• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.27-35
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• 2023

Purpose: China's economy has changed considerably in recent decades. By delivering a comprehensive knowledge of the elements that support successful foreign direct investment (FDI) in China and practical insights for multinational firms operating in this dynamic environment, this research offers a new perspective and sets itself apart from previous studies. Research design, data and methodology: It is necessary to give a thorough overview of the body of information on successful FDI in China, which justifies the adoption of a systematic literature review. The study may use a wide range of studies because of this methodology, which guarantees that inferences have a solid and supported basis in data. Results: The findings in the present study have clarified how China's government policies and regulatory framework affect foreign direct investment (FDI). Previous studies have indicated that regulatory changes can significantly impact FDI. For instance, more foreign direct investment (FDI) has been drawn to liberalized industries such as technology and finance. Conclusions: In conclusion, for foreign direct investment (FDI) to be successful in China, it is essential to consider these four factors: local partnerships and cultural adaptation, market research and entry strategy, regulatory environment and policy support, and risk management and contingency planning.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.225-250
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• 2015

While strategic alliance of multinational corporation has boost, opportunistic behavior is also increased recently. This study examines the cause of opportunism in strategic alliance by focusing on the development of opportunistic behavior, a process in which resource complementarity and risk perception decides attitudinal direction, ultimately leading to opportunism. Empirical test based on 257 alliance participants shows that risk perception had a greater influence on firms' attitudinal and behavioral directions compared to benefit perception. Notably, relational risk heavily influenced firms' competitive attitude and opportunistic behavior. Finally, the study concludes that firms' competitive and independent attitude caused by risk perception negatively influence alliance outcome. Based on the results, it is drawn that alongside the external tools such as surveillance, control, monitoring or legalistic pleas, management of risk perception during the alliance process has significance influence on the achievement of alliance goals.

• Archives of design research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.77-85
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• 2001

In order to sustain competitive advantage through strategic product differentiation in global market, this research aims to establishment of strategic design conditions for domestic manufacturing firms through the means of product image alignment and positioning, using visual character of product as the foundation for establishing corporate image. Case studies on how globally successful multinational companies manage design strategy and corporate culture uniformly for coherent product image management are reviewed. To establish product image alignment methodology for manufacturing firms, the criteria for product image positioning and aligned product image development process are developed in three stages. First, in image positioning stage, it is important to set the direction for corporate image and design strategy by identifying consumer needs through market trends analysis and forecasting as well as comparative positioning of the analysis results of the firms's own corporate image and that of the competitor's. Second, in awareness building stage, before building the product image alignment, firm-wide shared awareness of differentiated corporate and product image, establishment of designer's role as the consolidated manager of product image, sharing form language, and building the infrastructure for defining form information should be preceded. Third, in managing the aligned product image stage, the condition for setting up image information management guideline, management of decision making process for arriving at logical decisions on product form, development of guideline for increasing efficiency and its evaluation system, and co-development of related design should be induced. Further research on the product image alignment with corporate image should be conducted through various empirical studies on image and form, building an information system of related design language, and continuous assessment and management of applied solutions.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.83-111
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• 2009

Despite the growing emphasis on the importance of knowledge exchange among supply chain participants, few companies have fully exploited the knowledge resources held by their supply chain partners. Among many reasons for this phenomenon, recent literature on inter-firm knowledge exchange identifies knowledge complementarities between the supply channel partners as an important determinant of knowledge exchange. Firms participating in a supply chain are likely to exchange partners' complementary knowledge. In order to extract value from them, it is important to recognize the difference between the potential value and the implementation of this potential value. However, the literature fails to distinguish between potential knowledge complementarities and implemented knowledge complementarities. In order to realize the value of potential knowledge complementarities, knowledge should be exchanged and effectively integrated in the supply channel. Further, investigating inter-firm knowledge exchange from both partners' perspectives is important especially when there are interdependencies between the channel partners. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of potential knowledge complementarities on knowledge exchange in buyer-supplier relationships by looking at both partners' perspectives. This research also includes trust in partner's competence and inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) as they are relevant when the complementary knowledge flows between organizations. The data required for this field study was collected from 70 buyers and their suppliers in three multinational enterprises in two different industries (Automobile manufacturing and Telecommunication services) headquartered in Korea. The results indicate that potential knowledge complementarities between buyer and supplier do not directly influence knowledge exchange, but indirectly through trust in partner's competence. And the results indicate that competence-based trust and IOIS have direct effects on knowledge exchange. Empirical results also show that IOIS moderates the relationship between potential knowledge complementarities and knowledge exchange. This study is a first attempt to empirically verify the theoretical model about potential knowledge complementarities and to investigate the impact of potential knowledge complementarities on interfirm knowledge exchange. From a theoretical perspective, this study not only clarifies the distinction between potential knowledge complementarities and implemented knowledge complementarities, but also develops an instrument to measure the concept of potential knowledge complementarities in the context of operational and planning knowledge in a supply chain. Further, we develop a theoretical framework suggesting that potential knowledge complementarities of partners in a supply chain affect knowledge exchange directly and indirectly through competence-based trust. The findings from this study have some managerial implications for practicing managers as well. First, buyers should search for suppliers that have potential complementary knowledge, which can be integrated to create synergy through interfirm knowledge exchange. Furthermore, firms must develop mechanisms to identify potential complementary knowledge of partners. Second, firms should continue their endeavor to develop their own unique knowledge so that their knowledge can benefit the entire supply channel. Finally, trust among supply chain partners turns out to be an important factor for interfirm knowledge exchange. Therefore, effective management for engendering trustworthy buyer-supplier relationships should receive appropriate attention from managers.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.148-162
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• 1993

There is much speculation that modern capi-talist society is undergoing fundamental and qualitative chnge towards flexible specialization. The purpose of this study is to examine this hypothesis. This paper focusses on: the idea of flexible specialization; the significance of this transition; industrial district; and the implicati-ons of this new production system for Korean industrial space. Main arguments of this study are as follows: First, as all different groups of researchers apply the idea of flexible specialization according to their own specifications, the current debate on this topic is not much fruitful. Not surpri-singly, the concept of flexible specialization has overlapped with subocontracting. This intergration of subcontracting into flexible specialization systems, however, is inappropriate because the two concepts have different historical contexts. The other cause of this controversy is its inherent weekness, conceptual ambiguity. Thus, today's flexibility becomes tomorrow's rigidity. Secondly, transition towards flexible speciali-zation has only been partially achieved even in advanced capitalist countries. The application of dualistic explanatory framework, such as rigidity versus flexibiity, mass production versus small-lot multi-product production, and de-skilling versus re-skilling, has resulted in great exaggeration of the transformation, from Fordism to post-Fordism. There is no intermediary part between two places. Considering that the workers allocated to the Fordist mass production assembly line are not as large as one might imagine, the shift from mass to flexible production has only limited implications for the transformation of capitalist economy. Thirdly, 'industrial district' contorversy has contributed to highlighting the importance of small firms and areas as production space. The agglomeration of small firms in specific areas is common in Korea, but it is quite different from the industrial district based on flexible specialization. The Korean phenomenon stems from close interactions with its major parent firm rather than interactions between flexible, specialized, autonomous and technology-intensive smll firms. Most Korean subcontractors are still low-skilled, labour-intensive, and heavily dependent on their mojor parent firms. Thus, the assertion that the Seoul Metropolitan Area adopts flexible specialization has no base. Fourthly, the main concern of flexible speciali zation is small firms. However, the corporate organization that needs product diversification and technological specialization is oligopolistic large corporations typified by multinational corporations. It is because of this that most of these organizations are adoptiong Fordist mass production methods. The problem of product diversification will be resolved naturally if economic internationalization progresses further. What is more important for business success is the quality and price competitiveness of firms rather than product diversification. Lastly, in order to dispel further misunderst-anding on this issue, it is imparative that the conceptual ambiguity is resolved most urgently. This study recommends adoption of more speci-fied and direct terminology (such as, factory automation, computer design, out-sourcing, the exploitation of part-time labor, job redesign) rather than that of ideological ones (such as, Taylorism, Fordism, neo-Taylorism, neo-Fordism, post-fordism, flexible specialization, peripheral post-Fordism). As the debates on this topic just started, we still have long way to go until consensus is reached.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.41-70
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• 2013

In this paper, we analyzed whether there exists positive relation between firm's global activity and various innovation output and, if it exists, what are the major factors by which innovation outputs can be generated, focusing on the different degree of global activity. We found that for foreign MNC affiliates, their superior information access to existing knowledge is much more important and for non-MNC exporters and domestic MNC parents not only access to existing knowledge but also active investment in new knowledge is important. When we analyze the product and the process innovation separately, we found that for the process innovation information flows from existing knowledge is relatively more important while for product innovation investment in new knowledge and information flows from existing knowledge are almost equally important. Thus in Korea policies that promote both direct R&D activities and information flows should be pursued at the same time to enhance firms' innovativeness.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.81-112
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• 1998

This study reviews the industrialization process of the United States-Mexico Borderlands and the economic relations between the U.S. and Mexico and examines their impact on the borderlands. Main factor in the industrialization of the borderlands was the U.S. investment on the maquiladora program of Mexico since 1965. It contributed to the increase in employment and population of borderlands and the development of service industries. Low wage level of Mexico induced not only standardized labor-intensive industries but also the high-tech automated industries because they still use a lot of labor in manufacturing and assembly process, while the functions of management. R & D, and distribution remained in the U.S. This is a typical case of international division of labor and satellite industrial district. The rules of origin in NAFTA, however forced branch Plants of multinational companies to form the local linkages between firms.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.209-237
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• 2012

Multinational enterprises(MNEs) try to strengthen their global innovative capabilities by incorporating the foreign subsidiaries' knowledge bases. Foreign subsidiaries play an important role in MNEs' knowledge creation activities. This study develops a strategy model that strengthening the knowledge creation capabilities of Korean firms' foreign subsidiaries. Four strengthening strategy types are derived from three research areas related with center of excellence, subsidiary strategic roles, and knowledge creation capabilities. The strategies that strengthen knowledge creation capabilities are including organizational culture and autonomy reinforcing strategy, subsidiary's absorptive capacity reinforcing strategy, local environment management strategy, and network building strategy. Strategic fit conditions which support the success of each strategy type are also discussed.

• Korean Business Review
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.23-46
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• 2006

In modern economic societies, individuals are governed by organizations and they managed their daily lives in one way or another. through such organizations. All activities of the organizations are carried out by the job performance of individuals. Job is a very important factor for both individuals and organizations. The study is the explore. the effect of job characteristics and organizational characteristics on the job satisfaction in the small- and medium- sized firms in Namdong und Banwool Area. Job characteristics and organizational justice were hypothesized to be positively related to job satisfaction. To examine the influence of job characteristics and organizational justice on job satisfactions, data were collected from 320 employees of the small- and medium- sized manufacturing companies in Namdong und Banwool Area. This research took independent variables as the core job characteristics of the job characteristic theory such as skill variety, job stagnation, job importance, autonomy, feed back, and organizational justice as distributive and procedural justice. As a result, I can make the following suggestions. First, The Results show that job characteristics and organizational justice were significant and important predictors of job satisfaction. Secondarily, to raise the job desire of organizational members, job must be designed in such a way that the members can highly recognize their job characteristics.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.145-166
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• 2018

This study is due to global competition, the wall between regions is disappearing, customer needs are diversified, and market and technology are rapidly changing. Future growth engines, the importance of convergence capabilities for industrial competitiveness is being emphasized more. Therefore, companies should seek innovative means to increase the efficiency of the company by establishing optimized global management environment and establishing direction and strategy for utilization of convergence technology by improving industrial competitiveness. Firms must adopt and utilize related new technologies by strengthening their convergence capabilities through dynamic capabilities that are internal resource bases for new product development and process innovation. Globalize markets and technologies can expect higher innovation performance when aligning strategic direction with formalized technology competencies held by the firm and incorporating the convergence capabilities needed for technological innovation into processes. The study focuses on the effects of market and technology orientation on technological innovation performance, whether dynamic and convergence capabilities affect technological innovation performance, and dynamic and convergence capabilities to mediate between market and technology orientation. For the study, we surveyed 51.4% of global and multinational corporations that are internationally active or headquartered overseas. Based on the previous studies, hypotheses were established and the collected data were analyzed through utilization path analysis and Sobel test.