• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.107-118
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• 2014

enterprise to strengthen growth and technological competitiveness through close cooperation with universities and research institutions. The Purpose of this study is to present how to seek more participation in industry-university cooperation from Industry, University, Research Institute, and Government (I-U-R-G) using success factor analysis of "Excellent Industry-University Cooperation Coordinator". The findings can be summarized as follows. First, it is indicated that Coordinator' business aggressiveness positively affect the volume of business and technology DB excavation. Second, it is indicated that the number of agency staff positively affect the volume of business, the number of Project derived by Coordinator and new professors participation rate. Third, it is indicated that the Fellowship of the Enterprises positively affect the volume of business, technology DB excavation and new professors participation rate. Lastly, it is indicated that organization maintains, center chapter leadership, and local government'commitment don't have positive effect on the performance of I-U Cooperation of SMEs.. Therefore, in order to improve the performance of cooperation technology development projects that affect the technological competitiveness of SMEs, I-U cooperation coordinator needs more continuous attention and support from Industry, University, Research institution, and Government.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.301-309
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• 2020

Defense exports have overgrown in a short period, and items have been diversified with advanced high-end equipment, but exports have been stagnant due to the global economic recession and fierce competition. Weapons importers in the global market are diversified, volatility is higher, and global defense companies are also expanding their global value chain (GVC) By participating in the GVC of a global defense company, the defense SME can grow into a competitive company with specialized technology, rather than participating as a partner of a domestic system company. It is time to prepare an export promotion support plan. In this study, we selected five global companies with high value for the implementation of offset and general considerations on domestic SMEs' entry into the international parts supply chain and related cases, and investigated GVC entry requirements, the current status of cooperation partners, and the perceptions of GVC entry, through local surveys in Korea and overseas. Also, by considering the export target comprehensively, GVC stage, and the level of export competitiveness of domestic SMEs, strategies for promoting GVC participation of defense SMEs and improvements in government policies were derived and presented.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.37-45
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• 2013

Purpose - Appropriate response to the fast changing economic environment determines SMEs' competiveness in the era of globalization and open market and, therefore, government policies to strengthen SME's competitiveness will be very important in the future. It is time to investigate the element of strategic orientation that is necessary for strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs, and its effect on the success of a business start-up. This study analyzes the network orientation in addition to existing strategic orientation, and focuses on price and quality management capability as mediators for strategic orientation and outcomes of business start-ups. Research design/data/methodology - The orientations of technology-based business founders were classified into market, technology, network, and entrepreneurial orientation. We then investigated the effect of these orientations on product price and quality management capability, as well as the influence of price and quality management capability on the outcome of a business start-up. This study is based on the nation-wide survey of the founders and members of technology-based business establishments. The survey was administered to 300 selected companies via email for a period of one month, at the end of which 175 companies replied with valid answers. Further, for effective and objective research, we used SPSS 14.0 and Amos 7.0 for structural equation modeling assumptions and hypothesis verification. Results - Except for entrepreneurial orientation, the other three orientations, namely, technology, market, and network orientations, affect the price management capability according to our results. The price management capability relates significantly with the sales and customer satisfaction. Especially, technology orientation is the core competency of start-ups that affects price and quality management capabilities. However, technology and entrepreneurial orientation do not influence the outcome of business start-ups, but affect their quality management capabilities. Conclusions - This study confirms that the strategic orientation affects product price as well as quality management capabilities, to introduce new products and achieve successful outcomes. In conclusion, new business founders face the dilemma of trade-off between price and quality in the planning stage of new product development. In particular, price management capability directly affects the outcome. Therefore, price management is more important for a successful start-up than quality management. Especially, during the initial stages of starting up a new business, price management capability entails following the market-leading company, or price penetration strategy. In this stage, price management is dependent on the information from outside rather than on the founder's decision, and it directly affects sales performance and customer satisfaction. In contrast, quality management capability is directly related to the technology capability and market experience of founders. In this case, subjective and proactive decision making is required for differentiation and development of demand in the niche market, which does not directly influence the sales performance and customer satisfaction.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.59-65
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• 2014

Purpose - The competitiveness of logistics in the 21st century rests on ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of its local hub. While considering entry into a niche market in local logistics, it is pertinent to note that Budapest is emerging as a hub in EU enlargement in Eastern Europe. Big, small, and medium-sized businesses in Korea entered Hungary in the early 1990s since then, there has been a significant increase in Korean presence, of approximately 130 times. This study aimed to identify the key distribution issues that have emerged in relation to Eastern Europe. Research design, data, and methodology - This study indicates that 33 major Korean companies were located in Hungary, which serves as an out post to enter the European marketplace. However, Korea's exports to Hungary have declined (-32.0% in 2012) because of a loss of competitiveness against multinational corporations, due to factors such as the rise in current local distribution costs and wages. Hungary, on the other hand, through diversification and expansion of foreign trade with the non-EU markets, including Korea, is increasing its exports. Strategies of emerging countries are compared and reviewed in this study, by examining the vicissitudes of Hungary's distribution methods. Results - There are issues regarding Hungary's innovative ability. Hungary has a history of low wages and high skilled labor. However, the outflow of high-quality human resources for high-wages has become more extensive, and this underlines concerns that the CEE's trade hub is moving to neighboring countries. After the European financial crisis in 2010, the Hungarian economy is now developing, because of the IMF's measures, and it is being transformed into a trade surplus nation, while regaining distribution volumes rapidly. However, if there is continued lack of investment, the supply chain is weakened and exports decline amidst competition with TNCs or with China's distribution networks. Conclusions - It is necessary to create a new logistics approach for increasing trade between Korea and Hungary. First, Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should build trust by working with advanced Hungarian talent, and they should expand into state-of-the-art fields instead of being confined to traditional sectors. Second, this study focuses on limiting and lowering their high expectations for success according to foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and the role in the CEE distribution hub Korea should try to strengthen the distribution hub with its centralized population, using better, more highly educated human resources, thereby sustaining more innovative ability. Further, the positive effects of these measures are manifested in enhanced business on both sides of Hungary, namely, the EU and non-EU nations such as Turkey and emerging markets around Europe, and a better engagement in the core placement of culture and industry. For this, Korea can contribute to, and benefit from, a Hungarian logistics center, for adopting the high-tech cluster systems and commercializing distribution technology such as RFID·USN.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2018

SMEs need a strategy to respond to rapid changes in the global business environment of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In order to overcome such a business environment, SMEs must concentrate on the core competency. Because of the structural characteristics of SMEs, government support is very important, as it is difficult for SMEs to carry out the entire supply chain role. The support of GRIs is very important for ensuring competitiveness through technological innovation of SMEs. Recently, the construction of SMEs network for business expansion is demanded. SMEs can form networks to induce synergistic effects. In order to secure the competitiveness of SMEs by utilizing the advantages of mutually cooperating networks, the necessity of cooperation of SMEs is increasing. The government has proposed various support programs to support network cooperation. In this research, in order to derive an effective strategy of the SME support program, we analyzed the difference in necessity and satisfaction of the GRIs support program. We analyze the differences between government policies and perceptions for SMEs and to derive strategies for supporting SMEs in a systematic approach for the development of SMEs. In a situation where research to revitalize SMEs is insufficient, in consideration of the market demand of SMEs, we grasp the problems of the current system and try to guide improvement strategies. Also, we suggest policies that can derive and utilize support strategies for SMEs. From a long-term perspective, research related SMEs must be conducted and a sustainable support program for SMEs must be developed.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.19-35
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• 2023

Recently, the government has emphasized the importance of establishing an innovation system for SMEs as part of an innovative growth strategy for national economic development. SMEs in Korea are experiencing many difficulties due to the loss of industrial competitiveness due to the powerful wave of the 4th industrial revolution along with the pandemic of COVID-19 that started in 2020. In relation to environmental changes, it is emerging as an important issue for SMEs to pursue open innovation for survival and growth, as well as to possess excellent technological innovation capabilities. In accordance with the need for such research, this study analyzed the factors that affect business performance or technological performance of small and medium-sized manufacturers, and identified the relationship between these influencing factors and corporate performance. The results of this study suggest that it is important for SMEs to effectively utilize R&D services and technology innovation capabilities and resources possessed by SMEs to secure a competitive advantage. The results of this stu dy are considered to be able to provide basic data and information necessary for SMEs to secu re a competitive edge and enhance industrial competitiveness through government support systems and open innovation.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.27-56
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• 2011

As the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) has increases, it has been accompanied by an increase in the amount research attention paid to the factors contributing to the competitiveness of SMEs. Human resource management(HRM) should be the central themes of the discussion. This study is performed to provide basic and broad information of the current state of HRM in SME as the first step for such an effort. The conditions of HRM and the degree of introduction and utilization of six different HRM practices, incentive regulation, complaints handling system, suggestion system, employment stability system, performance evaluation system, and regular education and training, are analyzed through the data collected form 763 SMEs of four industries in Daegu, Only 2 percent of responding companies had been formed unions, 43% evaluate their employment conditions are difficult. And 39% of the SMEs appraise their human resources are more competitive than those of other companies. The ration of introduction of regular education and training system is highest and that of performance evaluation is lowest among the all responding companies. In addition, employment stability system is found as the most actively utilized HRM practice. The implications of these results and future research directions are suggested.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.75-95
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• 2020

Smart Factory is the decisive factor of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is a key field for national competitiveness. Until now, most smart factory research has focused on policy and technology. In order to spread more technology, it is necessary to study what factors influence the adoption of smart factory technology in the enterprise. Nevertheless, little research has been done. In this study, based on the UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology), which has been proved through many years of research, I have studied the factors that influence the acceptance of smart factory technology. As a result of research, performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions of UTAUT model had a positive(+) effect on behavior intention. Their relationship of influence was in the order of performance expectancy (β = .459)> facilitating conditions (β = .212)> social influence (β = .210). However, it was found that the effort expectancy did not affect the behavior intention, and the impact of the newly perceived risk on the behavior intention to use was not confirmed. The main reason is that the acceptance of smart factory technology is not a matter of personal interest but a matter of organizational choice. Trust, on the other hand, was found to be partially mediated between performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence and behavior intention. For many years, many researchers have validated the UTAUT, which has been validated through various empirical studies. It is academically meaningful to begin the study of factors affecting the acceptance of smart factory technology in terms of the UTAUT. In practice, it is necessary to provide SME employees with more information related to the introduction of smart factories, to provide advanced services related to the establishment of smart factories, and to establish a standardized model for each industry.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.73-94
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• 2013

The prinary cause of the decreasing SME's competitiveness in technology is the intensifying human resource shortages. The government supports a part of labor costs for SMEs as a means of policy. There are two ways of supporting labor costs for R&D personnel. One is to hire R&D personnel first then support their partial labor costs. The other is to support labor costs first for R&D personnel in national R&D programs then hire R&D personnel. This study analyzes the effectiveness of two different ways by classifying sales, no. of employees, R&D expenditure, no. of researchers, and no. of MA/Ph.D. researchers. In terms of employing researchers with MA or Ph.D., the effectiveness on employment subsidy is significantly higher than that of R&D subsidy. Its effect has been relatively high in non-metropolitan areas and manufacturing industry.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.647-663
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• 2011

Company's interest in the work place training and investment has been growing continuously because the talent of human resource is the competitiveness itself in the knowledge based society. However, corporate training programs mainly have focused on large companies and SMEs despite the economic business volume have been treated too lightly so far. This paper regards corporate training programs with one of the methods for SMEs innovation and proposes the smart learning in the smart device diffusion. Concretely, this paper analyzes the utilization intention, each attribute and level in smart learning characteristics using conjoint analysis. The result shows that SMEs have positive response for smart learning acceptance and SMEs consider significantly the usage fee type and location with the difference between regular employee and administrator. Specially, interactive communication and customized contents are preferred in the training type. Smart learning can be used as strategic means in supporting the value innovation and enhancing the absorptive capacity in SMEs innovation process.