• Journal of Korea Trade
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.82-98
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• 2020

Purpose - This study aims to overcome the limitations of existing studies, which linearly determine the precedence factors of competency in overseas subsidiaries. The research objectives are as follows. First, what kind of nonlinear effects does the level of control held by Korean headquarters over foreign subsidiaries have in terms of competency in the subsidiaries? Second, what kind of nonlinear effects do the local experiences of overseas subsidiaries have on their competency? Design/methodology - With data on Korean multinational corporations (MNCs), this paper analyzes the effects of control levels of headquarters (HQs) and host-country experiences of foreign subsidiaries regarding competency in overseas subsidiaries. In particular, this study focuses on nonlinear models, differentiating it from previous studies. In order to examine research hypotheses, this study conducted a survey of overseas subsidiaries of Korean corporations. Surveys were conducted through various methods including e-mail, online questionnaires, fax, and telephone calls. Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to a total of 2,246 overseas subsidiaries, and 409 completed responses were collected. Excluding 15 copies that were insufficiently answered, responses from a total of 394 copies were used for analysis. Findings - This study presents the following results. First, there is a U-shaped relationship between levels of HQ control and competency in foreign subsidiaries. This means that higher levels of HQ control negatively impact the competency levels of subsidiaries because strict control undermines autonomy in subsidiaries. However, if the level of HQ control exceeds a certain point, then the transfer of knowledge between HQs and subsidiaries is facilitated. Knowledge transferred from HQs can be used as prior knowledge by foreign subsidiaries to the benefit of all parties. Accordingly, knowledge transfer negates the negative effects of excessive HQ control and positively affects competency in subsidiaries. Second, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the local (host-country) experiences of subsidiaries and competency in foreign subsidiaries. This means that foreign subsidiaries can overcome the liabilities of foreignness and contribute to capability building by accumulating unique knowledge about their host countries. However, if local experiences accumulate excessively beyond a certain point, then the host country-specific experiences of foreign subsidiaries will offset the benefits discussed above. Excessive local experiences not only increase organizational inertia, but also create a problem of goal incongruence due to information asymmetry between HQs and subsidiaries. Therefore, excessive local experiences have negative effects on competency in foreign subsidiaries. Originality/value - This study suggests the following implications. First, unlike existing studies based mainly on linear models, this study presents important theoretical implications in its focus on nonlinear models and its analysis of the effects of HQ control and local experiences on competency in foreign subsidiaries from perspectives of organizational learning theory and agency theory. Second, in terms of practical implications, the results of this study suggest that optimally raising levels of HQ control and managing the local experiences of subsidiaries without increasing organizational inertia is important for enhancing competency in foreign subsidiaries.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• 제26권6호
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• pp.1-19
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• 2022

Purpose - This study empirically investigates the effects of Official Development Assistance (ODA) on the economic activities of private actors in recipient countries. As a proxy for the economic activities of private actors, we utilize the job creation activities of foreign subsidiaries in recipient countries. The foreign subsidiaries provide a foundation for economic development by creating paying jobs. That is, if ODA has been successfully transferred to foreign subsidiaries, then these foreign subsidiaries should help economic growth and help create a boom in the local market by providing jobs. These jobs eventually lead to the achievement of the primary aims of foreign aid, including poverty reduction. Thus, this study empirically examines the relationship between ODA and the number of jobs created by foreign subsidiaries in recipient countries. Design/methodology - This is the first study to examine the effects of the ODA on the job creation of foreign subsidiaries because it has been hard to obtain internal information related to the employment status of foreign subsidiaries. Fortunately, we have a unique panel dataset provided by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for 2006 to 2013. In terms of the empirical specification, we use the generalized least squares (GLS) method. The panel GLS estimator allows us to have an efficient estimation that overcomes the limitations of the panel data. It employs assumptions about the heteroscedasticity between the panels and makes an autocorrelation of the error term within each panel. Findings - We find that ODA influences job creation in foreign subsidiaries. In particular, we found that ODA creates more jobs in sales than in managerial or production positions. This study also shows that the effect of the ODA on the foreign subsidiaries' job creation activities depend on the purpose of the ODA. By examining ODA effects on the foreign subsidiaries' economic activities (e.g., job creation), this study fills a gap in the current literature. Originality/value - Existing studies that focus on the ODA effect have either a macroeconomic point or a microeconomic point of view. However, both approaches do not explain how well foreign aid has influenced private economic actors of recipient countries. In essence, previous researchers found it difficult to obtain the necessary data for internal employment status from foreign subsidiaries. However, thanks to the Korea Export-Import Bank, this study shows that ODA indeed influences the job creation activities of foreign subsidiaries even after controlling for other factors such as FDI, GDP growth rate, employment rate, household expenditure, mother firms' share, etc. By doing so, we can examine how ODA influences the job creation of foreign subsidiaries, which might help economic development and reduce the amount of poverty in recipient countries.

• 한국IT서비스학회지
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.17-37
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• 2024

This study explores the tendency of corporations and organizations to continue with their current processes despite having incentives for better Information Technology (IT) innovation or transition. In this context, the study argues that organizations may struggle with 'outsourcing inertia,' a well-known concept referring to an organization's deficient adaptability to environmental changes, particularly defined here as the organization's slow adaptation to changes in outsourcing levels. To verify this, the study analyzes how key variables identified from existing IT Outsourcing (ITO) decision-making research and recent studies on cloud computing transitions actually affect a firm's transition intentions. In the process, this study investigates the moderating effect of a firm's outsourcing inertia, utilizing the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and the Push-Pull-Mooring (PPM) model based on migration theory to propose a research model. The study aims to contribute to finding strategic approaches necessary for facilitating IT innovation and transition by understanding the impact of outsourcing inertia on the decision-making process related to IT outsourcing. It is important to note that the majority of domestic conglomerates own IT subsidiaries, which significantly influence the process of transitioning to cloud computing. Nevertheless, research on the impact of IT subsidiaries on cloud computing transition is relatively scarce. Based on this background, this study proposes that IT subsidiaries within domestic conglomerates can act as a significant mooring factor of organizational inertia in the decision-making process for adopting cloud computing. Through this, the study seeks to provide strategic insights for overcoming organizational inertia faced by IT subsidiaries during the cloud computing transition process.

• 무역학회지
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.1-28
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• 2016

본 논문은 해외시장에 진출한 현지자회사의 사회적 책임활동에 국가간 거리(distance)가 어떠한 영향을 미치는가를 분석하고자 하였다. 국가간 거리는 Ghemawat(2001)의 CAGE (culture, administrative, geographic, economic) 개념을 적용하였다. 19개국 해외시장에 진출한 177개 한국기업의 자회사를 대상으로 한 분석 결과, 첫째 문화적 거리감은 자회사의 사회적 책임활동에 정(+)의 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 특히 전략적 CSR에 유의한 영향을 주었다. 둘째, 관리적 거리는 자회사 사회적 책임활동에 유의한 영향을 미치지 못하였다. 셋째, 지리적 거리감은 사회적 책임활동에 유의한 정(+)의 효과를 주었다. 넷째, 경제적 거리감은 자회사 사회적 책임활동과 부(-)의 관계를 갖으며 특히 반응적 CSR 활동에 영향을 주었다. 또한 해외진입동기가 시장개척지향일수록 문화적 거리가 사회적 책임활동에 더 큰 영향을 미치는 것으로 입증되었다. 이러한 결과는 국가간 거리가 사회적 책임활동에 부(-)의 영향을 미친다는 일부 선행연구와는 상이한 결과로 이는 진출국가 및 표본의 특징에 기인하는 것으로 판단된다. 결론적으로 해외진출 자회사는 현지에서의 외국인비용 등으로 인한 위험을 극복하고 정당성을 확보하기 위해 사회적 책임활동을 전략적인 수단으로 활용하는 것으로 볼 수 있다. 본 연구는 한국기업의 자회사를 대상으로 국제경영의 주요주제인 국가간 거리가 해외자회사의 사회적 책임활동에 미치는 영향을 실증적으로 규명했다는 점에 의의가 있다.

• 통상정보연구
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.319-342
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• 2014

세계 경제가 글로벌화가 가속화되고 국내 기업도 해외 시장에 진출하는 한편, 해외 글로벌 기업 또한 한국시장에 진출하여 성과를 보이고 있다. 이러한 한국 진출 기업이 한국시장에서 신속하게 성과를 보이는데 있어서 기술적 역량 요인, 마케팅 역량 요인, 그리고 해외 네트워크 요인이 신속한 글로벌 성과에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지를 파악하고자 하였다. 또한 기업 유형에 따라 영향 관계가 있는지를 규명하는데 있다. 연구 목적을 달성하기 위하여 가설을 설정하고 이를 검증하기 위하여 구조방정식과 회귀분석을 활용하였으며 주요 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 기술적 요인 중 기술적 혁신성과 제품 차별성은 신속한 글로벌화에 통계적으로 유의미하게 긍정적인 영향을 미치고 있어, 신속한 글로벌화에 매우 중요한 선행요인으로 해석된다. 둘째, 마케팅 요인 중 마케팅 지식획득과 브랜드 명성 또한 통계적으로 유의미하게 긍정적인 영향을 미치고 있어, 또한 신속한 글로벌 성과에 중요한 요인임을 알 수 있었다. 셋째, 한국 시장 내 네트워크 범위와 해외 네트워크 강도 또한 모두 통계적으로 유의미하게 영향을 미치고 있어, 해외 네트워크 요인은 신속하게 글로벌 성과에 매우 중요한 요인임을 밝히고 있다. 한편, 해외 자회사 기업 유형(B2C, B2B) 조절변수 효과에 대한 가설 검증으로 회귀분석을 통한 분석 결과, B2C 해외 자회사 기업이 B2B 해외 자회사 기업보다 본 연구모형에서는 설명력이 31.9% 증가를 보였다. 또한 B2C 해외 자회사의 경우 마케팅 역량이, B2B 해외 자회사의 경우 상대적으로 기술적 역량 요인이 통계적으로 유의미하게 차이가 보였다. 따라서 기업유형이 기술적, 마케팅 역량 요인 그리고 네트워크 요인이 신속한 글로벌화에 영향을 주는데 조절효과가 있음을 알 수 있었다. 결론적으로 본 연구를 통하여 실무적 측면에서는 우선 기업의 신속한 글로벌 성과를 높이기 위해서는 선행 요인 중 마케팅 요인과 기술적 요인, 한국 시장 네트워크 등은 중요한 선행 요인임을 확인하였으며, 한편 학문적으로 본 연구 결과는 기업이 신속하게 해외로 진출하는 영향요인을 체계적으로 심층 연구에 기여하였다라고 여긴다.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.134-151
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• 2021

Purpose - This study empirically analyzes the impact of the internal and external network embeddedness of foreign subsidiaries and local market characteristics of the host country on the CEO selection whether or not to appoint an expatriate as the CEO of a foreign subsidiary. Design/methodology - To conduct an empirical analysis, we obtained a list of the headquarters of Korean MNCs from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Based on the list of HQs, we identified a final list of overseas subsidiaries of Korean MNCs that have entered the world from KOTRA (Trade-Investment Promotion Agency for Korea). Then we conducted an empirical analysis based on the results of 391 questionnaires by employing logistic regression analysis. Findings - The results of empirical analysis are as follows. First, the higher the subsidiary's internal network embeddedness, the higher the tendency appoint an expatriate as the CEO. Second, the higher the volatility of the local market, the higher the tendency to appoint an expatriate as the CEO. Third, the stronger the competition in the local market, the lower the tendency to appoint a PCN. Originality/value - This study has significant theoretical implications in that it examines the link between the internal and external embeddedness of overseas subsidiaries and the appointment of parent country nationals (PCNs) as the CEO that prior research has not examined.

• 산업경영시스템학회지
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.29-40
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• 2020

Korean firms have been vigorously searching and exploring overseas market opportunities through export and overseas investment. As of end of 2019, there were more than 80,000 Korean overseas subsidiaries all over the world. With Korean overseas direct investment increasing recently, it became one of the important issues for overseas investors to be successful in the global market. There are a lot of studies on factors influencing the performance of overseas subsidiaries such as 'firm' and 'country' factors. This study empirically examines subsidiary performance determinants with 'industry architectures' by using a sample of 292 overseas Korean firm subsidiaries. Industry architectures are the stable but evolving sets of rules and roles through which labor is divided within a sector. This article considers how industry architectures shape success in international expansion. Industry architectures differ between countries, are not necessarily technologically determined, shape firms' capabilities and their competitive environment, and constitute a distinct level of analysis. We extract antecedents of related theory and empirically test its impact with a survey of Korean firms expanding in emerging economies. We would say this is the first study which tries to focus on industry architectures with the performance of Korean overseas subsidiaries. We find that separability and similarity of industry architectures across countries and localization of subsidiaries are robust and important predictors of success in international expansion. Our results suggest that industry architectures should be added to firm and country as an intermediate level of analysis that helps explain success in international expansion. While we established a pattern, much more remains to be done. We focus on the success of foreign operations, but we do not consider the broader benefits of going abroad, such as the learning or network effects that accrue at the level of the entire firm. The next obvious question is whether the results would differ in the developed market context. These we leave for future research to consider.

• 무역학회지
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.1-26
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• 2023

본 연구는 자회사가 현지시장 적응과 시장변화에 대한 대응으로서 내부능력의 재조정을 실시하며, 나아가 조직 내·외부의 네트워크를 활용하는 것이 투자성과에 어떠한 영향을 미치는 실증하는데 연구목적을 둔다. 실증결과로부터 자회사의 내부능력 조정 크기가 클수록, 이를 신속하고 유연적으로 실행할수록 투자성과에 긍정적 효과가 발생함을 입증하였다. 이 과정에서 네트워크 내부배태성의 활용과, 네트워크 외부배태성의 활용이 투자성과에 긍정적 매개자로서 역할을 하는 것도 입증하였다. 또한 중국시장에 진출한 다국적제조기업에게는 외부배태성의 매개효과의 크기가 내부배태성의 매개효과 크기보다 더 클 것이라는 연구가설에 대해 통계분석 결과가 지지하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 분석결과는 자회사 최고경영자에게는 현지 정보의 탐색과 접근, 현지 제도에 적응 등 외국비용 절감 전략을 수립하는 것과 함께 자회사가 현지에서 새로운 지리적 경쟁우위를 창출하는 데 외부배태성을 적극적으로 활용해야 한다는 시사점을 제공한다.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• 제23권7호
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• pp.64-82
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• 2019

Purpose - This study's the ultimate goal is to analyze competitiveness improvement on multinational enterprises as firstly providing which factors are to strengthen or weaken competitiveness, secondly investigating if hypotheses development and research design is correct and thirdly finding significant implications for research and practices across country specific advantage. Design/methodology - Using feedback data provided by 250 firms, we extracted variable factors and hypotheses, which were empirically carried out by reliability and validity testing, correlation analysis, path analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis to prove which factors are to make the positive effect on the improvement of overseas subsidiaries' management performance and competitiveness. Findings - Through proceeding empirical analysis study, we found out that technology management capability, knowledge management capability, and local management capability had a statistically significant effect on the improvement of overseas subsidiaries' competitiveness, while linked activity capability revealed a negative effect. Originality/value - During business globalization, overseas investments and establishment of overseas subsidiaries have been essential. It is anticipated that this study results would be meaningful for analysis on multinational enterprises' competitiveness and helpful in promoting their entry into Korean market and enhancing their competitiveness. This paper would also help Korea government develops new FDI model and induce more investment from global major companies to Korea region.

• 한국항만경제학회지
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.69-83
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• 2015

본 연구는 우리나라 국제물류주선업체의 해외 진출 현황과 최근 글로벌 물류시장의 동향을 살펴보고, 급변하는 물류환경 속에서 국제물류주선업체가 글로벌 물류기업으로 성장하고 국제 경쟁력을 확보하기 위한 효과적인 해외시장 진출 전략을 제시해보고자 하였다. 국제물류주선업체의 해외진출 형태를 해외파트너와 해외자회사 형태로 분류하여 분석하였다. 두 유형 보두에서 우리나라 국제물류주선업체들은 주로 극동 및 동남아시아 지역에 집중하여 해외에 진출하고 있으며, 해외파트너쉽에서는 만족도가 매우 높은 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 해외자회사 형태에서는 아직 초기 단계로 다양한 지역에서 해외자회사 수사 그리 많지 않은 실정이며, 본사의 주로 가격 경쟁력 중심으로 사업을 운영하고 있으며, 성과 및 만족도가 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 국제물류주선업체의 해외진출 성공전략으로 물류 서비스 특화, 중소 물류업체 간 협업체제 구축, 적합한 국제물류 전문 인력의 확보 육성 그리고 화주-물류동반 진출 등의 전략을 제시하였다. 본 연구는 우리나라 국제물류주선업체의 해외 진출 실태조사를 통해 해외 진출의 정도와 성과를 객관적으로 측정 및 평가하였다는 데 의의가 있다. 또한 실태조사 결과와 해외진출의 SWOT분석을 통해 실제적인 해외진출 전략방안을 제시함으로써, 우리나라 국제물류주선업의 글로벌 경쟁력 제고에 기여할 것으로 생각된다.