• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.69-83
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• 2015

This study proposes effective overseas market entry strategies that could allow Korean logistics companies to develop international capabilities and become global firms by adapting to environmental changes in global logistics. First, it reviews the overseas networks of Korean international freight forwarders and the recent trends in the global logistics market. Then, it surveys the conditions of two groups of freight forwarders, namely partnerships and subsidiaries, which are categorized according to type of entry into foreign markets. These companies' networks are concentrated in East and Southeast Asia regardless of network type. As a result, the ability for partnerships to network is higher than that of subsidiaries. However, subsidiaries are small in number and located in various regions because of their initial stage, which is why their businesses depend on the price competitiveness of the parent company. The satisfaction and performance of subsidiaries are both generally low according to the presented findings. In addition, the successful strategies of international freight forwarders include following operations, specializing their logistics services, building collaborations among small and medium-sized companies, recruiting and training professional human resources in international logistics, and entering markets together with their customers. Overall, this study highlights the importance of measuring and evaluating objectively the level and performance of overseas networking through a survey about the internationalization of Korean freight forwarder companies. To conclude, this study is considered to contribute to raising their global competitiveness by suggesting strategies derived from the survey findings and SWOT analysis.