Three theses by YSB graduates were selected during the 2019 fall semester as outstanding papers in the humanities and social sciences department of Yonsei University. Of all the papers recognized by the university, nine were from the humanities and social sciences department, three of which were from the YSB, proving the exceptional research competence of the YSB graduate and doctoral students.

Winners of the awards were doctoral graduates Jeong Won Lee and Ju Hyoung Park and MS graduate Sanghwa Kim.

» Ph.D. Jeong Won Lee (Management major, Adviser: Professor Eun-Mi Chang)

[Thesis Title]

Employee-Civic Multiple Identities in the Workplace and Positive Change-Oriented Behavior

[Thesis Summary]

Because of the decline in jobs lasting lifetimes and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life, employees' nonwork identities have begun playing a significant role in their careers. The study explored the effects of
employees' "civic identity" as members of society and as citizens contributing
to the community. In particular, the study examined the impact of the relationship
between the employee-civic identities on their job engagement, role expansion,
and positive organizational change efforts.

Research in the nation’s large companies and in venture companies showed there are three types of employee-citizen identity experiences. In one, employees expressed both identities together harmoniously (integrated-harmonized type); in a second, employees experienced a collision/conflict between their two identities (integrated-conflicted type); in the third, the two identities were separate to the degree that one was associated solely with the employee at work and the other solely with his or her role as a citizen outside the organization (separated type).The more harmonious the two identities were, the higher the individual’s job engagement and the more effort he or she made for positive organizational changes through role expansion. In contrast, the more conflicted employees felt, the less likely these effects occurred. When the two identities were considered completely separated, efforts on behalf of the organization were considerably reduced compared with those of employees categorized as the integrated-conflicted types. Perhaps the adverse effect of “feeling like a misfit” in the workplace is significant.

Therefore, organizations need to consider employees’ civic identity in human resources management and create an environment that increases harmony between these identities and reduces employees’ sense of conflicts/separation between them.

» Ph.D. Ju Hyoung Park (Accounting major, Adviser: Professor Kyung-Tae Lee)

[Thesis Title]

Incentive plan based on adjusted accounting measures in CEO annual bonus contracts: Why do firms use adjusted measures for performance evaluation?

[Thesis Summary]

The paper reviewed and analyzed the use of accounting performance measurements in annual compensation contracts of top executives in S&P 500 companies in the United States. In the United States, many companies exclude certain items from their accounting performance measurements,
using different methods and forms (hereinafter called adjusted metrics)
for compensation contracts.

Based on this, this study empirically analyzed companies’ usage behavior, determinants, and effects of using adjusted metrics. The analysis results verified that companies use adjusted metrics to better monitor executives' efforts, reduce the distortion of accounting performance, and increase the informativity of metrics. Moreover, by using adjusted metrics, companies can reduce measurement variability and increase performance-based compensation while alleviating profit manipulation by top executives. As a result, companies can establish more effective compensation contracts and more efficient objectives. This means that adjusted metrics are being used in compensation contracts to mitigate agency problems.

This study explained the reasons why companies are still actively using short-term accounting performance measures, although they are criticized for causing agency problems in the short term. It also provided meaningful managerial insights by suggesting the practical role of compensation contracts in motivating and controlling top executives.

» MS Sanghwa Kim (Marketing major, Adviser: Professor Jeong-Hye Choi)

[Thesis Title]

Investigating "Touch" Effects on Digital Marketing

[Thesis Summary]

Human sensibilities and interactions are gradually decreasing in the online distribution and e-commerce market, which features digital marketing and the latest technology. In particular, online-oriented distribution companies are directly experiencing the impact of this change because of the absence of offline contact points, where they can interact with customers.

This study proposed "high-touch" marketing to respond to this and verified the practical effects of the strategy by analyzing consumer behavior data based on field trials. "High-touch" is a concept first proposed by American futurist John Naisbitt that incorporates humanistic strategic activities and emphasizes companies' senses of balance in a technology-intensive environment. For example, a pure online distributor can enclose handwritten letters along with consumers' orders so that consumers can sense human emotions and sympathy via online interactions. This study was conducted through field experimentation, directly examining how consumers' subsequent purchases change after implementing the proposed strategy. And it used regression analysis to analyze the observations. The results showed that high-touch marketing increases consumers' purchases in general, and the effect was found to be especially significant in groups with high brand loyalty. Additionally, the same effect also occurred in consumers’ online browsing behavior.

In conclusion, this study emphasized that human sensibility is still crucial in a business environment in which the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and digital marketing, are in the spotlight. The study further suggested that high-touch marketing can be a very effective and practical strategy for online distribution companies.