Professor joins Strategy & International Business Department
Kim Wang joins the Sawyer Business School as an assistant professor of Strategy & International Business.
She is teaching the undergraduate course Strategic Management (SIB 429) this fall. The course covers administrative processes, decision making, and strategic and policy issues from a senior management perspective.
With a background in mechanical engineering and technology management, Wang recently earned her PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
She is excited to make the transition from rural Illinois to downtown Boston. Suffolk’s diverse student population and small class size were especially appealing to Wang.
She was also drawn to Suffolk University because of its dual commitment to academic rigor and high-quality research. She plans to incorporate elements of her own research in the classroom and looks forward to gaining insight from her students. “Students ask good questions and keep me thinking,” she said.
Her areas of expertise include technology and innovation management, competition strategy, entrepreneurship, and the national system of innovation. She is currently researching firms that are considered technologically laggard, or slow to adopt new technology. She is interested in comparing their business strategies and outcomes to technological leaders.
Wang, who is fluent in Chinese, English, and French, has studied and worked all over the world. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Power Mechanical Engineering from the National Tsing-Hua University in Taiwan. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Technology Management from Washington State University, Master of Science in Management from HEC School of Management in France, and Master of Science in Statistics and PhD from the University of Illinois.
Before joining Suffolk, Wang was a lecturer and research assistant at the University of Illinois. She also served as a research assistant for the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center and a quality assurance engineer for Ford Motor Company, both in Taiwan.
Her global experience has taught her the importance of cultural awareness within the context of global business. Oftentimes, it is more important to understand a foreign culture than a foreign language, she explained. “You can always hire an interpreter, but knowing how to handle cultural differences is an essential skill for all business leaders.”