• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.55-75
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• 1992

At the outset of import liberalization, most economists expected a significant drop in the prices of domestic goods that faced foreign competition. However, it is now generally acknowledge that a significant drop in prices of those goods has not occurred. A common claim is that the prices did not drop significantly because the major importers of many imported goods were also the domestic producers of competing goods. The objective of this paper is to analyze the welfare effect of importation by domestic firms that produce competing goods, to identify the factors that facilitate such business practices, and to formulate a policy that could improve the welfare. We proved that importation by competing domestic firms definitely raises the prices of both imported and domestic goods compared to the situation where foreign goods are imported by non-producers, ceteris paribus. The intuition behind this result is that since a producer-importer is essentially a cartel, its overall profit maximization requires reduced competition between the products that it sells. On the other hand, if a producer-importer is more efficient at distrinbution than a simple importer, the comparison between the two cases is a priori indeterminate. We also find that the industries in which domestic producers are actively involved in importing competing goods are the ones in which the distribution channels are tightly controlled by importer-producers. This finding suggests that exclusive dealing contracts, which work as an entry barrier, may be the source of importing by domestic producers. We argue that in a country such as Korea, where financial market is highly incomplete, tight control of the distribution channels by oligopolistic manufacturers is likely to be an effective entry barrier that leads to importing by domestic producers of similar goods. We further argue that seemingly superior distribution costs of importer-producers is likely to be a result of market foreclosure which would disappear once the entry barrier of exclusive dealing contracts is removed. Above findings suggest that market imperfections are the source of importation by domestic competitors, which in turn constitutes a market imperfection in itself and reduces consumer welfare. As potential remedies, we considered three alternatives; direct price control by the government over the imported goods sold by major domestic producers, regulation of trade itself between major producers, and regulation of exclusive dealing contracts. For reasons both theoretical and pratical, we find that the last alternative is the most attrative. Prohibiting exclusive contracts between manufacturers and dealers in industries where exclusive dealing contracts are a significant entry barrier is expected to break up the importer-producer cartel and improve the welfare.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.30-34
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• 2014

Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermal driven separation process in which separation a hydrophobic membrane is a barrier for the liquid phase, letting the vapor phase pass through the membrane pores. Therefore, a porous and hydrophobic membrane should be used in membrane distillation. MD cannot work if water penetrates into the pores of the membrane (membrane wetting). Accordingly, it is necessary to prevent wetting of MD membranes and to remove water inside the pores of the wetted membranes if possible. In this context, our study aimed to develop methods to recover wetted membranes in MD processes. Poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were used in this study. A laboratory-scale direct contact MD (DCMD) system was used to examine the effect of operating parameters on wetting. For dewetting the wetted membranes, specific techniques including the use of high temperature air were applied. The performances of the membranes before and after dewetting were compared in terms of flux, salt rejection and liquid entry pressure(LEP). The surface morphology of dewetted membrane was confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.202-208
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• 2024

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the competitive environment of 7-Eleven using Porter's 5 Force model to analyze the specific competitiveness of 7-Eleven that has maintained continuous growth as a competitive company. Methods: This study is a case study of 7-Eleven. Results: As a result of the analysis, 7-Eleven has reinforced its competitiveness with existing competitors by raising entry barriers by expanding domestic stores and developing overseas convenience store business, focusing on North America, based on economy of scale. In addition, 7-Eleven seeks to differentiate itself from other convenience stores by developing a "private brand" and strengthens its bargaining power with suppliers through the development of new products by gathering information and know-how of experts in product development based on customer needs. The bargaining power with customers has been strengthened by building loyalty and trust in the brand by allowing consumers to purchase the same products at the same price no matter which store they visit. As a threat to potential competitors, 7-Eleven has secured a competition advantage by raising the barrier to entry by concentrating stores in specific areas through a dominant franchise development strategy and increasing awareness of 7-Eleven among consumers. In the case of threats from substitute products, it was confirmed that 7-Eleven has overcome the threat from substitute products by opening 24 hours a day and providing various services such as ATMs and copiers.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.197-206
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• 1990

Various conditions of cultures were performed to investigate the role of tight junctions formed between adjacent MDCK cells on the entry of Toxoplasma. When MDCK cells were cocultured with excess number of Toxoplasma at the seeding density of 1×105, 3×105, and 5×105 cells/ml for 4 days, the number of intracellular parasites decreased rapidly as the host cells reached saturation density, i.e., the formation of tight junctions. When the concentration of calcium in the media (1.8 mM in general) was shifted to $5{\mu}M$ that resulted in the elimination of tight junction, the penetration of Toxoplasma increased about 2-fold(p<0.05) in the saturated culture, while that of non-saturated culture decreased by half. Trypsin-EDTA which was treated to conquer the tight junctions of saturated culture favored the entry of Toxoplasma about 2.5-fold(P<0.05) compared to the non-treated, while that of non- saturated culture decreased to about one fifth. It was suggested that the tight junctions of epithelial cells play a role as a barrier for the entry of Toxoplasma and Toxoplasma penetrate into hoot cells through membrane structure-specific, i.e., certain kind of receptors present on the basolateral rather than apical surface of MDCK cells.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.199-221
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• 2018

The internationalization of venture firms is of importance resulting from the increased opportunities as well as the entry barriers faced in this process. This study is to investigate barrier factors affecting Korean venture firms' internationalization. Among these factors, we measured relative weights using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Literatures regarding global firm's internationalization was reviewed, and barriers were classified environment, corporate and CEO barriers. Multiple variables were used in order to measure their relative significance. We surveyed executives of venture firms comprising two groups: first, 15 global venture firms, and secondly, gradually internationalizing firms. The two groups show contradictory results as environment barriers are the primary for born-global ventures and corporate barriers are the primary for gradually internationalizing ventures. Concerning corporate barriers, the lack of marketing capability is the highest barrier for both groups. The CEO barrier is the lowest for both groups. Regarding corporate barriers, gradually internationalizing ventures considers the risk of business as highest, whereas born-global ventures features the lack of R&D capacity as highest Results of this paper imply that firms should consider priority and sequential approaches in facing environment, corporate and CEO barriers.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2008

Surface treatments act as a barrier between the environment and the concrete, preventing or retarding the entry of harmful substances and cutting off the transportation path into concrete. The effectiveness of a surface protection preventing the permeation depends on how close and strongly connected are the resin molecules. This work intends to contribute to a better understanding of the performance of protected concrete in chemically aggressive environments, by presenting results of ion diffusion and resistance to aggressive solutions of several hydrophobic agents and coatings used to protect concrete. Three different types of surface protections were tested: silicone hydrophobic agent, acrylic and epoxy coatings. The obtained results indicate that the overall performance of epoxy resin was better than the other selected types of protections.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.899-908
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to identify challenges related to social, economic and environmental change for fishing villages and suggest the developmental direction of fishing village to actively respond to new changes. This study mainly focuses on fishing village fraternities. Its current problems are summarized as follows: shortage of labor, population aging, entry barrier against newcomers, insufficient guidance and supervision functions, lack of funds of new projects and inadequate statistics and data. The fishing village community in the modern meaning of the term can be understood as an economic and flexible social-cultural community based on openness, cooperation instead of exclusiveness and closeness, which aligns fisheries with local industries. Thus, in order for the fishing village community to improve, the followings areas required. First, strengthening capacity of the fishing village community. Second, establishing the database system and the third, reorganizing the fishing village community into a sea village community.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.33-49
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• 2016

The market of platform business is typically served by a few dominant players, presenting "winner-takes-all" phenomenon. This study aims to find service characteristics leading to the phenomenon. Six different service-characteristics were considered : Same-side network effect, cross-side network effects, entry barrier, multi-homing cost, switching cost, and heterogeneity of preference. To assess the degree of concentration of market share, HHI (Herfindahl-Hirschman Index) is calculated for top three major players. Based on the HHI value, 10 most eminent platform businesses are classified into three different segments and each segment is characterized with key factors. The results from this study provide some insight into the strategic management of platform business.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.420-428
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• 2020

Additive manufacturing technology is recognized as an optimal technology for mass-customized distributed production because it can yield products with high design freedom by applying an automated production system. However, the introduction of novel technologies to the additive manufacturing industry is generally delayed, and technology uncertainty has been pointed out as one of the main causes. This paper presents the results of the research and analysis of current standardization trends that are related to additive manufacturing by examining the hierarchical structure of the quality system along with the various industry and evaluation standards. Consequently, it was confirmed that the currently unfolding standardization does not sufficiently reflect the characteristics of additive manufacturing technology, and rather can become a barrier to entry for market participants or an element that suppresses the lateral shearing ability of additive manufacturing technology.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.199-225
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• 2007

This study deals with the regulatory policy of government on the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication by applying rent seeking theory to Internet Protocal TV (IPTV). Existing literature has mainly focused on the negative implications of rent seeking since Tullock [1967], Krueger [1974] and Buchanan [1980]. We have investigated the regulatory policy along with the progress of the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication. Regulatory policy on broadcasting, despite its impartial intent. has created the entry barrier in the industry, resulting in high rents. Meanwhile, regulatory policy in telecommunication is more geared by the encouragement of more competitive environments, resulting in reasonably low rents in the market. Regulatory policy in the age of convergence needs to improve the efficacy of the industry and welfare, while maintaining the rent at a reasonably low level. This research has contributed to emphasizing the positive aspect of rent seeking in policy concerned with the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication, notably IPTV.