• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.101-125
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• 2010

This paper uses the status inconsistency theory to identify factors related to team members' (dis)satisfaction with the composition of virtual IT project teams in order to predict their turnover intentions. Our approach is based on the premise that virtual teams, although increasingly popular among global organizations, create an environment replete with cultural and functional diversity. Yet, a paradox exists: increasing diversity in virtual teams maximizes the creation and use of organizational knowledge while simultaneously increasing dissatisfaction and turnover. This is a critical issue in the formation and management of virtual teams. Therefore, we investigate how team members' perceptions of differences among themselves (i.e. foreignness) impact the stability of team membership, leading to what we describe as a 'liability of foreignness.' Findings indicate that a member's perception of foreignness has a detrimental effect on satisfaction with his or her team members while satisfaction is likely to decrease turnover intention. This may be an implication that managers need to maintain a balance in order to discourage member turnover and the loss of key players.

• Korean Business Review
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.21-43
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• 2005

Since China opened its market to foreign investors, overseas Chinese firms have been the biggest foreign investors. Because of the uncertain market environment, other foreign finns incurred larger liabilities of foreignness than overseas Chinese finns. Some parts of liabilities of foreignness stem from cultural differences and last for quite long time. Therefore better understanding of Chinese culture and guanxi network can give overseas Chinese finns competitive advantages over those from other countries by offering market information and reducing transaction costs. Also better management skills, information about export markets and abundant capital allow them to maintain competitive strengths over local firms. As foreign firms accumulate market knowledge in China, they can reduce liabilities of foreignness. However, it is very difficult for foreigners to understand Chinese cultures and to utilize guanxi network as well as Chinese. It is likely that Overseas Chines firms can have competitive strengths in some industries such as banking, retailing, and foreign trade, where relationship with local contractors and exploitation of worldwide Chines networks can play important roles to make successful business deals.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

Purpose: This study explores the level of relevance of liability of foreignness (LOF) in foreign firms' decision to relocate or to expand their regional headquarters (RHQ) in Singapore. Research design, data and methodology: The research question is: what are the mitigating factors of LOF for RHQs operating in Singapore? This explorative study uses various resources from the government agencies: Singapore Economic Development Board such as annual reports between 2012 and 2022, investment programs and published interviews with RHQ's CEOs, Singapore Department of Statistics such as economic, socio-economic and investment data. Results: My study shows that years of nation-building toward a world-class infrastructure, identifying key-industries and conscientiously enhancing workforce skills and competency, developing and reviewing investment programs to attract and retain RHQs were the mitigating factors of LOF. Conclusion: This implies a low level of relevance of LOF in foreign firms' strategic choice to relocate or to expand their regional headquarters to Singapore. As such, the steady growth of multinational enterprises' (MNEs) RHQs in Singapore presents a challenge to the theoretical postulation of LOF positing that foreign firms are discriminated in host country-environment. As a result, incurring additional costs operating in an unfamiliar environment manifested by varying responses from the local actors. Singapore is a case in point.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.171-182
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• 2022

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is to test two competing hypotheses on the relationship between foreignness and corporate philanthropy drawing on the resource dependence theory. Design/methodology/approach - This study used Korean Enterprsie Survey data constructed by Korean Statistical Information Service. This study employed both OLS and Tobit models to test the hypotheses. Findings - A conventional wisdom can argue that MNC subsidiaries are more willing to give charitable donations than local firms do because they may perceive philanthropy in the host country is a good opportunity to reduce liabilities of foreignness (H1-1). On the other hand, one can argue that MNC subsidiaries are less willing to give charitable donations than local firms do because they have operational flexibility when they are coerced to engage in corporate philanthropy by host country government stakeholders (H1-2). Empirical results support the prediction that MNC subsidiaries are less likely to give charitable donations than local firms do in Korea. Research implications or Originality - Our findings can provide useful insights to researchers and managers in the sense that MNC managers can increase or decrease their charitable donations depending on the institutional contingencies in different host countries. These institutional contingencies are particularly important within a transforming context such as Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.185-201
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• 2015

This paper suggests how Korean housemaids, called Sikmo, and Korean-Chinese migrant domestic workers have similar class positions and therefore form a dual identity in their interactions with female employers. rough spoken stories of the experiences of 27 females from Seoul, including Korean-Chinese domestic workers, Korean housemaids, and their employers, this research effectively overcomes the dichotomous discourse of natives versus foreigners. Instead it suggests the new interpretation that it is not foreignness but class inferiority of the domestic workers that plays a key role in establishing relationships with employers. Korean housemaids and Korean-Chinese domestic workers, both groups of whom are migrant workers, have developed coping strategies to enhance their labor value by spatially relocating themselves from their home society to a new society. They possess a similar labor status in women's history, being of low income, low education, and rural births. Consequently, these women experience 'translocal anchoring,' meaning their identities are intertwined with that of their home societies, and employers perceive them based on the characteristics of these places. The Korean employers perceive that the domestic workers' morality and intellectuality are inferior based on their class differences. This stigmatizing process leads employers to regard domestic workers as ambivalent people, not only threatening outsiders but also objects of pity, needing love and protection of their employers. The employers educate them culturally, teaching them skills to survive in the urban environment. These skills include cooking and language, in addition to advice on long-term plans to blend into society.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.293-319
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• 2008

Medium and small-sized venture firms as well as multinational companies pay liabilities of foreignness. We defined these costs as three different factors which are liability of handicaps(deficit of time, money, experience and, increase of financial risk), overseas market entry costs(information gathering costs, network building costs, marketing costs, channelling costs, monitoring costs), internationalization preparing costs(forecasting and market research of local markets, ex-ante cooperation with local firms), and then empirically tested how each of these factors affects on their business performances. The more important both Taiwanese and Korean firms consider liability of handicaps, the more bigger they pay overseas market entry costs(H1). On the contrary, the more important they consider overseas entry costs, the more they focus on internationalization preparation(H4) and get the better business performances(H5). The more important Korean firms consider liability of handicaps, the bigger they focus on internationalization preparation, on the contrary, the less Taiwanese firms do this(H2). Taiwanese firms as well as Korean firms rejected Hypothesis 3 and 6 which mean both liability of handicaps and internationalization preparation are no relation with their own business performances.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.21-35
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• 2019

This study analyzes factors that affect the corporate value of Korean companies operating in Latin American countries. Primary factors are associated with characteristics of the host country, the parent company, and subsidiaries. Empirical results show that asset specificity is the main factor influencing firm value. This region is geographically far from Korea and culturally different. Therefore, the source of competitive advantage such as asset specificity should be large enough to offset liability of foreignness for successful entry into the region. This paper also found that joint ventures are more advantageous than direct investments. Joint ventures in Latin American can minimize risk, complement technology and information, and reduce trade barriers.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.159-183
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• 2012

In order to create a desirable science culture needed in our society, it is necessary to overcome the foreignness of science and technology and to overcome severance from tradition. In this context, this article attempts to understand the characteristics of our traditional science and to explore the possibility of forming a desirable science culture through astronomy, which is an example of traditional science. Thus, this article examined the general characteristics of astronomy that had appeared first in ancient civilization. It also focused on the fact that each civilization has its own unique cultural elements together with astronomical knowledge as a field of science in traditional astronomy. Calendar and lifa(曆法), which are considered science of time, are closely connected with people's daily lives and reveal cultural differences clearly among the subfields of astronomy. In all ancient civilizations, time was represented based on the movements of the sun and the moon, but how time should be concretely represented varied, depending on different cultures. As a result, various calendar system emerged. Throughout East Asia, including our country, the luni-solar calendar was used. The calendar in East Asia, unlike that in the West, was the one derived from the lifa, which was very complex and elaborate astronomical work. The characteristics of the luni-solar calendar can be clearly found in the seasonal customs that represent people's daily lives well; however, lots of so-called superstition are also included in the seasonal customs. For this reason, it is easy to misunderstand that our calendar system is unscientific, or to suspect that our overall traditional science lacks scientific aspects. However, proper understanding of the calendar and the lifa of East Asia can confirm that scientific aspects certainly existed in our tradition. This will be the vital link to tradition that will help overcome the foreignness of today's science and technology.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.77-109
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to review the current trend of FDIs by Korean companies into EU, and to present the optimal strategies for them to combine their firm-specific factors and FDI attractiveness of the regions in EU. The companies are divided into two categories, SMEs and large enterprises. The regions of EU are composed of 15 incumbent members before the fifth enlargement in 2004 and 12 new members. Large Korean companies tend to make large investments in 15 incumbent members with stable and mature markets. Korean SMEs, by contrast, mainly invest on small scales in the new members due to the lack of their available inner resources and knowledge for the markets. The main objects of the investments in EU by the large Korean companies are to gain more market share and to acquire the advanced technologies. Although such goals are also important for the SMEs, the most important objects for the investments by Korean SMEs in EU are usually to enter EU markets and to take advantage of the relatively cheap labor forces for the efficient operations. The effects of such passive strategies by the SMEs, however, are expected to extinct because the cost advantages in regions of the new EU members will not last in the long term, so the SMEs must take longer views for the choice of locations. Many empirical results suggest that the optimal FDI strategies for the Korean companies in EU could be worked mainly by more aggressive localization policy of companies and by the cooperations of SMEs and large enterprises for the reduction in costs of foreignness.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.71-81
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• 2020

Purpose: This case study illustrates the successful entry of Saudi Aramco in the Korean market and how it grows to become one of the world's largest integrated energy enterprises. Research design, data and methodology: This case investigates diverse secondary sources to examine the entry strategy of Aramco in Korea, such as several interviews including public and anonymous dialogues, periodicals, dispatches (i.e. news articles and magazines), annual reports, industrial reports, and others. Results: The main concern for the international strategic approaching of Saudi Aramco is to enter into Korean market by joint venture with SsangYong Oil (today's S-Oil Corporation) in 1991 and finally, ending by Acquisition of S-Oil in 2015. This acquisition of local No.3 company, S-Oil, in Korea is the successful case in Asian Markets overcoming liability of foreignness. Moreover, Saudi Aramco's global distribution strategy through localization in the Korean market is appropriate given the market conditions, timing, effectiveness, and efficiency by sharing their resources and collaborating. Conclusions: It would be valuable, unique, and real story to analyze global leading company's entry and globalization strategy in overseas market. In addition, this study provides decision-makers with a significant and more strategic implication for the overseas expansion of businesses.