• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.59-76
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• 2022

Purpose - As ahigher-order ability, improvisational capability is often employed to help a firm cope with unexpected or unanticipated issues. In light of the severe global business challenges and turbulent environmental changes, this study aimed to explore whether home-based network ties could shape the influence of improvisational capability on international entrepreneurship, alongside investigating the boundary conditions of competitive turbulence in their moderating effects. Design/methodology - The sample for the international entrepreneurship sector was obtained from the Industry and Information Technology Department of Jiangsu. In September 2021, the questionnaires were sent to the targeted ventures and required the top managers to complete the survey by email or telephone. The final research sample comprised 113 international new ventures. To test the hypotheses, moderated hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Findings - Our empirical results suggested that (1) unlike some previous literature, a positive effect of improvisational capability on the performance of international new ventures was not found; (2) home country-based networks (both political ties and business ties) are contingent factors that may partially stimulate the value creation of improvisational capability; and (3) in a highly competitive environment, the moderating role of business ties at home may become much stronger, however, the contingent role of political ties at home was not found. Originality/value - This study mainly concentrates on the two important types of home country-based networks, political and business ties at home, that may help international new ventures access strategic resources necessary for supporting the performance implications of improvisational capability. Thus, it extends the existing improvisational theory to encompass international entrepreneurship.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.31-57
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• 2021

So far, several researchers have studied the relationship between research and development investment and firm performance; however, most have focused on linear relationships. Thus, previous studies remain fragmented and show mixed results. This study examined the moderating effect of political ties in the relationship between R&D investment and firm performance. We tested the hypotheses based on extensive 20-year data on enterprises, from 1998 through 2017, as the research period. The study is expected to contribute to explaining the mixed results of the research between research and development investment and firm performance.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.178-199
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• 2022

Two surveys for exploring communicative paths toward political participation were conducted with relatively large samples of Americans (N = 1001) and South Koreans (N = 1166). Hierarchical regression modeling of the relationships among demographics, personal networks, news consumption, and cross-cutting discussion and political participation demonstrated mostly commonalities between the two samples, including the interaction between political diversity and Twitter usage for news access but with distinct effect sizes of cross-cutting discussion on political participation. We attribute the differences to the two countries' distinct histories of democracy and culture, and the commonalities to the general relationships between cross-cutting discussion and political participation moderated by strong ties political homogeneity.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.91-128
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• 2023

In recent decades, Indonesia and the Middle Eastern countries have increased and expanded their political, security, economic, and socio-cultural ties. Qatar is one of the Middle Eastern countries which have fortified ties with Indonesia. This article aims to analyze the nature and scope of Indonesia-Qatar relations through the five-dimensional framework developed by George Eberling, which consists of political-diplomatic, economic-trade, military-security, cultural, and petroleum-energy relations (Eberling 2017). Despite being significantly distinct in history, demography, geographic size, and location, Jakarta and Doha have been provided opportunities to expand their cooperation on multifaceted dimensions by way of common economic, geopolitical, and cultural interests. Throughout the paper, the primary drivers of the cooperation are also discussed, alongside its future prospects.

• Strategy21
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• s.44
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• pp.254-290
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• 2018

Why did Kim Jong Un turn his foreign policy upside down in a sudden? US naval blockade became one of candidates for the reason since it had been threatened by Trump administration for the first time in December 2017. Has the blockades worked well like that in the international politic history? This paper reveals the effectiveness of naval blockade on sanctioning in the peacetime. This research analyzes three hypothetical arguments about the naval blockade based on the result of empirical tests with TIES Dataset. First, sanctions by blockading are more effective in gaining political benefits than the other economic sanctions. It was ranked the 4th effective way of sanction out of 9. And 56.3% of pacific naval blockades without packaged economic sanctions were succeeded, whereas the possibility of success increase up to 61.2% when blockade has been imposed in accordance with the other type of economic sanctions. Second, blockades deter military collisions, even war. When it comes to military provocation issue, blockading sanctions gain political interest far more than the other type of economic sanctions. The possibility of the success reaches up to 74%. Also, there wasn't any historical cases of war incurred by blockading sanctions within 5 years after the blockade end. Third, policy makers just need 1.2 years on average to see the end of sanctions when they choose the naval blockade as the method of imposing sanction on the adversary. It is impressively short span of time in achieving political goal compared to the other types of sanctions which are need 9 years on average. North East Asia sea could be the next stage for a naval blockade sooner or later. Because China and Japan not only possess capabilities of blockade but also have will to impose blockades to the others if conditions are set. And even the North Korea with lots of submerging forces could be a blockading threat in the specific area. So, the Republic of Korea has to pay more attention and be prepared for naval blockading sanction.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-48
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• 2022

In the past decade, Korea and Japan have increasingly exhibited different strategic priorities in trade in face of China's rising global economic prowess and worsening US-China trade conflict. Japan's trade policy decisions have worked to reinforce its economic and security ties with the US as a means to counter China. Japan has used both bilateral and multilateral means to secure its ties with the US against China. In contrast, Korea's trade policy positions have been one of 'strategic ambiguity'. Korea has been more conciliatory towards China, reluctant to take actions that would counter China's interest. Korea has mainly resorted to bilateral channels to maintain favorable relations with both China and the US. Korea's reluctance to clearly ally with the US against China has been observed across different administrations with opposing political orientations. This paper examines Korea and Japan's diverging strategic priorities in trade through the 2017 World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference; the 2017 US imposition of Section 232 on steel; the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Korea-US FTA renegotiation and the Korea-China FTA Phase Two Negotiation; and the 2019 Japan-US Trade Agreement.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.63-82
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• 2022

Purpose - Drawing on relational institutional theory, we explored how demographic similarity between board members of a firm and newly emerged political elites led to firms' increased financial resource acquisition such as leverage ratio and decreased export intensity amidst the Asian financial crisis. We also studied how a firm's leverage ratio and export intensity can further affect firm profitability and financial credit rating. Design/methodology - We revisited and explored a unique, unprecedented crisis that affected most Korean firms: the Asian financial crisis that coincided with a governmental shift from a conservative to a liberal party. We collected demographic information from 432 listed Korean firms' board members and 43 political elites of the Blue House from 1998-2000 to create a demographic similarity measurement. We collected firms' financial information, built panel data, and used ordinary least squares regression to test our theory. Findings - Our results showed that demographic similarity between a firm's directors and newly emerged politicians had a positive association with a firm's leverage ratio but a negative association with a firm's export intensity. A firm's leverage ratio had a negative relationship with firm performance measured by firm profitability and financial credit rating. A firm's export intensity showed a positive effect on firm performance. Originality/value - We highlighted that during an economic crisis that coincided with a governmental shift and change of leading political actors, firms exerted efforts to survey the environment and build new external stakeholder relationships to cope with the changing landscape. We proposed that in an emerging market like Korea where low levels of trust and favoritism are prevalent across society, one of the relational institutional strategies that firms can employ is the selection of directors with similar demographic characteristics to political elites based on factors including birthplace and school affiliations. We examined the efforts of firms to build political networks with newly empowered political elites during a financial crisis, and the consequences of establishing such networks. We highlighted that during a financial crisis, the demographic similarity between a firm's board members and newly emerged politicians can provide firms with access to financial resources but can also result in poor management and reduced effort to enhance its international competitiveness.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.243-265
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• 2010

North Korea sharing a border with China has developed economic relations with China for a long time. During the cold war(from 1950s to late 1980s), political, military and economic ties between the two countries have become stronger because they had maintained the same political and economic system. However their economic relations have significantly changed after China has adopted market economies since the late 1970s. In particular, trade volume has been shrinked significantly since the late 1990s when China began to ask hard currency payments in their commercial transactions. This paper aims to investigate the conditions and prospects of trade and logistics relations between North Korea and China including the problems existed and then make some suggestions to foster their trade relations. In conclusion in order to develop its trade relations with China, it is suggested that North Korea should make significant changes in its economic and logistics system including infrastructure, institutional schemes, social and trade practices ect. because most problems in bilateral trade have been incurred from North Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Association of African Studies
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• v.43
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• pp.3-48
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• 2014

ABAKO(Alliance des Bakongo) of Democratic Republic of Congo is an organization founded by an ethnic group who sought to preserve its language, culture and tradition. It later developed into a political organization and led an independence movement from Belgium. In 1950, Edmond Nzeza-Nlandu founded the ABAKO in Leopoldville (currently known as Kinshasa), the capital of Belgian Congo. ABAKO changed into a political organization, however, when Nzeza-Nlandu stepped down from his position and Joseph Kasa-Vubu was elected instead as the chief of ABAKO in March 21, 1954. The Bakongo nationalism, as a link between the Kongo Kingdom of the past and the Bakongo people of the present, had influence on their cultural identity, attitude towards authority, political orientation, a common ground for geographical boundaries, and provided foundation for group mobilization. Moreover, the Kimbangu Church, founded by Simon Kimbangu had close ties with ABAKO. They struggled to obtain independece from the Belgian colonial rule. In conclusion, the leaders and members of ABAKO regarded the 'ethnic, linguistic and historical' affinities as the identity of their Bakongo nationalist group.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.39
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• pp.102-139
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• 2007

This research studied how political online discussion participation and experiencing opinion disagreement during the discussion affect on civic attitudes(interpersonal trust and reciprocity) and civic participation through pretest-posttest control group experimental treatment. For results, first of all, online political discussion positively affects on civic attitude of participants, but it's effect was partial. Next, experiencing opinion disagreement can help to have rather improving civic attitude than reducing civic attitude. Finally, civic attitude consists of interpersonal trust and reciprocity acquired from online discussion also partially and positively affects on civic participation which is more affected by reciprocity than interpersonal trust. Regard to these effect of online discussion, civic attitude can be extended by participating political communication(discussion), and participating communicative associations lead to encourage civic attitude of them and function to reinforce social integration and social ties.