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- Interview with Prof. Alex Gotsopoulos
- Professor Alex Gotsopoulos at SKK GSB, Sungkyunkwan University, researches Strategy and Entrepreneurship. His research focuses on the emergence of new industries, and on how the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs face evolve as industries progress from infancy to maturity. Alex has received support from the National Science Foundation in the US and a number of North American and European foundations due to his outstanding achievements. His research has been published in top-tier management journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, the Strategic Management Journal, and the Academy of Management Review. It has also been featured in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Inc.com. In February, his paper was accepted in the Journal of Business Venturing as well. Alex explained the paper titled "United We Stand? Organizational Groups and Spinoff Mortality in the Context of Academic Entrepreneurship" using the ecosystems of iOS and Android as examples. He explained, "iOS and Android are competitors, as we all know. The iOS ecosystem wants to grow so that it can successfully compete against the Android ecosystem. At the same time, the iOS ecosystem does not want to grow so big that there would be competition within the iOS ecosystem (i.e., among firms within that focal ecosystem). Hence, they have two contradictory needs that they need to balance, to grow and to not grow. Within each ecosystem, the optimal number of firms needs to be maintained so that there is strong collaboration and symbiosis but not too strong competition." Alex, who lectures on entrepreneurship in the MBA program, mentions that students' and societal perceptions of entrepreneurship have changed significantly compared to 11 years ago. He said "When I first came to Korea 11 years ago, becoming an entrepreneur was not a common career choice at all. However, everybody is now quite positive about entrepreneurship, everybody has entrepreneur friends or dreams of becoming an entrepreneur themselves. Ample government grants and recent unicorns like Coupang have further increased students’ willingness and interest in exploring careers in entrepreneurship or in working for ambitious startups." He said that he feels the changes in Korea compared to how it was before. He noted, "Korea and Koreans have become much more cosmopolitan during my years here. People have learned how to travel, how to experience, and what to appreciate in foreign countries and cultures. Korean students have become more open to but also more critical of foreign ideas and cultures, and how to utilize them in the Korean context." Alex is also a passionate instructor who updates his course offerings and curricula frequently to cater to students’ needs in the ever-evolving business world and economy. He stated, "The central message of my teaching remains the same: students should not take teachings and lectures as givens. Instead, they should keep an open mind and think out of the box. What they learn in class is not absolute truths but rather the tools that will help to form informed opinions and come up with innovative solutions."
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- 작성일 2024-06-21
- 조회수 104842
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- SKK GSB Boot Camp and Pre-MBA Programs
- Every August, all programs at SKK GSB welcome new students and embark on a fresh start. A new beginning is always exciting, but at the same time, students could be worried about whether they will be able to understand the MBA courses well. SKK GSB offers preparatory programs, such as the Pre-MBA and Bootcamp, to assist new students before their classes commence. Vice Dean Raunaq Pungaliya, said, "Our Pre-MBA and Bootcamp programs are specifically designed to ensure that all students, regardless of their career background or undergraduate major, start with the confidence and knowledge needed to succeed in their MBA journey." The Bootcamp in the Full-Time MBA focuses on core business disciplines: managerial economics for economic insight into management decisions, quantitative analysis for robust data interpretation skills, and financial accounting to speak the language of business; while the corresponding program in the Business Analytics MBA focuses on programming, which is necessary for data-oriented business professionals. Jun Ho Kyung, a student in the Business Analytics MBA program, stated," Understanding MBA courses can be challenging without a background in calculus and programming. The SKK GSB boot camp helped me significantly by teaching condensed courses that complement the two-year MBA program."
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- 작성일 2024-06-12
- 조회수 90054
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- Virtual Influencer Marketing Strategies by Prof. Hwang
- SKK GSB Professor Se-rim Hwang’s research on virtual influencers has been in the spotlight recently. The study found that human influencer marketing, despite its high marketing effect, has backfired in some cases. On the other hand, virtual influencers were less likely to be exposed to scandals or bad reputations than human influencers, and they also cost less. Furthermore, virtual influencers have generated more engagement from people than human influencers. This means that choosing virtual influencers can be more cost-effective and ensure high engagement from people. An interesting point is that virtual influencers with imperfections resonate with more people than those with a perfect appearance. Lil Miquela, one of the most popular virtual influencers who debuted in 2016 and has over 2.6 million followers, is known for her imperfect human-like features instead of her perfect appearance. "Virtual influencers with humanized stories of overcoming challenges and hardships are more effective for marketing," Hwang said. Prof. Hwang's paper, 'Should Your Brand Hire a Virtual Influencer?', has gained attention in the academic community and was published in the May-June issue of Harvard Business Review. In Korea, the June issue of Dong-A Business Review published her special report on virtual influencers.
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- 작성일 2024-06-10
- 조회수 88047
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- What Factors Can Cause Corporate Misconduct to Escalate into a Scandal?
- Prof. Jung-Hoon Han of Sungkyunkwan University’s SKK GSB(Graduate School of Business) has published a paper in the prestigious Academy of Management Journal, shedding light on when misconduct by high-status firms escalates into scandals. Prof. Han and Professors Timothy G. Pollock (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) and Scott Graffin (University of Georgia) analyzed 2015–2018 data breaches involving publicly traded U.S. firms. They question the widely held assumption that scandals usually stem from high-status firms’ misconduct and demonstrate that the development of scandals depends on the perpetrating companies’ surrounding environment. For example, if several large tech companies such as Google, Meta (owner of Facebook) and X (formerly Twitter), and the supermarket chain Walmart engaged in the same misconduct, the media would be less likely to report on and scandalize Walmart’s misconduct as it is easier to tell a story based on tech companies’ all doing the wrong thing than to try to crowbar a retail firm into the narrative. The key takeaway is that journalists are more likely to report on and scandalize corporate misconduct when there is a clear industry-based pattern. The harder it is to identify a set of similarities that helps journalists tell a simple story, the lower the likelihood that any one firm’s misconduct will be scandalized. These findings have significant implications for companies’ crisis management strategies. When facing misconduct allegations, firms should address public concerns by highlighting how they differ from other industry leaders who have engaged in misconduct and by stressing that their actions do not reflect an industry-wide failure. From a preventive standpoint, firms should exercise caution when adopting practices from other high-status firms to avoid scandalization. The figure above illustrates that while high-status firms’ misconduct is more likely to become scandalized, such tendency is amplified when high-status firms’ misconduct has been prevalent within the same industry (a). In contrast, the prevalence of high-status firms’ misconduct outside an industry attenuates the scandalizing effect of focal firm’s status (b). Original Journal: https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2022.0365
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- 작성일 2024-05-21
- 조회수 35707
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- Professor Youngju Nielsen Signs a Strategic Business Agreement with Maeil Business Newspaper
- (Photo sorce: Maeil Business Newspaper) SKK GSB Professor Youngju Nielsen's fintech company iLab has signed a strategic business agreement (MOU) with Maeil Business Newspaper. Maeil Business Newspaper and iLab will jointly develop a 'Target Date Fund (TDF)' index. The two organizations will launch TDF benchmark indices (indices for comparing investment performance) that can be used depending on the retirement date. It is expected that the launch of TDF benchmarks tailored to the Korean market will clearly distinguish the performance of financial institutions, such as their profitability. Original article in Korean: https://www.mk.co.kr/news/stock/11011908
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- 작성일 2024-05-10
- 조회수 5187
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- SKK GSB Professor Hwang Se-rim Reveals the Effectiveness of AI Influencers
- SKK GSB Professor Hwang Se-rim's paper, which reveals the effectiveness of AI influencers, has been published in the May-June issue of Harvard Business Review (HBR), a prestigious business journal. Professor Hwang, along with Assistant Professor Shunyuan Zhang of Harvard University, Associate Professor Xiao Liu of New York University, and Professor Kannan Srinivasan of Carnegie Mellon University, analyzed over a million pieces of content over six years. Influencer marketing has been actively used due to its high marketing effect, but there have also been cases of backfires, and recently, there has been an increase in cases of brand marketing using AI influencers. The paper compared the effectiveness of human influencers and AI influencers in five aspects: engagement, reach, diversity, reputational risk, and cost. The study found that AI influencers were able to generate more engagement from people than human influencers. In particular, AI influencers were less likely to be exposed to scandals or bad reputations than human influencers, and they also cost less. This means that choosing AI influencers can be more cost-effective and also ensure high engagement from people. According to one survey, 52% of social media users in the United States already follow AI influencers, and this percentage is even higher worldwide. Among various industries, the fashion and beauty industries were more receptive to paid advertising posts by AI influencers, while people showed more resistance to paid advertising posts by human influencers. As the time spent consuming traditional media such as TV decreases, influencer marketing is expected to become even more important for brands. This study has proven that AI influencers have clear advantages over traditional human influencers. This means that brands should positively consider adopting AI influencers when introducing social media marketing. Original Journal: https://hbr.org/2024/05/should-your-brand-hire-a-virtual-influencer
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- 작성일 2024-04-30
- 조회수 4963
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- SKK GSB Hosts 'Navigating the Path to Value Chain Decarbonization' Forum
- The second "Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth" forum of 2024, hosted by SKK GSB, took place at Sungkyunkwan University's International Hall on the 24th. Nicola Weir, Deloitte Asia Pacific Internal Sustainability and Climate Change Leader, delivered a keynote speech titled "Navigating the Path to Value Chain Carbon Reduction" and engaged students in a lively discussion. In her speech, Weir noted the rapid development of regulations related to carbon emissions in recent years, emphasizing their strong impact on companies selling products in Europe. She stressed the need for long-term strategies aligned with value chain carbon neutrality, advising companies to envision their desired position 30 years down the road and develop strategies accordingly. Using the fashion industry as an example, Weir illustrated the concept of value chain carbon neutrality. She highlighted the industry's significant carbon footprint, accounting for 10% of global emissions, surpassing the combined emissions of all international flights and maritime transportation. This, she pointed out, presents a tremendous opportunity for carbon neutralization in the fashion industry. Weir emphasized the importance of considering carbon neutrality across the entire value chain, from design and manufacturing to distribution. Following her speech, she engaged students in a case study of the fashion industry, examining the value chains of a$3,000 luxury handbag and a $25 handbag. Deviani, a full-time MBA student who attended the forum, expressed satisfaction with the content, highlighting its relevance to current industry practices and the impressive case study session. Deviani's team, assigned to analyze the value chain of the luxury handbag, explored ways to implement carbon reduction strategies. "Our team discussed carbon reduction across all stages, from design to distribution," Deviani explained. "While the timeless design of luxury handbags doesn't significantly impact carbon emissions over time, the use of animal leather in the manufacturing process poses a challenge. We suggested improvements in bag materials as a potential solution." Lucas, another student participant, shared his insights from the forum. "Our team reviewed the value chain of fast fashion handbags," he said. "Through our discussions, we discovered that fast fashion handbags generate a significant amount of leather and fabric waste during the manufacturing process, and we believe this area requires improvement," he argued. He also added, "It was fascinating to learn about the urgency of reducing carbon emissions in the fashion industry and the actions companies should take moving forward." Related Article: https://www.news1.kr/articles/5394111
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- 작성일 2024-04-25
- 조회수 4784
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- SKK GSB Introduced as the Top MBA Program in Korea by BusinessBecause
- BusinessBecause, a provider of business school information, has highlighted Sungkyunkwan University SKK GSB. BusinessBecause emphasizes that MBA experiences can have a significant impact on personal growth and professional development beyond academics, and especially for international students, choosing a global MBA in Asia can expand their network and enhance their global competitiveness through diverse cultural experiences. Sungkyunkwan University SKK GSB, ranked #1 MBA in Korea, offers a global experience with a high proportion of international students and English-language courses. In addition, students can earn a dual degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and have the opportunity to study at prestigious business schools around the world, including MIT Sloan in the US, EDHEC Business School in France, and IE in Spain. Graduates of Sungkyunkwan University SKK GSB say that SKK GSB MBA has helped them build global careers as global recruiters increasingly value cross-cultural capabilities. Sang-hyun Joo, an alumnus who started his career in Korea before moving to the US and working at Microsoft, Accenture, and Apple, said that the MBA was a great help in building his global competitiveness. Alumna Ga-bi Yoon also said that the strong alumni network, which operates in over 60 countries, has been a valuable asset in her role as head of the Korean branch of a global company. In particular, BusinessBecause reported that Sungkyunkwan University SKK GSB operates a variety of scholarship programs, opening doors for talented individuals who want to experience Korean culture and earn a global MBA in Korea. Original Article in English: https://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-degree/9264/study-mba-in-multiple-continents?sponsored=sungkyunkwan-university-skk-gsb https://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-scholarships/9177/how-an-mba-scholarship-can-unlock-your-career-potential?sponsored=sungkyunkwan-university-skk-gsb
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- 작성일 2024-04-22
- 조회수 4097
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- SKK GSB MBA Programs in the Korea Economic Daily
- SKK GSB Ranks No. 1 in Korea for 13 Consecutive Years in FT Global MBA Rankings SKK GSB Adds Innovative AI-Powered Courses to Curriculum Sungkyunkwan University's SKK Graduate School of Business (SKK GSB) has been ranked the No. 1 MBA program in Korea for 13 consecutive years by the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Rankings. It also ranked 23rd in international experience and 40th in investment value among the top 100 MBA programs in the world. SKK GSB is constantly updating its curriculum and courses to reflect the latest trends in business. Recently, it has added new courses on "Business and Generative AI (AI) Utilization" and "Deep Learning for Business" to its full-time MBA program. These courses will teach students the fundamentals of AI, such as semantic search and image generation, as well as how to apply deep learning to real-world business problems, such as recommendation systems and natural language processing. "AI is both a threat to existing business practices and an opportunity to create unimagined new ones," said Eric Chui, dean of SKK GSB. "AI and business analytics are a natural fit with SKK GSB's mission and vision. We will continue to reimagine and redefine MBA education in Korea." SKK GSB offers a total of six MBA programs: Full-time MBA (1.5 years, daytime), Professional MBA (2 years, evening), Indiana University Kelley-SKK GSB EMBA (1.5 years, weekend), Business Analytics MBA (2 years, Saturday), and AI MBA (2 years, Saturday). All courses except the AI MBA are conducted 100% in English. The Full-time MBA is a representative global MBA program with over 50% international students and 60% international faculty. With the addition of the AI and business analytics tracks, students can also prepare for the future business environment. The program has dual degree tracks with Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and EDHEC Business School in France. Through the 'Dual Degree Fellowship' created last year, outstanding students can receive full domestic tuition to pursue an MBA degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Graduates of the Full-time MBA program have gone on to achieve remarkable success. They have started new careers at leading domestic and foreign companies such as POSCO, McKinsey & Company, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and IBM. SKK GSB is also continuously strengthening its career development programs. It provides personalized career coaching and a variety of programs for students from the moment they enter the program, as well as career services from foreign experts. The Professional MBA, designed for working professionals who find it difficult to attend the Full-time MBA, is also a popular program. Students can develop their business expertise and global capabilities by taking MBA classes two to three times a week after work. After developing basic skills in their field for one year, they can choose a specific field such as marketing or finance to specialize in. The program offers two dual degree tracks: an MBA program at Indiana University's Kelley School in the US and an online Master of Science (MS) in Management program. Many students participate in the dual degree track. The Kelley-SKK GSB EMBA is a joint program between Sungkyunkwan University and Indiana University. Kelley School faculty teach the courses, and graduates receive both schools' MBAs. The Business Analytics MBA program covers business data analysis knowledge and skills from the basics to application. SKK GSB is currently accepting applications for new students in 2024 for each program. You can apply for admission information on the SKK GSB website. Original article in Korean: https://www.hankyung.com/article/2024041895371
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- 작성일 2024-04-19
- 조회수 4203
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- Professor Suil Pae Wins the 54th Maekyung Economist Award
- Professor Pae of SKK GSB Selected as the 54th Maeil Business Newspaper Economist Award Winner. Professor Pae published a paper titled "Career Concerns, Investment, and Management Forecasts" in the world-renowned academic journal "Accounting Review". In this paper, Professor Pae used a mathematical model to analyze how corporate investment and disclosure differ depending on the characteristics of managers. This attracted attention from the academic community and led to the award-winning achievement. According to Professor Pae's analysis, managers with general management skills tend to underinvest, while managers with specialized skills tend to overinvest. In addition, managers with general management skills were less likely to disclose earnings forecast information than managers with specialized skills, especially when their contribution to corporate value was uncertain. Professor Pae's paper attracted attention by focusing on the theoretical verification of the factors that many companies consider when selecting professional managers. The paper revealed that when professional and general management tendencies are taken to extremes, companies make inefficient investment decisions and damage corporate value. Overinvestment is a problem, but underinvestment also prevents quick responses when plant expansion or new construction is necessary, putting companies at a disadvantage in competition. Original article in Korean: https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/10988016
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- 작성일 2024-04-12
- 조회수 5920