Recent Issues

Vol.21/1 (2015, June)
The Chicken Game and the Amplified Semiconductor Cycle: The Evolution of the DRAM Industry from 2006 to 2014
Author JEHO LEE
Keywords Cycle, DRAM, Technology, Innovation
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Industry fluctuations in the supply of DRAM chips relative to demand have been characterized by what is called “the silicon cycle.” In the period between 2006 and 2008, the DRAM industry experienced an unusually sharp transition from a shortage of DRAM products to an extreme oversupply, culminating with the crash of DRAM prices in 2008. The industry’s overcapacity was preceded by a mad race to expand capacity; this race has been dubbed as the “chicken game” in the media. Even in the time of plunging DRAM prices, players preferred not to reduce their output. The amplified industry cycle accelerated the exit of financially vulnerable firms. I argue that the combination of the amplification of cycle and rising entry barriers fosters the transition of an industry to an oligopoly, in which cyclicality is curbed and the positions of market leaders are solidified.
Vol.21/1 (2015, June)
Costing Rule and Cost Behavior in the Korean Defense Industry
Author HONG-JUNG YONG, TAE-SIK AHN, HYUNG-ROK JUNG, JIN-HA PARK
Keywords cost stickiness, labor costs, defense industry, commercial sector, defense sector
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This paper investigates the cost behavior in the Korean defense industry. Managers in the defense industry tend to have motivation to manage earnings because the costs incurring in the production process of defense articles are reimbursed based on cost plus contracts. Results are as follows. First, in the sample of the defense sector, SG&A costs and total manufacturing costs exhibited anti-stickiness whereas labor costs exhibited cost stickiness. Other cost components displayed symmetric cost behavior. Next, in the commercial sector, material costs, direct material costs, total manufacturing costs, cost of goods sold, and total costs exhibited antistickiness. Labor costs showed cost stickiness whereas SG&A costs, overhead costs, and indirect production costs had symmetric cost behavior. Overall, the results reveals that the change rate of labor costs of the defense sector exhibits more cost stickiness to changes in sales than the commercial sector.
Vol.21/1 (2015, June)
The Impact of Leader’s Humor on Employees’ Creativity: The Moderating Role of Trust in Leader
Author DEOG-RO LEE
Keywords humor, humor style, individual creativity, trust in leader
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The purpose of this study is to examine how leader’s humor styles influence employee creativity, and the moderating effects of trust in leader on the relationships between leader’s humor styles and employees’ creativity. The results using 316 valid leader-subordinates pairs (71 leaders and 316 subordinates) from five telecommunication companies in South Korea showed that leader’s self-enhancing humor was positively associated with subordinates’ individual creativity, and leaders’ aggressive humor was negatively associated with subordinates’ individual creativity. In addition, trust in leader significantly moderated the relationship between selfenhancing humor and employee creativity. Specifically, the relationship between self-enhancing humor and employee creativity became stronger as trust in leader increased.
Vol.21/1 (2015, June)
Building a Korean Fashion Platform in Taobao, China’s Biggest Online Commerce: The Case of Fashion e-Commerce Company Accommate
Author TONGYO HAN, BYUNGJOON YOO, SEONGMIN JEON
Keywords Online marketplace, Alibaba, Taobao, Tmall, Fashion, e-Commerce
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In 2008, a Korean online fashion distributor, Accommate, is founded in China and it tapped into the Chinese online market with the alliance of Taobao, online C2C(consumer-to-consumer) commerce platform of Alibaba. Taobao offered free listings to attract more sellers in order to compete e-bay and introduced keyword search features which Accommate made use of as an early adopter and partner. As Taobao became China’s market leader, Accommate secured the partner position to distribute Korean apparels and strengthened its partnership with Alibaba. Soon Alibaba introduced a new online brand mall called Taobao Mall or Tmall to complement the C2C platform. Accommate extended its business with Alibaba by taking charge of the Korean product sections in the online brand mall of Tmall. From the perspective of scales, China represented for Accommate a dynamic and fast-growing market, though it is so competitive. Moreover, it is a tough job to manage the adequate level of inventory for clothes which have as short lifecycle as 45 days. A number of Korean predecessors failed to manage cash flow issues resulted from the inventory. Accommate came to encounter the management issues of both meeting the changing requirement of Chinese customers and managing the inventory level at the same time. Considering these changes and challenges, we may well think what the strategic and operational issues regarding Accommate are and how the company should grow in this fast growing electronic marketplace. This case study will help readers think about the emerging electronic market in China and form an opinion on the associated management issues and analyses.
Vol.21/2 (2014, December)
Erratum to “Risk and Reward in Venture Capital Funds” by Joon Chae, Jee-Hyun Kim, and Hyung-Chul Ku
Author Erratum
Keywords -
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Vol.21/2 (2014, December)
Search Behavior and Catch-up of Firms in Emerging Markets
Author Yuzhe Miao and Jaeyong Song
Keywords catch-up, search behavior, China, innovation, patent, technology
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This study investigates catch-up in the form of knowledge creation of firms in emerging markets by stressing two distinct types of search behaviors of an organization – horizontal search and vertical search. Based on an empirical analysis of 204 Chinese firms, this study provides new theoretical insights into and practical implications by emphasizing that in order to catch-up, firms in emerging markets should adopt idiosyncratic search strategies different from those of firms in more advanced countries. The regression results show that due to their under-developed absorptive capacity, firms in emerging markets should avoid searching in diverse knowledge fields, as established large firms in advanced countries are encouraged to do, in order to innovate successfully. Our findings also suggest that searching for recent and emerging knowledge helps firms in emerging markets overcome their learning curve disadvantage in the process of catch-up.
Vol.21/2 (2014, December)
Social Exchange Model between Human Resource Management Practices and Innovation in Software Engineering
Author Donghyun Kim and Youngkeun Choi
Keywords human resource management practice; social exchange theory; affective organizational commitment; innovative behavior; software engineering
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This study examines the relationship between human resource management practices and innovation in software engineering. We use social exchange theory to investigate how human resource management practices influence the innovative behaviors of software developers through the mediation of affective organizational commitment. The results show that developmental appraisal, externally or equitable reward, and comprehensive training increase developers’ affective organizational commitment, which in turn positively affects their innovative behaviors.
Vol.21/2 (2014, December)
The Sequential Relationships among Operational Capabilities and Performance in Service Industry: An Empirical Study
Author Jungeun Cho
Keywords service industry, operational capability, service resource, customer experience
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This study seeks to identify the elements of operational capability and obtain a detailed picture of the sequential relationships among operational capabilities and business performance in the hospitality industry. In addition, it attempts to prove that the capability to offer an enhanced customer experience constitutes a core competitive advantage in service firms. A phone survey was conducted among Korean hotels, and 102 data sets were collected. Structural equation modeling and multiple regressions were used to test hypotheses using the survey data. As a result, it was discovered an optimum path for the accumulation of operational capabilities in the hospitality industry and customer experience is revealed to be the only dimension of operational capabilities that is directly linked to market performance.
Vol.21/2 (2014, December)
The Effects of Design Attributes on Other Attributes and Product Evaluation
Author Sang-Hoon Kim, So Yun Sim, and Young Eun Hahm
Keywords Design, product development, high-tech marketing, attitudes toward design
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This study examines how consumers’ perceptions of a product’s design attributes influence their perceptions on other product attributes, and attitudes toward the focal product. This study explored image-related adjectives in order to analyze product attributes, which are categorized into design, symbolic, and functional factors. The empirical test results confirmed the mediating role of attitudes toward design, which indicate the overall preference about product design, between design attributes and attitudes toward product, while the hypothesis of the moderating role of design sensitivity was not supported. These findings revealed that design attributes have influences beyond the aesthetic value, as product design rouses symbolic value and delivers information about functions. Therefore, in the context of product development process, it would be effective to distinguish design elements that can strengthen advantages and supplement weaknesses and to measure attitudes toward design that can be an important index of product evaluation.
Vol.20/1 (2014, June)
Risk and Reward in Venture Capital Funds
Author Joon Chae, Jee-Hyun Kim, and Hyung-Chul Ku
Keywords venture capital funds performance, risk-adjusted measure, selection-bias, government participation
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Using detailed data from Korea, free from the selection bias problem and providing industry codes for companies a venture capital (VC) fund invests in, this study conducts comprehensive analyses of performance and performance persistence of VC funds. We find significant differences between the results using a non-risk-adjusted and those using a risk-adjusted performance measure. Another notable finding is that government participation affects the risk-adjusted performance and cash inflows of venture capital funds. Furthermore, the persistence of performance is much weaker when we control risk of VC funds. In addition, we provide the evidence that the performance in a public market has a positive influence on the probability of raising subsequent venture capital funds.
Seoul Journal of Business
ISSN 1226-9816 (Print)
ISSN 2713-6213 (Online)