The University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics strives to “cultivate a diverse faculty pursuing impactful scholarship and enthusiastically sharing their expertise” as part of the College’s mission. Each year, our faculty push the boundaries within academia, creating innovative research and earning impressive awards, placements and accolades.
This year, the UD Alfred Lerner College welcomed 18 new faculty members into its community. Hong Soon Kim is an assistant professor, and he spoke with Lerner about his passion for hospitality management and why he chose to join the UD faculty.
Lerner: What is your professional and academic background?
Kim: My professional background is majorly in strategy. I worked for Samsung Everland for five years, involved in planning corporate-level strategy. I received my Ph.D. and M.S. in hospitality and tourism management from Purdue University.
Lerner: What is your research focus?
Kim: My research focus is in examining the relationship between HR and restaurant performance. Especially, I study how HR-related matters (for instance, CEO attributes, compensation, pay disparity, minimum wage and organizational culture) influence restaurant performance, and how the relationship is moderated by restaurant-specific factors (i.e. franchising, restaurant types, etc.).
Lerner: What inspired you to work in your field/research/subject area?
Kim: My research was mainly stemmed from my professional background. My corporate strategy experience in food service company and my HR background led me to study the performance implication of HR in the restaurant industry.
Lerner: What is it about UD that made you want to work/teach/research here?
Kim: The department’s description really touched my academic philosophy: We are large enough to lead, but small enough to care personally for each student. I always wanted to do my research to lead the academic field of hospitality management while I also wanted to provide real education experience where students could truly learn hospitality business as an academic field. I am certain that I could achieve these goals here at UD.
Lerner: What course are you most excited to teach at Lerner?
Kim: My assignment for upcoming Fall 2022 semester is HOSP450 which deals with strategic hospitality management. I am very excited to teach this course as I could share real life experience with my students.
Lerner: What is something unique about you that may surprise your peers/students? (hobby, talent, experience etc.)
Kim: I am proud to say that I am an owner of Green Bay Packers. I own 1 share of GB Packers. Go! Pack! Go!