• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.157-183
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• 2014

This paper examines how the concentration of ownership in firms influences the R&D investment decision and whether the type of a firm's management (i.e, the owner-manager or professional manger) differentiates the relationship between the ownership concentration and R&D investments by using data of Korean pharmaceutical companies between 2004 and 2008. The results show that the share of the largest shareholder and R&D investment have an inverted U-shaped relationship, and whether a CEO is an owner or a professional manager affects the curvature of the inverted U-shaped relationship. Specifically, when a firm's CEO is a professional manager and the share of his stock is small, increase in the CEO's share increases the R&D investment in the larger amount than when a firm's CEO is an owner. This is because the increase in ownership reduces agency cost; However, when the share of his stock is large, the increase in CEO's share decreases R&D investment in the larger amount than when a firm's CEO is an owner. This is because a professional manager gets concerned over excessive risk exposure more than an owner-manager does.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.103-126
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• 2013

Growing serious on the required conditions for the On-the-Job Education Training at the firm field, a large number of firm make a plan for implementation and pushing ahead of the On-the-Job Education Training. Further, A lot of firms effort to attract multi-professional person at an firm level recently. However, there were little information about the what for the reason to choose the OJET, come what may on the OJET and how to thinking on the outcome for the latent employee. On the basis of these issues, this study discovered the motivations from the employee point, finding out the factors on the effect of the choice as the OJET type and the integration point of view. The study results found out significant variables of the OJET type factor, the business for which one is responsible factor, OJET participation reason factor, business environment factor and individual background factor on the OJET decision plan. On the basis of the results, this article further discusses what we need to do for the intensity of participation invigoration at a firm level.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.171-182
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• 2017

Although economic growth has been retarded since the global economic crisis over recent decades, a large number of firms consider mergers and acquisitions (M and A) as a strategy to survive in a highly competitive market. In particular, an increasing number of firms pursue M and A with IT firms in recent years. In this study, we analyze the post-merger risks measured as ROA volatility for acquiring firms when they seek to acquire an IT firm. Our analysis suggests that a firm with prior experience in M and A acquires IT firms aggressively. Moreover, a substantial number of IT firms are relatively small and unlisted when they are acquired. We also show that an acquiring firm's post-merger risk (i.e., ROA volatility) increases after its acquisition of IT firms. However, an increase in post-merger risk is alleviated when relatedness exists between an acquiring firm and target.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.51-69
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• 2020

Now, it is a stylized fact that a small number of technology firms such as Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and a few others have become larger and dominant players in an industry. Coupled with the rise of these leading firms, we have also observed that a large number of young firms have become an acquisition target in their early IPO stages. This indeed results in a sharp decline in the number of new entries in public exchanges although a series of policy reforms have been promulgated to foster competition through an increase in new entries. Given the observed industry trend in recent decades, a number of studies have reported increased concentration in most developed countries. However, it is less understood as to what caused an increase in industry concentration. In this paper, we uncover the mechanisms by which industries have become concentrated over the last decades by tracing the changes in industry concentration associated with a firm's status change in its early IPO stages. To this end, we put emphasis on the case in which firms are acquired shortly after they went public. Especially, with the transition to digital-based economies, it is imperative for incumbent firms to adapt and keep pace with new ICT and related intelligent systems. For instance, after the acquisition of a young firm equipped with AI-based solutions, an incumbent firm may better respond to a change in customer taste and preference by integrating acquired AI solutions and analytics skills into multiple business processes. Accordingly, it is not unusual for young ICT firms become an attractive acquisition target. To examine the role of M&As involved with young firms in reshaping the level of industry concentration, we identify a firm's status in early post-IPO stages over the sample periods spanning from 1990 to 2016 as follows: i) being delisted, ii) being standalone firms and iii) being acquired. According to our analysis, firms that have conducted IPO since 2000s have been acquired by incumbent firms at a relatively quicker time than those that did IPO in previous generations. We also show a greater acquisition rate for IPO firms in the ICT sector compared with their counterparts in other sectors. Our results based on multinomial logit models suggest that a large number of IPO firms have been acquired in their early post-IPO lives despite their financial soundness. Specifically, we show that IPO firms are likely to be acquired rather than be delisted due to financial distress in early IPO stages when they are more profitable, more mature or less leveraged. For those IPO firms with venture capital backup have also become an acquisition target more frequently. As a larger number of firms are acquired shortly after their IPO, our results show increased concentration. While providing limited evidence on the impact of large incumbent firms in explaining the change in industry concentration, our results show that the large firms' effect on industry concentration are pronounced in the ICT sector. This result possibly captures the current trend that a few tech giants such as Alphabet, Apple and Facebook continue to increase their market share. In addition, compared with the acquisitions of non-ICT firms, the concentration impact of IPO firms in early stages becomes larger when ICT firms are acquired as a target. Our study makes new contributions. To our best knowledge, this is one of a few studies that link a firm's post-IPO status to associated changes in industry concentration. Although some studies have addressed concentration issues, their primary focus was on market power or proprietary software. Contrast to earlier studies, we are able to uncover the mechanism by which industries have become concentrated by placing emphasis on M&As involving young IPO firms. Interestingly, the concentration impact of IPO firm acquisitions are magnified when a large incumbent firms are involved as an acquirer. This leads us to infer the underlying reasons as to why industries have become more concentrated with a favor of large firms in recent decades. Overall, our study sheds new light on the literature by providing a plausible explanation as to why industries have become concentrated.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.239-262
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• 2006

The paper suggests that there has been a shift in the allocation of bank credit from large firms to small firms before and after the economic crisis. The paper also suggests that the improved lending practices of financial institutions, at least partially, contributed to this shift of corporate loans from large firms to small firms. Comparing the periods before and after the economic crisis also suggests that some important changes occurred to the corporate bond market. The effect of firm size on the corporate bond market differs before and after the economic crisis. Before the crisis, the larger the firms, the more they could borrow in the corporate bond market. However, after the crisis, it is not the case. The following interpretation could be put forward. Before the crisis, investors in the corporate bond market expected that the government would rescue large firms if they face the risk of bankruptcies. However, the collapse of Daewoo Group in 1999 shattered the TBTF (Too Big To Fail) myth of the public. The liquidity crisis of Hyundai Group in 2000-2001 reinforced the disintegration of the TBTF myth.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.215-224
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the external collaboration factors that affect the performance of Korean venture businesses. We use 1,567 firm data (from Venture Business Survey by Small & Medium Business Administration) and analyze the effect of the external collaborations with large business, research institutions, other small business, and foreign companies, on their sales increase between 2008 and 2009. Our analysis shows that Korean venture business' collaborations with research institutions or foreign companies increase their sales statistically significantly, while their collaborations with large business decrease their sales significantly. In the mean time, their collaborations with other small businesses show no significant result. Additional analysis on the collaboration categories between venture businesses and large businesses shows that collaborative R&D, employee training and collaborative marketing help venture business to increase their sales significantly, while financial collaborations have a significant negative effect on sales increase. Technology transfers and profit-sharing mechanism have no significant effect. The result shows that venture business' collaborations for the increase in the fundamental capability of innovations and for searching new markets rather than simple transfer of technology or financial collaborations, have significant positive effects on the increase in sales.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.565-577
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• 2020

This study empirically examined how a firm size affects the determinants of innovative activities using the data of the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) 2016. With data from 2,003 firms in the manufacturing sector, we performed logistic regression analysis and zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis. R&D expenditure and patent applications were used as proxies for innovative activity. The independent variables included the firm's characteristics variables such as the firm's age, tech-level industry, RDemp (R&D employee ratio), venture, export, and industrial characteristics variables such as networking, appropriability, and spillovers. The empirical findings are that there are some differences in firms' innovative activity determinants among the firms' size groups. Next, strategic appropriability has negative impacts on small firms' R&D expenditure and medium-firms' patents. Networking is an important determinant of innovative activity for all firms, except for large firms. Furthermore, in deciding R&D activities, small and medium-sized firms were significantly influenced by industrial characteristics as compared to that of large firms. Our findings suggest some R&D promotion policies. Policies fostering firms' technological interaction would allow firms to take advantage of technological spillovers and thus raise the probability of investing in R&D.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.45-54
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• 2016

Purpose - There have been numerous studies investigating the effects of corporate social responsibility initiatives on corporate associations or corporate images. In line of this research stream, current research examined the potential impact of customer participation in the process of corporate social responsibility initiatives on attitude toward the company. This research differentiates from previous studies that it is the first to connect corporate social responsibility and customer participation. Specifically, we suggest a structural model on corporate associations which was classified into corporate ability associations and corporate social responsibility associations that the more the customers participate in initiating corporate social responsibility, corporate associations were formed more positively. And this leads to the increase of revisit intentions through customer satisfaction. Research design, data, and methodology - To test our research model, we collected data of real consumers of a large discount store in Korea. At the large discount store, customers were given an opportunity to participate the discount store's CSR activity program. We performed field survey and collected data of 146 respondents. We analyzed the data using PASW statistics 21.0 and AMOS 16.0 in order to test our structural model. Results - The results showed that consumers who participated more in initiating corporate social responsibility revealed higher score for corporate ability associations and corporate social responsibility associations. These corporate associations had a positive effect on customer satisfaction, which leads to higher attitude toward revisit intentions. Specifically, hypothesis 1.1 "As Customer participation in CSR process increases, the evaluation of CA associations will be positive,"was supported. Hypothesis 1.2 "As Customer participation in CSR process increases, the evaluation of CSR associations will be positive," was supported. Hypothesis 2.1 "As the evaluation of CA associations is positive, satisfaction with the firm will increase," was supported. Hypothesis 2.1 "As the evaluation of CSR associations is positive, satisfaction with the firm will increase," was supported. Hypothesis 3 "As satisfaction with the firm increases, revisit intentions with the firm will increase," was supported. Conclusions - This research is the first to study the relationship between customer participation in CSR process, CSR, and consumer reactions. This research also contributes to customer participation and corporate social responsibility literature by suggesting customer participation as an antecedent and empirically demonstrating the positive relationships between the constructs. The findings of this research may offer managerial implications for marketing practitioners. When performing corporate social initiatives, it is better to let the customer participate in the process which leads to higher corporate ability associations and corporate social responsibility associations, also higher satisfaction and revisit intentions. Our results provide useful information to practioners that spontaneous participation of consumers makes CSR initiatives effective and successful. Limitations and ideas for further research remain in this research. For example, our focus on the logic was cognitive evaluations(e.g. corporate associations) but affective dimensions might be considered since recent researches are investigating the relationship between customer participation and affective reaction as a response. Despite the limitations, this research have unique and applicable implications for academics and practitioners.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.527-549
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• 2009

This paper investigates the relation of invert U-shape between the M/B ratio and leverage ratio by market, firm size, and a level of technology of firm. Our sample consists of 510 manufacturing firms continually listed on the Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2008. The total sample consists of the Korea Securities Market(large firms, high technology industry) sample of 2,248(1,816, 1,704) observations and the Kosdaq Market(small and medium firms, high technology industry) sample of 1,632(2,264, 2,376) observations. The empirical results show that the relation of invert U shape appears on the sample of the Kosdaq Market, small and medium firms, and high technology industry. However, the relation doesn't appear on the sample of the Korea Securities Market, large firms, and low technology industry. These mutually different results may be caused by the relatively low M/B ratio of the latter.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.131-177
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• 2006

This paper examines a simultaneous determination of corporate control mechanisms, and its effects on firm performance. The corporate control mechanisms considered include the following; insider shareholding, institutional shareholding, the board of directors, dividend policy, and capital structure. This paper applies a simultaneous equation methodology and investigates the interdependence among the corporate control mechanisms. In the first part, the paper finds that firm-level variations of control mechanisms are large across time although average variations are relatively small. These variations are related to one another, which is confirmed by Granger causality test based on dynamic panel autoregression model. More specifically insider shareholding, institutional shareholding and outside director ratio cause each other. With regard to interdependence among the control mechanisms, 2SLS(two stage least squares) regression results show that insider shareholding and institutional shareholding are substitutes while institutional shareholding acts as complements to the ratio of outside members in the board of directors. Then in the second part, the paper examines the relationship between firm performance and corporate governance. Firm performance, measured by Tobin's Q, has a positive association with leverage ratio while that has a negative relation to outside director ratio. This suggests that there may be a room for reforming corporate governance in Korea. Specifically it is necessary to enhance the independence of the outside directors.