I examine if venture capitalists perform certification function at the Kosdaq market for the period from early 2001 to 2007, which is divided into two subperiods allowing for regulatory changes. When investigating the relationship between IPO returns and venture capitalists’ backing, in the earlier period negative association is found only for the venture capitalists with high IPO record, but in the latter period for all venture capitalists. One may regard the results supportive of both the certification and the grand standing hypothesis. I explore whether the negative relationship is indeed due to venture capitalists’ certifying role. Two paths by which venture capitalists may perform the certification role are considered. First, in line with the winner’s curse hypothesis, I examine if venture capitalist’s backing increases un-informed investors’ participation in IPOs. I also examine if venture capitalists tend to match with underwriters with high reputation. Empirical results are inconclusive. Hence, resolving whether the negative relationship found between venture capitalists’ backing and IPO returns is indeed due to venture capitalists’ certifying roles requires further study.

This study aims to examine effects of leadership on innovative activities at R&D teams. The study also aims to analyze mechanisms by which the leadership affect innovative activities directly and/or indirectly through the mediating effect of organizational commitment. This study develops a research model, which includes three types of leadership, such as transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership, as independent variables, and innovative activities as a dependent variable, and organizational commitment as a mediating variable. This study tests the research model employing 228 survey data from researchers in the R&D teams. In order to perform statistical analyses, this study conducted regression tests and Sobel test.
The result of the empirical analyses show that the transformational and the transactional leadership have positive and significant associations with organizational commitment. This study also presents that organizational commitment makes an significant and a positive effect on innovative activities. On the ground of empirical tests using SPSS and Sobel test, this study concludes that the transformational leadership affects innovative activities in a positive way, both directly and indirectly through the partial mediating effect of organizational commitment, while the transactional leadership affects innovative activities directly and indirectly through the fully mediating effect of organizational commitment.

The current study aims to examine effects of niche strategies, such as niche diversity and niche exploration, on their mortality using data from the film production venture firms in the Korean motion picture industry. Focusing specifically on strategic responses of venture firms facing a high level of uncertainty, this study shows the effects and limits of various niche strategies employed by film producers. In this study, we regard organizations as ‘proactive actors’ in which make strategic decisions that may increase their survival chances. For the empirical analysis, this study uses data-set which includes information about all 891 Korean film producers that existed from 1919 to 2004. The results of our empirical analyses strongly support all the hypothesis of this study. The findings of this study may help us understand the strategic behaviors of venture firms operating in those industries characterized by high uncertainty, such as the motion picture industry. The findings of this study can be applied also to other industries that in which consider creativity and innovations a primary bases of sustainable competitive advantages.

This paper examined the effects of product diversification and customer diversification on the financial performance of Korean auto parts suppliers. The result of the analysis shows that increase in the level of product diversification and customer diversification measured by all customers has positive effect on the performance, but there is also evidence that shows negative effect on the performance if the level of diversification gets over certain level. This result suggests that the relationships between them are inversed-U shape. On the other side, customer diversification only measured by automaker did not show significant effect on the performance of suppliers. Such result, which aligns with previous researches, suggests that when appropriate level of product and customer diversification is implemented, advantages of diversification presented in existing literature can be realized.

This study deals with a venture company that has survived the evolution of converged digital media service to utilize telecommunication network. Venture companies in the above service sector faced difficulties in the early phase of the evolution. Venture companies in and around IPTV entered into the IPTV business and contributed to the entry of telecommunication companies into the above sector. This study investigates the strategies of the above company to provide solutions and equipments to telecommunication operators. This surviving company pursues service innovation based on their technological capabilities to compete against the telecommunication operators. This paper is concerned with identifying the capabilities that enable the surviving company to remain on the competitive edge.

The online game became the main IT industry after commercialization in Korea. But the competitiveness of online game is getting worse according to global environment changing rapidly. So, in this paper, we looked at present situation of Korea online game and figure out some problems. Also, we found to progressive ways comparing with China growing rapidly. We analyzed online game industry through value chain and compared between Korea and China focusing on main activities. We confirmed that leapfrogging strategy that based on Korea online game development leading to China Online game industry growth. They apply to global collaboration and shifting paradigm quickly. So, we suggest critical political implications and the ways make Korea online game competitiveness strengthen based on these results.