Search results

This article examines the impact of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) on Korean exports to ASEAN countries by using the system generalized method of moments. The data covered 15 sectors according to their relative importance in Korean exports and spanned from 1980 to 2006. The estimated results suggest that Korea’s exports were diverted to ASEAN members as a result of the AFTA formation. In 5 of the 15 sectors, the AFTA exerted a significant negative effect on Korean exports to ASEAN countries, but for the remaining 9, the results were mixed and statistically insignificant. The results also indicate that the sectoral approach yields more robust and clear-cut results than the aggregate one.

This paper aims at examining the dynamic patterns and traits of bilateral trade between Korea and Vietnam. The major findings of this paper can be summarized as follows. First, the structure of trade between Korea and Vietnam conforms to each country’s factor proportion. Second, the structure of Korea’s imports from Vietnam did not change over the last two decades. In other words, Vietnam has failed to climb up the industrial ladder. Third, the degree of intra-industry trade between Korea and Vietnam has been low and unstable. Fourth, the trade pattern between Korea and Vietnam has been complementary not competitive in nature. Korea-Vietnam FTA will open a new horizon for the deeper vertical integration of the two.

This paper investigates the dynamic patterns of Vietnam’s comparative advantage in the context of ASEAN. Using the Galtonian regression method and the Markov transition probability matrices for data from 1997 to 2008, we find the following: Firstly, commodity groups with a weak comparative advantage improved their competitiveness, whereas those groups with a strong comparative advantage saw it decline, indicating a convergence of their comparative advantages. Secondly, in terms of intra-distribution dynamics, industries with no initial comparative advantage (Class a) and those with a strong initial comparative advantage (Class d) showed a high degree of persistence, suggesting a low degree of mobility in the trade patterns for Classes a and d. Thirdly, mineral resource-intensive products showed a high degree of export specialization, whereas other product categories showed a high degree of export diversification. Fourthly, all commodity groups showed a downward trend in the degree of specialization. Finally, Vietnam’s exports were dominated by unskilled labor-intensive products and agricultural resource-intensive products, reflecting the validity of Heckscher-Ohlin model. As a result of the country’s trade liberalization, the patterns of Vietnam’s comparative advantage have come to reflect its factor endowment. These results suggest that Vietnam could better diversify its export structures and shift to exports based on human capital and technology by further liberalizing its trade policies, fostering human capital formation, and facilitating the transfer of technology.

This study investigates the patterns and determinants of Korea’s horizontal intra-industry trade by employing a dynamic panel data analysis. The main findings of the study are as follows. An increase in the market size of both trading partners is associated with a higher level of horizontal intra-industry trade. Dissimilar economic sizes and per capita incomes have a negative effect on trade in horizontally differentiated products. Geographical distance and trade imbalance serve as obstacles to horizontal intra-industry trade. These findings have policy implications for reconsidering the orientation of promoting trade. Inclusive economic growth in the region, taking advantage of neighboring nations and making efforts to reduce trade imbalances between trading economies, can accelerate further trade expansion through horizontal intra-industry trade.

The Korean government has begun to implement the TAA system since May 2007 in order to support small and medium firms whose sales, production and profits have decreased due to the intensified import competition. This paper analyzes the performance of the Korean TAA program based on the experience for the last five years and aims to suggest some relevant policy implications out of it. We find that the newly introduced Korean TAA system failed to accomplish the objectives of the program it had originally planned. It also failed to be an effective means for internal negotiations. All the efforts to retain marginal firms in comparative disadvantage turned out to be a big failure. This poor performance will threaten the system’s own existence in the near future. Even if the TAA system continues to exist, it will inevitably be converted into a worker-centered program instead of a firm-oriented industrial policy. Protecting people by protecting their jobs could be a strategy mistake. With the launch of new government of Korea in 2013, curtailing or abolishing the financial assistance program for marginal firms needs to be implemented immediately. Moreover, consulting services need to be more professional and customized.

Storytelling has long been a popular strategy in marketing. Despite its ubiquity, the influence of storytelling in the sport marketing literature has not been investigated, especially on consumers' perspective. Thus, the purpose of this study is to (a) examine the effect of storytelling on sport consumers, and (b) explore the moderation effect of product involvement on the relationship between storytelling and purchase intention of a signature sneaker.

Two experiments using 3 (storytelling: bullet-point type vs. athlete-based story vs. product-based story) × 2 (product involvement: low vs. high) between-subjects experimental design were conducted.

The main finding illustrates that both the athlete-based story and the product-based story had a stronger influence on a consumer's purchase intention than the information that was given in a bullet-point condition. This study provides a theoretical implication of storytelling strategy for sport marketing literature. From a managerial perspective, the authors heavily recommend the use of storytelling in sport product advertisements.

Previous literature has highlighted the effect of storytelling in sports organization such as professional sports team or utilization in social media. However, limited studies could be found in the sports product industry and consumer behavior sector. Thus, the current study has a significant value of understanding the storytelling strategy in the perspective of sports consumers as well as brand marketers.

This study aims to explore the use of consumer-generated online product reviews as a source of brand associations in a sport setting.

A total of 800 reviews were collected and categorized into 13 brand association dimensions derived from previous literature. Reviews were further categorized into three valence types (i.e. positive, negative and neutral) via a correspondence analysis.

A correspondence analysis revealed that positive product reviews were highly linked to performance and product-related attributes, while negative reviews were related to conformance associations. Additionally, the results showed that product-related (90.8%) attributes, experiential benefits (89.1%) and functional benefits (86.6%) were the most frequently communicated brand associations. The findings of this study underline the credibility of assessing brand associations from the consumers’ experience, through online consumer reviews.

The findings of the current investigation contribute to existing knowledge by examining consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) in an online setting. Previous, CBBE literature suggests that brand associations are held in the minds of the brand's consumers. To date, however, few studies have examined brand associations generated by consumers and instead have relied upon brand association dimensions developed by the researcher as opposed to the consumer (Ross et al., 2006). This, study however, utilized online sport product reviews as a source of consumer derived brand associations, and, therefore, will further the knowledge as to how brand associations are identified and measured.

This paper aims to analyze the impacts of institutional quality on trade flows of NAFTA with a panel data set of 105 countries spanning the period 2006–2017.

We applied the system generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator to investigate the impacts.

The results show that institutional quality is a positive and significant determinant of international trade flows of the NAFTA bloc and its trading partners. Our results also indicate that the impact of institutional quality depends on the level of economic development of NAFTA's trading partners. Specifically, the trade elasticity of institutional quality is the highest for NAFTA’s trade with middle-income countries and the lowest for NAFTA's trade with low-income countries. In the long run, the trade elasticity of institutional quality increased significantly, with the highest increase in the case of NAFTA's trade with medium-income countries and the lowest increase in the case of NAFTA's trade with low-income countries.

This study contributes to the existing literature in three different ways. First, we examine the differential impact of institutions on NAFTA's trade according to the level of economic development of NAFTA's trading partners. Second, we compare the differential trade elasticity of institutional quality in the long run. Finally, we support our findings through an improved research methodology by using the system GMM estimation. This method allows us to overcome the potential sample bias, omitted variable problems and endogeneity of explanatory variables.

This paper aims at assessing the impact of institutional and cultural distances and trade barriers on ASEAN's trade efficiency using a panel data set of 65 countries for the period 2006–2017.

First, the authors applied an improved version of the stochastic frontier model to estimate the trade efficiency scores. After that, we used the system generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator to investigate the impacts of institutional and cultural distances on ASEAN's trade efficiency.

The results show that the trade efficiency of ASEAN countries with the rest of the world (ROW) is moderate, ranging from 0.561 to 0.612, but shows a downward trend. This result indicates that considerable trade potential exists between ASEAN countries and ROW. Institutional and cultural distances, as well as the trade barriers, negatively affect ASEAN's trade efficiency. Efforts to reduce differences in institutions and cultures and to promote trade liberalization are vital remedies for ASEAN countries to turn potentials into actual trade performance.

This study contributes to the existing literature in three different ways. First, this is the first study on the impact of the differences between internal and external characteristics on trade efficiency, specifically, the impact of institutional and cultural distances on ASEAN's trade efficiency. Second, to obtain accurate efficiency scores, the authors use an improved version of the stochastic frontier model proposed by Karakaplan (2018), which can control the problem of endogeneity. Third, in quantifying the determinants of trade efficiency, the authors apply a system GMM estimator, which allows us to overcome the problems of endogeneity, measurement errors, and omitted variables.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the current state of Korea’s internal negotiation system and the role of domestic policy factors in the process of Korea’s joining the mega FTAs such as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Along with Putnam’s three determinants of win-set size, the authors analyze a new set of policy factors – including Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), the FTA Domestic Planning Division, and the Trade Procedure Act – to examine the institutional arrangements available for the ratification of the TPP in Korea.

To minimize the social cost of the internal negotiation process of the trade, better understanding of the role of domestic policy factors is essential. The paper proposes some important policy suggestions which will scale up the benefit of the trade.

The very same analysis can be easily extended to examine the domestic reactions for future FTA negotiation, especially for Mega FTA negotiation.

The authors propose six policy suggestions: a Master Process Manual; measures to diagnose domestic reactions; emphasizing non-economic issues; strengthening human resources; considering the strategic role of the Trade Procedure Act; and reshaping TAA, to ensure that a tranquil environment exists for domestic negotiation and confirmation and the authors believe these policies can be implemented widely in trade negotiations.

This paper contributes to the existing literature in at least three respects. First, the authors made the first attempt to integrate the domestic policy tools with the domestic determinants of trade negotiation outcomes. Second, the policy proposals can be extended to other countries’ cases with a minor adjustment. Finally, the analysis is based on the assumption that international trade negotiations are multi-level frameworks where domestic influences play a vital role in the aftermath of bilateral FTAs.