This dissertation consists of three essays in international trade. The first chapter analyzes integration strategies of Korean firms that involve producing final products and providing post-production services for serving geographically separate foreign markets: high-income and low-income countries. I present a model in which heterogeneous firms must provide services for products through their subsidiaries in host countries, but can produce output in different locations. The model shows that the firm's equilibrium decision depends on its own productivity level and economic variables that affect production location and providing services. Using plant- and firm-level data of Korean firms, the empirical analysis provides the results that support the model's predictions. The second chapter analyzes the effects of regional economic integrations on investment patterns among Korean multinational firms. Using Korea's middle-income status, we develop a model in which heterogeneous firms in a middle-income country decide on the optimal FDI strategies for serving different regions: a developed (EEA) and a developing (AFTA) trade integrated regions. Following reduced trade costs between countries inside the trade integrated region, our model predicts that integrating into a regional economic zone affects firms with low productivity levels to enter the region via complex FDI strategies. Depending on the size of the region, however, complex FDI strategies differ such that firms investing in developed region tend to undertake local and export sales to the third country, whereas firms investing in developing region are more likely to engage in not only local and export sales to the third country, but also export sales to the parent country. The empirical analysis confirms the effect of different regional economic integrations on the strategy of firms with different productivity levels. The last chapter examines the conditions under which technology spillovers through workers' movement occur between foreign affiliates in the host country and determine whether such spillovers can affect the exporters' decisions to switch their strategies to serve foreign markets via FDI. Developing a simple two-period duopoly model, I find that the occurrence of technology spillovers is dependent on firm and host country characteristics such that spillovers are more likely to arise when firms have similar technology capabilities and in countries that incur low cost of training local workers. Under these circumstances, exporters are more likely to switch to FDI for serving foreign markets. However, I find that transport costs of goods have ambiguous effect on the occurrence of spillovers and thus, do not play a marginal role in exporters' decision. / text

Performance-based contracting (PBC) redefines the relationships between suppliers and buyers and differs from traditional contracting approaches with its reward/payment scheme, emphasis on the performance outcomes, increased supplier autonomy, and transfer of risk and responsibilities to suppliers. Given the 70% of life cycle costs of products/systems reside in sustainment, PBC has led to substantial improvements in availability, maintainability, reliability, and thus total cost of ownership of systems/products. Though PBC has changed the way of doing business and its presence has increased across multiple industry, private and public sectors, for profit and not-for-profit, its implications on various aspects of logistics and supply chain management have been understudied. It is important to explore and establish evidence regarding these implications through academic rigor. Therefore, this three-essay dissertation aims to give some insight regarding structural and behavioral implications of PBC using a multi-method approach. Specifically, it (1) explores the relationship between PBC and supply chain resilience (SCRES), (2) examines the supplier goal commitment (i.e., motivation) in PBC, (3) proposes a mathematical model to find optimal contract length, periodic contract price and investment that concurrently maximizing supplier profit and satisfying buyer requirements. This dissertation offers theoretical and managerial contributions as well.