• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

In this paper, we study empirically examined the adventurous investments in corporate venture capital (CVC) firms' investment in the U.S. based corporate venture capital industry. Unlike existing studies focusing CVC firm's characteristics related to parent corporates and regarding CVC firm as a vehicle of corporate venturing, we identified CVC firm as an independent learning agent to adapt to dynamic environment and investigate their exploration and exploitation in investments based on organizational learning theory. Specifically, we investigate the market-environmental factors affecting CVC's adventurous investment in different sector rather than previously done. First, we examined competition intensity in CVC industry might be related to CVC firm's explorative investments. Second, CVC firm's investment experiences might affect as an inertia to invest on unexperienced sector. Finally, we investigated risk preference effect on CVC firm's venturing investments. The empirical data analyzed in the study contained a total of 85 U.S. based CVC firms and their 2,306 investments from 1996 until 2017. After conducting a GEE regression analysis and a Logit regression analysis, we found the significance and direction of our independent and moderating variables strongly supported all of our four hypotheses in a highly robust manner.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.21-35
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• 2021

Based on social capital theory, this study investigated the influence of the start-up founder's social competence on the start-up's access to funding sources and performance through the mediating role of the type of social network. This study aimed to examine two types of social networks empirically (i.e., personal networks and business networks) as social capital in analyzing the effect of the founder's social competence and social capital on the method of accessing funding sources. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 252 South Korean start-up founders whose businesses are based in South Korea. Path analysis and mediation effect analysis were performed by structural equation modeling(SEM) using STATA 16.1. This study examined the full mediating effect of the founder's social competence on his/her personal and business networks, respectively, and how the effect leads to different methods to approach funding sources. This is the first study in South Korea to analyze empirically how social competence has contrasting effects on personal and business networks as well as how each type of network varies in its influence on the method founders use to attract investment. This study is also significant in that it proposed a new methodology by utilizing the position generator as the measure of personal and business networks to analyze social networks in detail. The analyses of 252 survey data collected over a period of six months will be a valuable resource that may provide researchers, founders, investors, and other stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem with meaningful implications.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1-26
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• 2020

The term 'Unicorns' in the corporate ecosystem was firstly introduced by Aileen Lee in 2013. It has been actively discussed in South Korea particularly to compare the level of the 'start-up ecosystem' from a global perspective. Accordingly, the Korean government has recently set a policy goal 'to nurture 20 Korean unicorn companies by 2022'. While the phenomenon of 'Unicorn Club Company' has been brought to the level of policy objectives and spread more widely to the public, existing academic research to understand its substantial and underlying implications has been insufficient. First, in this study, the characteristics of 479 'Unicorn Club' companies in 2019 were analyzed in-depth. Previous research has focused on the general status and trend by analyzing the number of unicorn companies by country and industry classifications. However, this study conducted a qualitative exploratory analysis by investigating descriptive statistics about unicorn companies, including their investors, while providing case studies. Also, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and multi-level regression were employed for quantitative exploration. The characteristics of individual companies were examined based on the "ERIS Model (Entrepreneur - Industry(Market) - Resource - Strategy Model)". Secondly, factors influencing its valuations were examined in connection with the previously analyzed characteristic variables and investor characteristics. Finally, based on these, the future direction of the "Unicorn Phenomenon" from the perspective of "Enterprise Ecosystem" and productively using it from the perspective of the public policy is suggested.

• Korean small business review
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.309-326
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• 2020

There often is information asymmetry between start-ups and the investors, which is because start-up companies in the early stages do not have track records. Meanwhile, since the government grants programs go through a fair and the intense competition process, the government grants can provide a more objective information for start-ups in the early stages and perform a signal function that guarantees a company's capabilities and potential. This study confirms the quantitative relationship between government grants and investment attraction by using the hurdler model. We found that, although there is the proportionate relationship between the scale of government grants and that of external funds, more than a certain amount of government grants is required for technology-based start-ups to exceed the stage of attracting their first external funds. Our findings suggest that it is necessary to consider the hurdles structure in the study of signaling theory perspective, as the mechanisms for determining whether or not to attract external funds are different from determining the level of external funds. In addition, differentiated policy support is needed to help early-stage technology start-ups go beyond the threshold of investment attraction-the creation of a 'threshold effect'.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.213-227
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to identify factors that are causal and intention to revisit healing agricultural facilities and to identify the relationship between factors. the effect of experience type was analyzed on revisit intention by using facility experience satisfaction as a meditator for healing agriculture participants. The sub-variables of experience types were divided into educational experience, devious experience, entertainment experience, and aesthetic experience. 259 questionnaires collected from the people who experienced healing agriculture programs in the whole country were used for empirical analysis. The PROCESS macro v3.4 and SPSS v22.0 were used to analyze based on the singular simple mediation model which contains a single mediator. First, all types of experience had a positive (+) effect on satisfaction. Second, satisfaction had a positive (+) effect on revisit intention independently of experience type. Third, all types of experience had a positive (+) effect on revisit intention. Fourth, satisfaction mediated between experience type and revisit intention except for deviating experience among experience types. As a follow-up study, it is necessary to study for the adjustment of mediators other than the mediator introduced in the study or the controlled mediated analysis through the conditional process model in which the moderator variable is introduced.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.119-133
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• 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing the behavior of members of society. Typically, the strong contagious power of the virus minimizes interaction between people in the real world, and they keep interaction activities to a minimum through online activities. Recently, as people demand online activities that enhance a sense of reality, the metaverse, which strengthens the 3D technology-centered sense of presence capability, is being chosen by people. The purpose of this study is to suggest a strategic direction for the establishment of the metaverse business model of startups by presenting factors for users' use and gratification of the metaverse. In detail, this study proposes the motivation for using the metaverse by reflecting the uses and gratification theory, and suggests a method to strengthen the motivation for the metaverse by reflecting the presences provided by the metaverse plotform and individual characteristics (normtive interpersonal influence). We surveyed people over 20 years of age who experienced metaverse and obtained 314 samples. In addition, we conducted the main effect analysis using the structural equation model and the moderating effect analysis using Process 3.1. As a result of hypothesis testing, we confirmed that metaverse presence (telepresence, social presence) has a positive effect on intention to continuous use by increasing metaverse's use and satisfaction factors (information, enjoyment, social interactivity). In addition, we found that individuals' normative interpersonal influence moderated the positive relationship between uses and gratification factors(enjoyment and social interactivity) intention to continuous use. Our study suggests strategies for establishing a user-centered business model for companies related to the metaverse.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.41-55
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• 2023

In order to secure sustainable competitiveness of startups, business model innovation is an important task to achieve competitive advantage by transforming the various elements that make up the business model. This study conducted a multi-case analysis study on leading smart farm companies around the world using an analysis framework based on business model theory. Through this, we sought to identify business model types and their constituent elements. For this, 19 companies were selected from the list of top 10 investment startups of the year for the past three years published by Agfunder, a global investment research company specializing in AgTech. Then data collection and analysis of the company cases were conducted according to the case study protocol. As a result of the study, the business model types were analyzed into four types: large-scale centralized production model, medium-to-large local distributed production model, small-scale hyperlocal modular FaaS model, and small-scale hyperlocal turnkey solution supply model. A comparative analysis was conducted on five business model components for each type, and strategic implications were derived through this. This study is expected to contribute to improving the competitiveness of domestic smart farm startups and diversifying their strategies by identifying the business models of overseas leading companies in the smart farm field using an academic analysis framework.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.103-113
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• 2024

This study applies the UTAUT theory to examine the intention to use online shopping mall chatbot services and to elucidate the mediating effect of anthropomorphism in their relationship. For this purpose, a sample of students from A University in Gyeongnam was surveyed online using Google Docs from the first to the second week of May 2024, and after excluding 5 insincere respondents, 245 were used for the final analysis. The key findings are as follows. First, among the UTAUT factors for online shopping mall chatbot services, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence were found to have a significant positive impact on anthropomorphism. The relative impact appeared in the order of performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and effort expectancy. Second, anthropomorphism in online shopping mall chatbot services had a significant positive impact on usage intention. Third, the UTAUT factors of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence had a significant positive impact on usage intention, with the relative impact appearing in the order of facilitating conditions, social influence, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy. Fourth, the mediating effect of anthropomorphism was confirmed in the relationship between UTAUT factors and usage intention for online shopping mall chatbot services. This study is limited to students from A University in Gyeongnam, which may restrict the generalizability of the results. Future research should select a broader sample considering regional and demographic diversity and use diverse data collection methods to enhance the reliability and validity of the data.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.53-68
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• 2014

This study is aimed at analyzing the factors that affect the behaviors of employee's investment, such as a decision making process in a variety of views and proving the extent of how those factors influence on their investment. The basic assumption is that the preceding factors that can be determined by the personal investment propensity, a psychological factor asserted by Behavior Financial Theory and financial-economic and social environment. This study uses Hershey's Investment Behavior Model(2007) as the main analysis tool to explain the investment behavior of individuals and deals with personal investment inclination in the psychological perspective of overconfidence, self-control and the risk tolerance propensity and add the financial and economic factors in terms of financial literacy and economic distress. Also the new preceding social environmental factors like social interaction and the effect of reference group are added to make this research to be more precise. This study analyze the adjustment effect of professional invest-consulting service that affect the fluctuation influence between the individual variables(those factors) and subordination variable(the level of investment satisfaction). The study reveals that overconfidence and self-control in direct ways have a positive effect on the level of investment satisfaction in terms of investment behavior and economic distress has a negative effect on the level of investment satisfaction. The adjustment effect provided by financial experts in investment consulting service is affirmed as the critical factor that increase the influence between self-control and the level of investment satisfaction. To conclude, the research reveals that the psychological factors are the main criteria when the workers as employees have to make investment decisions. To make investors be reasonable, a systematic financial education system provided by experts is needed from the early adolescent stages and financial companies should develop the relevant services of consulting service department as a key financial sector and financial investment products and consulting program and marketing tool pertinent to investors ages, vocational traits and their inclinations.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.191-203
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• 2016

This purpose of this study is to academically define what "luxury products" mean, and to clarify the cognitive structural relationship between corporate attributes and "luxuriousness" in relation to the determinant of luxuriousness that eventually affects the purchase intention of consumers. This study is also written under the theory that luxuriousness leads to benefits such as functional benefit, experiential benefit, symbolic benefit, and exclusive benefit; which all provide core values to consumers and serve as effect factors that influence the psychological satisfaction of consumers. The commonly discussed measure of the determinant of luxuriousness has often failed to adequately describe the reasons to why the consumers prefer luxury products. This study also aims to suggest a new path in how and what the consumers perceive as luxury products, and to conceptualize what luxuriousness means in the marketing perspectives on the background of a previous theory. The part of corporate attributes are divided in the following sections: corporate ability(CA) and corporate reputation(CR). The part of the determinant of luxuriousness is divided in sections of superiority, scarcity, differentiation, and traditionality. Therefore, this study used the theoretical concept used in such common measures as well as 282 examples to empirically analyze the relationship between corporate attributes and luxuriousness of luxury products, and how such affect the purchase intentions of consumers. The survey used to aid this study targeted luxury product consumers regarding "B" brand of automobiles. Using the analysis through a structural equation model, the study draws a conclusion that in a relationship between corporate attributes and luxuriousness, corporate ability(CA) of corporate attributes affects the facts of differentiation and traditionality in a significant way, and corporate reputation(CR) of corporate attributes affects the factors of superiority and scarcity in a significant way. Additionally, the superiority and scarcity of luxuriousness positive significantly affects purchase intention, and differentiation and traditionality of luxuriousness affects purchase intention in a negative significant way. The structural concept of luxury and luxuriousness suggested in the study will provide the theoretical basis for building a new case study, and the determinants of luxuriousness in the marketing perspective will be a practical help for checking the consumers' psychological reasons for purchase.