Suntae Kim is assistant professor of Management and Organization at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He studies innovation amid adversity: how new forms of organizing emerge in the context of hardship, such as poverty, crisis, and discrimination. Specifically, Suntae’s research contexts include:
- Entrepreneurship for challenged places in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore
- Entrepreneurship among marginalized populations such as North Korean refugees and Nepali immigrant workers
- Evolution of B Corp movement
- South Korean public health system amid the COVID-19 pandemic
- A global steelmaker recovering from typhoon damages
He studies these phenomena using qualitative research methods with a strong focus on unpacking process. Suntae received his doctoral degree from the University of Michigan, and prior to joining Carey, he served as assistant professor at Boston College's Carroll School of Management.
Education
- PhD, Business Administration, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- MS & BS in Business Administration, Seoul National University
Research
Selected publications
Kim, S. & Kim, A. 2022. Going Viral or Growing Like an Oak Tree? Towards Sustainable Local Development through Entrepreneurship, Academy of Management Journal. 65(5): 1709-1746.
- Distinguished Winner, 2024 Responsible Research in Management Award, Academy of Management Fellows & Responsible Research in Business and Management, Aug 2024
- Finalist for Best Paper Award, Academy of Management Journal, Aug 2023
- Best Paper on Entrepreneurship and Natural Environment Award, Academy of Management (ONE division), Aug 2023
- Outreach Award, Academy of Management (ONE, SIM division), Aug 2023
- Listed on Responsible Research in Business & Management Honor Roll, Feb 2023
- Featured in Forbes, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Delve Podcast by McGill University, Intercultural Talk Podcast
Kim, S. & Schifeling, T. 2022. Good Corp, Bad Corp, and the Rise of B Corps: How Market Incumbents’ Diverse Responses Reinvigorate Challengers, Administrative Science Quarterly, 67(3): 674-720.
- Best Published Paper Award, Academy of Management (OMT division), Aug 2023
- Featured in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Asparagus
Kim, S. 2021. Frame Restructuration: The Making of an Alternative Business Incubator amid Detroit’s Crisis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 66(3): 753-805.
- Finalist for the 2021 Bradford-Osborne Research Award
- Featured in Network for Business Sustainability
Davis, G. F., & Kim, S. 2015. Financialization of the Economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 41: 203-221.
Leung, A. K.-y., Kim, S., Polman, E., Ong, L. S., Qiu, L., Goncalo, J. A., & Sanchez-Burks, J. 2012. Embodied Metaphors and Creative “Acts.” Psychological Science, 23(5): 502-509.
- Featured in Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio
Impact and Engagement
Selected articles for business practitioners
- Kim, S. & Christophe, Y. 2026. Baltimore Black Butterfly Entrepreneurs’ Access to Capital: Barriers, Consequences, and Alternatives. Baltimore Collaboratory Research Report.
- Kim, S., McComas, M., Beal, M., & Bader, M. April 2025. Opportunity or Necessity? Perceptions of Entrepreneurship in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins University 21st Century Cities Initiative.
- Kim, S. & Schifeling, T. March 2024. The Paradox of Growing as a Values-Driven Company. Harvard Business Review.
- Kim, S. January 2023. Scaling Deep, Not Up: Lessons from Detroit. Nonprofit Quarterly.
- Kim, S., & Kim, A. January 2022. Research: How Entrepreneurship Can Revitalize Local Communities. Harvard Business Review.
- Kim, S., Karlesky, M.J., Myers, C.G., & Schifeling, T. June 2016. Why Companies are Becoming B Corporations. Harvard Business Review.
Teaching
Current
- Organizational Management–Undergraduate Business minor program
- Behavioral Science: Leadership and Organizational Behavior–Full-time MBA program
Honors and distinctions
- Distinguished Winner of Responsible Research in Management Award, Academy of Management Fellows & Responsible Research in Business and Management, 2024
- Best Published Paper Award, Academy of Management, OMT Division, 2023
- Finalist for Best Paper Award, Academy of Management Journal, 2023
- Best Paper on Entrepreneurship and Natural Environment Award sponsored by Kauffman Foundation, Academy of Management, ONE Division, 2023
- Outreach Award, Academy of Management, ONE, SIM Division, 2023
- Responsible Research in Business & Management Honor Roll, 2023
- Finalist for Bradford-Osborne Research Award, University of Washington Foster School of Business, 2021
- Carroll School Teaching Star, Boston College, 2019
- Best Symposium Award, Organization and Management Theory Division, Academy of Management, 2013
- Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Reviewer Award, Organization and Management Theory Division, Academy of Management, 2013
- Robert D. and Janet E. Neary Award, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, 2012
- Samsung Scholarship, 2009-2014