Technological collaboration in industry: strategy, policy and internationalization in innovation

Given the context that technology is becoming ever more important, research about technology multinational enterprises (MNEs) is also increasing, but from technology in the international business context, especially concerning entry timing, there is scant literature. Therefore, from the perspective of game theory this research examines how different aspects of host countries and players’ resources affect the decision on entry timing into foreign countries. The data comprise 979 technology-based Taiwanese firms operating in service and manufacturing industries, mainly collected from the Taiwan Economic Journal and World Bank databases. The empirical findings show that firm resources and experiences, host country uncertainties, and investment payoff all influence the entry timing into foreign countries. This research contributes to the current knowledge about technology-based service and manufacturing firms on what factors they consider when choosing the time to invest into foreign countries, especially for technology MNEs from emerging markets. 

Technology Multinational Enterprises from Emerging Markets: Competitive Interplay of International Entry Timing Decisions

A Method for Relating Research Spending to Net Profits : R&D Management

The purpose of this chapter is to review current Korean policies on supporting human resource development (HRD) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), introduce related success cases, and examine government-initiated SME internationalization programs from an HRD perspective. This chapter reviews the governmental programs available for Korean SMEs utilizing three core functions of HRD (i.e., training and development, organization development, and career development) through an analytic lens. We also present real-life cases on how the supporting policies have been applied and how they contribute to the organizations. Lastly, we identify four categories of SME internationalization programs according to training target subjects. In particular, we focus on possible HRD roles in expanding the internationalization capabilities of Korean SMEs.

Government Support for Human Resource Development and Internationalization of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea

Purpose – This study analyzes the effect of internationalization represented as exporting on firm performance on the subject of SMEs operating in Masan Free Trade Zone which has shown poor performance recently despite its status as the oldest and largest free trade zone in Korea. We also analyze the effect of firm size on firm performance, and the moderating role of firm size in relation to internationalization and firm performance. Design/methodology – This study uses multiple regression models for unbalanced panel data as the empirical tools for the estimation of the effect that internationalization has on firm performance (ROA or ROS). Our sample consists of 91 manufacturing SMEs among all 110 companies located in Masan Free Trade Zone as of 2017. Findings – The degree of internationalization has a negative impact on firm performance. However, firm size turns out to have a positive effect and play a positive moderating role in the relation to internationalization and firm performance. This seems to be because most tenant companies operating in Masan Free Trade Zone are small firms whose costs of internationalization may exceed the benefits. Empirical results also show that longer CEO tenure has a greater negative effect on firm performance. Originality/value – The originality/value of this paper can be found in 3 aspects. First, we conducted an empirical analysis on the relationship between the internationalization and firm performance of SMEs in a specific region, namely, Masan Free Trade Zone. Second, while most previous studies focused on listed medium companies, most of the sample of this study are small and medium nonlisted enterprises. Third, it is witnessed that firm size has a positive moderating effect on the relation between internationalization and firm performance.

Dam Namgung

Papers

Internationalization and Performance of SMEs in Masan Free Trade Zone (Korea): The Direct and Moderating Effects of Firm Size