• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.123-138
• /
• 2016

This study investigates intents of acquisitions in information technology industries. Mergers and acquisitions are a strategic decision at corporate-level and have been an important tool for a firm to grow. Plenty of firms in information technology industries have acquired startups to increase production efficiency, expand customer base, or improve quality over the last decades. For example, Google has made about 200 acquisitions since 2001, Cisco has acquired about 210 firms since 1993, Oracle has made about 125 acquisitions since 1994, and Microsoft has acquired about 200 firms since 1987. Although there have been many existing papers that theoretically study intents or motivations of acquisitions, there are limited papers that empirically investigate them mainly because it is challenging to measure and quantify intents of M&As. This study examines the intent of acquisitions by measuring specific intents for M&A transactions. Using our measures of acquisition intents, we compare the intents by four acquisition types: (1) the acquisition where a hardware firm acquires a hardware firm, (2) the acquisition where a hardware firm acquires a software/IT service firm, (3) the acquisition where a software/IT service firm acquires a hardware firm, and (4) the acquisition where a software /IT service firm acquires a software/IT service firm. We presume that there are difference in reasons why a hardware firm acquires another hardware firm, why a hardware firm acquires a software firm, why a software/IT service firm acquires a hardware firm, and why a software/IT service firm acquires another software/IT service firm. Using data of the M&As in US IT industries, we identified major intents of the M&As. The acquisition intents are identified based on the press release of M&A announcements and measured with four categories. First, an acquirer may have intents of cost saving in operations by sharing common resources between the acquirer and the target. The cost saving can accrue from economies of scope and scale. Second, an acquirer may have intents of product enhancement/development. Knowledge and skills transferred from the target may enable the acquirer to enhance the product quality or to expand product lines. Third, an acquirer may have intents of gain additional customer base to expand the market, to penetrate the market, or to enter a foreign market. Fourth, a firm may acquire a target with intents of expanding customer channels. By complementing existing channel to the customer, the firm can increase its revenue. Our results show that acquirers have had intents of cost saving more in acquisitions between hardware companies than in acquisitions between software companies. Hardware firms are more likely to acquire with intents of product enhancement or development than software firms. Overall, the intent of product enhancement/development is the most frequent intent in all of the four acquisition types, and the intent of customer base expansion is the second. We also analyze our data with the classification of production-side intents and customer-side intents, which is based on activities of the value chain of a firm. Intents of cost saving operations and those of product enhancement/development can be viewed as production-side intents and intents of customer base expansion and those of expanding customer channels can be viewed as customer-side intents. Our analysis shows that the ratio between the number of customer-side intents and that of production-side intents is higher in acquisitions where a software firm is an acquirer than in the acquisitions where a hardware firm is an acquirer. This study can contribute to IS literature. First, this study provides insights in understanding M&As in IT industries by answering for question of why an IT firm intends to another IT firm. Second, this study also provides distribution of acquisition intents for acquisition types.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.1-27
• /
• 2011

In an attempt to cope with widespread, dynamic, and accelerating changes in both internal and external business environments, companies often utilize information technologies such as SCM(Supply Chain Management). To date, SCM research has mainly focused on the effects of dynamic factors on SCM success and emphasized adoption strategies and critical success factors. Consequently, the effects of more static factors such as interdependency between SCM partners have been largely ignored. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the effects of both dynamic and static factors on SCM performance by controlling for information quality and partnership quality. The five factors examined in this study include innovative ness, mutual dependency, quality of information, partnership quality, and SCM performance. All factors were examined from the perspective of part suppliers, except the mutual dependency which was examined from two aspects: supplier's dependency on customer and customer's dependency on supplier. Data was collected through five hundred survey questionnaires distributed to the part supplier companies that have implemented SCM systems for at least one year. As a result, a total of 170 valid responses were obtained. A structural equation research model was fitted using SAS 9.1.3 and SMART-PLS 2.0. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, innovativeness positively affected SCM information quality. SCM partnership quality, and ultimately SCM performance. The path coefficient between innovativeness and information quality was 0.387, with a t-value of 3.528. Innovativeness also had a positively direct effect on partnership quality. The path coefficient was 0.351 with a t-value of 3.366. The total effect of innovativeness on partnership quality was significant, although its indirect effect on partnership quality by altering information quality was negligible. The total indirect effect of innovativeness on SCM performance by affecting information quality and partnership quality was significant with a p-value of 0.014. Innovativeness played an important role in determining SCM performance. Second, mutual dependency showed no significant effect on SCM information quality. This result contradicts the earlier assertion that the more dependent two companies are, the more accurate and timely the information they exchange ought to be. This study showed that this may not be the case; a partner may provide information of poor quality even when it is strongly dependent on the other. Mutual dependency showed significant effect on partnership quality. However, when the mutual dependency perceived by suppliers was divided into two parts, one being a supplier's dependency on its customer company and the other being a customer's dependency on the supplier, the latter showed a significant impact on the perceived SCM partnership quality. This result indicates that a customer company can hardly improve the partnership quality perceived by suppliers by making them more dependent. It improves only when the suppliers perceive that their partners, typically having more bargaining power, are more dependent on them. The overall effect of mutual dependency of any kind on SCM performance, however, was not significant. Although mutual dependency has been mentioned as an important static factor influencing almost every aspect of cooperation on a supply chain, its influences may not be as significant as it was initially perceived to be. Third, the correlation between information quality and partnership quality was 0.448 with a p-value of less than 0.001. Information quality had a path coefficient of 0.256 to partnership quality with a t-value of 2.940. The quality of information exchanged between partners may have an impact on their partnership quality. Fourth, information quality also had a significant impact on SCM performance with a path coefficient of 0.325 with a t-value of 3.611. In this study, SCM performance was divided into four categories: product quality, cost saving, service quality, and order fulfillment. Information quality has Significant impacts on product quality, cost saving and service quality, but not on order fulfillment. Fifth, partnership quality, as expected, had a significant impact on SCM performance. The path coefficient was 0.403 with a t-value of 3.539. Partnership quality, like information quality, had positive impacts on product quality, cost saving and service quality, but showed no impact on order fulfillment. It seemed that order fulfillment is the hardest category of performance that SCM can satisfy. One major limitation of this study is that it surveyed only the suppliers. To better understand the dual aspects of SCM, it is important to survey both suppliers and the assemblers, especially in pairs. This research, to our best knowledge, was the first attempt to study the level of dependency between the two groups by measuring the dual aspects of SCM and studying mutual dependency from the categories of suppliers and assemblers each.. In the future, a more comprehensive and precise measurement of SCM characteristics needs to be achieved by examining from both the supplier's and assembler's perspectives.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.712-720
• /
• 2012

Thermal degradation for glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 66 composite (PA 66) with respect of thermal exposure time has been investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. As the thermal exposure time was prolonged, a slight increase in tensile strength for only initial stage and afterward, a proportional decrease of tensile strength was observed. These results can be explained by the increase of crystallinity, followed by the increase of crosslinking density, chain scission and the decrease in chain mobility, due to thermal oxidation with the exposure time. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed the increase of ketone peak and silica peak on the surface of thermally exposed PA 66. In addition, the thermal decomposition kinetics of PA 66 was analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis at three different heating rates. The relationship between activation energy and lifetime-prediction of PA 66 was investigated by several methodologies, such as statistical tool, UL 746B, Ozawa and Kissinger. The activation energy determined by thermogravimetric analysis had a relatively large value compared with that from the accelerated test. This may result in over-estimating the lifetime of PA 66. In this study, a master curve of exponential fitting has been developed to extrapolate the activation energy at various service temperatures.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.614-628
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to analyze research trends and make suggestions regarding the future of information technology (IT) in the fashion industry. In this study, 437 papers written regarding IT fashion from five major journals published between 2000 and 2011 were examined. The research areas were then organized by subject and keyword, and divided into 16 high-context categories. Two IT fashion maps were constructed, one from a fashion consumer's perspective, and the other based on the fashion industry's supply chain. This study identified important trends in IT fashion such as: 3D scanners, 3D digital renderings of the human form, 3D digital garments, smart garments, mass customization, production automation, online shopping, home shopping, online communities, e-commerce, digital media, virtual reality, e-tail, the digital generation, E-CRM, and education. Data from body scans was collected and applied to production, and research on smart textiles was also carried out. As for IT fashion's service areas, the majority of the research focused on online shopping or online communication. Additionally, research done on avatars and cyber space, and studies on social networking services are shown. The results of this study indicated that a new field of research has opened and that current research has been developing. Also, this study showed what is needed to expand and strengthen IT fashion.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.115-123
• /
• 2018

This study is empirically intended to put forward the modeling and process improvement measures for the SCM capability in small venture firms. The findings are summarized as follows. There were strategic alliance, technological development and centralization in the modeling of strategic planning for supply chain, not the least of which is strategic alliance, followed by centralization and technological development. There were routing scheduling, network integration and third party logistics outsourcing in decision making, not the least of which was network integration. There were customer service management, productivity management and quality management in management control, not the least of which was quality management. And there were order management choice, pricing demand, shipment delivery and customer management in transaction support system, not the least of which was order management choice. As for the above-mentioned findings, to maximize the SCM capability and operate the optimized process in small venture firms, the existing strategic alliances can optimize the quality management and stabilize the transaction support system through the network sharing and integration from the perspective of relevant organizational members' capability and process improvement. And the strategic linkage between firms can maximize the integrated capability of information system beyond the simple exchange relation between electronic data, achieving a differentiated competitive advantage. Consequently, the systematization and centralization for the maximization of SCM capability, including the infrastructure construction based on the system compatibility and reliability for information integration, should be preceded before the modeling of the integrated capability for optimum supply chain and the best process management in the smart era.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.299-305
• /
• 2010

Objective of this study is to examine whether pine wood nematode (PWN: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) in the sawdust discharged from infected trees cause pine wood disease or not. For this, survival time of PWN in soil was examined in which soil moisture was controlled as 15%, 22.5%, and 30% in volume ratio, respectively. The pathogenicity tests were conducted under greenhouse and field conditions. Survival time of PWN in soil was about three days in the saturated (about soil moisture of 23% in volume ratio) and dark condition between 25 and $28^{\circ}C$ of room temperature. None of potted seedlings with non-wounded roots was infected by PWN in sawdust. In field, pine wood disease was not occur in any pine trees. These results indicated that PWN discharged on soil when the infected trees were cut by chain saw can not cause pine wood disease.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.373-383
• /
• 2015

Spatial information has been widely used for efficient land use and management, disaster management, environment management, infrastructure management, corporate marketing, and cultural assets management, and the need for spatial information is expected to be increased. For this reason, central government, local government and public institutions must establish a National Spatial Information System (Fifteen systems related to spatial information managed by National Spatial Data Infrastructure Policy office, NSIS) framework that guarantees high accuracy and quality. The NSIS will provide convenience usage of spatial information in the field of decision-making or civil support. However the current National Spatial Information System is mainly established with separate processes, which causes data redundancy, deterioration of information, passive opening, and sharing of the spatial data. This study suggests 4 standards, which has been derived by applying value-chain model to NSIS data flow, and they are ‘Production and Establishment’, ‘Integration and Sharing’, ‘Application and Fusion’ and ‘Release and Opening’. Based on these standards, the 15 NSIS were analyzed to draw out implications and reforming directions were suggested. By following these suggestions we expect more recent, consist, accurate, and connected National Spatial Information Service which will be more open to public and then satisfy the demands.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.8
• /
• pp.1075-1083
• /
• 2015

Adipose tissue deposited within muscle fibers, known as intramuscular fat (IMF or marbling), is a major determinant of meat quality and thereby affects its economic value. The biological mechanisms that determine IMF content are therefore of interest. In this study, 48 genes involved in the bovine peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathway, which is involved in lipid metabolism, were investigated to identify candidate genes associated with IMF in the longissimus dorsi of Hanwoo (Korean cattle). Ten genes, retinoid X receptor alpha, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG), phospholipid transfer protein, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group H member 3, fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3), carnitine palmitoyltransferase II, acyl-Coenzyme A dehydrogenase long chain (ACADL), acyl-Coenzyme A oxidase 2 branched chain, and fatty acid binding protein 4, showed significant effects with regard to IMF and were differentially expressed between the low- and high-marbled groups (p<0.05). Analysis of the gene co-expression network based on Pearson's correlation coefficients identified 10 up-regulated genes in the high-marbled group that formed a major cluster. Among these genes, the PPARG-FABP4 gene pair exhibited the strongest correlation in the network. Glycerol kinase was found to play a role in mediating activation of the differentially expressed genes. We categorized the 10 significantly differentially expressed genes into the corresponding downstream pathways and investigated the direct interactive relationships among these genes. We suggest that fatty acid oxidation is the major downstream pathway affecting IMF content. The PPARG/RXRA complex triggers activation of target genes involved in fatty acid oxidation resulting in increased triglyceride formation by ATP production. Our findings highlight candidate genes associated with the IMF content of the loin muscle of Korean cattle and provide insight into the biological mechanisms that determine adipose deposition within muscle.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.9
• /
• pp.1306-1313
• /
• 2010

The gene encoding esterase enzyme was cloned from a metagenomic library of cow rumen bacteria. The esterase gene (est1R) was 2,465 bp in length, encoding a protein of 366 amino acid residues, and the molecular weight of the enzyme was 61,166 Da. Est1R of rumen cosmid library shared 5.9% amino acid identity with Est1R (P37967) of PNB carboxylesterase, 6.1% with Est1R (1EEAA) of acetylcholinesterase and 6.1% with Est1R (1H23A) of chain A. BlastP in NCBI database analysis of Est1R revealed that it was not homologous to previous known lipases and esterases. Est1R showed optimum activity at pH 7.0 and $40^{\circ}C$. On the other hand, the enzyme was found to be most active without organic solvent, followed by 95% activity with methanol, and the enzyme activity was highly affected by hexane (lost 51% activity). Therefore, the novel esterase gene est1R is likely obtainable from cow rumen metagenome and may be utilized for industrial purposes.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.139-146
• /
• 2012

In this paper, we implement an m-LIS(Mobile-Logistics Information System) for an effective logistics management in consideration of logistics process and work environment. The m-LIS could perform the entire business process every minute and promote the work efficiency by tying up with ERP and POS system. Moreover, this system could enhance the management level of service and supply chain. Due to the reason that the existing logistics business was not computerized and automated, most of operation was accomplished by means of workers experience and convention. This problem brought about both the ineffective management and logistics quality deterioration by weakening the control power of the logistics site. In order to solve this problem, we put focus on providing the real-time operation monitoring environment on the spot, the satisfaction of the efficiency on the spot, and the optimized system by building up the logistics information system. Furthermore, we attest that the new logistics system could properly cope with the increase of the quantity of goods transported owing to stable logistics information support and the market expansion and growth caused by the firm interface between the new ERP and its related system.