This dissertation contributes to an understanding of Korean firms’ operations as direct investors in Taiwan. The theoretical framework of the study is positioned to economic geography. The empirical focus is on the Korean investment and operation decisions in Taiwan. The research problem of the study asks how multinational corporations (MNC) in different business sectors utilize, perceive and react to the feedback in the host country’s corporate environment. This has been only possible with the fieldwork that consists of one-on-one interviews with 14 MNC representatives in eight different industries at the Taiwanese branch.

In this paper, economic geography literature has studied the paradigmatic shift occurring toward multinational Korean firms operating in Taiwan and Korean-ness they carry. This rests on propositions. First, from a structural perspective economic actors are situated in contexts of social and institutional relations. Drawing on Storper's holy trinity, we define four ions as the basis for analysis in economic geography: technology, organization, production, innovation, and interaction. The present study argues that the investigates the ways that Korean MNC as Foreign Direct Investors interact and form networks in Taiwan as well as the ways they obtain knowledge and information. The study states that MNC highly depends and utilizes the already-existant networks in Taiwan to reach the local market and to obtain the market knowledge for innovation and productivity. Second, the present study argues that economic processes within Taiwan are contingent in the economic actors’ strategies as well as the environment of the firm in the host country, specifically in economic and technological aspects. Therein, we engage a particular spatial perspective of economic processes using a geographical lens. Third, in dynamic perspective economic processes that are embeddeded culturally and that also entail to the historical events, having shaped the society’s perception about Korea and anything that is related to it over time and consequently have been an impact on buyers’ economic decisions. Korean-ness is the state of being Korean, the perception that others hold toward and description about Korea. This study investigates how ‘Korean-ness’ plays a role or has an impact for Korean MNC operating in Taiwan.

The empirical results suggest that Taiwan has been a great stepping-stone market in prior to enter market in China,
Japan, or even Southeast Asia for various reasons that are contingent to the similarities that are found culturally, linguistically, and to the patterns found in characteristics of Taiwanese market specifically to certain industries. According to the various characteristics of the industries, the levels of dependency on local networks vary, but only those require production networks involve in the processes and scales of global economic activities. Moreover, the empirical results also indicate that Korean-ness has impact on MNCs in varying degrees. Weak fondness has shown towards Koreanness in two B2B firms, and strong resentment has been shown towards three B2C firms indicate that firms in different industries react to Korean-ness differently. The results indicate Koreanness plays a significant role particularly to B2C firms and they scan their corporate environment continuously in order to anticipate and respond to the needs of Taiwanese market. Therefore, respondents in expansive scope of industries in Taiwan regarded Korean-ness as important.

This dissertation contributes to an understanding of Korean firms’ operations as direct investors in Taiwan. The theoretical framework of the study is positioned to economic geography. The empirical focus is on the Korean investment and operation decisions in Taiwan. The research problem of the study asks how multinational corporations (MNC) in different business sectors utilize, perceive and react to the feedback in the host country’s corporate environment. This has been only possible with the fieldwork that consists of one-on-one interviews with 14 MNC representatives in eight different industries at the Taiwanese branch.

In this paper, economic geography literature has studied the paradigmatic shift occurring toward multinational Korean firms operating in Taiwan and Korean-ness they carry. This rests on propositions. First, from a structural perspective economic actors are situated in contexts of social and institutional relations. Drawing on Storper's holy trinity, we define four ions as the basis for analysis in economic geography: technology, organization, production, innovation, and interaction. The present study argues that the investigates the ways that Korean MNC as Foreign Direct Investors interact and form networks in Taiwan as well as the ways they obtain knowledge and information. The study states that MNC highly depends and utilizes the already-existant networks in Taiwan to reach the local market and to obtain the market knowledge for innovation and productivity. Second, the present study argues that economic processes within Taiwan are contingent in the economic actors’ strategies as well as the environment of the firm in the host country, specifically in economic and technological aspects. Therein, we engage a particular spatial perspective of economic processes using a geographical lens. Third, in dynamic perspective economic processes that are embeddeded culturally and that also entail to the historical events, having shaped the society’s perception about Korea and anything that is related to it over time and consequently have been an impact on buyers’ economic decisions. Korean-ness is the state of being Korean, the perception that others hold toward and description about Korea. This study investigates how ‘Korean-ness’ plays a role or has an impact for Korean MNC operating in Taiwan.

The empirical results suggest that Taiwan has been a great stepping-stone market in prior to enter market in China,
Japan, or even Southeast Asia for various reasons that are contingent to the similarities that are found culturally, linguistically, and to the patterns found in characteristics of Taiwanese market specifically to certain industries. According to the various characteristics of the industries, the levels of dependency on local networks vary, but only those require production networks involve in the processes and scales of global economic activities. Moreover, the empirical results also indicate that Korean-ness has impact on MNCs in varying degrees. Weak fondness has shown towards Koreanness in two B2B firms, and strong resentment has been shown towards three B2C firms indicate that firms in different industries react to Korean-ness differently. The results indicate Koreanness plays a significant role particularly to B2C firms and they scan their corporate environment continuously in order to anticipate and respond to the needs of Taiwanese market. Therefore, respondents in expansive scope of industries in Taiwan regarded Korean-ness as important.

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