Korean Export Research Articles

Sectoral Price Divergence between Korea and Japan

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)I.INTRODUCTIONKorea and Japan have been closely linked not only economically but also in many aspects. For example, Japan has been one of the major trading partners of Korea and the volume of trade between the two countries has significantly increased since the development of the Korean economy. Further, there has been a structural transformation in the Korean economy: Korea's capital markets have been extensively integrated to the international financial markets and Korea significantly opened its product markets to the world since the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 so that the ratios of Korean export and import to its GDP are around 50% as of 2015, respectively. Although all these events point to the direction in favor of a closer integration of product markets, this paper empirically investigates the degree of product market integration between Korea and Japan using a measure of sectoral relative consumer price persistence over the period of 1985-2016. In particular, we examine if sectoral relative prices between the two countries converted with the common currency contain a stochastic trend or converge to their equilibrium value in the long run.We apply a new econometric method for testing the unit root hypothesis of real exchange rates: we use the panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence developed by Pesaran (2007). His method is to augment the crosssectional averages of lagged levels and first-differences of the individual series in the standard augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) regressions to control for crosssection dependence. The use of Pesaran's method has two advantages compared to previous studies.One advantage is that the method obtains an additional cross-sectional power using panel data and mitigates the well-known shortcoming of univariate unit root tests in terms of their power properties.1 The other advantage is that the method takes into account of cross-section dependence frequently presented in panel data sets. In particular, panels with sectoral real exchange rates are likely exhibit high crosssection dependence since they are constructed using a common nominal exchange rate. The well-known panel unit root tests such as the LLC test developed by Levin et al. (2002), the IPS test by Im et al. (2003), and the Maddala-Wu test by Maddala and Wu (1999) assume that individual time series in the panel are independently distributed across cross-sections. However, O'Connell (1998) shows that the typical panel unit root tests developed under the cross-sectional independence assumption reject too often the unit root hypothesis in the presence of significant cross-section dependence. Further, recent econometric studies show that the method of demeaning the individual series cross-sectionally does not effectively mitigate the problem of cross-section dependence in a general setting. Pesaran's method overcomes this deficiency of the previous tests. Pesaran (2007) also confirms O'Connell (1998)'s finding applying the new econometric method: he examines if the CPI-based real exchange rates constructed using quarterly consumer price indices of 17 OECD countries contain a stochastic trend for the periods of 1974Q1-1998Q4 and 1988Q1-1998Q4, and finds that the IPS test rejects the unit root hypothesis for both cases, while his test developed under the assumption of cross-section dependence does not reject it. He also shows that these opposite results are mainly due to the significant cross-section dependence in those panels. As formally and informally discussed in Section III and IV, the error term of the regression for our panel of sectoral real exchange rates exhibits significant cross-section dependence. Therefore, the use of Pesaran (2007)'s method is appropriate for our study.We find that sectoral relative prices between Korea and Japan do not revert to their equilibrium value in the long run applying Pesaran (2007)'s panel unit root test. …

The Relationship between Financial Characteristic and Firm Value in the Korean Export Industry after the Global Economic Crisis

The Relationship between Financial Characteristic and Firm Value in the Korean Export Industry after the Global Economic Crisis

The Study of Fashion’s Images on Korean Wave Actress

This study was aimed to draw objective results for the images of Korean wave actresses, using statistical methods.BR Four Korean wave actresses, Young-ae Lee, Jee-hyun Jun, Hae-Gyo Song, and Jee-woo Choi, were selected by surveying foreign students studying in Korean universities. The survey aimed to list ‘adjectives’ associating their image cuts by the free association method. A total of 26 adjective pairs were finally selected, for which the cluster analysis of Ward’s method were performed. Also, for comparative analysis of their images, factorial analysis using the principal component analysis and varimax rotation was performed. One-way analysis of variance and Scheffe’s method for the adjective pairs was done by using factor scores obtained from this study.BR We observed that Korean wave actresses have their own images, and the results of this study are summarized as follow:BR The comparativeness analysis shows that Young-ae Lee is superior in the dignity factor, but low in fashion as a factor. Jee-hyun Jun is remarkable in attractiveness and fashion, and has the highest fashioning factor score. Jee-woo Choi is equal for attractiveness, fashioning, and activeness, and is most ‘feminine’ in fashioning. Hae-Gyo Song is quite different from other actresses, and is considered ‘pretty’ in the attractiveness factor, and ‘sportive’ in the fashion factor.BR We suggest that Korean export companies should apply these results to fashion products for countries where trade is thriving with the Korean wave boom. We expect that the sales would be considerably increased.

Export market expansion through indirect learning: evidence from Korean exporters

PurposeA appreciable number of exporters have successfully developed their markets in foreign countries although they have little prior experience in those countries. Advocating that indirect learning plays a crucial role in explaining this phenomenon, the purpose of this paper is attempted to investigate whether and how learning indirectly from competitors and interfirm relationships enables exporters to successful expand their business into foreign markets.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the knowledge-based theory of the firm and the late-mover advantage theory, the authors developed an empirically testable model that explains and predicts the effects of indirect learning on the success of export market expansion. The model was tested using a complied archival data set in regard to exporters’ market expansion events and international accounting. The sampling frame was the events of Korean exporters’ market expansion.FindingsEmpirical evidence shows that exporters’ indirect learning from domestic, local, global competitors and from interfirm relationships influence their success of market expansion. In addition, indirect learning from domestic rivals and from interfirm relationships has a more positive effect on the success of expansion into emerging markets than into developed markets.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the authors employed an event-study method, the limitations of this method can be applied to the present research. In addition, because of the empirical context, the results of the research may lack generalizability. The authors, however, provided an understanding how an exporter can succeed in a foreign market specifically when it has lack of direct experience in the market.Practical implicationsThe results of the current research suggested that an exporter should try to learn from local, domestic, and global rivals experienced in a foreign market in order to succeed in the market. In addition, exporters should be affiliated with business groups or partnerships because these affiliations can strengthen the information-sharing mechanisms. Moreover, an exporter should focus first on learning from local rivals and then domestic rivals in order to develop proper expansion strategies. Finally, an exporter should attempt to more actively learn from rivals and interfirm relationships when it targets an emerging market than a developed market.Originality/valuePrior studies have emphasized the effects of a firm’s direct learning on market development success. The authors, however, filled a knowledge gap of the impacts of learning in two aspects. First, the authors provided an understanding of the effects of indirect learning on market expansion success. Second, the authors demonstrated these effects in the context of export.

Korean FDI and Export Upgrading in Southeast Asia

Korean FDI and Export Upgrading in Southeast Asia

The Effect of Dynamic Capabilities on International Performance of Korean Exporting SMEs : The Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamism and Firm Type

The Effect of Dynamic Capabilities on International Performance of Korean Exporting SMEs : The Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamism and Firm Type

An empirical analysis on the performance of the third-party logistics in the Korean exporter

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of enhancing logistics performances in Korean exporters’ utilizing “third-party logistics” (3PL) in area of delivery service to overseas buyers. Design/methodology/approach – A research model was designed on the mechanism of Korean exporters’ utilizing 3PL and the collaborative relationships (CR) between exporters and “logistics service providers” (LSPs) in supply chain management context. The mechanism means what triggers the Korean exporters to choose LSPs in overseas trade. Conclusions were drawn from survey data gathered from 146 exporters in Korea. Structural equation model with partial least square was employed to measure the statistical significance of the hypothesized model paths. Findings – This study provides evidence that exporters’ evaluation on the customization of LSPs’ service capacities, the reasonability of LSPs’ service fees and the information sharing are three important prerequisites to CR between exporters and LSPs. This study is focussed on exporters’ performance such as consistency of secure delivery (SD), exporters’ logistics cost savings (CS) and exporters’ satisfaction. The results show a strong support for this study, with positive and significant effects of CR on the consistency of SD, exporters’ logistics CS and exporters’ satisfaction. Practical implications – This study proves that exporters’ performance derived from the CR results in exporters’ loyalty to LSPs, which means LSPs’ performance. Originality/value – There are very few studies on utilization of 3PL related to delivery of export goods to overseas buyers and relevant exporters’ performance. However, this study has particularly explored the mechanism in the relation of exporters’ using 3PL and its performance.

한국수출기업의 수출기업 역량, 수출마케팅전략 실행효과 및 수출 경쟁우위가 수출성과에 미치는 영향

한국수출기업의 수출기업 역량, 수출마케팅전략 실행효과 및 수출 경쟁우위가 수출성과에 미치는 영향

Examining a Model of Success in Export Relationship Marketing: Evidence from Korean Exporters

Export-relationship marketing is increasingly crucial to export performance. Among a wide variety of strategic options for developing export relationships, exporter-export intermediary relationships are a prevalent option for success in export marketplaces. Recent research has given little attention to these relationships. The present study attempts to provide an understanding of how to succeed in export-relationship marketing. Using the resource-advantage (R-A) theory of competition as an overarching framework, this study develops a model that builds on the resource-based theory of the firm, the alliance theory, and the relationship-marketing theory in order to explain how to succeed in export-relationship marketing. The model was empirically tested using data obtained from a survey of exporter-export intermediary relationships in Korea. The partial least square analysis was adopted to empirically assess the model. The results show that the hypothesized paths in the model are confirmed in the manner of the R-A theory. Finally, the author discusses important implications of this research for theory and practice, presents research limitations, and offers some suggestions for future research.

A Study on the Influence of Korean Import and Export Manufacturers’ Environmental Logistics Activities on Shipping Liner Selection and Firm Performance

A Study on the Influence of Korean Import and Export Manufacturers’ Environmental Logistics Activities on Shipping Liner Selection and Firm Performance

한국 전자정부 해외진출 확대를 위한 전략적 접근방향에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to suggest strategic approach to expand Korean e-government export. Korean e-government was evaluated as a top level by UN electronic government survey 2014. However its export is very limited. This study reviews the literature related to e-government, and analyze existing Korean e-government export. The results of this analysis are as follows: lack of a law related e-government export, decentralized organizations, insufficient export process, lack of e-government solution for sale, limited funds, deficiency of cooperation between large and small enterprises. This study suggests a strategic approach such as to clarify the purpose of e-government export, to decide government or civilian-oriented export, to establish driving strategy, to improve and develop e-government export related areas. There are many ways for improvement and development of e-government export as follows: to enact a basic law or to revise the e-government law, to integrate functions of separated organizations and establish control tower, to improve export process, to build information sharing system, to develop standardized solution module, and to expand fund to support. The author expects that this paper will contribute to enhance Korean e-government export.

Decrease in the Growth of Domestic Demand in Korea

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)I. INTRODUCTIONThis paper investigates why the domestic demand growth in Korea has significantly slowed down after the East Asian financial crisis in 1997. The average growth rate of the Korean real GDP is about 9.4% in 1981-1995 before the East Asian financial crisis but about 3.7% in 2003-2014 after the crisis as well as the credit card lending boom period of 1999-2002.1 The average growth rate is about 2.5 times greater in the former period than in the latter period. Coincidently, the average growth rate of the Korean real domestic demand on domestic goods is about 8.9% but -0.3%, respectively, in the corresponding periods. This long-lasting dramatic decline cannot be attributed to the elements that are closely linked to short run economic fluctuations. Instead, some domestic and/or foreign structural factors would induce the significant decline in the growth of the two variables. This paper intends to identify those structural problems of the Korean economy.We consider two structural problems of the Korean economy since the crisis2: one is the dampened ripple effects from the export sector and the other is the decrease in the growth of household real disposable income. We broadly define the ripple effects from the export sector: As firms export more and more, they would use more production inputs such as capital and labor, resulting in increase in investment and employment. In addition, the earnings from exports can be invested in other industries for expanding their business group, which contributes to generating many job opportunities (e.g., refer to Korean large-sized firms' investment behavior in the past and Google's investment in automobile industry). In this sense, the ripple effects are closely associated with firms' investment behavior.Our starting point for the identification of the structural problems is to pay a particular attention to the link between the GDP growth and the domestic demand growth: both growth rates have significantly declined after the crisis; but the magnitude of the lost growth rates in the latter period is different between the two variables. The average growth rate of domestic demand is much lower than that of GDP in the latter period, while their growth performance is quite similar in the former period. The inspection on the growth pattern of the Korean export provides a clue to the reasons for this difference since GDP is the sum of domestic demand on domestic goods and foreign demand on domestic goods (export). The average growth rate of export is about 12.8% but 9.5%, respectively, in the above corresponding periods, suggesting that the performance of the export sector has not been much worse, unlike the two variables. Further, the decomposition of the GDP growth rate reveals that the Korean economic growth in the latter period is entirely due to the growth in the export sector, while both domestic demand and export contribute to the GDP growth in the former period3: the contributions of domestic demand and export to the GDP growth rate are -0.3% points and 4% points, respectively, in the latter period, and 7.5% points and 1.9% points in the former period. As discussed in detail later, this dramatic change between the two periods is closely related to the dampened ripple effects from the export sector associated with the decrease in investment growth. Understanding what causes these dampened ripple effects and how they affect the Korean economy is one of the main objectives of the present paper.We also pay attention to the decrease in the growth of household disposable income. Its real growth rate is about 10.3% which is slightly greater than the GDP growth rate in the former period but about 2.3% which is less than the GDP growth rate in the latter period. This decrease in the growth of households income leads to the decrease both in consumption growth and household saving rate (defined by household saving/national disposable income): the real consumption growth rate is 8. …

A Study on Inter-Corporate Relationships of Korean Exporting Firms and Gaps in Performance in Supply Chains

A Study on Inter-Corporate Relationships of Korean Exporting Firms and Gaps in Performance in Supply Chains

중국 전자상거래 시장의 최근동향 및 시사점

인터넷과 모바일 통신망 보급의 빠른 확산 속도와 더불어 중국의 전자상거래 시장은 과거 10년간 72배 성장하였다. 그러나 성장속도 대비 해당 시장의 선진화를 위한 하부구조와 관련 규정의 부재는 최근 국가 경제발전 차원에서 시급히 개선되어야할 문제로 부상하고 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 문헌연구를 통해 최근 급성장한 중국 전자상거래의 기반 환경 및 시장현황을 살펴보고, 현재 중국 시장에서 문제로 대두되고 있는 전자상거래상의 주요 이슈를 전자상거래 형태별로 점검하였다. 또한 중국 유통시장에서 가장 큰 문제로 지적되고 있는 전자상거래상의 물류시스템의 문제, 소비자 보호문제, R&D 투자 현황 및 고급인력 확충의 문제를 진단하고 향후 기업차원과 정부차원의 제도 및 시스템 개선을 제안하였다. 마지막으로 본 연구는 특히 과거 연구에서 논의되지 않았던 모바일 결제시장과 인터넷 금융시장 및 전자상거래 중국의 세제 개편내용을 제공하고 국제표준화를 위한 제도적 시사점을 도출하였다. 중국정부의 5개년 전자상거래 육성을 위한 전자상거래 대외시장 개방에 대한 정책 발표 이후, 한국 수출 기업들에게 제공하는 시사점을 처음으로 제안하였다는데 의의가 크다. The economic growth in China takes the step of the Internet/Mobile revolution together. The high internet penetration provided the opportunity to increase the e-commerce market with fast speed. However, due to imbalance of the growth speed and preparation, the problems on various infrastructures and regulations were generated. Therefore, this study investigateed the current status of e-commerce market and sub-categories. This study also discussed about the problem of e-commerce logistics system, consumer protection, R&D investment, and human resources and provided the considerations for the future improvement. Finally, this study diagnosed the mobile payment and internet finance market and new e-commerce tax regulation, and then suggested institutional implications for the international standardization. This study is meaningful to provide the first implication to the Korean exporters after Chinese government had announced market open strategy for the 5 year e-commerce development plan.

Should Korea Worry about a Permanently Weak Yen?

Three years have passed since the Bank of Japan’s asset purchase program was introduced in 2011, causing a sharp decline in the value of the Japanese Yen. What would be the implications for Japan and Korea’s exporters if the weak Yen is here to stay? We explore this question by examining exporters’ pricing behaviors and volume responses to exchange rate shocks. We find that if the weak Yen persists, it would strengthen Japan’s price competitiveness over time as export prices respond with a lag. We also find that while direct boosts to export demand will be rather limited, a persistently weaker Yen would expand the Japanese exporters’ profits lastingly, which could reinvigorate the ability, particularly of flagship exporting firms, to compete and grow in the global market over time. These findings suggest that the muted price and volume response so far to the sustained weakness of the Yen may mask a more fundamental shift in the relative competitiveness of Japanese and Korean exporters.

Should Korea Worry About a Permanently Weak Yen?

Three years have passed since the Bank of Japan’s asset purchase program was introduced in 2011, causing a sharp decline in the value of the Japanese Yen. What would be the implications for Japan and Korea’s exporters if the weak Yen is here to stay? We explore this question by examining exporters’ pricing behaviors and volume responses to exchange rate shocks. We find that if the weak Yen persists, it would strengthen Japan’s price competitiveness over time as export prices respond with a lag. We also find that while direct boosts to export demand will be rather limited, a persistently weaker Yen would expand the Japanese exporters’ profits lastingly, which could reinvigorate the ability, particularly of flagship exporting firms, to compete and grow in the global market over time. These findings suggest that the muted price and volume response so far to the sustained weakness of the Yen may mask a more fundamental shift in the relative competitiveness of Japanese and Korean exporters.

한국 쌀 수출 현황 및 활성화 방안

한국 쌀 수출 현황 및 활성화 방안

The Interactive Effects of Environmental Collaboration on Performance of Korean Exporters

The Interactive Effects of Environmental Collaboration on Performance of Korean Exporters

Framing Climate Change as an Economic Opportunity in South Korean Newspapers

Based on newspaper content analysis, the Korean press (2007-08) accepts the anthropogenic argument?that humans have caused and are responsible for climate change. News articles stress the ecological effects of climate change and the need to mitigate and to reduce emissions through government policies. Compared to other countries, however, one point stands out?the Korean press frames mitigation as an economic opportunity, not a threat. Moreover, businesses cited in the news strongly support this idea. However, citing government and business sectors, the conservative and financial newspapers tend to define this opportunity as selling Korean nuclear power technology and green technology abroad. These papers rarely represent voices that advocate structural change in Korean society to reduce its emissions. This particular stance on mitigation as an economic opportunity results from the vulnerability of the Korean export economy to international pressures, coupled with government and business attempt to find a viable export option under the mitigation rationale.

Antecedents and Consequences of Strategic Green Orientation in Korean Export Manufacturing Firms

Antecedents and Consequences of Strategic Green Orientation in Korean Export Manufacturing Firms