Title: Main characteristics of technological entrepreneurship and the impact of governmental policies in Korea

Authors: Jangwoo Lee, Yongwoon Gang

Addresses: School of Business Administration, Kyungpook National University, 1370 San-Gyuck Dong, Daegu, 702-701, Republic of Korea. ' School of Business Administration, Kyungpook National University, 1370 San-Gyuck Dong, Daegu, 702-701, Republic of Korea

Abstract: The primary purpose of this study was to introduce an up-surging trend of technological entrepreneurship in Korea during the last decade and to determine how governmental policy for promoting technology-based small ventures impacts on job creation and innovation at the firm level. This study demonstrated that the high-tech ventures enrolled and systematically supported by the Korean Government achieved a significantly higher level of innovation and job creation than other small firms. Entrepreneurs of those ventures possessed a higher level of education and innovative attitude and they tended to employ differentiation strategies more aggressively and utilise more cooperative networks for acquiring external resources. It also showed that the membership of governmental enrolment had more influence on their performance than the managerial factors did. Those results suggest that systematic benefits from the governmental side more strongly affect a technology-based venture|s performance and support the argument about the institutional theories. This study implicates that governmental policy for promoting technological entrepreneurship can contribute to the vitalisation of the national economy through the generation of new jobs and innovations.

Keywords: technological entrepreneurship; governmental policies; South Korea; government support; technology-based firms; job creation; high-tech ventures; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurs; education; innovative attitudes; differentiation strategies; cooperative networks; external resources; company performance; managerial factors; institutional theories; economic vitalisation; global entrepreneurship; innovation management; globalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2010.035086

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2010 Vol.12 No.3/4, pp.311 - 329

Published online: 03 Sep 2010 *

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