• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.76-104
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• 2012

For many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation activities to lead a market with technology development and a globalization strategy tend to be a haphazard process due to a lack of capabilities. Thus, this paper aims to explore success factors of the global leading SMEs in Korea that are not only the first mover through technology innovation but also outstanding in export. The analysis utilizes data from Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) and statistical analyses such as t-test and chi-square are performed to compare global leading SMEs and normal SMEs, concentrating on various factors such as information sources, collaboration and non-technology innovation activities. The results indicate that critical success factors involve information from outside companies (information from conferences and government institutes) and government supports through logistic regression analysis. This research suggests a strategic direction for policy makers to promote innovation and growth in SMEs.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.341-366
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• 2013

The term, Mittelstand, has no exact english translation for the definition, but, today, Mittelstand refers to small and medium-sized enterprises(SME), mostly family-owned firms in Germany. The Mittelstand is called the backbone of the German economy because it drove the economic miracle after World War II. During the global recession and the euro zone's debt crisis in recent years, in which european businesses have faced the near-collapse of competitiveness particularly in manufacturing, the German exports are booming and exceeded exports of China in 2012. Most importantly, the Germany economic performance has been widely attributed to the strength of the Mittelstand. Many of countries, even some leading public companies are seeking to emulate the success of the Mittelstand. Investors evaluate that many of Germany's investable "hidden champions" are Mittelstand companies. The purpose of this study is to present some of answers to the following questions: Firstly, what makes the German Mittelstand so successful? Secondly, what does the success of the German Mittelstand mean for the Korean SMEs in global competitiveness? Thirdly, what Korean government has to do improve the global competitiveness of the Korean SMEs? Some discussions in this study mention the managerial implications for Korean exporting SMEs particularly in manufacturing. Several factors that account for the success of the German Mittelstand are technological excellence and the tradition of family-owned management, concentration on niche market and globalization, and institutional supports. There are some of important lessons to be learned from the German Mittelstand. If the purposes of Korean SMEs want to remain in the sustainable competitive advantage and withstand unforeseen economic turbulences in the future, they must be able to meet the followings: 1) Technology that meets the global standard or exceeding it 2) Competitiveness in price in the global market 3) Active involvement in the globalization process, utilizing various entry modes Innovative products at globally competitive price are a crucial point for Korean exporting SMEs to achieve their competitive edge over others in the target markets abroad. It is time for Korean SMEs to cultivate a core competence in manufacturing in order to position Korea as a global manufacturing hub with SMEs leading.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.21-38
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• 2003

21 century, Korea enterprise which run business in global market, has rapidly change. So, achievement of international competitive power is very important. IT(Information Telecommunication) Technology is play a leading role in this field. In fact, Korea enormous invest in informational technology field and hold the first place in informational quotient(information super-highway, server computer, mobile networking and firm's web site etc). But, materialization of information management effect consider how to cope with the situation. Korea SMEs(Small and Medium Enterprises) is fundamental in Korea economy. So Korea SMEs must active the international competitive power by information management and advance to a higher position. In conclusion, SMEs of information management is require that SMEs' CEO and CIO are must self-help to in this field. And governments improvement of connected with the related system in these field.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.545-571
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• 2016

The development of ICT brings a big change in manufacturing industries, and new information technology such as IoT, AR, and big data was applied on manufacturing process. As a result, the concept of smart factory has been introduced as a new manufacturing paradigm. In fact advanced countries like USA, Germany, and Japan have actively introduced smart factory in their manufacturing industries such as electronic, automobile, machinery, to improve production efficiency and quality. The manufacturing environment has been changed into flexible system, so that smart factory will be leading future manufacturing industries. Thes changes have more severe influence on Korean manufacturing industries. Mny industrial companies, have a strong interest in smart factory and they, particularly big enterprises, have been adopting smart factory to increase their manufacturing efficiencies. However, Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have many financial and technological difficulties so that the diffusion of smart factory in Korean SMEs has not been satisfiable up to present. However, smart factory is very important for enhancing their competitiveness in global market. Therefore, this study aims at identifying the standardization strategy of smart factory in so-called Korean 'roots industry' by presuming that the standardization will activate the diffusion of smart factory among Korean SMEs. For this purpose, first, this study examines the competitiveness of SMEs, especially in 'roots industry' and identifies the necessity of diffusion of smart factory among those SMEs. Second, based on the active review on the existing literature, this study identifies four factor groups that would influence the adoption or diffusion of standardized smart factory. They are technological, organizational, industrial and policy factors. Third, using those four factors, this study made two comprehensive case analyses on the adoption and diffusion of smart factory. These two companies belong to molding sector which is one of the important six sectors in 'root industry'. Finally, based on the theoretical and empirical analyse, this study suggests four strategies for activating the standardization of smart factory; international standardization, government-leading standardization, firm-leading standardization, and non-standardization.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.781-804
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• 2017

Video surveillance industry as a high-tech industry has traits that a pace of source technology development is slow while a pace of application technology development is fast. Unlike domestic companies have shown technological excellence in the field of video surveillance hardware, global leading companies are leading technologies in the field of intelligence video surveillance which would lead the future of the industry. Therefore, technology selection of the domestic companies determines the viability of the company with respect to the terms of market competitiveness reinforcement. In order to achieving this, find out the technology areas where the global leading companies are focused on analysis of global patents. After global patents analysis, identify the status of domestic technologies and analyze the difference between the global leading companies and the domestic companies. Decompose the technologies by element technology-application matrix which is obtained through a panel discussion of domestic SMEs' CTO, CEO, or other experts, they derive the necessary R&D opportunity technologies to ensure the future competitiveness of the company.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.41-55
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• 2020

Purpose - This paper tries to analyze the factors affecting the utilization of electronic trade of small and medium enterprises and examine how these factors affect the performance of small and medium enterprises. In addition, the leading factors affecting the level of e-trade utilization of small businesses were analyzed by dividing them into external environmental factors affecting the external business and internal resources of the companies themselves Research design, data, and methodology - With a sample of 223 small and medium-sized export firms from South Korea, this study investigates the antecedents of the utilization level of e-Trade such as information exchange, innovation orientation, absorptive capacity and trust by hierarchical regression analysis. Results - The results show that innovation orientation was shown to have a positive effect on e-trade utilization and absorptive capacity has a positive effect on e-trade utilization. Also, information exchange with stakeholders has a positive impact on e-trade utilization. Conclusions - Internal and external factors of companies have a positive effect on the utilization of e-trade. It also showed that the increased utilization of electronic trade had a positive effect on trade performance. Thus, the findings provide policy-makers with implications of the importance of activating e-trade, and furthermore, significant implications for exporter performance.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.650-661
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• 2020

The digital transformation of the 4th industrial revolution is leading to changes and innovations in the global economy. Various countries are focusing on reviving their manufacturing industries and economic recovery through smart factories. The purpose of this study is to empirically identify technological determinants for the successful implementation of the smart factory and to verify teose effects on manufacturing operations and the firms' operational/environmental performances. Five factors, including sensor network, platform technology, information system, intelligent automation, and safety, were defined as core technologies. The SEM analysis results of 157 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms that have implemented smart factories are as follows. First, sensor network, platform technology, and information system had significant effects on smart manufacturing operations. Second, smart manufacturing operations have improved firm performance. This study is valuable in that it has confirmed the effectiveness of government-funded projects and systemized key technologies for implementing smart factories. Meanwhile, it is helpful for practitioners to support an efficient and effective decision-making for the new adoption.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.107-127
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• 2022

Global challenges such as the corona pandemic, climate change and the war-on-tech ensure that the demand who the technologies of the future develops and monitors prominently for will be on the agenda. Development of, and applications in, agrifood, biotech, high-tech, medtech, quantum, AI and photonics are the basis of the future earning capacity of the Netherlands and contribute to solving societal challenges, close to home and worldwide. To be like the Netherlands and Europe a strategic position in the to obtain knowledge and innovation chain, and with it our autonomy in relation to from China and the United States insurance, clear choices are needed. Brainport Eindhoven: Building on Philips' knowledge base, there is create an innovative ecosystem where more than 7,000 companies in the High-tech Systems & Materials (HTSM) collaborate on new technologies, future earning potential and international value chains. Nearly 20,000 private R&D employees work in 5 regional high-end campuses and for companies such as ASML, NXP, DAF, Prodrive Technologies, Lightyear and many others. Brainport Eindhoven has a internationally leading position in the field of system engineering, semicon, micro and nanoelectronics, AI, integrated photonics and additive manufacturing. What is being developed in Brainport leads to the growth of the manufacturing industry far beyond the region thanks to chain cooperation between large companies and SMEs. South-Holland: The South Holland ecosystem includes companies as KPN, Shell, DSM and Janssen Pharmaceutical, large and innovative SMEs and leading educational and knowledge institutions that have more than Invest €3.3 billion in R&D. Bearing Cores are formed by the top campuses of Leiden and Delft, good for more than 40,000 innovative jobs, the port-industrial complex (logistics & energy), the manufacturing industry cluster on maritime and aerospace and the horticultural cluster in the Westland. South Holland trains thematically key technologies such as biotech, quantum technology and AI. Twente: The green, technological top region of Twente has a long tradition of collaboration in triple helix bandage. Technological innovations from Twente offer worldwide solutions for the large social issues. Work is in progress to key technologies such as AI, photonics, robotics and nanotechnology. New technology is applied in sectors such as medtech, the manufacturing industry, agriculture and circular value chains, such as textiles and construction. Being for Twente start-ups and SMEs of great importance to the jobs of tomorrow. Connect these companies technology from Twente with knowledge regions and OEMs, at home and abroad. Wageningen in FoodValley: Wageningen Campus is a global agri-food magnet for startups and corporates by the national accelerator StartLife and student incubator StartHub. FoodvalleyNL also connects with an ambitious 2030 programme, the versatile ecosystem regional, national and international - including through the WEF European food innovation hub. The campus offers guests and the 3,000 private R&D put in an interesting programming science, innovation and social dialogue around the challenges in agro production, food processing, biobased/circular, climate and biodiversity. The Netherlands succeeded in industrializing in logistics countries, but it is striving for sustainable growth by creating an innovative ecosystem through a regional industry-academic research model. In particular, the Brainport Cluster, centered on the high-tech industry, pursues regional innovation and is opening a new horizon for existing industry-academic models. Brainport is a state-of-the-art forward base that leads the innovation ecosystem of Dutch manufacturing. The history of ports in the Netherlands is transforming from a logistics-oriented port symbolized by Rotterdam into a "port of digital knowledge" centered on Brainport. On the basis of this, it can be seen that the industry-academic cluster model linking the central government's vision to create an innovative ecosystem and the specialized industry in the region serves as the biggest stepping stone. The Netherlands' innovation policy is expected to be more faithful to its role as Europe's "digital gateway" through regional development centered on the innovation cluster ecosystem and investment in job creation and new industries.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.109-115
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• 2022

As the 4th industrial revolution progresses, foreign countries are promoting smart manufacturing innovation through digital transformation as a priority task early on to secure a competitive edge in the manufacturing industry. In response, the Korean government is also promoting a policy to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies by promoting digital transformation in the corporate sector to meet the global trend of the 4th industrial revolution era. Manufacturing powerhouses such as Germany and Japan see manufacturing as a key sector in digital transformation and are leading related policies, while emerging countries such as China are also promoting manufacturing innovation strategies such as building digital infrastructure and creating a digital innovation ecosystem. Korea is promoting the 'Korean-style smart factory dissemination and expansion strategy' by transforming Germany's manufacturing innovation strategy for smart factory supply to suit the domestic situation. However, the policy to supply smart factories so far has been conducted with support from individual companies under the leadership of the government, and most of the smart factories are at the basic level, and it is evaluated that there are limitations such as the lack of manpower to operate smart factories. In addition, while the current policy focuses on expanding the supply of smart factories in SMEs, it is necessary to establish a smart manufacturing system through linkages between large and small businesses in order to achieve the original goal of establishing a smart manufacturing system. Therefore, it can be said that from the standpoint of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who are consumers of smart factories, it can be said that the digital transformation policy can achieve the expected results only when appropriate incentives are provided for the introduction of smart factories in a situation where management resources such as funds, technology, and human resources are lacking. In addition, it is judged that the uncertainty of the performance of digital investment always exists, and as long as large and small companies are maintained as an ecosystem of delivery and subcontracting, there is very little incentive for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to voluntarily invest in or advance digital transformation. Therefore, the digital transformation policy of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the future has practical significance in that it suggests that there is a need to seek ways to attract SMEs' digital-related voluntary investment.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.9-18
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• 2019

This study investigated the relationship between ICT environment and business performance. In the case of Korea's major industries, large corporations have already established and operate a considerable level of smart factories, leading the global market. However, SMEs, which account for 95% of the total companies, are not able to build smart factories themselves. Smart factory construction The total number of government-supported enterprises is 4.891 companies (3,984 companies, 907 companies in construction) 2.9% of factories and 97.1% (166,344 companies) There is a big problem to be improved. The result of this study is that the first research objective of this study, which suggests the theoretical system that the will of the manager is most important for the successful establishment of the smart factory, which is part of the corporate innovation to meet the rapidly changing environment. Second, it can be seen that financing for building a smart factory is a key factor in building a smart factory, as well as funding itself. Third, it was found that besides its own technology, technology support for government and external technology consulting support are very important for smart construction. Fourth, organizational participation of internal organizers showed that cooperative and positive positive participation is also a factor of success. As a follow-up study, we analyzed the cause of the company's operation, analyzed the cause of the problem with the 4M1E technique, developed the countermeasures, and compared it before and after the improvement, standardized the improvement and needed further study. It is meaningful that the study provided basic data for building a smart factory through the analysis of the relationship between the ICT environment and business performance of the company.