• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.19-42
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• 2022

Purpose - This study investigates the effects of foreign investor ownership on firm innovation and the different stages of the firm innovation process for business group affiliation (affiliated firms) and nonaffiliated firms. Design/methodology - Research and development (R&D) intensity is used as a proxy for firm innovation. We use a sample of 7,655 firm-year observations of Korean listed firms from 2001 to 2015. To identify the distinct features of business group affiliation and how foreign investor ownership affects firm innovation, we divide the sample into affiliated and non-affiliated firms. Moreover, we classify total R&D expenditures as research and development expenditures. Findings - This study finds a positive relationship between foreign investor ownership and innovation in non-affiliated firms. However, the foreign investor ownership's role in facilitating firm innovation does not influence business group affiliation. Moreover, the results show that foreign investor ownership encourages firms to increase research expenditures, which is the amount spent in the early stages of a firm's R&D process. Originality/value - Existing studies have overlooked the distinct features of business group affiliation and the different characteristics of research and development expenditures. Thus, this study considers the distinct features of business group affiliation and investigates how foreign investor ownership affects different stages of R&D activities.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.173-187
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• 2012

This qualitative case study focused on the activation plan of flexible work arrangements. We selected eight workers from a foreign affiliated firm that has various flexible work arrangements for in-depth interview and focus group interview. The workers were categorized into two groups; those who have experiences with flexible working and those who have needs for flexible working. We analyzed their condition of work-family life and experiences with flexible working. Through the focus group interview, we can find out the needs and suggestions about activation plans of flexible work arrangements.

• Journal of East Asia Management
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.1-19
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• 2022

This study suggests an integrated theoretical framework for the relationship between political risk and multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiary's performance in the emerging market. The political risk would have a negative impact on MNC subsidiary's performance in the emerging countries that are developing in Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, and South America. The major reason is that political risks could generate a loss of benefit or a loss of control for MNC's subsidiary. In this study, I suggest that corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy would be a solution to overcome various political risks. Specifically, the affiliated firms with diversified industries or greater financial resources could mitigate the negative impact of political risk than unaffiliated firms. Because they can use their tangible or nontangible asset such as information, technology, and construction in order to gain legitimacy and trust from local government, local community, and local firms in the emerging market. Finally, I claimed the costs of the affiliated firms would exceed the benefits at the initial stages, while the benefits of affiliated firms would exceed the costs over time when political risks become higher. The reason is that the trust gained from local stakeholders accumulates over time and the impact of CSR strategy would become an important solution to overcome the risks in and unstable context.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.305-313
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• 2019

The study examines whether higher CEO compensation is related to unobserved future firm performance in an emerging market, Pakistan. Further, it extends its scope to analyzing the impact of group affiliation and ownership concentration on the relationship between CEO compensation and future firm performance. The study uses an unbalanced panel data consisting of 1508 firm-year observations from 225 non-financial listed companies in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for period 2005 to 2012. The multiple regression models adjusted to heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation in error terms are used. The study finds that, in general, CEO compensation is positively associated with future operating performance. However, higher CEO compensation leads to lower operating performance in firms that have lower ownership concentration and are affiliated with business groups. When firms are not affiliated with any group and have high ownership concentration, the relationship between excessive CEO compensation and future operating performance becomes insignificant. Given that efficient compensation packages may lead to long term value creation to shareholders and reduce agency problems, this study highlights an important moderating role of ownership concentration and group affiliation of the firms in emerging markets.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.25-57
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• 2017

In this study, we analyzed the information asymmetry and the agency problem in major affiliated companies on the basis of the R&D investment. As a result of comparing how the R&D investment effects on major affiliated companies and the independent companies, even the achievement of R&D investment effects in a positive way to the firm value, the positive effect appears much lower on major affiliated companies comparing independent companies. In order to analyze the case, we investigated in a separate way according to the shareholding ratio and the affiliated market using the sample of the independent company and the group affiliated company. As a result of such analysis, the cause of this comes from the agency problem in major affiliated company, not the asymmetry information of affiliated company. After we analyzed the sample of the research depending on the affiliation market, we could observe there is a little impact of the asymmetry information in the outcome of the R&D investment of the major affiliated companies. In contrast, the companies which rated lower in the ratio of the shareholding appears much less in the positive effect of R&D investment compared to the companies which rated at a higher level. This phenomenon was also consistently observed when changing the research method or further subdividing the sample of companies belonging to the group based on the ownership share of major shareholders.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.749-759
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• 2021

We investigate the relationship between ownership control disparity and future firm value in high-technology industries, and whether the effect of ownership control disparity on future firm value is differentiated when high-tech industry firms belong to chaebol groups. Using 11,848 firm-year observations of Korean firms listed on the stock market from 2006 to 2019, we employ univariate analysis and Heckman 2 stage analysis to test our hypotheses. We define high-technology industries as ICT industries based on the Korean Standard Industrial Classification. We measure future firm value using average Tobin's q for the next three years and ownership control disparity using the shareholding ratio of affiliated companies. Our univariate test results show that mean of Tobin's q is higher in ICT firms than non-ICT firms and firms largely owned by affiliates. In multivariate test, we find that the ICT firms with higher ownership control disparity are positively associated with future firm value. However, this association is lessened when firms belong to a chaebol group. Based on our findings, we suggest ownership control disparity has an additional positive effect on future firm in high-technology industries. The negative impact of chaebol groups on the association suggests the possibility of diversification discount in business group.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.195-208
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• 2021

Purpose - The primary objective of this paper is to empirically examine whether the engagement of socially responsible activities in corporations affect the tendency of tax-avoidance by using the sample of Korean companies. We are particularly interested in Chaebol-affiliated firms, which are a special type of Korean conglomerates. Design/methodology/approach - This study is based on a sample of 5,496 firm-year observation data from 2011 to 2017 by using the ESG ratings from the Korea Corporate Governance Service(KCGS), a ESG rating agency in Korea. For our analysis, the firms were separated into 1,547 Chaebol-affiliated firms and other 3,949 firms. All financial and firm data were extracted from Fn-guide, which provides financial information for Korean listed firms. Findings - We find that CSR is generally positively related to the effective tax rate, which indicates a lower level of tax avoidance for more socially responsible firms. In particular, a positive relationship of social score with GAAP ETR was observed. Research implications or Originality - We find that the positive relationship is robust to the group of chaebol and non-chaebol affiliates unlike extant literature.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.169-186
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• 1994

This paper presents three mathematical programming approaches to solving transshipment problems with interval supply and demand requirements. A linear goal programming model was developed based on the data obtained from a nationwide retail firm. Three mathematical programming model results were compared and analyzed, and three separate hypotheses were examined by using the Wilcoxon signed-ranked test for the model applicability. The test results were analyzed and interpreted for decision making.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10143-10149
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• 2015

Background and Aim: No firm evidence of HPV infection in esophageal cancer has been established to date. The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the prevalence of HPV 16 in esophageal cancer in China, which had a high burden of the disease. Materials and Methods: Studies on HPV infection and esophageal cancer were identified and a random-effects model was used to pool the summary prevalence and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 3,429 esophageal cancer cases were evaluated from 26 eligible studies in this meta-analysis. The summary estimate for HPV16 prevalence was 0.381 (95% CI: 0.283, 0.479). The prevalence varied by geographical areas of the study, publication year, HPV detection method and types of specimen. In sensitivity analysis, HPV 16 prevalence ranged from 0.368 (95% CI: 0.276, 0.460) to 0.397 (95% CI: 0.286, 0.508). Conclusions: The results indicate a relatively high level of HPV 16 prevalence in esophageal cancer among Chinese population, although there was variation between different variables. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of HPV in esophageal carcinogenesis with careful consideration of study design and laboratory detection method, providing more accurate assessment of the HPV status in esophageal cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.63-91
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• 2009

This paper tests the validity of pecking order theory by Myers(1977) and Myers and Majluf(1984) on Korean manufacturing firms listed in the KRX for the years of 1994 to 2003. We also want to see if there is any difference in financing behavior between chaebol affiliated firms and non-chaebol affiliated firms. We develop testable hypotheses from the idea that established relationship between bank and firm mitigates the problem of information asymmetry (Kang and Lim, 2001), and thus makes it easier for firms to raise funds through banks. The test result of the first stage shows that firms prefer cash reserves to debt financing, and prefer debt to equity. Chaebol affiliated firms are found to behave as if they already exploit internal capital markets. The second stage of the test carried out by dividing debt capital into bank loans and corporate bonds also shows a consistent pattern of financing behavior. Firms are testified to prefer cash to bank loans, bank loans to corporate bonds, and corporate bonds to equity. In this case chaebol affiliation seems to make firms behave as if they already establish internal capital markets. Further analysis shows that some, though not in every case, difference of ordering around the occasion of Korean financial crisis exists. It may be from the change of attitude of Korean firms to risk, or from weakened influence of internal capital market along with strengthened market power in the post-crisis period.