This paper summarizes the research results on the structural characteristics of the Korean innovation system. The Korean NIS has functioned well in the foreign technology imitation stage. However, there are many drawbacks to advancing to the stage of technological innovation. Weak infrastructure and linkages among technological institutions are detrimental factors that affect technological innovation. The immobility of professional manpower is a serious bottleneck to knowledge diffusion. Especially, the inactivity of university research prevents universities from being able to play a relevant role in the national innovation system. The drawbacks of the Korean innovation system are mainly associated with the public sector and social culture. Weak linkages among organizations are due to the lack of trust among people and organizations, and absence of demand-oriented management in public institutes. Weaknesses in technological infrastructure, university research and the social and cultural environment are tile result of the lack of government will. However, the private sector was evaluated as being relatively active in innovation. Particularly, Chaebols deployed aggressive strategies to acquire their own technological capabilities. The findings of this study suggest that to strengthen the Korean innovation system, the government continues to be important, as in the past, in order to shape social institutions and a culture that is learning friendly, diffusion friendly and, consequently, innovation friendly.

This paper analyzes the characteristics of embodied technological knowledge structure of Korean manufacturing in dynamic perspective. In doing that, the concept of the embodied knowledge network is introduced which is defined as a set of industries and their interactions(embodied knowledge flow) or linkages. The analysis of the inter-industrial embodied knowledge flows is conducted by using such methodologies as input-output technique, network analysis, indicator analysis and correlation analysis for a set of empirical data with reference period of 1983-1990. The main findings are as follow. First, as a whole, the structure of embodied knowledge flow can be classified into knowledge outflow sectors, inflow sectors and intermediary sectors. Second, outflow sectors exhibit a multi-central structure whereas inflow sectors form a dualistic structure. These idiosyncratic characteristics should be addressed in developing industrial policy.

Entering the 1990s, Korean economies experienced the high-cost and low-efficiency situation which evetually caused many Korean firms led to relocate their production facilities to lower labor cost countries. This paper aims to draw out the characteristics of FDI and to evaluate the impacts of FDI in manufacturing sectors. Firstly, we try to categorize the indutries into three groups, labor intensive, capital intensive, and the technology intensive industries figuring out the characteristics of FDI of Korean firms. Secondly, we compare the three categories by grouping high and low foreign investment areas using value added data. Thirdly, we analyse the impacts of foreign production relocation the number of firms, production volume and jobs creation in Korea during the period 1991-1996. This paper concludes that the FDI of Korean firms concentrates to labor intensive industry and the hollowing effect caused by FDI was observed partially in the labor intensive industry.

The application of computers and information technologies progressed with remarkable pace has paved the way for technological innovation toward the efficient integration of various functions in a manufacturing system. Actually it is observed that the greater part of manufacturing companies already initiated significant efforts to integrate information systems and attained the level of integration to some extent. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the strategic direction that manufacturing firms are pursuing through integrating information systems. Using the extensive data gathered from Japanese manufacturers, it is attempted to find the differences in competitive priorities and action programmes between the companies with high and low-level system integration. Our empirical data reveals that the manufacturers with highly integrated system are focusing their competitive capabilities on the rapid design change and new product introduction, and accordingly they place a greater emphasis on the action programmes related to design, process and quality improvement. As a conclusion, highly integrated firms tend to pursue new product development strategy more intensively, thereby they want to be a preemptor in the new market through exploiting technological advantages of integrated manufacturing system.

Recent entrepreneurship studies emphasize the importance of entrepreneurial activities of entrepreneurs. This study focuses entrepreneurial behaviors, especially entrepreneurial networking activities of Korean high-tech ventures. Networking activities can utilize external resources which are critical to success, with less resource commitment. This study examines the relationship between characteristics of entrepreneurial networking and performance, and analyses influencing factors of entrepreneurial networking activities. Based on the data from 55 new high-tech ventures in Korea, hypotheses that the characteristics of entrepreneurial networking are related to the performance of new high-tech ventures are tested using regression analysis and t-test. Major findings of this study are as follows: (1) entrepreneurial networking are related to the performance of new high-tech ventures, (2) significant differences are found in the characteristics of entrepreneurial networking between high- and low-performance firms, (3) characteristics of entrepreneurs and firm' technological capabilities are related to the degree of entrepreneurial networking activities. Finally, managerial and policy implications of the study are presented and future research directions are also suggested.

This study empirically examined different patterns of collaborative R&D project with their key success factors(KSFs), using data from 82 projects in the Korean electronic parts industry. The patterns of R&D collaboration were categorized into 4 types by two criteria development motive(technology Push/market pull) and Project initiator (focal firm/partner). The bivariate relationships revealed that project characteristics (technological complexity, market uncertainty), management characteristics (participation in project formulation), problem solving characteristics(problem solving performance of the focal firm, users active role in problem solving, active role of university or research institute in problem solving) and success rates appear to be different among four types of collaboration. Each type of collaborative R&D projects also had different KSFs. The KSFs of type 1 (technology Push and focal firm initiation), for instance, include the strategic importance of the project, focal firms share of cost, active role of university or research institute in problem solving, while those of type 4(market pull and customer initiation) cover reliability of partner relationship, a time at partners involvement, information sharing. The findings suggest that the different contingencies brought different patterns and KSFs of collaborative R&D project, since different information, resources, and partners roles were needed to successfully implement the projects according to development motive and project initiator Finally, managerial, policy, and theoretical implications for the collaborative R&D activities in the Korean electronics parts industry were discussed, based on empirical results of this study.

Although each company is trying to develop an economic analysis model with its own particular style or format, the appropriate method is not yet developed because there are many problems to be solved such as uncertainity of outcomes and intangible benefits of technology. The purpose of tris paper therefore is to suggest an economic analysis methodology, which reflects the complexity and the risk of R&D investment, through a case study on the development of a superconductor fault current limiter. A self-developed Monte Carlo simulation program utilized as a main tool in this paper was very useful for risk analysis of R&D investment which could not be solved in the previous DCF(Discounted Cash Flow) model. We also introduce learning effect to consider the intangible benefits such as Know-How obtained from R&D execution. The expected value and its probability distribution for R&D investment can be obtained by combining the Monte Carlo method with the decision tree approach. This result is helpful in judging the priority and the resource-allocation of R&D projects. It is however necessary to develop more precise model for quantifying the technology stock and the simulation program using the continuous probability distribution in expected values to improve the reliability of economic analysis on R&D projects.

This article suggests a methodology to decide the priority of investment project for venture business under the dynamic circumstance. By the Monte Carlo procedure on the probability distribution of cost and revenue, the model simulates the investment project to estimate profit ratio and risk. The profit ratio is calculated on the yearly basis for the relative comparison. The project risk is calculated as semi-variance under the target yield. After sufficient simulations in this fashion for several projects, the efficient projects with more profit and less risk are selected by the dominance principle. Then the regression equation of the selected projects is produced to find the relative value of the projects. The relative value is obtained through dividing the raw profit ratio by the estimated one on the equation. This value shows the degree to which the simulated project yields over the equation. The priority of investment is decided by this value. An examplary venture business of chemical development for semi-conductor is presented as a case study.

We are faced with the crisis of the R&D investment because of the effects of the IMF conditions. Most of the laboratories are going to restructure by the cutting off of money, man power and the reduction of R&D theme. Therefore it is necessary to allocate the R&D resources effectively to R&D projects. The evaluation and the selection of R&D projects have been recognized as the most important process for the allocation of the R&D resources. The result of the KITA(1997) shows that the commercial success rate of the R&D from new-product brain storming is only 5.8%. This study aims to analyze the actual conditions of the cost benefit analysis(CBA) of R&D projects of selected laboratories and to study measure methods of the R&D benefits. The research method of this study reviews the CBA of R&D firstly, and surveys 200 selected high ranking labs of R＆D expenditures. For the comparison of the results between '87 and '97, this survey used the same questionary for each year. As the result of the survey only 27 labs(response rate 13.5%) responded. The result of the '97 survey is as follows : The CBA is used by 44% of responding labs. The economic evaluation method for the R&D project selection is used by 48% of labs and this numbers increased by over 10 percents points compared with the result of '87. The CBA is used for about 40% about each of the budget preparing and the budget analysis, and by 30% of labs to analyze sales and expenditures of the overall period of the project. As the measurement of benefits of R&D projects, 30% of labs responded that it is impossible to measure the benefits, and 20% of labs measured the benefits between sales and expenditures of R&D projects.