Hi, I'm Seoyoung Kim [suh-young-kim]. I am an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business in New York City. My research investigates: How should marketing strategy evolve in response to profound societal changes? I focus on areas like digital transformation, brand activism, and social media ethics using advanced quantitative methods to find answers in complex data.
My research centers on the dynamic interplay between marketing and society. I investigate how firms’ strategies adapt—or should adapt—to paradigm shifts like the rise of brand activism and sweeping digital transformation. To tackle these questions, I leverage a range of structured and unstructured data, applying advanced quantitative techniques to generate robust insights. My work has appeared in leading journals such as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the International Journal of Advertising, and the Journal of Service Management.
In the classroom, I bring this focus on real-world relevance to my students. I developed the Digital Marketing course at Fordham, which is now a Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) course. Through this program, my students apply their skills to solve challenges for local community partners, making a tangible impact while they learn.
Ph.D. in Business Administration (Track: Marketing), University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, United States (2022)
Dissertation Committee Chair: Sundar Bharadwaj
*Best Thesis Proposal Award, Korea University Business School B.B.A. in Business Administration (1st Major), Korea University, Korea University Business School, South Korea (2015)
M.S. in Marketing, Korea University, Korea University Business School, South Korea (2017)
B.A. in Fashion Design & Merchandising (2nd Major), Korea University, South Korea (2015)
“Can TikTok Level the Playing Field in the Music Industry?: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from a Major Label’s Music Removal” with Peng Vincent Zhang, under review at Journal of Business Research.
“Communicating Brand Activism: Discourse-ethical Principles from a Habermasian Perspective” with Sundar Bharadwaj, under review at Journal of Business Ethics.
“Talk like Mill, Kant, or Aristotle?: Articulating Corporate Virtue on Social Media” (Targeting: Journal of Business Ethics).
“Brand Activism and Consumer Responses” with Sundar Bharadwaj (Targeting: Journal of Marketing).
“Going Digital to Conform and Perform: Learning Logics Underpinning Digital Advertising Spending” with Sundar Bharadwaj & Koen Pauwels (Targeting: Journal of Marketing Research).
“Engaging for Good: Communicating the Sustainable Development Goals” with Sundar Bharadwaj & Omar Rodríguez-Vilá (Targeting: TBD).
“How to Communicate “Goodness”: Evidence from 15 Years of B-Corps’ Instagram Posts”
ISMS Marketing Science Conference, June 2025, Washington D.C.
“Can a Social Media Platform Truly Benefit Marginalized Music Artists?”
Gabelli Responsible Business Workshop, December 2024, New York, NY.
“Brand Communication of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Social Media and Consumer Responses” with Sundar Bharadwaj
ISMS Marketing Science Conference, June 2024, Sydney, Australia.
ISMS Marketing Science on DEI Conference, March 2023, Dallas, TX.
“Brand Activism and Consumer Responses” with Sundar Bharadwaj
Global Fashion Management Conference, July 2024, Milan, Italy.
AMA Winter Academic Conference, February 2024, St. Pete’s Beach, FL.
AMA Winter Academic Conference, February 2023, Nashville, TN.
ISMS Marketing Science Conference, June 2022, Virtual.
AMA Summer Academic Conference, August 2021, Virtual.
Theory + Practice in Marketing Conference, June 2021, Virtual.
ISMS Marketing Science Conference, June 2021, Virtual.
“Learning Logics Underpinning Digital Advertising Spending” with Sundar Bharadwaj and Koen Pauwels
Marketing Strategy Meets Wall Street Conference, August 2022, Chicago, IL.
EMAC 2021 Doctoral Colloquium, May 2021, Virtual.
Southeast Marketing Symposium, April 2021, Virtual.
AMA Winter Academic Conference, February 2021, Virtual.
Doctoral Research Showcase - Decision Science Institute Annual Conference, November 2020, Virtual.
ISMS Marketing Science Conference, June 2020, Virtual.
AMA Winter Academic Conference, February 2019, Austin, TX.
“A Meta-Analysis of Multichannel Distribution Effectiveness” with Peng Vincent Zhang and Anindita Chakravarty
AMA Winter Academic Conference, February 2019, Austin, TX.
Southeast Marketing Symposium, January 2019, Memphis, TN.
“Advertising’s Influence on Perceived Luxuriousness of a Premium Private Label” with Sungkyu Lee, Jong-Ho Lee, and Charles R. Taylor
Global Fashion Management Conference, July 2017, Vienna, Austria.
AMA Summer Academic Conference, August 2016, Atlanta, GA.
Global Marketing Conference, July 2016, Hong Kong, China.
The Mystique of Luxury Brands Conference, May 2016, Shanghai, China.
Guided by the principle of relevance, my teaching treats marketing as a useful framework for making sense of our daily world. By connecting core theories to contemporary culture, I aim to foster genuine analytical curiosity, equipping students to decode the marketplace with a more critical eye.
Digital Marketing (Undergraduate)
Instructor of Record, Fordham University
*Self-developed course
*Community Engaged Learning (CEL) course since Fall 2025
*Semesters taught: Fall 2022 – present
International Marketing (Undergraduate)
Instructor of Record, University of Georgia
*Semesters taught: Spring 2020, Spring 2021 & Spring 2022
The Excellent Award, Global Alliance of Marketing & Management Associations Doctoral Dissertation Competition, 2024
Responsible Business Thought Leadership Conference Fellow, Gabelli School of Business, 2023
Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Georgia, 2022
Best Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Award - Runner-up, Society for Marketing Advances, 2021
HigherEd SIG Doctoral Student Grant, AMA, 2021
Fellow, ISMS Doctoral Consortium, 2021
Fellow, EMAC Doctoral Colloquium, 2021
John Munro & Flavel McMichael Godfrey Graduate Scholarship, University of Georgia, 2020-2021
Fellow, Marketing Strategy Consortium, 2020
Sawtooth Software Grant, Sawtooth software, 2020
Pittard Distinguished Ph.D. Fellowship, University of Georgia, 2019-2022
Virgil D. Cover Scholarship, University of Georgia, 2019-2021
Korea University Southeast Alumni Scholarship, KU Southeast Alumni Association, 2019
Best Paper of the Track Award – “Inter-firm Complexity”, Winter AMA Conference, 2019
William O. Bearden Doctoral Student Research Award, Southeast Marketing Symposium, 2019
Best Thesis Proposal Award, Korea University Business School, 2016
A little bit about myself (apart from research):
- I (try to) take full advantage of our Lincoln Center campus by frequently attending the New York Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet.
- My all-time favorite classical piece is the third movement of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27, though honestly, I’d listen to Glenn Gould play just about anything. The way he plays a piece he famously disliked so beautifully is its own kind of inspiration for getting through the not-so-fun parts of research.
- My default happy place is McNally Jackson Books, which I suspect has something to do with growing up in a home where the living room was a library.
- In college, I worked as a contributor for Korea’s oldest fashion magazine and as a docent for art exhibitions like the Musée d’Art Modern’s show at the Art Sonje Center.
- I have a weekly flower-arranging ritual, which is documented on Instagram.
- My long-term dream is to collect art from emerging artists. My brother took the aesthetic gene more seriously and now runs his own film studio.
- When I'm not working, you can often find me at Equinox.
- I enjoy treating my body as a "lab of one", which currently involves experimenting with wellness research and the art of maximizing protein intake.
- When it's time to unwind, my taste swings from the high-brow to the admittedly mediocre—from sharp social satires to a perfectly predictable crime-mystery show.
- I also practice ballet from time to time, a passion where my enthusiasm will likely always outpace my skill.
Seoyoung Kim
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University
140 W 62nd St, Room #317, New York, NY 10023