• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.27-42
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• 2020

Startup accelerators have emerged as new investment entities that help early startups, which are not easy to survive continuously due to lack of funds, commercialization capabilities, and experiences. As their positive performance on early startups and the ecosystem has been proven, the number of early startups which want to receive their investment is also increasing. However, they are vaguely preparing to attract accelerators' investment because they do not have any information on what factors the accelerators consider important. In addition, researches on startup accelerators are also at an early level, so there are no remarkable prior studies on factors that decide on investment. Therefore, this study aims to help startups prepare for investment attraction by looking at what factors are important for accelerators to invest, and to provide meaningful implications to academia. In the preceding study, we derived five upper level categories, 26 lower level accelerators' investment determinants through the qualitative meta-synthesis method, secondary data analysis, observation on US accelerators and in-depth interviews. In this study, we want to derive important implications by deriving priorities of the accelerators' investment determinants. Therefore, we used AHP that are evaluated as the suitable methodology for deriving importance and priority. The analysis results show that accelerators value market-related factors most. This means that startups that are subject to investment by accelerators are early-stage startups, and many companies have not fully developed their products or services. Therefore, market-related factors that can be evaluated objectively seem to be more important than products (or services) that are still ambiguous. Next, it was found that the factors related to the internal workforce of startups are more important. Since accelerators want to develop their businesses together with start-ups and team members through mentoring, ease of collaboration with them is very important, which seems to be important. The overall priority analysis results of the 26 investment determinants show that 'customer needs' and 'founders and team members' understanding of customers and markets' (0.62) are important and high priority factors. The results also show that startup accelerators consider the customer-centered perspective very important. And among the factors related to startups, the most prominent factor was the founder's openness and execution ability. Therefore, it can be confirmed that accelerators consider the ease of collaboration with these startups very important.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

The change in the management environment of the logistics industry in the era of global competition is becoming an era in which customers choose companies. Differentiation from competitors through the provision of products and services suitable for customers As customers' choices change depending on their superiority, companies are constantly striving to receive or retain customers' choices. Ultimately, this competitive structure can be seen as the importance of long-term relationship building. Therefore, in this study, we examined how factors related to transaction characteristics performed by logistics companies for customer satisfaction in the transaction relationship between cargo companies and shippers affect performance and long-term transaction intentions. First, we derived the factors of logistics service, cost, logistics infrastructure, and company competency, which are transaction characteristics factors of a logistics company that must be specifically realized for customer satisfaction in transactions between logistics companies. Second, we analyzed how the transaction characteristics factors of a logistics company affect the company's performance, and finally, how the company's performance factors affect long-term transaction intentions. As a result of empirical analysis, there were no statistically significant results on the relationship between transaction characteristics and performance of logistics companies, which can be attributed to the small size of the logistics companies that were the sample. In other words, logistics companies that do not have sufficient capacity to provide services at low prices have no choice but to engage in constant bleeding competition. It can be seen that it reflects the characteristics of the industry. On the other hand, the relationship between corporate performance factors and long-term transaction intention was found to have a positive relationship. The higher the level of partnership with logistics companies and visible financial performance is, the higher the transaction will be in the future, and the more the transaction volume will be gradually increased. And even if it costs a little more, it can be seen that the intention to continue trading is greatly expressed.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.65-79
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• 2022

Non-face-to-face classes continue due to Covid-19. There have been e-learning classes since the past, but the difference is that the current non-face-to-face classes are blended classes that combine real-time and recording classes or combine face-to-face and non-face classes. It is also characterized by being able to self-filmed or choose various lecture platforms in a place other than a dedicated studio. The advantages of non-face-to-face classes can be learned beyond time and space, and repetitive viewing and learning speed can be adjusted. Greening classes have no time and place constraints, and real-time classes have the advantage of high communication effects with learners. Evaluating whether non-face-to-face classes provide sufficient quality compared to face-to-face classes or e-learning will be necessary if branded classes are considered for post Covid. In this paper, for the evaluation of the service quality of non-face-to-face classes, the essential attributes desired by the instructors were derived from the viewpoint of Kano quality attributes and a quality improvement plan was proposed. After expressing the degree of functions that non-face-to-face classes should have on the X-axis and the satisfaction of learners on the Y-axis, 23 quality attributes were classified into 6 quality dimensions. In addition, satisfaction coefficient, dissatisfaction coefficient, and customer satisfaction improvement index were derived. As a result, 50% of learners were satisfied with non-face-to-face classes, but the preference was slightly higher than satisfaction, suggesting the sustainability of non-face-to-face classes. In terms of the customer satisfaction improvement index, the ranking of attributes with the largest increase in satisfaction when improving class quality was as follows. Professors' quick answers to learners' questions, content that can fully explain the subject, what the professor explains easily, develop high-quality content that can be learned on mobile phones, fairness of attendance checks, and real-time classes should start on time.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-316
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• 2023

As global energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged as social issues, there is a growing demand for companies to move away from profit-centric business models and embrace sustainable management that balances environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. ESG activities of companies vary across industries, and industry-specific weights are applied in ESG evaluations. Therefore, it is important to develop strategic management approaches that reflect the characteristics of each industry and the importance of each ESG factor. Additionally, with the stance of strengthened focus on ESG disclosures, specific guidelines are needed to identify and report on sustainable management activities of domestic companies. To understand corporate sustainability strategies, analyzing ESG reports and news articles by industry can help identify strategic characteristics in specific industries. However, each company has its own unique strategies and report structures, making it difficult to grasp detailed trends or action items. In our study, we analyzed ESG reports (2019-2021) and news articles (2019-2022) of six companies in the 'Finance,' 'Manufacturing,' and 'IT' sectors to examine the sustainability strategies of leading domestic ESG companies. Text mining techniques such as keyword frequency analysis and topic modeling were applied to identify industry-specific, ESG element-specific management strategies and issues. The analysis revealed that in the 'Finance' sector, customer-centric management strategies and efforts to promote an inclusive culture within and outside the company were prominent. Strategies addressing climate change, such as carbon neutrality and expanding green finance, were also emphasized. In the 'Manufacturing' sector, the focus was on creating sustainable communities through occupational health and safety issues, sustainable supply chain management, low-carbon technology development, and eco-friendly investments to achieve carbon neutrality. In the 'IT' sector, there was a tendency to focus on technological innovation and digital responsibility to enhance social value through technology. Furthermore, the key issues identified in the ESG factors were as follows: under the 'Environmental' element, issues such as greenhouse gas and carbon emission management, industry-specific eco-friendly activities, and green partnerships were identified. Under the 'Social' element, key issues included social contribution activities through stakeholder engagement, supporting the growth and coexistence of members and partner companies, and enhancing customer value through stable service provision. Under the 'Governance' element, key issues were identified as strengthening board independence through the appointment of outside directors, risk management and communication for sustainable growth, and establishing transparent governance structures. The exploration of the relationship between ESG disclosures in reports and ESG issues in news articles revealed that the sustainability strategies disclosed in reports were aligned with the issues related to ESG disclosed in news articles. However, there was a tendency to strengthen ESG activities for prevention and improvement after negative media coverage that could have a negative impact on corporate image. Additionally, environmental issues were mentioned more frequently in news articles compared to ESG reports, with environmental-related keywords being emphasized in the 'Finance' sector in the reports. Thus, ESG reports and news articles shared some similarities in content due to the sharing of information sources. However, the impact of media coverage influenced the emphasis on specific sustainability strategies, and the extent of mentioning environmental issues varied across documents. Based on our study, the following contributions were derived. From a practical perspective, companies need to consider their characteristics and establish sustainability strategies that align with their capabilities and situations. From an academic perspective, unlike previous studies on ESG strategies, we present a subdivided methodology through analysis considering the industry-specific characteristics of companies.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.41-61
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• 2023

The universal form of life in the era of the 4th industrial revolution can probably be summarized as the keyword "non-face-to-face". In particular, in terms of consumption activities, face-to-face contact is gradually changing to a system that minimizes, and offline stores are rapidly changing to non-contact services through kiosks and robots. The social structure is also changing with the passage of time, and most fundamentally, our dietary consumption patterns are changing. In particular, the increase in single-person households and the aging population are having a great impact on changes in the food service industry, which is closely related to dietary life. The HMR (Home Meal Replacement) market has grown significantly as the labor of cooking at home has decreased and the use of substitute foods has increased. As the size of the market has grown, the types of businesses that provide products have also diversified. The development of technology, non-face-to-face culture, and corporate management efficiency are intertwined, and unmanned stores are spreading recently. In this study, service quality attributes of HMR unmanned stores, where competition is gradually intensifying, are classified, and service quality classification using the Kano model and Timko's customer satisfaction coefficient are calculated to provide implications for service management based on customer satisfaction. As a result of the analysis, 'products with short cooking time' and 'variety of products (menu)' were classified as attractive qualities, and 'cleanliness inside/outside of the store' and 'products at reasonable prices' were classified as unified quality. In addition, 'convenience of self-checkout process' was classified as a natural quality, and 'convenience of in-store passage' was classified as an indifferent quality. Furthermore, when the service factor was satisfied within the HMR unmanned store, the factor with the highest satisfaction coefficient was 'product (menu) variety', and the factor with the highest dissatisfaction factor was 'convenience of self-checkout process'. Through the results of this study, it is intended to derive priorities in service quality management of HMR unmanned stores and provide strategic implications for related businesses.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.186-200
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• 2023

This study aims to improve the usability of the white cane, which is walking equipment that most local visually impaired people use and carry when going out, and to contribute to the prevention of safety accidents and the walking rights of visually impaired people by providing improvement and resolution measures for the problems identified. Also, this study is a study on the visually impaired, primarily targeting the 1st to 2nd degree visually impaired people, who cannot go out on their own without walking equipment such as a white cane, corresponding to 20% among approximately 250,000 blind and low vision people in the Korean population. In the study process, the concept has been developed from the user's point of view in order that the white cane becomes a real help in the walking step of the visually impaired and the improvement of usability of the white cane, the main walking equipment for the visually impaired, are done by problem identification through the Double Diamond Model of Design Thinking (Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test (verify)). As a result of the investigation in the process of Empathy, a total of five issues was synthesized, including an increase in the proportion of the visually impaired people, an insufficient workforce situation to help all the visually impaired, an improvement and advancement of assistive devices essential for the visually impaired, problems of damage, illegal occupation, demolition, maintenance about braille blocks, making braille block paradigms for the visually impaired and for everyone. In Ideate and Prototype steps, situations derived from brainstorming were grouped and the relationship were made through the KJ method, and specific situations and major causes were organized to establish the direction of the concept. The derived solutions and major functions are defined in four categories, and representative situations requiring solutions and major functions are organized into two user scenarios. Ideas were visualized by arranging the virtual Persona and Customer Journey Map according to the situation and producing a prototype through 3D modeling. Finally, in the evaluation, the final concept derived is a device such a smart cane for guidance for the visually impaired as ① a smart cane emphasizing portability + ② compatibility with other electronic devices + ③ a product with safety and convenience.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.287-310
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• 2022

Companies' interest in developing AI-based intelligent new products is increasing. Recently, the main concern of companies is to innovate customer experience and create new values by developing new products through the effective use of Artificial intelligence technology. However, due to the nature of products based on radical technologies such as artificial intelligence, intelligent products differ from existing products and development methods, so it is clear that there is a limitation to applying the existing development methodology as it is. This study proposes a new research method based on KANO-TOPSIS for the successful development of AI-based intelligent new products by using car voice assistants as an example. Using the KANO model, select and evaluate functions that customers think are necessary for new products, and use the TOPSIS method to derives priorities by finding the importance of functions that customers need. For the analysis, major categories such as vehicle condition check and function control elements, driving-related elements, characteristics of voice assistant itself, infotainment elements, and daily life support elements were selected and customer demand attributes were subdivided. As a result of the analysis, high recognition accuracy should be considered as a top priority in the development of car voice assistants. Infotainment elements that provide customized content based on driver's biometric information and usage habits showed lower priorities than expected, while functions related to driver safety such as vehicle condition notification, driving assistance, and security, also showed as the functions that should be developed preferentially. This study is meaningful in that it presented a new product development methodology suitable for the characteristics of AI-based intelligent new products with innovative characteristics through an excellent model combining KANO and TOPSIS.

• Journal of the Korea Knowledge Information Technology Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2018

This paper empirically investigates the factors that influence the consumer choice of an app market based on the rational choice theory. The app market is the only channel where a consumer can buy smartphone apps, which give various functional convenience and are considered to be a major contributor to the proliferation of smartphones. Analyses of 281 questionnaires show that usability and structural guarantees as benefit factors significantly influence the app market choice. From the cost perspectives, both monetary and non-monetary conversion costs are found to significantly influence the app market choice. On the other hand, customer trust, information quality, and market image were found to have no significant effect on app market selection. In particular, Korean app market platform providers (KT, LG U +) seem to be superior in terms of structural guarantees, such as customer center operation and damage compensation regulations, compared to overseas app market platform operators (Google). However, in the case of the Google App Market, it is pre-installed on all Android phones, so it is not inconvenient to install additional apps to use other app market. This is disadvantageous to domestic app market platform operators, and it is necessary to establish a policy solution point. In terms of operator costs, both monetary and non-monetary conversion costs have a significant impact on app market choice. In particular, non-monetary conversion costs have a negative impact on Korean app market platform operators. It can be explained that the service expectation level of the domestic app market is low and it is recognized that the time cost factor such as membership is large for new users to use. It seems to be necessary to improve the domestic app market business. Meanwhile, extant research on smartphone apps focuses on the purchase of apps themselves, but not on the selection of the app market itself. In order to fill in this gap, this study focuses on the determinants of app market selection, including the characteristics of an app market and the switching costs.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.121-137
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to present the necessary success factors and strategies for high-tech social ventures and stakeholders in the related ecosystem by empirically identifying factors that affect their sustainable performance. Based on prior research, the dimensions of three performance factors were presented: core technology competency, core business competency, and social mission orientation. Then, such sub-dimensions such as technology innovation orientation, R&D capability, business model, customer orientation, social network, and social mission pursuit were derived. For empirical analysis, a survey was conducted on domestic high-tech social ventures, and the significance of the hypothesis was tested through PLS-structural equation analysis of the collected 243 valid data. As a result, it was found that the technology innovation orientation was embedded as an abstract organizational and cultural characteristic in the high-tech social venture, which is a research sample, and thus did not significantly affect the dependent variable. In other words, aiming for the latest cutting-edge technology alone cannot affect performance, and it is a result of proving the need for substantial influencing factors that can strengthen it. On the other hand, the business model had a significant effect only on social performance, which is presumed to be the limitation of measurement tools developed for social enterprises, and the results of additional multi-group analysis to determine the cause also supported the basis for this estimation. Excluding the previous two performance factors, R&D competency, customer orientation, social network, and social mission pursuit were all found to have a significant positive (+) effect on social and economic performance. This study laid a foundation for related research by identifying high-tech social ventures emerging in the ecosystem of a social economy and expanded empirical research models related to the performance of existing social enterprises and social ventures. However, in the research method or process, there were limitations such as factor derivation or verification for balance of dual performance, subjective measurement method, and sample representativeness. It is expected that more in-depth follow-up studies will continue by supplementing future limitations and designing improved research models.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.59-88
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• 2008

Digital Convergence means integration between industry, technology, and contents, and in marketing, it usually comes with creation of new types of product and service under the base of digital technology as digitalization progress in electro-communication industries including telecommunication, home appliance, and computer industries. One can see digital convergence not only in instruments such as PC, AV appliances, cellular phone, but also in contents, network, service that are required in production, modification, distribution, re-production of information. Convergence in contents started around 1990. Convergence in network and service begins as broadcasting and telecommunication integrates and DMB(digital multimedia broadcasting), born in May, 2005 is the symbolic icon in this trend. There are some positive and negative expectations about DMB. The reason why two opposite expectations exist is that DMB does not come out from customer's need but from technology development. Therefore, customers might have hard time to interpret the real meaning of DMB. Time is quite critical to a high tech product, like DMB because another product with same function from different technology can replace the existing product within short period of time. If DMB does not positioning well to customer's mind quickly, another products like Wibro, IPTV, or HSPDA could replace it before it even spreads out. Therefore, positioning strategy is critical for success of DMB product. To make correct positioning strategy, one needs to understand how consumer interprets DMB and how consumer's interpretation can be changed via communication strategy. In this study, we try to investigate how consumer perceives a new product, like DMB and how AD strategy change consumer's perception. More specifically, the paper segment consumers into sub-groups based on their DMB perceptions and compare their characteristics in order to understand how they perceive DMB. And, expose them different printed ADs that have messages guiding consumer think DMB in specific ways, either cellular phone or personal TV. Research Question 1: Segment consumers according to perceptions about DMB and compare characteristics of segmentations. Research Question 2: Compare perceptions about DMB after AD that induces categorization of DMB in direction for each segment. If one understand and predict a direction in which consumer perceive a new product, firm can select target customers easily. We segment consumers according to their perception and analyze characteristics in order to find some variables that can influence perceptions, like prior experience, usage, or habit. And then, marketing people can use this variables to identify target customers and predict their perceptions. If one knows how customer's perception is changed via AD message, communication strategy could be constructed properly. Specially, information from segmented customers helps to develop efficient AD strategy for segment who has prior perception. Research framework consists of two measurements and one treatment, O1 X O2. First observation is for collecting information about consumer's perception and their characteristics. Based on first observation, the paper segment consumers into two groups, one group perceives DMB similar to Cellular phone and the other group perceives DMB similar to TV. And compare characteristics of two segments in order to find reason why they perceive DMB differently. Next, we expose two kinds of AD to subjects. One AD describes DMB as Cellular phone and the other Ad describes DMB as personal TV. When two ADs are exposed to subjects, consumers don't know their prior perception of DMB, in other words, which subject belongs 'similar-to-Cellular phone' segment or 'similar-to-TV' segment? However, we analyze the AD's effect differently for each segment. In research design, final observation is for investigating AD effect. Perception before AD is compared with perception after AD. Comparisons are made for each segment and for each AD. For the segment who perceives DMB similar to TV, AD that describes DMB as cellular phone could change the prior perception. And AD that describes DMB as personal TV, could enforce the prior perception. For data collection, subjects are selected from undergraduate students because they have basic knowledge about most digital equipments and have open attitude about a new product and media. Total number of subjects is 240. In order to measure perception about DMB, we use indirect measurement, comparison with other similar digital products. To select similar digital products, we pre-survey students and then finally select PDA, Car-TV, Cellular Phone, MP3 player, TV, and PSP. Quasi experiment is done at several classes under instructor's allowance. After brief introduction, prior knowledge, awareness, and usage about DMB as well as other digital instruments is asked and their similarities and perceived characteristics are measured. And then, two kinds of manipulated color-printed AD are distributed and similarities and perceived characteristics for DMB are re-measured. Finally purchase intension, AD attitude, manipulation check, and demographic variables are asked. Subjects are given small gift for participation. Stimuli are color-printed advertising. Their actual size is A4 and made after several pre-test from AD professionals and students. As results, consumers are segmented into two subgroups based on their perceptions of DMB. Similarity measure between DMB and cellular phone and similarity measure between DMB and TV are used to classify consumers. If subject whose first measure is less than the second measure, she is classified into segment A and segment A is characterized as they perceive DMB like TV. Otherwise, they are classified as segment B, who perceives DMB like cellular phone. Discriminant analysis on these groups with their characteristics of usage and attitude shows that Segment A knows much about DMB and uses a lot of digital instrument. Segment B, who thinks DMB as cellular phone doesn't know well about DMB and not familiar with other digital instruments. So, consumers with higher knowledge perceive DMB similar to TV because launching DMB advertising lead consumer think DMB as TV. Consumers with less interest on digital products don't know well about DMB AD and then think DMB as cellular phone. In order to investigate perceptions of DMB as well as other digital instruments, we apply Proxscal analysis, Multidimensional Scaling technique at SPSS statistical package. At first step, subjects are presented 21 pairs of 7 digital instruments and evaluate similarity judgments on 7 point scale. And for each segment, their similarity judgments are averaged and similarity matrix is made. Secondly, Proxscal analysis of segment A and B are done. At third stage, get similarity judgment between DMB and other digital instruments after AD exposure. Lastly, similarity judgments of group A-1, A-2, B-1, and B-2 are named as 'after DMB' and put them into matrix made at the first stage. Then apply Proxscal analysis on these matrixes and check the positional difference of DMB and after DMB. The results show that map of segment A, who perceives DMB similar as TV, shows that DMB position closer to TV than to Cellular phone as expected. Map of segment B, who perceive DMB similar as cellular phone shows that DMB position closer to Cellular phone than to TV as expected. Stress value and R-square is acceptable. And, change results after stimuli, manipulated Advertising show that AD makes DMB perception bent toward Cellular phone when Cellular phone-like AD is exposed, and that DMB positioning move towards Car-TV which is more personalized one when TV-like AD is exposed. It is true for both segment, A and B, consistently. Furthermore, the paper apply correspondence analysis to the same data and find almost the same results. The paper answers two main research questions. The first one is that perception about a new product is made mainly from prior experience. And the second one is that AD is effective in changing and enforcing perception. In addition to above, we extend perception change to purchase intention. Purchase intention is high when AD enforces original perception. AD that shows DMB like TV makes worst intention. This paper has limitations and issues to be pursed in near future. Methodologically, current methodology can't provide statistical test on the perceptual change, since classical MDS models, like Proxscal and correspondence analysis are not probability models. So, a new probability MDS model for testing hypothesis about configuration needs to be developed. Next, advertising message needs to be developed more rigorously from theoretical and managerial perspective. Also experimental procedure could be improved for more realistic data collection. For example, web-based experiment and real product stimuli and multimedia presentation could be employed. Or, one can display products together in simulated shop. In addition, demand and social desirability threats of internal validity could influence on the results. In order to handle the threats, results of the model-intended advertising and other "pseudo" advertising could be compared. Furthermore, one can try various level of innovativeness in order to check whether it make any different results (cf. Moon 2006). In addition, if one can create hypothetical product that is really innovative and new for research, it helps to make a vacant impression status and then to study how to form impression in more rigorous way.