• Journal of Korea Trade
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.61-76
• /
• 2023

Purpose - Along with emerging international entrepreneurship, there is a need for exploring the influencing mechanism of dual network embeddedness of the host country on international entrepreneurial performance. Drawing on network embeddedness theory and organizational improvisational theory, the present study constructs a theoretical model regarding the logic relationships between the dual network embeddedness of the host country, organizational improvisational capability, and international entrepreneurial performance. Design/methodology - Using a questionnaire survey, our study conducted data in two ways. The final research sample comprised 129 international new ventures. To test the hypotheses, a three-step mediation test method was conducted. Findings - Our empirical results suggested that both host-country social network embeddedness and industrial network embeddedness significantly affected the international entrepreneurial performance. Organizational improvisational capability significantly affected the international entrepreneurial performance. Third, organizational improvisational capability partially played mediating role in the relationship between the dual network embeddedness of the host country and international entrepreneurial performance. Originality/value - This study mainly concentrates on the two important types of host-country networks, host-country social network embeddedness and industrial network embeddedness, that may help international new ventures access the strategic resources necessary to support performance. Thus, it extends the existing network embeddedness theory and improvisational theory to encompass international entrepreneurship.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.33-46
• /
• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between characteristics of social media sites (SNS) and the intention of Pakistani tourists to visit South Korea while determining the role of usefulness, interestingness, and involvement of tourists. Research design, data and methodology: A research model was developed through the previous research, and the questioner-based survey was conducted on Pakistani tourists visiting Korea. The survey data was collected by following multiple hypotheses: the relationship between SNS tourism information and perception of SNS, the relationship between SNS perception and intention to visit, and adjustment of involvement in the relation between tourism information characteristics, and SNS perception. We used SPSS and AMOS24.0 statistical tools to analyze the hypothesis testing data. Results: Based on the data analysis, the study found that the characteristics of SNS have a positive effect on intention to visit via users' perception like usefulness and interestingness. The involvement has a moderating effect between SNS characteristics and users' perception. In the group with high involvement, the degree of influence of the quality factor of SNS on user perception was greater than in the group with low involvement. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that traveler's involvement has a moderating effect on the relationship between SNS characteristics and visit intention for Pakistani travelers visiting Korea. It shows that practitioners or researchers should establish and operate SNS strategies in consideration of user involvement.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.37-46
• /
• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the elderly friendliness of the serious game for dementia prevention and to seek out the influence factors for enhance the friendliness. Research design, data and methodology: It measured the elderly friendliness of the serious game for dementia prevention, run with multi-touchscreens, for 300 elderly people using the Seoul-based General Social welfare centers located at Seoul, and participants evaluated the elder-friendliness of the serious game, by responding to a questionnaire survey. In addition, it analyzed the influence relationship between the elderly friendliness (EF) and the influence factors of the serious game, by setting the factors as the game level (GL), the demand of expectations for demand (DoE) and the prevention & usefulness of cognitive decline (PUCD). Results: the findings show that most of participants positively evaluated the EF of the serious game, regardless of their socio-demographic characteristics. Moreover, it can be found that the more the 'GL DoE and PUCD', the more the 'EF'. The EF was most strongly affected by DoE, followed by PUCD, and then GL Developing and running the serious game by actively reflecting such factors may be one of ways for enhancing the participation in the serious game for dementia prevention and facilitating the sustainable use of it.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.399-409
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of virtual community participation and engagement in the brand decision by building community and brand trust. In this study, two theories (Social Capital Theory and Theory of Collective Action) were tested. Both theories were linked based on existing literature, and empirical evidence was obtained through testing hypotheses. Students from five prestigious Pakistani business schools provided a total of 849 replies. The measurement model and structural model were both analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) method. The findings show that virtual community engagement and participation have a positive and significant impact on virtual community trust. Although virtual community engagement has a positive effect on brand trust, we found no evidence of a link between virtual community participation and brand trust. Later, these trusts positively influence brand choice. This study has several managerial implications. The suggested model of this study helps managers to get customers' insight, choose the right target market, and set integrated marketing communication strategies besides social media marketing strategies. The study represents a new perspective of consumer behavior that helps to understand how a customer behaves in virtual communities to trust and take the final decision to purchase.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.345-352
• /
• 2022

This study examines the impact of female representation on board of directors and audit committees on financial reporting quality, which also discusses the moderating role of family ownership in female representation on boards of directors and audit committees and financial reporting quality. The unbalanced panel is made up of 271 non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2008 to 2019.The findings reveal that female representation on the board of directors has a large and negative impact on financial reporting, but female representation on the audit committee has a significant positive impact on financial reporting quality. Furthermore, the results reveal that family ownership has a negative impact on the relationship between female presence on boards of directors and financial reporting quality. Furthermore, the findings show that family ownership reduces the impact of female involvement in audit committees on the quality of financial reporting. However, family ownership has no direct impact on financial reporting quality.Our findings suggest that selecting females to serve on boards of directors and audit committees should be based on specific criteria (e.g., monitoring abilities, business competence, knowledge, and experience) rather than on family relationships.

• Human Ecology Research
• /
• v.61 no.3
• /
• pp.475-492
• /
• 2023

This study investigated player responses to microtransactions in freemium Massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPG), specifically focusing on the game LostArk using English language review data. To this end, structural topic modeling was employed and the following six microtransaction-relevant topics were identified: microtransactions, developer issues, real money trade (RMT), random number generator (RNG) upgrade system, game content, and collectibles & adventure. The first four topics were classified as being "not recommended". However, the proportions of microtransaction-related topics were relatively lower than the other topics. Additionally, this study did not extract keywords related to unfairness and unethical issues in previous microtransaction research. The last two topics, game content, and collectibles & adventure were "recommended" topics, indicating positive functions of microtransactions such as enhancing the game experience by purchasing virtual items. Moreover, it was found that players who do not engage in microtransactions can still be satisfied through continuous game content updates. Additionally, an examination of the interaction effect between time and recommendation status revealed that while the frequency with which the six microtransaction-related topics were mentioned increased over time in the reviews, the ratio of recommendations to non-recommendations varied differently. This study contributes to game-related research by revealing players' authentic opinions on microtransactions in freemium MMORPGs, thereby providing practical implications for game companies.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.89-96
• /
• 2024

Purpose: This study explored the impact of using a music and horticultural therapy program on depression among rural seniors living in Yeongam-gun and conducted a comparative analysis before and after the program to present basic data helpful for an integrated mental health promotion program tailored to rural areas. Research methodology: The analysis subjects of this study were users of the rural residential program of 'Our Village Day Care Center' in Yeongam-gun in 2023, with a total of 20 people, 10 seniors for each program. The research analysis used SPSS to determine the effect on participation and depression before and after the program was implemented. Results: As a result of the analysis, depression levels decreased after completion of the horticultural therapy program and music therapy program, and this was statistically significant. Conclusion: Three implications are presented based on the following research results. First, the need for programs that can improve not only the physical health but also the mental health of elderly people living in rural areas is suggested. Second, the need for programs that link cultural programs such as music and gardening activities with welfare programs is suggested. Third, the need for follow-up management and verification of periodic mental health checkups for rural elderly is suggested.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.29-38
• /
• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of millennials and Generation Z regarding AI applications in marketing, an area that has been rarely explored in previous researches. This study formulated research questions how millennials and Generation Z perceive the impact of brand image, AI-assistant customer service, affective factor, immersive experience, cognitive factor social factor and competitiveness of products and brands on overall attitude through the lens of AI applications in marketing. Additionally, this study also explored the influence of overall attitudes on satisfaction, intention to use, and loyalty towards AI applications. Research design, data and methodology: To gather data, this study employed an online survey conducted in collaboration with a reputable research organization. This study utilized factor analysis, ANOVA, and regression analysis for data analysis. Results: The findings revealed that the impact of brand image, AI-assistant customer service, and competitiveness on attitude demonstrated significance in both millennials and generation Z cohorts. The study identified that cognitive and social factors significantly influenced attitudes among millennials, whereas affective and immersive experiences showed significance in influencing attitudes among Generation Z. Conclusions: The findings offer valuable managerial implications, shedding light on the application of AI in marketing with distinct perspectives between millennials and Generation Z.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.515-522
• /
• 2023

Objectives: The pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has exerted an unprecedented impact on the health of populations worldwide. However, the adverse health consequences of the pandemic in terms of infection and mortality rates have varied across countries. In this study, we investigate whether COVID-19 mortality rates across a group of developed nations are associated with characteristics of their healthcare systems, beyond the differential policy responses in those countries. Methods: To achieve the study objective, we distinguished healthcare systems based on the extent of healthcare decommodification. Using available daily data from 2020, 2021, and 2022, we applied quantile regression with non-additive fixed effects to estimate mortality rates across quantiles. Our analysis began prior to vaccine development (in 2020) and continued after the vaccines were introduced (throughout 2021 and part of 2022). Results: The findings indicate that higher testing rates, coupled with more stringent containment and public health measures, had a significant negative impact on the death rate in both pre-vaccination and post-vaccination models. The data from the post-vaccination model demonstrate that higher vaccination rates were associated with significant decreases in fatalities. Additionally, our research indicates that countries with healthcare systems characterized by high and medium levels of decommodification experienced lower mortality rates than those with healthcare systems involving low decommodification. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that stronger public health infrastructure and more inclusive social protections have mitigated the severity of the pandemic's adverse health impacts, more so than emergency containment measures and social restrictions.

• Korea Trade Review
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.205-217
• /
• 2021

This paper examines the effects of intellectual property protection policies on upstream firms' R&D investments in order to derive policy implications in relation to the fostering of the intermediate goods industry. To that end, the dependence on import of intermediate goods and the degree of protection of intellectual property rights are introduced into the model to analyze the effects of R&D investments on the dependence on imports and the effects of intellectual property rights protection policies on the level of R&D investments in order and the social welfare effects are also checked. The policy implications derived in this paper, which used an oligopolistic market model with a vertical specialization structure, are as follows. As R&D investments expand, upstream firm begins to have price competitiveness, the dependence on import of intermediate goods by downstream firm decreases, and social welfare increases. That is, in order to strengthen the independence of the intermediate goods industry, R&D investments by upstream firm should be expanded, and to promote this, the government should strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights.