Chulmo Koo

Exploring the effect of strategic positioning on firm performance in the e-business context

This study investigates what strategic positions exist in the e-business context and how strategic positioning affects firm performance. The current study draws on the concept of fit between environmental factors and organizational factors. We collected survey data from both pure online and click-and-mortar companies and tested the model using 133 firm reports. Cluster analysis was performed to analyze survey data and to find groups of companies that pursue similar strategic positioning. The findings of the current study lend support to the hypothesis of distinctive grouping based on environmental factors and resources. The findings also support the hypothesis that strategic positioning influences firm performance. The major implication of this study is that innovative differentiation strategies together with technological resources strongly affect firm performance in the e-business context, a context where there is considerable turbulence in technological development.

Do e-business strategies matter? The antecedents and relationship with firm performance

Previous studies in e-business strategy focus on the issues of strategic positioning and its impact on firm performance. However, these studies do not address the antecedents to business strategies formulation and their impact on business performance or the role of business models in explaining e-business firm performance. This study applies Porter’s generic strategies to the e-business context. It also identifies business models that are applied to the e-business environment and environmental factors and then examines these factors influence on firm performance with survey data. This study finds that uncertainty has a negative impact on the choice of strategic position of e-business firms, whereas market turbulence positively affects the level of adoption of all the strategies. Among the strategic positions, marketing differentiation positively influences firm performance. The research methodology, test results, and implications are further discussed.

An Empirical Study on Joint Decision Making and Business Performance between Corporations

In today`s e-business environment, it is important to make decisions cooperatively between companies on a supply chain for their business success. This research analyzes empirically the influences of organizational factors on joint decision making and the ones of the joint decision making on business performance. We collected 188 corporate-level data through a Web survey and tested them statistically through PLS method based on a structured equation modeling. The results showed that (i) partner`s knowledge creation capabilities, inter-organizational process modularity, and inter-organizational trust had direct effects on joint decision making, (ii) joint decision making and electronic business interfaces bad direct impacts on business performance. Contrary to our expectation, however, the moderating effects of electronic business interfaces between corporations on the relationship between joint decision making and business performance was not significant. On the basis of these results, we discussed theoretical and managerial implications of the findings. The results are expected to provide useful perspectives when companies establish strategies to improve capabilities of cooperative decision making and business performance.

Tourism Industry Competitiveness of Korea via Social Media: A Comparative Analysis of Social Presence Type

Social media have been rapidly and widely adopted in various areas, and tourism industry can be one of potential growing areas. Tourist and travelers would like to share their photos and stories as well as find others` experiences. People are doing their activities through social media. Regarding relaxing entertainments, information sharing, escapism, social interaction, tourism activities are being paid attention by majority of users in social media. However, Although people have various motivation for using social media, academically researchers have not actively studied on the phenomenon arising from tourism industry. Therefore, this study aims to the reasons for tourism information searching motivational factors of social media that influence perceived value and its consequences such like before-searching, during-searching, and after-searching and divided social media into two types according to the level of social presence, and then empirically verified them. Antecedent variables divided into benefits including perceived usefulness and information quality and sacrifices including complexity and perceived effort. Our analysis results show that both of dimensions had the greatest effect on perceived value of social media use, which affect the consequences.

An Empirical Study about Internet and Social Network Security Behavior of End User

The purpose of this study was to find about personal information security of internet and social networks by focusing on end users. User competence and subjective criterion, which are the antecedents, are affecting security behaviors For these security behaviors, the study examined the relationship between security behavior intention on internet use and security behavior intention about social network that is actively achieved in many fields. Behaviors of internet and social network were classified into an action of executing security and an action of using a security technology. In addition, this study investigated a theory about motivational factors of personal intention on a certain behavior based on theory of reasoned action in order to achieve the purpose of this study. A survey was conducted on 224 general individual users through online and offline, and the collected data was analyzed with SPSS 12.0 and SmartPLS 2.0 to verify demographic characteristics of respondents, exploratory factor analysis, and suitability of a study model. Interesting results were shown that security behavior intention of social network is not significant in all security behavior execution, which is security performance behavior, and security technology use. Internet security behavior is significant to security technology use but it does not have an effect on behavior execution.

Analysis of Case Study for Smart Tourism Development: Korea Tourism Organization`s Smart Tourism Case

For tourism, Information Technology (IT) is the one of the most important factors, therefore, tourism has been open to IT. Through internet, the sources of information became extensive. Smartphone and Social Network Service (SNS) make huge changes in tourism. In line with this, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is developing the smart tourism system, composed of internet, smartphone, SNS, as representative of Korea tourism. In this research, KTO`s main channels, internet, smartphone, SNS, of smart tourism system will be analyzed as well as the connectivity between the channels.