• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.156-166
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• 2019

For this study, a survey was conducted with the employees of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) located in Seoul and in Gyeonggi province. In the end, a total of 328 valid questionnaires were received and used in the analysis. The data of this study were analyzed using two statistics programs: SPSS Statistics 22.0 and AMOS 22.0. As for the method to verify the hypothesis, we used a structural equation model. The key findings of this study are as follows. First, the results of correlation analysis between management strategy factors, innovation activities, and business performance showed that the factors that were at a higher level of correlation were the technology differentiation strategies, marketing differentiation strategies, and the cost-driven strategy. Second, the strategic management factors that influenced innovation activities were in the following order: marketing differentiation, technology differentiation, and the cost-driven strategy, while the valid factors that affected business performance with significance were only the marketing differentiation strategy and the cost-driven strategy. Third, while the analysis showed that the technology differentiation strategy did not have a direct effect on business performance, it was shown that the relationship between the technology differentiation strategy and business performance was completely mediated by innovation activities.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.175-184
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the strategic role of the human resources department in the manufacturing industry on organizational effectiveness through education and training satisfaction. Among the data from the 7th human capital company panel survey, data from the manufacturing industry were used and analyzed through a structural equation model. The results of this study are as follows: First, the strategic role of the HR department has a positive effect on satisfaction with education and training. Second, satisfaction with education and training and the strategic role of HR departments have a positive effect on job satisfaction among organizational effectiveness. Third, it was confirmed that education and training satisfaction has a mediating effect on the relationship between the HR department's strategic role and job satisfaction. The results of this study are expected to become the basis for expanding the authority and responsibilities of the HR department, which is an important factor in overcoming the crisis faced by SMEs as well as innovation, and redefining their role.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.155-166
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of self-efficacy, hope, and resilience, which are factors of the positive psychology capital of the re-startup CEO, on the quality of decision-making through the absorption capacity, and the effect of the re-startup's absorption capacity. In particular, this study was started from the question of how positive psychological capital would affect to the re-startup CEO. The survey was conducted from re-founders who received funding from Korea SMEs & Startups Agency. And 144 sample data were analyzed by using SPSS 24.0 for descriptive statistics and by using Smart PLS 3.0. for SEM. The factors of Positive Psychological Capital were extracted to three factors: self-efficacy, hope, and resilience. As a result, it is shown that self-efficacy had a positive effect on potential absorption capacity, and hope had no effect on potential absorption capacity, and positive effects on realized absorption capacity. Resilience has been shown to have a positive effect on potential absorption and realized absorption capacity. It has been shown that potential absorption and realized absorption have a positive effect on the quality of decision making. This study is intended to provide theoretical and practical implications.

• Korean small business review
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.57-77
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• 2020

In Korea, various schemes have been implemented to prevent the outflow of technology, but they do not bring practical effects. In general, we focus on follow-up measures such as strong punishment in case of violation of the law. In terms of proactive prevention, it is not shown to have any real preventive effect, even though it includes such matters as imposing security measures on companies or conducting a survey. this paper examines the need to strengthen the protection of business secrets by reviewing the employment rules between companies and workers presented in the Labor Relations Act and the Labor Standards Act as a realistic alternative. In most companies, even though the employment rule is the highest standard of private regulations, the employment rule has no matters on the prevention and protection of technology leakage. The employment rules require all employees working for companies to agree and notify in the Labor Standards Act, so it is necessary to reflect them as standards in the standard employment rules because it shows that all employees of the company can have a common sense of security and present legal compliance with security-related documents, such as security pledges and security-related guidelines and procedures.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.269-285
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• 2021

As the systematic management of knowledge within an organization is recognized as a core factor for the continuous growth of an organization, organizations are increasing their interest in knowledge management. Knowledge management requires the active sharing of knowledge by insiders of the organization, but there are cases of failure due to the lack of participation of leaders and employees of the organization. The purpose of this study is to suggest a mechanism by which the authentic leadership of leaders in small and medium-sized enterprises(SME), which are relatively lacking in knowledge production capacity, leads to intention to share knowledge of employees. In addition, the study confirms that reciprocal feedback and task interdependence moderate the relationship between antecedent factors and intention to share knowledge. In this study, a research model was derived based on precedent research, and 272 samples were obtained by conducting a questionnaire survey on employees of SME that introduced a knowledge management policy. And, the study verified the hypothesis by applying structural equation modeling based on AMOS 22.0. The results of the study proved that authentic leadership has a positive effect on the intention to share knowledge through organization identification and organization commitment, and confirmed that reciprocal feedback and work interdependence moderate the relationship between knowledge sharing intentions and antecedent factors. This study suggests the mechanism by which the authentic behavior of the leaders of SMEs affects the knowledge sharing behavior of employees, and suggests that work cooperation strengthens the influence of the mechanism.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.599-608
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• 2022

There has been criticism that the government-led makerspace did not reflect the actual demand of makers, so there was a limit to performance creation. In this regard, the study aims to diagnose the current status and problems of makerspace and to suggest the implication to respond to policy demand. To this end, we analyzed the current status of makerspace by utilizing the government documents. Then, we conducted a survey of SMEs related to ICT devices that experienced makerspace, and analyzed their opinions on D·N·A technology demand, management difficulties, and governments' support policies. As results, the study proposed several improvement measures to upgrade makerspace as a digital conversion platform as follows. First, due to the nature of the existing industry for introducing D·N·A technology, there is a limit for companies to enter the market on their own, so comprehensive support from the government is needed. Second, it is necessary to establish and expand an empirical test bed for the development of new products and services so that various types of metaverse contents can be discovered and digital transformation convergence models of existing businesses can be derived. Third, by modifying the support method to operate the makerspace as a platform that implements the government-led start-up support policy, boldly transfer what the private sector can do well to the private sector. The participants of Industry·University·Institute Collaboration should freely share ideas and help the common problem be solved. Based on the problems and the findings for improvement, it is expected that the current makerspace would be upgraded to a digital conversion platform suitable for the demand of the field.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.139-160
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• 2017

Technology commercialization creates effective economic value by linking the company's R & D processes and outputs to the market. This technology commercialization is important in that a company can retain and maintain a sustained competitive advantage. In order for a specific technology to be commercialized, it goes through the stage of technical planning, technology research and development, and commercialization. This process involves a lot of time and money. Therefore, the duration and cost of technology commercialization are important decision information for determining the market entry strategy. In addition, it is more important information for a technology investor to rationally evaluate the technology value. In this way, it is very important to scientifically estimate the duration and cost of the technology commercialization. However, research on technology commercialization is insufficient and related methodology are lacking. In this study, we propose an evaluation model that can estimate the duration and cost of R & D technology commercialization for small and medium-sized enterprises. To accomplish this, this study collected the public data of the National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS) and the survey data provided by the Small and Medium Business Administration. Also this study will develop the estimation model of commercialization duration and cost of R&D performance on using these data based on the market approach, one of the technology valuation methods. Specifically, this study defined the process of commercialization as consisting of development planning, development progress, and commercialization. We collected the data from the NTIS database and the survey of SMEs technical statistics of the Small and Medium Business Administration. We derived the key variables such as stage-wise R&D costs and duration, the factors of the technology itself, the factors of the technology development, and the environmental factors. At first, given data, we estimates the costs and duration in each technology readiness level (basic research, applied research, development research, prototype production, commercialization), for each industry classification. Then, we developed and verified the research model of each industry classification. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. Firstly, it is reflected in the technology valuation model and can be used to estimate the objective economic value of technology. The duration and the cost from the technology development stage to the commercialization stage is a critical factor that has a great influence on the amount of money to discount the future sales from the technology. The results of this study can contribute to more reliable technology valuation because it estimates the commercialization duration and cost scientifically based on past data. Secondly, we have verified models of various fields such as statistical model and data mining model. The statistical model helps us to find the important factors to estimate the duration and cost of technology Commercialization, and the data mining model gives us the rules or algorithms to be applied to an advanced technology valuation system. Finally, this study reaffirms the importance of commercialization costs and durations, which has not been actively studied in previous studies. The results confirm the significant factors to affect the commercialization costs and duration, furthermore the factors are different depending on industry classification. Practically, the results of this study can be reflected in the technology valuation system, which can be provided by national research institutes and R & D staff to provide sophisticated technology valuation. The relevant logic or algorithm of the research result can be implemented independently so that it can be directly reflected in the system, so researchers can use it practically immediately. In conclusion, the results of this study can be a great contribution not only to the theoretical contributions but also to the practical ones.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.87-100
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• 2022

Early start-up companies have an inherent limitation of lack of resources. Despite these limitations, in order to survive, the entrepreneur's personal ability to efficiently use limited resources is required. In the marketing field, various studies are needed to reduce the business failure rate through establishing growth strategies and innovation. Accordingly, it is necessary to apply the concept of entrepreneurial marketing, which has been researched and developed overseas for 30 years, to fit the domestic reality. According to the flow of this study, an empirical study should be preceded to clarify the influence relationship between entrepreneurial marketing orientation, marketing competency, and management performance, along with a theoretical theorem on entrepreneurial marketing that is suitable for early start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) and can respond innovatively to changes. The establishment of entrepreneurial marketing orientation and the processes from which this concept leads to business performance through the organization's marketing capabilities and its effects will be empirically verified. For an empirical survey, a survey was conducted on founders of 220 companies, and path analysis using structural equations was used for hypothesis verification. The findings are as follows. First, it was found that the entrepreneurial marketing orientation had a positive effect on both the organization's marketing capabilities and management performance. Second, it was found that the organization's marketing capabilities also had a positive effect on management performance. Third, as a result of empirical analysis of the mediating effect of the organization's marketing capabilities on the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing orientation and management performance, it was found that marketing capabilities showed a greater mediating effect on non-financial performance than financial performance. On the other hand, it was confirmed that marketing performance had a stronger mediating effect on financial performance than non-financial performance. By confirming and presenting the concept and constituent factors of entrepreneurial marketing orientation of domestic start-ups, which were academic gaps for the purpose of this paper, the academic research is differentiated in that they were verified as six components of entrepreneurial marketing. The practical implications of the research results will be that the entrepreneurial marketing-oriented mindset of small and medium-sized companies will optimize market analysis capabilities, network with various stakeholders, and increase the organization's ability to demonstrate marketing capabilities.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.105-117
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• 2018

In this study, we identify the obstacles that occur through the relationship between I-U cooperation and look for factors that can overcome them in the 'university administration's efforts' and 'Trust between I-U'. In the study of existing I-U cooperation, the relationship between industry and university has accumulated experiences and various channels of bilateral cooperation by sustaining interactions and absorbing capacity of knowledge by path dependence. However, as cooperation increases, 'I-U cooperation barrier' are inevitable, which is explained by two perspectives: 'Difference in mutual recognition' and 'Institutional barriers'. In order to induce the achievement of effective I-U cooperation, it is necessary to overcome these obstacles stemming from mutual relations, and it will be possible to maintain the relationship of continuous I-U cooperation. The researchers conducted research on companies participating in the I-U cooperation technology development project of the 'Ministry of Small and Medium Venture Business', which is a representative I-U cooperation program in Korea. This project will be promoted in the 'Small & Medium Business I-U cooperation Center', an administration-dedicated organization of the university. The researchers measure 'University administration's efforts' and 'Trust between I-U'to overcome'I-U cooperation barrier' In order to clarify the data of the research sample, a questionnaire survey of organizational units was conducted for all companies participating in the 'I-U cooperation technology development projects' of the SMEs and Startups between 2011 and 2015, and the responses of 356 organizations were drawn. The results showed that the higher the level of 'University administration's efforts' and Trust between I-U', the lower 'Difference in mutual recognition' and 'Institutional barriers'. Particularly, it showed higher explanatory power to overcome 'Institutional barriers' among obstacles. Therefore, it should be accompanied by the interest, implementation and institutional support of I-U-R subjects to raise the level of these two factors that can overcome 'I-U cooperation barrier'.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.57-81
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• 2008

Knowledge is an essential strategic weapon for sustaining competitive advantage and is the key determinant for organizational growth. When knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout the organization, it increases an organization's value by providing the ability to respond to new and unusual situations. The growing importance of knowledge as a critical resource has forced executives to pay attention to their organizational knowledge. Organizations are increasingly undertaking knowledge management initiatives and making significant investments. Knowledge sourcing is considered as the first important step in effective knowledge management. Most firms continue to make an effort to realize the benefits of knowledge management by using various knowledge sources effectively. Appropriate knowledge sourcing strategies enable organizations to create, acquire, and access knowledge in a timely manner by reducing search and transfer costs, which result in better firm performance. In response, the knowledge management literature has devoted substantial attention to the analysis of knowledge sourcing strategies. Many studies have categorized knowledge sourcing strategies into intemal- and external-oriented. Internal-oriented sourcing strategy attempts to increase firm performance by integrating knowledge within the boundary of the firm. On the contrary, external-oriented strategy attempts to bring knowledge in from outside sources via either acquisition or imitation, and then to transfer that knowledge across to the organization. However, the extant literature on knowledge sourcing strategies focuses primarily on large organizations. Although many studies have clearly highlighted major differences between large and small firms and the need to adopt different strategies for different firm sizes, scant attention has been given to analyzing how knowledge sourcing strategies affect firm performance in small firms and what are the differences between small and large firms in the patterns of knowledge sourcing strategies adoption. This study attempts to advance the current literature by examining the impact of knowledge sourcing strategies on small firm performance from a holistic perspective. By drawing on knowledge based theory from organization science and complementarity theory from the economics literature, this paper is motivated by the following questions: (1) what are the adoption patterns of different knowledge sourcing strategies in small firms (i,e., what sourcing strategies should be adopted and which sourcing strategies work well together in small firms)?; and (2) what are the performance implications of these adoption patterns? In order to answer the questions, this study developed three hypotheses. First hypothesis based on knowledge based theory is that internal-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. Second hypothesis developed on the basis of knowledge based theory is that external-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. The third one based on complementarity theory is that pursuing both internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing simultaneously is negatively or less positively associated with small firm performance. As a sampling frame, 700 firms were identified from the Annual Corporation Report in Korea. Survey questionnaires were mailed to owners or executives who were most erudite about the firm s knowledge sourcing strategies and performance. A total of 188 companies replied, yielding a response rate of 26.8%. Due to incomplete data, 12 responses were eliminated, leaving 176 responses for the final analysis. Since all independent variables were measured using continuous variables, supermodularity function was used to test the hypotheses based on the cross partial derivative of payoff function. The results indicated no significant impact of internal-oriented sourcing strategies while positive impact of external-oriented sourcing strategy on small firm performance. This intriguing result could be explained on the basis of various resource and capital constraints of small firms. Small firms typically have restricted financial and human resources. They do not have enough assets to always develop knowledge internally. Another possible explanation is competency traps or core rigidities. Building up a knowledge base based on internal knowledge creates core competences, but at the same time, excessive internal focused knowledge exploration leads to behaviors blind to other knowledge. Interestingly, this study found that Internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing strategies had a substitutive relationship, which was inconsistent with previous studies that suggested complementary relationship between them. This result might be explained using organizational identification theory. Internal organizational members may perceive external knowledge as a threat, and tend to ignore knowledge from external sources because they prefer to maintain their own knowledge, legitimacy, and homogeneous attitudes. Therefore, integrating knowledge from internal and external sources might not be effective, resulting in failure of improvements of firm performance. Another possible explanation is small firms resource and capital constraints and lack of management expertise and absorptive capacity. Although the integration of different knowledge sources is critical, high levels of knowledge sourcing in many areas are quite expensive and so are often unrealistic for small enterprises. This study provides several implications for research as well as practice. First this study extends the existing knowledge by examining the substitutability (and complementarity) of knowledge sourcing strategies. Most prior studies have tended to investigate the independent effects of these strategies on performance without considering their combined impacts. Furthermore, this study tests complementarity based on the productivity approach that has been considered as a definitive test method for complementarity. Second, this study sheds new light on knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and small firm performance. Most current literature has insisted complementary relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies on the basis of data from large firms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study identifies substitutive relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies using data from small firms. Third, implications for practice highlight that managers of small firms should focus on knowledge sourcing from external-oriented strategies. Moreover, adoption of both sourcing strategies simultaneousiy impedes small firm performance.