Hyojin Kim, a February 2019 Ph.D. graduate, has won the award for the best research paper by a graduate student with her pioneering theoretical exploration of supply-based sharing with competitors.

She followed up on her best paper award with a presentation in May that earned her the title of best presenter in Yonsei Humanities and Social Science. Kim, a member of the entering class of 2013 in Operations Management, also won the best presenter award at the spring meeting of the Korean Production and Operations Management Society.

Kim’s research paper and presentations have been based on her doctoral dissertation on the topic of “Supply Base Overlap with Competitors and Its Impact on Financial Performance: Evidence from U.S. Public Firms in Forbes Global 2000.” Currently she is further developing her dissertation for submission to journals and conducting follow-up studies with various dependent or control variables to further explain the theoretical concept of supply chain sharing with competitors.

Her dissertation is considered a valuable contribution to her field because it established the concept of supply chain sharing for the first time and empirically analyzed its impact on the short- and long-term financial performance of purchasing companies. Her analysis used global supply network data based on three global databases (FactSet Supply Chain Relationship, Compustat Fundamental Annual, and Forbes Global 2000).

We asked Hyojin Kim how she felt about winning the best research paper prize. "It means a lot to me and my future research because of the many doors it has opened for communication with other people,” she said. She expressed her gratitude to Professor Dae-Sik Hur and members of her dissertation committee and others who had helped on her journey to become an independent researcher.

Kim says she spends a lot of time thinking about what goes into becoming an ideal researcher whose findings can benefit society. She says awareness of social problems helped her find her research direction. She thinks it is also a technique that can help others who are searching for a research direction. However, she advises younger students considering a career path in research to give the decision serious thought. "First, take your time to think seriously about your life as a researcher and whether you feel happy with doing research."