How should managers organize their R&D workforce in order to maximize the benefit of internal R&D and R&D outsourcing strategy? The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects…
Abstract
Purpose
How should managers organize their R&D workforce in order to maximize the benefit of internal R&D and R&D outsourcing strategy? The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of R&D workforce diversity on firms’ performance when the firms use internal and external knowledge acquired from R&D outsourcing. Diversity of R&D employees as R&D workforce can enable firms to utilize the knowledge of internal R&D and internalize the external knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Panel data analysis with fixed effects is used. The authors conduct hierarchical multiple regression analyses to test the moderating effect of R&D workforce diversity with 10,401 data from Korean manufacturing firms.
Findings
This study finds out that age and education diversity of R&D workforce have positive moderating effects on the relationship between the R&D outsourcing and firm performance. In contrast, internal R&D is negatively associated with firm performance when the age diversity of R&D workforce increases. The results point to the significant role of R&D workforce diversity in R&D unit since firms often use both internal R&D and external R&D.
Practical implications
For practical implications to be more effective, CEOs and managers of firms should employ differentiated approaches to manage the diversity of R&D workforce based on whether they primarily focus on their internal R&D or utilize external R&D.
Originality/value
This research extends recent efforts to better understand the effect of organizational diversity on the firms’ performance when firms use internal R&D and R&D outsourcing strategy.
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There are two objectives of this study: to analyze gaps in customer satisfaction and to test the customer loyalty gap on the basis of the reputation of Busan New Port. This study…
Abstract
There are two objectives of this study: to analyze gaps in customer satisfaction and to test the customer loyalty gap on the basis of the reputation of Busan New Port. This study identifies the relationships between variables as well as the conceptual and operational definitions using prior research. Data was collected from 93 members of the International Freight Forwarders Association. The reliability and validity of the data was analyzed and the relationships between the variables were tested by analysis of covariance. The results are as follows: First, the reputation of Busan New Port means the abilities in which the port provides valuable benefits to international freight forwarders. The analytical results show that there is a gap in customer satisfaction between high- level and low- level reputation. Second, the levels of reputation are based on the gap in customer loyalty. This means that there are gaps in the friendly attitude of international freight forwarders and sustainable usage on the basis of the varying levels of port reputation.
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Hyeyoon Bae, Sang Hyun Jo, Hyun Joo Jung and Euehun Lee
This paper aims to identify factors affecting the continued intention to use mobile social network services (m-SNS) among middle-aged and older adults in Korea, based on the focal…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify factors affecting the continued intention to use mobile social network services (m-SNS) among middle-aged and older adults in Korea, based on the focal characteristics of mobile services and SNS.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through an online questionnaire to understand m-SNS usage from 358 people aged over 40 years in Korea.
Findings
Results show that middle-aged and older users of m-SNS are strongly motivated to seek information; they prefer to use m-SNS on a habitual basis because of the ubiquitous connectivity of mobile services. Furthermore, they perceive the usefulness of m-SNS in expanding their social networks. These results can be used to identify factors that affect continued use of m-SNS by the middle-aged and older generation in Korea.
Originality/value
This paper expands the literature on SNS acceptance among middle-aged and older adults, the population that, in future, is expected to constitute the majority of m-SNS users. This paper can also help understand factors that affect mature consumers’ continued use of m-SNS.
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Yong Jeong Yi, Soeun You and Beom Jun Bae
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence college students’ smartphone use for academic purposes by identifying the task-technology fit (TTF) of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence college students’ smartphone use for academic purposes by identifying the task-technology fit (TTF) of smartphones. A research model is proposed to explain how TTF of smartphones affects college students’ perceived academic performance and smartphone use.
Design/methodology/approach
Online surveys were administered to college students at a South Korean university that has offered online academic services for more than five years, and 1,923 valid responses were analyzed. The study used partial least squares path modeling to evaluate the measurement model, and the bootstrapping technique to test the significance of the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings highlight that the TTF of smartphones has a direct influence on students’ perceptions of performance impact and an indirect influence on smartphone use through a precursor of utilization, such as attitude toward smartphone use, social norms and facilitating conditions.
Research limitations/implications
Despite a reasonably large sample, a single cross-sectional survey has a likelihood of selection bias in the sample.
Practical implications
This study applies the TTF model to smartphone use among college students and suggests an effective way to motivate them to use mobile technologies for their academic activities.
Originality/value
The present study develops an empirical model to assess the adoption of smartphones and its effect on college students’ academic performance. Above all, the study identifies a causal relationship among TTF, precursor of utilization, smartphone use and a perceived impact on academic performance based on the development and validation of the TTF constructs of smartphones.
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Sunyoung Park and Su Yeong Park
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of mastery goal orientation, support for career development, career decision-making self-efficacy and engineering interest in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of mastery goal orientation, support for career development, career decision-making self-efficacy and engineering interest in career adaptability for engineering students.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 307 Korean engineering students from two universities. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data and examine the relationships among the variables.
Findings
The results indicated that the level of mastery of goal orientation and support for career development significantly affected career decision-making self-efficacy. Engineering students’ career decision-making self-efficacy also positively influenced their engineering interests and career adaptability. Finally, the students’ engineering interest positively affected their career adaptability.
Originality/value
This study demonstrated that important factors for career planning and development need to be successively considered during the career choice process by linking it to career decision-making self-efficacy, engineering interest and career adaptability (career choice action), in consecutive order.
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Young-Myon Lee and Michael Byungnam Lee
While the origin of Korean Industrial Relations goes back 150 years when the country opened its seaports to foreign countries, it didn’t emerge as a field of study until 1950s…
Abstract
While the origin of Korean Industrial Relations goes back 150 years when the country opened its seaports to foreign countries, it didn’t emerge as a field of study until 1950s when academics began to write books and papers on the Korean labor movement, labor laws, and labor economics. In this paper, we sketch this history and describe important events and people that contributed to the development of industrial relations in Korea. Korean industrial relations in the early 20th century were significantly distorted by the 35-year-Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945). After regaining its independence, the U.S. backed, growth-oriented, military-based, authoritarian Korean government followed suit and consistently suppressed organized labor until 1987. Finally, the 1987 Great Labor Offensive allowed the labor movement to flourish in a democratized society. Three groups were especially influential in the field of industrial relations in the early 1960s: labor activists, religious leaders, and university faculty. Since then, numerous scholars have published books and papers on Korean industrial relations, whose perspectives, goals, and processes are still being debated and argued. The Korean Industrial Relations Association (KIRA) was formed on March 25, 1990 and many other academic and practitioner associations have also come into being since then. The future of industrial relations as a field of study in Korea does not seem bright, however. Issues regarding organized labor are losing attention because of a steadily shrinking unionization rate, changing societal attitude toward labor unions, and the enactment of new and improved laws and regulations regarding employment relationships more broadly. Thus, we suggest that emerging issues such as contingent workers, works councils and tripartite partnership, conflict management, and human rights will be addressed by the field of industrial relations in Korea only if this field breaks with its traditional focus on union and union–management relations.
Heather Markham Kim, Jungsun (Sunny) Kim, Kyuhyeon Joo and Jinsoo Hwang
This study investigated the impacts of the technology acceptance model (TAM) determinants and image congruence on attitude and, in turn, behavioral intentions. In addition, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the impacts of the technology acceptance model (TAM) determinants and image congruence on attitude and, in turn, behavioral intentions. In addition, the differences between the US and Korean consumers in terms of the predictors of attitude were assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected via an online survey from 342 South Korean and 353 American consumers who patronized a restaurant within a three-month timeframe.
Findings
The findings revealed that two dimensions of TAM and three sub-factors of self-image congruence positively affected customer attitude toward face recognition (FR) payment. Customer attitude also significantly influenced behavioral intentions toward FR payment. Lastly, the cultural differences between the Korean and American consumers played significant moderating roles in the relationships between perceived usefulness and attitude as well as between actual self-image congruence and attitude.
Originality/value
No prior empirical research has incorporated cultural differences into the FR payment acceptance model. Unlike previous research, the current study included cultural differences as a moderator of the relationships between the five predictors (i.e. two predictors from TAM and three dimensions of self-image congruence) and attitude toward FR payment in the research model.
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This chapter focuses on South Korea’s newly found regional leadership, as the emergent middle power of East Asia, in order to advance regional integration and…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on South Korea’s newly found regional leadership, as the emergent middle power of East Asia, in order to advance regional integration and institution-building. Policy leadership is observed and analyzed from an international lens, linked to the literature of middle powers. The chapter first conceptualizes middle powers in connection with the issue of international leadership, since such states often play important roles in promoting cooperation. The chapter looks especially into South Korea’s foreign policy behavior toward East Asian regional processes and how it has manifested innovative and capable leadership. More specifically, the last three presidencies of Kim Dae-jung (1998–2002), Roh Moo-hyun (2003–2008), and Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013) are scrutinized in the hope of underscoring how their particular administrations, political leadership, and strategic approaches to foreign policy toward the region influenced South Korea’s regional leadership attempts and middle power status.
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Yelin Ko, Sora Shin, Yong Seok Choi, Byung-Hee Hong, Sang-Yoon Park and Joo-Young Lee
The purpose of the study was to explore heat-accumulative and thermal-conductive characteristics of copper-graphene composite film (Cu-G film) while applying it to a human-skin…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to explore heat-accumulative and thermal-conductive characteristics of copper-graphene composite film (Cu-G film) while applying it to a human-skin analogue.
Design/methodology/approach
In the preliminary experiment, the authors evaluated the thermal conductive characteristics of the Cu-G film in three covered conditions (no film, copper film, and Cu-G film conditions). For the first factorial experiment, the heat-accumulative properties over heated pig skin were compared at air temperatures of 10, 25 and 35°C. For the second factorial experiment, 105 trials were conducted on pig skin by combining air temperatures, trapped air volumes, and numbers of film layers.
Findings
The results from the preliminary experiment showed that the Cu-G film distributed the surface heat to the outside of the Cu-G film, which resulted in even distribution of heat inside and outside the Cu-G film, whereas the copper film accumulated heat inside the copper film. The human-skin analogue of pig skin, however, showed the opposite tendency from that of the plastic. The pig-skin temperatures beneath the Cu-G film were higher than those beneath the copper film, and those differences were remarkable at the air temperature of 10°C. The accumulative heat was affected by the trapped air volume, fit to the skin, and number of Cu-G film layers.
Originality/value
In conclusion, the Cu-G film more effectively accumulated heat on the human-skin analogue than copper film, and those effects were more marked in cold environments than in mild or hot environments.
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Fernanda Muniz and Francisco Guzmán
In response to the rise of socially conscious consumers, brands have been taking a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) to drive brand equity. Nevertheless…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to the rise of socially conscious consumers, brands have been taking a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) to drive brand equity. Nevertheless, merely engaging in CSR is not enough to have a positive impact on the value consumers give to a brand. The success of a CSR program depends on its consumers’ perceived authenticity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how the perception of CSR authenticity, and consequently brand equity, can be enhanced by leveraging brand value co-creation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a mixed-method approach to test its hypotheses. Study 1 collects survey data from a national representative sample in the USA, which is analyzed using structural equation modeling. Study 2 collects experimental data from a public university’s research pool, also in the USA, which is analyzed using ANOVA and mediation analysis.
Findings
This study demonstrates that when consumers believe that a brand is co-creative – i.e. consumers are allowed to participate in the creation of value – they will likely perceive the brand’s CSR program as more authentic, which in turn will positively affect brand equity.
Originality/value
The findings of this study offer implications for academics and brand managers interested on how to effectively leverage CSR for brand building. Specifically, it demonstrates that embracing CSR alone may not be sufficient to enhance brand equity and that brand managers should consider leveraging co-creation to strengthen perceptions of CSR authenticity.