Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.88
Kyujin Kim
Purpose - This paper studies whether economic sanctions can be used as grounds for a party to an international sales contract to get an exemption if he fails to meet his contractual obligation. Because the answer can differ depending on the governing law of the contract, this study focuses on CISG, the most widely recognized international uniform legal instrument as the governing law of the international sale of goods. Design/methodology - This paper focuses on analyzing the conditions to meet before getting an exemption under CISG. For such analysis, this paper examined various scholarly writings, cases, and hypothetical examples reflecting a wide variety of economic sanction measures. Findings - The findings of this paper are as follows. The main provision for exemption under CISG is Article 79(1), which provides for an exemption for a party that failed to perform if such failure was caused by an impediment that was uncontrollable, unforeseeable, and unavoidable; either a seller or a buyer may rely on the Article for his non-performance, delay, or defective performance. The Article is applicable not only where the economic sanction caused impossibility of performance but also where it caused hardship. The economic sanction will likely be found to be an uncontrollable impediment; however, it will be relatively more difficult to prove it to be unforeseeable or unavoidable. Originality/value - The subject of this paper is whether a party can be exempted from liability under CISG when he fails to perform his contractual obligations due to economic sanctions. Given that this issue is now actually faced by many involved in international trade, it is expected to provide practical help to practitioners and companies alike.
{"title":"Can Economic Sanctions be Grounds for Exemption under the CISG?","authors":"Kyujin Kim","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.88","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.88","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - This paper studies whether economic sanctions can be used as grounds for a party to an international sales contract to get an exemption if he fails to meet his contractual obligation. Because the answer can differ depending on the governing law of the contract, this study focuses on CISG, the most widely recognized international uniform legal instrument as the governing law of the international sale of goods. \u0000Design/methodology - This paper focuses on analyzing the conditions to meet before getting an exemption under CISG. For such analysis, this paper examined various scholarly writings, cases, and hypothetical examples reflecting a wide variety of economic sanction measures. \u0000Findings - The findings of this paper are as follows. The main provision for exemption under CISG is Article 79(1), which provides for an exemption for a party that failed to perform if such failure was caused by an impediment that was uncontrollable, unforeseeable, and unavoidable; either a seller or a buyer may rely on the Article for his non-performance, delay, or defective performance. The Article is applicable not only where the economic sanction caused impossibility of performance but also where it caused hardship. The economic sanction will likely be found to be an uncontrollable impediment; however, it will be relatively more difficult to prove it to be unforeseeable or unavoidable. \u0000Originality/value - The subject of this paper is whether a party can be exempted from liability under CISG when he fails to perform his contractual obligations due to economic sanctions. Given that this issue is now actually faced by many involved in international trade, it is expected to provide practical help to practitioners and companies alike.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45118015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.56
Jing Han, Taehee Lee
Purpose - This study examines the influencing factors of China’s cross-border e-commerce exports in the context of the current situation and trends of China’s cross-border e-commerce development. Through an improved trade gravity model, it provides more in-depth research and constructive opinions on the development of cross-border e-commerce in China. In this paper, factors such as consumption gap, volume of trade frictions, number of tourists, Internet usage and trade openness are added to the formula of the traditional trade gravity model in the improved trade gravity model to examine the influencing factors on China’s cross-border e-commerce exports. Design/methodology - According to the empirical analysis, China’s cross-border e-commerce exports to ten countries are used as dependent variables, and consumption gap, trade friction volume, trade distance, trade openness and number of Internet users are taken as independent variables. Regression analysis is conducted through a modified gravity model to test whether the hypotheses hold. Findings - The analysis shows that the hypothesis that China’s cross-border e-commerce exports are influenced by trade openness, trade distance, consumption gap between trade parties, and the number of Internet users in the importing country is supported by these four hypotheses, but not all independent variables have an impact on them. Specifically, the number of travelers, trade frictions do not have an impact on China’s cross-border e-commerce. That is to say, trade friction between China and the United States and political issues such as China-India and China-Japan territorial disputes that emerged before do not affect the development of cross-border e-commerce in China. Originality/value - The analysis shows that the factors influencing China’s cross-border e-commerce exports are the trade openness of the importing country, the trade distance, the number of Internet users in the importing country, and the consumption gap between the two sides of the trade. The trade openness and the number of Internet users positively contribute to China’s cross-border e-commerce, while the consumption gap and trade distance are negatively related to them. And the analysis found that the Sino-US trade war and the Sino-Indian territorial disputes and other trade frictions to China’s cross-border e-commerce exports did not have a substantial impact.
{"title":"The Influence Factors of China’s Cross-border E-commerce Export Trade Using Gravity Model","authors":"Jing Han, Taehee Lee","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.56","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.56","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - This study examines the influencing factors of China’s cross-border e-commerce exports in the context of the current situation and trends of China’s cross-border e-commerce development. Through an improved trade gravity model, it provides more in-depth research and constructive opinions on the development of cross-border e-commerce in China. In this paper, factors such as consumption gap, volume of trade frictions, number of tourists, Internet usage and trade openness are added to the formula of the traditional trade gravity model in the improved trade gravity model to examine the influencing factors on China’s cross-border e-commerce exports. \u0000Design/methodology - According to the empirical analysis, China’s cross-border e-commerce exports to ten countries are used as dependent variables, and consumption gap, trade friction volume, trade distance, trade openness and number of Internet users are taken as independent variables. Regression analysis is conducted through a modified gravity model to test whether the hypotheses hold. \u0000Findings - The analysis shows that the hypothesis that China’s cross-border e-commerce exports are influenced by trade openness, trade distance, consumption gap between trade parties, and the number of Internet users in the importing country is supported by these four hypotheses, but not all independent variables have an impact on them. Specifically, the number of travelers, trade frictions do not have an impact on China’s cross-border e-commerce. That is to say, trade friction between China and the United States and political issues such as China-India and China-Japan territorial disputes that emerged before do not affect the development of cross-border e-commerce in China. \u0000Originality/value - The analysis shows that the factors influencing China’s cross-border e-commerce exports are the trade openness of the importing country, the trade distance, the number of Internet users in the importing country, and the consumption gap between the two sides of the trade. The trade openness and the number of Internet users positively contribute to China’s cross-border e-commerce, while the consumption gap and trade distance are negatively related to them. And the analysis found that the Sino-US trade war and the Sino-Indian territorial disputes and other trade frictions to China’s cross-border e-commerce exports did not have a substantial impact.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48438808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.1
Jie Ying Gao, Jianlin Li, Ke Yuan, Wanli Liu
Purpose - This study aims to analyze the influence of South Korea’s outward foreign direct investment(OFDI) under the effect of both multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) investment motivation and host country institutions. Some suggestions are put forward with regard to South Korean MNEs participating in and integrating into the fierce and changeable world of international market competition. Design/methodology - The basic hypotheses are that MNEs’ investment motivations and the host country’s superior institutions both boost South Korea’s OFDI in those host countries. South Korea’s OFDI is divided into investment choice stage and investment scale stage. A Heckman two-stage selection model is established for empirical analysis, using the panel data of South Korea’s OFDI and related variables, from 2002 to 2019. Findings - (1) The influence on the investment scale of South Korea’s OFDI is more regular and noteworthy than the influence on investment choice. (2) In the investment scale stage, there are obvious motivations to seek markets, labor force and superior technology, but not natural resources. (3) In the investment scale stage, the South Korea’s OFDI is more obviously attracted by the host country’s superior political institutions, economic institutions and legal institutions, but not cultural institutions. Originality/value - The choices of variables and uses of model expand the theoretical basis and empirical method of OFDI research. The results of the empirical study also provide some reference for the transnational investment of South Korean MNEs and the investment policy formulation of the South Korean government.
{"title":"The Influence of South Korea’s OFDI under the Effects of Multinational Enterprises’ Investment Motivations and Host Country Institutions","authors":"Jie Ying Gao, Jianlin Li, Ke Yuan, Wanli Liu","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.1","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - This study aims to analyze the influence of South Korea’s outward foreign direct investment(OFDI) under the effect of both multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) investment motivation and host country institutions. Some suggestions are put forward with regard to South Korean MNEs participating in and integrating into the fierce and changeable world of international market competition. \u0000Design/methodology - The basic hypotheses are that MNEs’ investment motivations and the host country’s superior institutions both boost South Korea’s OFDI in those host countries. South Korea’s OFDI is divided into investment choice stage and investment scale stage. A Heckman two-stage selection model is established for empirical analysis, using the panel data of South Korea’s OFDI and related variables, from 2002 to 2019. \u0000Findings - (1) The influence on the investment scale of South Korea’s OFDI is more regular and noteworthy than the influence on investment choice. (2) In the investment scale stage, there are obvious motivations to seek markets, labor force and superior technology, but not natural resources. (3) In the investment scale stage, the South Korea’s OFDI is more obviously attracted by the host country’s superior political institutions, economic institutions and legal institutions, but not cultural institutions. \u0000Originality/value - The choices of variables and uses of model expand the theoretical basis and empirical method of OFDI research. The results of the empirical study also provide some reference for the transnational investment of South Korean MNEs and the investment policy formulation of the South Korean government.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43620552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.76
Bangwool Han
Purpose - Small independent brands from local companies often use underdog positioning to compete with established global brands. However, whether the effectiveness of underdog positioning of local businesses in the service sector remains insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the underdog effect on the preference of Korean consumers for individual service providers positioned as underdogs. Design/methodology - The author examines the research question of this study using a one-way ANOVA in three different positioning (underdog vs. top dog vs. control) between-subjects design, with a group of Korean participants. Findings - The experimental study shows that support for independent local (vs. global) service providers positioned as underdogs is straightforward. Using the lens of consumer identification with underdog biographies, this study found that consumers prefer small local service providers with passion and determination regardless of their disadvantages. Originality/value - To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effectiveness of underdog positioning in the context of individual service providers. As it competes with global service companies for domestic consumer preference in Korea, the findings have great implications for ensuring the sustainability of small local service providers.
{"title":"The Impact of Underdog Positioning on Consumer Preference in Korea: Focusing on Local Service Providers","authors":"Bangwool Han","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.76","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.76","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - Small independent brands from local companies often use underdog positioning to compete with established global brands. However, whether the effectiveness of underdog positioning of local businesses in the service sector remains insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the underdog effect on the preference of Korean consumers for individual service providers positioned as underdogs. \u0000Design/methodology - The author examines the research question of this study using a one-way ANOVA in three different positioning (underdog vs. top dog vs. control) between-subjects design, with a group of Korean participants. \u0000Findings - The experimental study shows that support for independent local (vs. global) service providers positioned as underdogs is straightforward. Using the lens of consumer identification with underdog biographies, this study found that consumers prefer small local service providers with passion and determination regardless of their disadvantages. \u0000Originality/value - To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effectiveness of underdog positioning in the context of individual service providers. As it competes with global service companies for domestic consumer preference in Korea, the findings have great implications for ensuring the sustainability of small local service providers.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44426692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.106
Jing-Jing Yang, Tae-Won Kang
Purpose - The increasing share of Korean private label products (PLPs) in the domestic market helped generate lucrative revenue. In recent years, major South Korean retailers have begun to cast their sights on overseas markets and actively export their PLPs. In China, the proportion of private label fresh food (PLFF) is gradually expanding amid the development of the new retailing model. A profound understanding of the relationship between private label fresh produce and purchase intention may be the answer to helping Chinese retailer private labels expand supply chains in Korea. This study, taking Chinese retailers as an example, examines the impacts of selection factors of private label fresh food and perceived value on purchase intention. Apart from that, the relationship between the selection factors and purchase intention will be analyzed with perceived value as a mediator. Design/methodology - This work aims to empirically analyze the purchase intention of private label fresh food using statistical analysis. In this study, a hypothetical causal model consisting of 6 latent variables and 24 measured variables is developed based on the literature review. To validate the research hypotheses and the research model, SPSS23.0/AMOS23.0 is used to analyze factors such as validity and reliability, as well as structural equation modeling. Findings - The hypothetical model established in this study is of general applicability. In respect to PLFF, perceived value, while significantly influencing purchase intention in combination with four selection factors (perceived quality, perceived price, brand trust, and store image), mediates partially between the first three factors and purchase intention, which rules out the impact and mediating effect of store image on purchase intention. Originality/value - These research results, as helpful insights into the present circumstances of Chinese PLFF in the domestic market, provide useful information and guidance for Korean retailers and service providers to innovate production and service, as well as develop marketing and promotion strategies, so that they can shift private label goods with advantages from domestic demand to export, thus increasing overseas profitability. Further, this work will also contribute to relevant research.
{"title":"How Korean Retailers Expand Private Label Markets Abroad: Evidence from the Chinese Fresh Food Market","authors":"Jing-Jing Yang, Tae-Won Kang","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.106","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - The increasing share of Korean private label products (PLPs) in the domestic market helped generate lucrative revenue. In recent years, major South Korean retailers have begun to cast their sights on overseas markets and actively export their PLPs. In China, the proportion of private label fresh food (PLFF) is gradually expanding amid the development of the new retailing model. A profound understanding of the relationship between private label fresh produce and purchase intention may be the answer to helping Chinese retailer private labels expand supply chains in Korea. This study, taking Chinese retailers as an example, examines the impacts of selection factors of private label fresh food and perceived value on purchase intention. Apart from that, the relationship between the selection factors and purchase intention will be analyzed with perceived value as a mediator. \u0000Design/methodology - This work aims to empirically analyze the purchase intention of private label fresh food using statistical analysis. In this study, a hypothetical causal model consisting of 6 latent variables and 24 measured variables is developed based on the literature review. To validate the research hypotheses and the research model, SPSS23.0/AMOS23.0 is used to analyze factors such as validity and reliability, as well as structural equation modeling. \u0000Findings - The hypothetical model established in this study is of general applicability. In respect to PLFF, perceived value, while significantly influencing purchase intention in combination with four selection factors (perceived quality, perceived price, brand trust, and store image), mediates partially between the first three factors and purchase intention, which rules out the impact and mediating effect of store image on purchase intention. \u0000Originality/value - These research results, as helpful insights into the present circumstances of Chinese PLFF in the domestic market, provide useful information and guidance for Korean retailers and service providers to innovate production and service, as well as develop marketing and promotion strategies, so that they can shift private label goods with advantages from domestic demand to export, thus increasing overseas profitability. Further, this work will also contribute to relevant research.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41554182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.23
C. Ko, Hoon Jung
Purpose - This research intends to find out whether R&D cost stickiness shows differentiated aspects depending on exports in Korea. A cost behavior that indicates a lower rate of costs decrease when sales decrease than the rate of costs increase when sales increase is called cost stickiness. This sticky cost behavior is caused by considering the adjusting costs. This study aims to empirically verify that R&D cost stickiness is greater in export firms than in non-export firms. We also investigate the effect of exports on R&D cost stickiness is nonlinear. Design/methodology - We obtain data for the analysis from Kis-Value and TS2000 from 2012 to 2020. This study tests for R&D cost stickiness of exports using the cost stickiness model developed by Anderson et al. (2003) that is used in a lot of prior literature. To explore the nonlinear behavior of R&D cost stickiness we include a quadratic term of exports in our model. Findings - The results of our analysis are as follows. First, we observed that R&D costs of export firms are more sticky than that of non-export firms. Our result indicated that export firms are less likely to reduce R&D costs in decreasing sales periods in preparation for future sales recovery. Second, our empirical evidence shows that export firms view R&D costs much favorably. However, we hypothesize that the effect of export intensity on R&D costs may not necessarily be linear. Our result shows the effect of exports intensity on R&D stickiness is thus nonlinear, forming a reverse U-shaped curve. When export intensity exceeds a certain threshold, the growth rate of R&D costs appears to be viewed negatively. Firms with relatively high export intensity do not support R&D costs, viewing them as taking away firms’ resources from other more productive costs. On the contrary, those with export intensity under the threshold view R&D costs as beneficial and therefore promote further R&D costs when revenue decreases. Originality/value - The results of this research can contribute academically to the expansion of empirical research on R&D cost stickiness. R&D cost stickiness varies by industry. As a result of our research, the managers of export firms recognize the importance of R&D to lead innovation. We expected that this research contributes to further studies on R&D costs and cost stickiness. Second, this research has implications from a business perspectives. Our findings of export firms’ R&D stickiness suggest that export firms’ managers should consider keeping the stickiness of R&D when revenue decreases because it is essential for exporting firms to maintain their R&D stickiness to secure longterm competitiveness. R&D stickiness can be used on a practical basis to emphasize the need for continuous investment in exporting firms’ R&D activities.
▽研究目的=本研究的目的是了解韩国的R&D费用粘性是否因出口的不同而呈现出不同的特征。当销售下降时成本下降的速度低于销售增加时成本增加的速度,这种成本行为被称为成本粘性。这种粘性成本行为是由于考虑了调整成本而产生的。本研究旨在实证验证出口企业的研发成本粘性大于非出口企业。我们还研究了出口对研发成本粘性的影响是非线性的。设计/方法-我们从2012年至2020年从kiss - value和TS2000中获取数据进行分析。本研究使用Anderson et al.(2003)开发的成本粘性模型对出口产品的研发成本粘性进行检验,该模型在之前的许多文献中都有使用。为了探讨研发成本粘性的非线性行为,我们在模型中加入了出口的二次项。调查结果-我们的分析结果如下。首先,我们观察到出口企业的研发成本比非出口企业更具粘性。我们的研究结果表明,出口企业在减少销售周期以准备未来销售复苏时,降低研发成本的可能性较小。第二,我们的实证证据表明,出口企业对研发成本的看法更为有利。然而,我们假设出口强度对研发成本的影响不一定是线性的。研究结果表明,出口强度对研发粘性的影响是非线性的,呈倒u型曲线。当出口强度超过一定阈值时,研发成本的增长率呈现负值。出口强度相对较高的企业不支持研发成本,认为研发成本从其他生产成本中夺走了企业的资源。相反,出口强度低于阈值的企业认为研发成本是有利的,因此在收入下降时,会推动进一步的研发成本。原创性/价值——本研究的结果可以为拓展研发成本粘性的实证研究做出学术贡献。研发成本粘性因行业而异。我们的研究结果表明,出口企业的管理者认识到研发对引领创新的重要性。期望本研究能为研发成本与成本粘性的进一步研究做出贡献。其次,本研究具有商业意义。对出口企业研发粘性的研究结果表明,当出口企业收入下降时,出口企业管理者应考虑保持研发粘性,因为保持研发粘性对出口企业获得长期竞争力至关重要。研发粘性可以在实践基础上用于强调出口企业研发活动持续投资的必要性。
{"title":"The Effect of Export on R&D Cost Behavior: Evidence from Korea","authors":"C. Ko, Hoon Jung","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.23","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - This research intends to find out whether R&D cost stickiness shows differentiated aspects depending on exports in Korea. A cost behavior that indicates a lower rate of costs decrease when sales decrease than the rate of costs increase when sales increase is called cost stickiness. This sticky cost behavior is caused by considering the adjusting costs. This study aims to empirically verify that R&D cost stickiness is greater in export firms than in non-export firms. We also investigate the effect of exports on R&D cost stickiness is nonlinear. \u0000Design/methodology - We obtain data for the analysis from Kis-Value and TS2000 from 2012 to 2020. This study tests for R&D cost stickiness of exports using the cost stickiness model developed by Anderson et al. (2003) that is used in a lot of prior literature. To explore the nonlinear behavior of R&D cost stickiness we include a quadratic term of exports in our model. \u0000Findings - The results of our analysis are as follows. First, we observed that R&D costs of export firms are more sticky than that of non-export firms. Our result indicated that export firms are less likely to reduce R&D costs in decreasing sales periods in preparation for future sales recovery. Second, our empirical evidence shows that export firms view R&D costs much favorably. However, we hypothesize that the effect of export intensity on R&D costs may not necessarily be linear. Our result shows the effect of exports intensity on R&D stickiness is thus nonlinear, forming a reverse U-shaped curve. When export intensity exceeds a certain threshold, the growth rate of R&D costs appears to be viewed negatively. Firms with relatively high export intensity do not support R&D costs, viewing them as taking away firms’ resources from other more productive costs. On the contrary, those with export intensity under the threshold view R&D costs as beneficial and therefore promote further R&D costs when revenue decreases. \u0000Originality/value - The results of this research can contribute academically to the expansion of empirical research on R&D cost stickiness. R&D cost stickiness varies by industry. As a result of our research, the managers of export firms recognize the importance of R&D to lead innovation. We expected that this research contributes to further studies on R&D costs and cost stickiness. Second, this research has implications from a business perspectives. Our findings of export firms’ R&D stickiness suggest that export firms’ managers should consider keeping the stickiness of R&D when revenue decreases because it is essential for exporting firms to maintain their R&D stickiness to secure longterm competitiveness. R&D stickiness can be used on a practical basis to emphasize the need for continuous investment in exporting firms’ R&D activities.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42474178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.39
B. Cin, Kuk-hyun Choe
Purpose - This study empirically examines the effect of the Korean government export promotion program (EPP) on small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) export performance using firm-level data. Unlike most previous studies that investigated some specific samples of firms, this study analyzes a vast amount of SME data of the Korean Small and Medium Business Administration over the period 2005 to 2008. Design/methodology - An endogeneity problem arises when a firm’s probability of being selected is correlated with the likelihood of successfully implementing EPPs. To control for the endogeneity of the EPPs in a relatively short-period sample, we employ 2-Stage Residual Inclusion (2SRI) RE-Tobit and bivariate Tobit procedure. Findings - Analyses show that Korean government EPPs have positive significant effects on SME exports. Empirical results also show that SME export activities are significantly encouraged by R&D investment and capital intensity, but not obviously by labor productivity. Originality/value - This study provides evidence that SME capital intensity, R&D investment, and the number of workers are significant determinants to SME exporting activities, whereas per worker labor cost and employee education are not. These results imply that even for SMEs, firm size is a major factor in promoting exporting activities.
{"title":"Analyses of the Effects of Government Export Promotion Programs on Export Performance: Empirical Evidence for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Korea","authors":"B. Cin, Kuk-hyun Choe","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.39","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.5.39","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - This study empirically examines the effect of the Korean government export promotion program (EPP) on small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) export performance using firm-level data. Unlike most previous studies that investigated some specific samples of firms, this study analyzes a vast amount of SME data of the Korean Small and Medium Business Administration over the period 2005 to 2008. \u0000Design/methodology - An endogeneity problem arises when a firm’s probability of being selected is correlated with the likelihood of successfully implementing EPPs. To control for the endogeneity of the EPPs in a relatively short-period sample, we employ 2-Stage Residual Inclusion (2SRI) RE-Tobit and bivariate Tobit procedure. \u0000Findings - Analyses show that Korean government EPPs have positive significant effects on SME exports. Empirical results also show that SME export activities are significantly encouraged by R&D investment and capital intensity, but not obviously by labor productivity. \u0000Originality/value - This study provides evidence that SME capital intensity, R&D investment, and the number of workers are significant determinants to SME exporting activities, whereas per worker labor cost and employee education are not. These results imply that even for SMEs, firm size is a major factor in promoting exporting activities.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47727111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.1
Bongseok Choi, Seon Tae Kim
Purpose - This paper empirically investigates the effect of a rise in the global value chain (GVC) on the industry-level efficiency of resource allocation (based on plant-level inefficiency measures) in Korea, with a focus on various channels through which a rise in the GVC can increase competition among firms and thus induce resources to be allocated more efficiently across firms. Design/methodology - We empirically investigate the relationship between the industry-specific importance of GVC and the industry-level allocative inefficiency that is measured as the dispersion of the plant-level marginal revenue of capital (MRK) as in Hsieh and Klenow’s (2009) influential model. We compute MRK dispersion for industries sorted by various characteristics that are closely related to firm/industry sensitivity to the GVC. In other words, we compute the average industry-level MRK dispersion for industries sorted by industry-specific importance of GVC and compute the difference between the two groups of industries (higher vs. lower than the median GVC); we also calculate the difference between industries sorted by industry-specific export (import) intensity. This is our difference-in-difference estimate of the MRK dispersion associated with the GVC for the export (import)-intensive industry versus the non-export (non-import)-intensive industry. This differencein- difference estimate of the MRK dispersion conditional vs. unconditional on firm-level productivity is then calculated further (triple-difference estimate). Findings - A rise in GVC is associated with a decrease in the MRK dispersion in the export-intensive industry compared to the non-export-intensive industry. The same is true for industries that rely heavily on imports versus those that do not (i.e., import intensive vs. non-intensive). Furthermore, the reduction in the MRK dispersion in the export-intensive industry associated with an increase in the GVC is disproportionately greater for high-productivity firms. In contrast, the negative relationship between GVC and MRK dispersion in the import-intensive industry is disproportionately smaller for high-productivity firms. Originality/value - Existing studies focus on the relationship between GVC and aggregate output, exports, and imports at the country level. We investigate detailed firm/industry-level mechanisms that determine the relationship between GVC, trade, and productivity. Using the plant-level data in South Korea, we investigate how GVC is related to the cross-firm MRK dispersion, an important measure of allocative inefficiency, based on Hsieh and Klenow’s (2009) influential economic theory. This is the first study to provide plant-level evidence of how GVC affects MRK dispersion. Furthermore, we examine how the relationship between GVC and MRK-dispersion varies across export intensity, import intensity, and firm-level productivity, providing insight into how GVC can affect firms’ exposure to competition in the global market differen
{"title":"Global Value Chain and Misallocation: Evidence from South Korea","authors":"Bongseok Choi, Seon Tae Kim","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.1","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - This paper empirically investigates the effect of a rise in the global value chain (GVC) on the industry-level efficiency of resource allocation (based on plant-level inefficiency measures) in Korea, with a focus on various channels through which a rise in the GVC can increase competition among firms and thus induce resources to be allocated more efficiently across firms. \u0000Design/methodology - We empirically investigate the relationship between the industry-specific importance of GVC and the industry-level allocative inefficiency that is measured as the dispersion of the plant-level marginal revenue of capital (MRK) as in Hsieh and Klenow’s (2009) influential model. We compute MRK dispersion for industries sorted by various characteristics that are closely related to firm/industry sensitivity to the GVC. In other words, we compute the average industry-level MRK dispersion for industries sorted by industry-specific importance of GVC and compute the difference between the two groups of industries (higher vs. lower than the median GVC); we also calculate the difference between industries sorted by industry-specific export (import) intensity. This is our difference-in-difference estimate of the MRK dispersion associated with the GVC for the export (import)-intensive industry versus the non-export (non-import)-intensive industry. This differencein- difference estimate of the MRK dispersion conditional vs. unconditional on firm-level productivity is then calculated further (triple-difference estimate). \u0000Findings - A rise in GVC is associated with a decrease in the MRK dispersion in the export-intensive industry compared to the non-export-intensive industry. The same is true for industries that rely heavily on imports versus those that do not (i.e., import intensive vs. non-intensive). Furthermore, the reduction in the MRK dispersion in the export-intensive industry associated with an increase in the GVC is disproportionately greater for high-productivity firms. In contrast, the negative relationship between GVC and MRK dispersion in the import-intensive industry is disproportionately smaller for high-productivity firms. \u0000Originality/value - Existing studies focus on the relationship between GVC and aggregate output, exports, and imports at the country level. We investigate detailed firm/industry-level mechanisms that determine the relationship between GVC, trade, and productivity. Using the plant-level data in South Korea, we investigate how GVC is related to the cross-firm MRK dispersion, an important measure of allocative inefficiency, based on Hsieh and Klenow’s (2009) influential economic theory. This is the first study to provide plant-level evidence of how GVC affects MRK dispersion. Furthermore, we examine how the relationship between GVC and MRK-dispersion varies across export intensity, import intensity, and firm-level productivity, providing insight into how GVC can affect firms’ exposure to competition in the global market differen","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46776029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.63
K. Yun, Chenguang Hu
Purpose - Drawing on relational institutional theory, we explored how demographic similarity between board members of a firm and newly emerged political elites led to firms’ increased financial resource acquisition such as leverage ratio and decreased export intensity amidst the Asian financial crisis. We also studied how a firm’s leverage ratio and export intensity can further affect firm profitability and financial credit rating. Design/methodology - We revisited and explored a unique, unprecedented crisis that affected most Korean firms: the Asian financial crisis that coincided with a governmental shift from a conservative to a liberal party. We collected demographic information from 432 listed Korean firms’ board members and 43 political elites of the Blue House from 1998-2000 to create a demographic similarity measurement. We collected firms’ financial information, built panel data, and used ordinary least squares regression to test our theory. Findings - Our results showed that demographic similarity between a firm’s directors and newly emerged politicians had a positive association with a firm’s leverage ratio but a negative association with a firm’s export intensity. A firm’s leverage ratio had a negative relationship with firm performance measured by firm profitability and financial credit rating. A firm’s export intensity showed a positive effect on firm performance. Originality/value - We highlighted that during an economic crisis that coincided with a governmental shift and change of leading political actors, firms exerted efforts to survey the environment and build new external stakeholder relationships to cope with the changing landscape. We proposed that in an emerging market like Korea where low levels of trust and favoritism are prevalent across society, one of the relational institutional strategies that firms can employ is the selection of directors with similar demographic characteristics to political elites based on factors including birthplace and school affiliations. We examined the efforts of firms to build political networks with newly empowered political elites during a financial crisis, and the consequences of establishing such networks. We highlighted that during a financial crisis, the demographic similarity between a firm’s board members and newly emerged politicians can provide firms with access to financial resources but can also result in poor management and reduced effort to enhance its international competitiveness.
{"title":"Revisiting the Asian Financial Crisis: Is Building Political Ties with Emerging Political Elites Beneficial during a Crisis?","authors":"K. Yun, Chenguang Hu","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.63","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.63","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - Drawing on relational institutional theory, we explored how demographic similarity between board members of a firm and newly emerged political elites led to firms’ increased financial resource acquisition such as leverage ratio and decreased export intensity amidst the Asian financial crisis. We also studied how a firm’s leverage ratio and export intensity can further affect firm profitability and financial credit rating. \u0000Design/methodology - We revisited and explored a unique, unprecedented crisis that affected most Korean firms: the Asian financial crisis that coincided with a governmental shift from a conservative to a liberal party. We collected demographic information from 432 listed Korean firms’ board members and 43 political elites of the Blue House from 1998-2000 to create a demographic similarity measurement. We collected firms’ financial information, built panel data, and used ordinary least squares regression to test our theory. \u0000Findings - Our results showed that demographic similarity between a firm’s directors and newly emerged politicians had a positive association with a firm’s leverage ratio but a negative association with a firm’s export intensity. A firm’s leverage ratio had a negative relationship with firm performance measured by firm profitability and financial credit rating. A firm’s export intensity showed a positive effect on firm performance. \u0000Originality/value - We highlighted that during an economic crisis that coincided with a governmental shift and change of leading political actors, firms exerted efforts to survey the environment and build new external stakeholder relationships to cope with the changing landscape. We proposed that in an emerging market like Korea where low levels of trust and favoritism are prevalent across society, one of the relational institutional strategies that firms can employ is the selection of directors with similar demographic characteristics to political elites based on factors including birthplace and school affiliations. We examined the efforts of firms to build political networks with newly empowered political elites during a financial crisis, and the consequences of establishing such networks. We highlighted that during a financial crisis, the demographic similarity between a firm’s board members and newly emerged politicians can provide firms with access to financial resources but can also result in poor management and reduced effort to enhance its international competitiveness.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48428010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-30DOI: 10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.39
Dejin Su, Yeong-Gil Kim
Purpose - Along with the growing awareness of environmental sustainability, international green entrepreneurship is expected to realize international sustainable development (ISD) by introducing ecological innovation results, using fewer resources consumption, and reducing negative environmental impacts. Building upon contingency theory and social network theory, this paper attempts to explore the role of home country-based networks (technology ties and business ties) as contingent factors that might impact the effectiveness of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in promoting ISD among green ventures. Design/methodology - Original data were collected from 127 green ventures in China based on the random sampling technique. These green ventures mainly focus on the lower use of energy or materials, lower CO2 emissions, and higher ecological benefits located in the Fujian province, which highlights green economic growth and economic cooperation with international markets. Moderated hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to test our hypotheses concerning the main relationship between EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) and ISD as well as the moderating effects of home country-based networks (technology ties and business ties) on the main relationship. Findings - Empirical results indicate that: first, both innovativeness and proactiveness positively affect ISD; second, both technology ties and business ties at home might significantly strengthen the positive relationship between innovativeness (or proactiveness) and ISD. However, this study did not find significant moderating effects of technology ties or business ties at home on the relationship between risk-taking and ISD. Originality/value - Since previous literature often gives more focus on the host country context of social networks, this study shifts to a home country-based network context. Therefore, our research might enrich the international green entrepreneurship literature by empirically investigating the contingent value of home country-based networks in the relationship between EO and ISD in the context of an emerging economy such as China.
{"title":"What Promotes International Sustainable Development of Green Ventures? The Joint Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Home Country-Based Networks","authors":"Dejin Su, Yeong-Gil Kim","doi":"10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.39","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35611/jkt.2022.26.4.39","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose - Along with the growing awareness of environmental sustainability, international green entrepreneurship is expected to realize international sustainable development (ISD) by introducing ecological innovation results, using fewer resources consumption, and reducing negative environmental impacts. Building upon contingency theory and social network theory, this paper attempts to explore the role of home country-based networks (technology ties and business ties) as contingent factors that might impact the effectiveness of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in promoting ISD among green ventures. \u0000Design/methodology - Original data were collected from 127 green ventures in China based on the random sampling technique. These green ventures mainly focus on the lower use of energy or materials, lower CO2 emissions, and higher ecological benefits located in the Fujian province, which highlights green economic growth and economic cooperation with international markets. Moderated hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to test our hypotheses concerning the main relationship between EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) and ISD as well as the moderating effects of home country-based networks (technology ties and business ties) on the main relationship. \u0000Findings - Empirical results indicate that: first, both innovativeness and proactiveness positively affect ISD; second, both technology ties and business ties at home might significantly strengthen the positive relationship between innovativeness (or proactiveness) and ISD. However, this study did not find significant moderating effects of technology ties or business ties at home on the relationship between risk-taking and ISD. \u0000Originality/value - Since previous literature often gives more focus on the host country context of social networks, this study shifts to a home country-based network context. Therefore, our research might enrich the international green entrepreneurship literature by empirically investigating the contingent value of home country-based networks in the relationship between EO and ISD in the context of an emerging economy such as China.","PeriodicalId":37797,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Korea Trade","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42212415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}