to support SMEs in industry-university cooperative research capabilities by integrating the research, development and commercializatin of the university or research institution with excellent research base in 2013. However, I-U Cooperation R&D must be based the link strategy of Localization in order to be better composition at research village. In the case of research villages where specialized discovery strategies are well reflected, integration of similar companies in specialized fields will naturally create clusters and create synergy of research. This study searching and summarizing through a recent Hanbat National University research village. Finally, we propose the implications of government policy.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.17-32
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• 2023

In recent years, the need for social ventures that aim to grow while solving social problems through the efficiency and effectiveness of commercial organizations in the market has increased, while there is a limit to how much the government and the public can do to solve social problems. Against this background, the number of social venture startups is increasing in the domestic startup ecosystem, and interest in impact investors, which are investors in social ventures, is also increasing. Therefore, this research utilized judgment analysis technology to objectively analyze the validity and weight of judgment information based on the cognitive process and decision-making environment in the investment decision-making of impact investors. We proceeded with the research by constructing three classifications; first, investment priorities at the initial investment stage for financial benefit and return on investment as an investor, second, the political skills of the entrepreneurs (teams) for the social impact and ripple power, and social venture coexistence and solidarity, third, the social mission of a social venture that meets the purpose of an impact investment fund. As a result of this research, first of all, the investment decision-making priorities of impact investors are the expertise of the entrepreneur (team), the potential rate of return when the entrepreneur (team) succeeds, and the social mission of the entrepreneur (team). Second, impact investors do not have a uniform understanding of the investment decision-making factors, and the factors that determine investment decisions are different, and there are differences in the degree of the weighting. Third, among the various investment decision-making factors of impact investment, "entrepreneur's (team's) networking ability", "entrepreneur's (team's) social insight", "entrepreneur's (team's) interpersonal influence" was relatively lower than the other four factors. The practical contribution through this research is to help social ventures understand the investment determinant factors of impact investors in the process of financing, and impact investors can be expected to improve the quality of investment decision-making by referring to the judgment cases and analysis of impact investors. The academic contribution is that it empirically investigated the investment priorities and weighting differences of impact investors.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.61-72
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• 2023

In December 2020, the Fair Trade Act related to South Korea's separation of industrial capital was amended, and it was announced that the amendments would come into effect one year later, on December 30, 2021. The amendment's content involved breaking the previous principle of separating industrial capital from financial market penetration, allowing for the ownership of shares in general holding companies, small business startup investment companies, and technology business finance specialist companies. While the previous law was based on total issued shares' ownership, there were fluctuations in the subsequent trends of annual establishment and investment counts, as well as strategic investment counts of CVC (Corporate Venture Capital) before and after the law's amendment. CVC and IVC (Independent Venture Capital) are characterized differently based on their investment purposes, fund management types, and investment types. In this regard, the relaxation of the separation of industrial capital law is expected to have a positive impact on the future of the venture investment ecosystem and innovation ecosystem. In this study, we analyze the trends in the establishment count, investment count, and strategic investment count of domestic CVC from 2018, before the law amendment, to May 2023. Using 2021, the year the amended separation of industrial capital law was implemented, as a reference point, we examine changes in the trend. The analysis results indicate a significant increase in domestic CVC in 2021 compared to the previous year, along with an increase in investment counts, strategic investment counts, and the amount of investment in strategic investments. Based on these findings, this study suggests directions for further research related to future domestic CVC investment, strategic investment, and the activation of the venture investment market.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

Content is now recognized as a key resource to sustain competitive advantage in the OTT market and for e-commerce companies. Coupang is pursuing a content growth strategy to maximize the lock-in effect that binds consumers to the subscription economy and its ecosystem. Given this background, this study aims to explain Coupang's content growth momentum through a case study method and examine Coupang's content strategy in detail. Based on this, this study describes Coupang's content growth strategy in detail and confirms that Coupang differentiates its content from the competition by focusing on sports and low prices to build a lock-in effect in the subscription economy. As a result, we can summarize that the purpose of Coupang's content strategy is to build a lock-in effect for the subscription economy based on content differentiation focused on sports, a bundle strategy linked to e-commerce, and a low-cost strategy. This study contributes to the field of venture creation research by carefully analyzing how Coupang grew from a venture firm to a Decacorn corporation and developed the influence of its content in a completely different industry, and systematically explains the importance of content strategy in strengthening the lock-in effect for the subscription economy. Future research should compare the impact of content strategy of venture and startups in the contents industry to broaden the scope of research in the field and suggest deeper lessons learned.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.470-479
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• 2013

This study analyzed the features and problems of one-person creative company development policy by using the image of brand identity of one-person creative company and the model of the symbol square. In order to solve the youth unemployment and to induce youth foundation, Korean government particularly Small and Medium Business Administration (SBA) paid great attention to 'One-Person Company' followed by One-Person Knowledge Company policy in 2008. Finally, this policy became One-Person Creative Company in 2009 when SBA faced criticism. However, according to semiotics analysis, symbolic conflicts were found in the policy given that this policy was not considered the role of the co-founder in venture ecosystem. This study provides practical implications for new directions of the one-person creative company policy of government; (1) one-person knowledge company ${\rightarrow}$ (2) one-person creative company ${\rightarrow}$ (3) 1+1 creative company.