Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour
Director of the MPhil in Strategy, Marketing, Operations and Organisational Behaviour Programme
BS (Yonsei University), BA, MS (Seoul National University), PhD (University of Toronto)
My research examines creativity, culture creation, and artificial intelligence (AI) within organisational and medical contexts. In studying creativity, I explore how work-relevant information, such as feedback and information structure, influences creative outcomes. For culture creation, I investigate why leaders frequently struggle to build functional cultures and how organisations can foster them effectively. My work on AI focuses on optimising human-AI collaboration in the workplace.
My work has been published in top academic journals, such as Academy of Management Journal and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. I currently serve on the editorial board of Academy of Management Journal.
Recruitment of Volunteer Research Assistants
Dr Kim is currently recruiting volunteers who can help his research. For more information, please email Dr Kim.
Professional experience
Dr Yeun Joon Kim is also an Associate Professor (Principal Investigator) of the Institute of Metabolic Science, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge.
Dr Yeun Joon Kim has collaborated with various organisations to enhance their work processes, foster functional cultures and develop effective leadership. He has partnered with firms such as Invesco, Schroders, Ninety One, Border to Coast, and LGIM to explore diversity, equality and inclusion. At the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Metabolic Science, he assists in diagnosing and cultivating functional cultures. Dr Kim also works with Kyobo Lifeplanet to establish organisational visions, restructure operations and devise marketing strategies based on segmentation, targeting and positioning. He serves as an Independent Director at Kyobo Lifeplanet. Earlier in his career, Dr Kim was a software engineer at Samsung Electronics, developing mobile phone software.
Publications
Selected publications
- Kim, Y.J., Toh, S.M. and Baik, S. (2022) “Culture creation and change: making sense of the past to inform future research agendas.” Journal of Management, 48(6): 1503-1547 (DOI: 10.1177/01492063221081031)
- Luan, Y and Kim Y.J. (2022) “An integrative model of new product evaluation: a systematic investigation of perceived novelty and product evaluation in the movie industry.” PLoS ONE, 17(3): e0265193 (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265193)
- Kim, Y.J. and Meeker, A. (2020) “A subordinate’s criticism makes you more creative.” Harvard Business Review, Mar-Apr
- Kim, Y.J. and Kim, J. (2020) “Does negative feedback benefit (or harm) recipient creativity? The role of the direction of feedback flow.” Academy of Management Journal, 63(2): 584–612 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.1196)
- Kim, Y.J. and Toh, S.M. (2019) “Stuck in the past? The influence of a leader’s past cultural experience on group culture and positive and negative group deviance.” Academy of Management Journal, 62(3): 944–969 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.1322)
- Kim, Y.J. and Zhong, C.B. (2017) “Ideas rise from chaos: information structure and creativity.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 138: 15-27 (DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.10.001)
Journal articles
- Luan, Y. and Kim, Y.J. (2024) “Is helping my job? The bright and dark sides of helping-inclusive HR practice for employee helping.” Academy of Management Proceedings, 2024(1) (DOI: 10.5465/AMPROC.2024.32bp)
- Grossmann, I.E.A. and Kim, Y.J. (2023) “Insights into accuracy of social scientists’ forecasts of societal change.” Nature Human Behaviour, 7: 484-501 (DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01517-1)
- Kim, Y.J., Toh, S.M. and Baik, S. (2022) “Culture creation and change: making sense of the past to inform future research agendas.” Journal of Management, 48(6): 1503-1547 (DOI: 10.1177/01492063221081031)
- Luan, Y and Kim Y.J. (2022) “An integrative model of new product evaluation: a systematic investigation of perceived novelty and product evaluation in the movie industry.” PLoS ONE, 17(3): e0265193 (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265193)
- Tierney, W., Kim, Y.J. et al (2022) “A creative destruction approach to replication: implicit work and sex morality across cultures.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 93: 104060 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104060)
- Kim, Y.J. and Kim, J. (2020) “Does negative feedback benefit (or harm) recipient creativity? The role of the direction of feedback flow.” Academy of Management Journal, 63(2): 584–612 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.1196)
- Kim, Y.J. and Meeker, A. (2020) “A subordinate’s criticism makes you more creative.” Harvard Business Review, Mar-Apr
- Kim, Y.J. and Toh, S.M. (2019) “Stuck in the past? The influence of a leader’s past cultural experience on group culture and positive and negative group deviance.” Academy of Management Journal, 62(3): 944–969 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.1322)
- Kim, Y.J. and Zhong, C.B. (2017) “Ideas rise from chaos: information structure and creativity.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 138: 15-27 (DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.10.001)
- Kim, Y.J. and Zhong, C.B. (2016) “Moral reasoning and creativity.” Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, 2016(1) (DOI: 10.5465/ambpp.2016.19)
Book chapters
- Kim, Y.J., McRuer, G. and Hirsh, J.B. (2020) “Creativity in the workplace.” In: Carducci, B.J. (ed.) The Wiley encyclopedia of personality and individual differences: vol.iv: Clinical, applied, and cross-cultural research. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, pp.465-470
Awards and honours
- Winner, Outstanding Practical Implications for Management Paper Award, Academy of Management Annual Proceedings (Organizational Behavior Division), 2024
- Collaboration with Institute for Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge for the Wellcome Award, 2023
- Winner, Faculty Transnational Research Award, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2020
- Finalist, Alvah Chapman Outstanding Dissertation Award, 2020
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2017-2018
- Finalist, EURAM Most Inspirational Paper Award, 2017
- Winner, Samsung Economic Research Institute Best Paper Awards, 2016
- James Paopst Fellowship, 2015-2016
- National Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Research Scholarship, Korean Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF), 2012-2013
News and insights
Leadership and organisational behaviour
Does formalising help at work lower its quality?
Firms need to balance the pros and cons of formal HR policies that include helping co-workers as part of performance evaluation, says award-winning research from Cambridge Judge Business School.
Organisations should follow a four-stage model for creating functional cultures that includes analysing different "environmental" changes, says a study co-authored by Yeun Joon Kim of Cambridge Judge Business School.
As the Academy Awards approach, a new study from Cambridge Judge Business School, based on nearly 50,000 customer reviews, questions just how 'novel' moviegoers really want their films to be.
Media coverage
The Economist | 10 October 2024
When workplace bonuses backfire
Research by Dr Yeun Joon Kim, Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour, into workplace helping is featured in an Economist article about incentive systems.
University of Cambridge | 14 October 2024
News briefing
A study co-authored by Yingyue (Luna) Luan and Yeun Joon Kim (Cambridge Judge Business School), which found that firms need to balance the pros and cons of formal HR policies that include helping co-workers as part of performance evaluation, is featured in The Economist.
Financial Times | 30 September 2024
Business School Insider newsletter
Does formalising help at work lower its quality? Employers need to balance the pros and cons of formal HR policies that include helping co-workers as part of performance evaluation, according to a study by Cambridge Judge Business School’s Dr Yeun Joon Kim.
The Economist | 14 May 2022
The woolliest words in business
Harvard Business Review | 1 May 2021
New leaders bring unwanted cultural baggage with them
Management Today | 1 May 2020
Encourage employees to criticise you if you want to be more creative
Harvard Business Review, 19 February 2020
A subordinate’s criticism makes you more creative
Consumer Affairs, 6 December 2019
Bosses’ reactions could impact if workers speak up
The Irish Times, 20 September 2019
How to ensure your company is not stuck in the past
The Economic Times of India, 5 September 2019
‘Stuck in the past? New CEOs often try to transfer previous company’s culture’
Consumer Affairs, 4 August 2019
Ethical leadership in the workplace can create a positive work environment
Forbes, 9 June 2019
Four new ideas for giving feedback that gets positive results
Consumer Affairs, 4 May 2019
Being open to criticism at work can be beneficial to creativity
Ze.tt., 24 April 2019
We need a more cozy culture for criticism at work
Hindustan Times, 9 April 2019
Employees should be receptive to criticism to stay creative
The Economic Times, 8 April 2019
Negative feedback does more good than harm, may help you become creative
Thrive Global, 5 April 2019
Three ways to use criticism to boost your creativity
Science Daily, 4 April 2019
To keep the creative juices flowing, employees should be receptive to criticism
Inverse, 7 July 2018
Don’t get along with your new boss? Here’s the most likely reason why
The Globe and Mail, 6 April 2017
How Lego can get employees thinking outside the blocks
Science Daily, 22 March 2017
Too much structured knowledge hurts creativity, shows study
The Globe and Mail, 10 February 2017
The nine habits of unhealthy managers