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The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the relationship between organizational learning, psychological empowerment, and work engagement for hotel employees working in a five-star hotel in Seoul. The survey was conducted for about 30 days from January 15 to February 14, 2024, and an empirical analysis was conducted using 243 valid samples. Statistical processing of the data collected in this survey was analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 statistical package program. First, as a result of regression analysis for <Hypothesis 1> that organizational learning was positive effect on psychological empowerment partially. Second, <Hypothesis 2> that psychological empowerment was positive effect on work engagement fully. Third, <Hypothesis 3> that organizational learning was positive effect on work engagement fully. Through this study, we intended to provide practical implications for officials in the hotel industry.

The tourism branding of a region is a composite product of policy effects and tourism content in the region. In order to provide a structural understanding of regional tourism branding and practical suggestions for branding to enhance regional competitiveness, this study aims to test the comprehensive influence relationship between tourism brand evidence, quality index, relationship quality, and brand loyalty, which are evaluated as the outcomes of regional tourism policies, and the prestige index. The results of the hypotheses tested by analyzing a total sample of 382 respondents suggest the following implications. First, perceived value and core services were identified as the main causal variables affecting tourists’ perceptions of the luxury index of regional tourism brands. Second, the brand name, brand logo, etc. for branding of regional tourism have no significant effect on the luxury index or cause negative results. Finally, the branding perception of regional tourism was found to have a significant effect on relationship quality and loyalty.

This paper aims to assess how sustainable management strategies influence performance as a sustainable competitive advantage, while also exploring the moderating effects of value orientation on sustainable management strategies and performance. To analyze this study, the survey was conducted on multinational corporations with overseas subsidiaries as of 2023 and foreign companies operating in Korea with domestic subsidiaries as the population. The frame for sampling was established using the overseas expansion directory of Korean companies issued by the Korea trade-investment promotion agency and the list of foreign companies operating in Korea provided by the foreign companies association. Companies with more than 1,000 employees were selected as the sample. This empirical evidence indicates that value orientation(innovation value orientation, brand value orientation) play a crucial role in moderating the effectiveness of sustainable management strategies and their impact on performance.

South Korea has dramatically transitioned from an aid recipient to a donor nation over the past five decades, showcasing one of the most notable economic transformations globally. Similarly, the People’s Republic of China has emerged as a new example of this shift. This study explores the causal impact of Official Development Assistance (ODA) on trade volumes between donor and recipient countries through a comparative analysis on South Korea and mainland China. We constructed a panel dataset comprising 46 countries spanning from 2013 to 2019 and conducted a quantitative panel regression analysis. The ODA provided by South Korea and China has been shown to have a positive impact on both exports to and imports from recipient countries. Specifically, South Korea’s ODA has had a more significant positive effect on its exports and imports with recipient countries compared to China’s ODA. In particular, the impact on increasing exports through South Korea’s ODA has been relatively greater than the impact on increasing imports. Conversely, China’s ODA has shown a greater effect in boosting imports than in increasing exports. Additionally, regional analysis indicates that in both South Korea and China, ODA has a larger positive impact on trade flows with Asian and Latin American countries compared to African countries.

In this paper, empirical analysis has been conducted for finding the impact of the COVID-19 vaccination on Korea’s exports in the manufacturing sector. The quarterly panel data used in the paper covers 76 countries, which are Korea’s trading partners. The estimations for 2020 and 2021 are respectively conducted. The estimation for 2021 primarily focuses on investigating the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on Korea’s exports while that for 2020 analyzes the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Korea’s exports. The economic model and econometric technique employed in the study are the gravity model and PPML (Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood). The estimation results show that Korea’s COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination in 2021 have negatively and positively influenced Korea’s exports respectively in the manufacturing industry, whereas COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination of Korea’s exporting countries do not show the significant impact on Korea’s exports.

This study analyzes real earnings management behavior of KOSPI listed shipping companies. The shipping industry is very sensitive to the economy, and business performance is greatly influenced by not only internal company factors but also external environmental factors. Therefore, shipping companies may have incentives to earnings management. The means of earnings management include accrual earnings management and real earnings management. Hong(2021) argued that shipping companies engaged accrual earnings management a lot. Therefore, this paper analyzes real earnings management behavior of shipping companies. To verify this, empirical analysis was conducted with a sample of 12,166 firm-year data from KOSPI listed companies from 2001 to 2022. Real earnings management was measured using the method of Roychowdhury(2006). As a result of the analysis, it was found that shipping companies made less real earnings management. Due to the nature of shipping companies operating in the service industry, it is impossible to manage real earnings by transferring fixed costs to inventory through overproduction. The conditions and means for real earnings management of shipping companies may not be easier than those of non-shipping companies. This paper is expected to advance the understanding of corporate characteristics and earnings management of shipping companies.

This study investigates the effects of governance and trade liberalization on economic growth in ASEAN member countries from 2012 to 2022. The inception of the Free Trade Agreement within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1984 led to a proliferation of liberalization among member countries. To ensure the robustness of the results, various analytical methods are employed. Using ordinary least squares regression, fixed effect regression, two-way fixed effect regression, and quantile regression, we find that governance and trade openness have positive effects on economic development. Efficient governments amplify the positive impact on economic growth.

In recent years, global value chains (GVCs) have undergone significant transformations driven by a confluence of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the US-China trade conflict, resource scarcity, and the burgeoning demand for advanced technologies. The pandemic has disrupted supply chains and highlighted the vulnerabilities of overreliance on single-source suppliers. The trade war has exacerbated geopolitical tensions and encouraged companies to diversify their sourcing strategies. Resource scarcity, particularly in critical minerals like lithium, has prompted companies to secure alternative supply sources. And the rapid advancement of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) has created new opportunities and challenges for GVCs. As industries embrace 4IR technologies such as AI, robotics, big data, and cloud computing, demand is expected to surge for products and services in these areas, including electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and smart factories. To prepare for this shift, global companies are actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&As). These M&As aim to acquire complementary technologies, expand market reach, and enhance innovation capabilities. This study delves into the changing dynamics of GVCs and the role of M&As in shaping corporate strategies. It begins by reviewing relevant literature on GVCs in Chapter II. Chapter III presents case studies of GVCs established through M&As by global companies. Chapter IV analyzes the key characteristics of GVCs formed through M&As. Chapter V concludes by drawing insights and implications for future research and practice.

Global companies are increasingly being requested to conduct dual materiality assessments, evaluating not only the financial impact of sustainability issues on their business but also the broader environmental and social impacts of their operations. This shift towards a more holistic approach to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management is particularly relevant for the steel industry, which faces unique challenges due to its carbon-intensive nature and complex supply chains. This research analyzes the 2023 sustainability reports of three leading steel companies – POSCO, Nippon Steel, and ArcelorMittal – to compare their dual materiality assessment procedures, ESG task prioritization, and overall ESG management approaches. Key findings suggest that while all three companies have made progress in integrating ESG considerations, variations exist in their approaches to materiality assessment, stakeholder engagement, and the prioritization of specific ESG issues. By identifying key differences and best practices in their dual materiality assessment, this study provides actionable recommendations for effective ESG implementation in the steel industry, contributing to enhanced corporate sustainability and global competitiveness.

This paper examines the implied warranties under the UCC and their exclusions, and shows how they differ from Article 35 of the CISG. The implied warranty of particular purpose under the UCC is similar to Article 35(2) of the CISG. However, the UCC provides a requirement for the seller to disclaim or modify such implied warranties to avoid liability for the seller’s implied warranties. The CISG, on the other hand, does not directly provide for the exclusion or modification of warranties. This paper analyzes the case law of U.S. courts regarding the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose in the context of an international sale of goods with a U.S.-based entity. The results show that, in some cases, U.S. courts have applied the UCC rules to determine the requirements for implied warranties to the exclusion of the CISG. This is not only contrary to the purpose of the CISG as a unified law, but also shows a misunderstanding of the CISG. Therefore, trade counterparties engaged in international goods transactions should not only actively utilize the CISG as a unified law for international goods sales contracts to increase the predictability of trade transactions, but also carefully identify the matters that cannot be covered by the CISG (such as the requirement to exclude or modify implied warranties) and agree to them in writing when concluding contracts.

Article 3 of the CISG provides that a contract to manufacture or produce and supply goods is considered a sale, but this does not apply if the party ordering the goods has agreed to supply a significant part of the materials required for manufacture or production. It is also stipulated that it does not apply to contracts in which the majority of the obligations of the party supplying goods consist of the supply of labor or other services. However, terms such as ‘a significant part’ and ‘most of the time’ are not explicit definitions and are therefore subject to debate. Currently, international commercial contracts are diverse and complex, so CISG, which does not have explicit provisions, is often not applicable and has the problem of being limited. It is questionable whether it can be applied to various types of international commerce today, and the limited scope of application of the CISG will threaten the usefulness and long-term viability of international agreements. Accordingly, in order to find out the need for a unified norm, we will look into the interpretation principles of Article 3 of the CISG and suggest ways to improve them through a comparative study with CESL.

This study builds a system of indicators to gauge the growth of the digital economy and employs the entropy weight approach to gauge its state across the 15 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries. Then, using a panel dataset of China’s export trade to RCEP member countries from 2010 to 2022 as the study sample, an empirical analysis of the impact of the RCEP member countries’ level of digital economy development on China’s export trade is conducted based on the stochastic frontier gravity model. The empirical findings indicate that the main cause of the discrepancy between the actual and potential trade volume of China’s exports to RCEP countries is the degree of development of the digital economy as a trade inefficiency term. The level of growth of its digital economy is positively correlated with China’s exporting status, and it indicates that China’s level of digital growth, which restricts trade efficiency, is a contributing cause to the inefficiency of trade. As importing nations, RCEP members’ levels of digital economy development are negative, which indicates how the expansion of the digital economy among RCEP members has improved China’s export efficiency. In addition, the author findS that the role of the digital economy in improving the efficiency of China’s export trade became more pronounced during COVID-19 pandemic. This article proposes corresponding policy implications based on these findings.

We examine the effects of terms of trade and major macroeconomic variables on real GDP in Korea over the last four decades. We first briefly illustrate key features of terms of trade in Korea. Secondly, we identify the non-linear differential impacts of changes in terms of trade, real wages, real exchange rates, inflation rates and unemployment rate on real GDP, applying smooth transition regressions. Finally, we find that sharp rise of real wage above certain threshold may indicate a looming severe business cycle downturn in the Korean economy.