Innovision Fall 2018

FALL 2018 | 29 SABBATICAL What did you study/research while on sabbatical? I studied the diffusion pattern of sedan cars across different countries. When a potential buyer is making a decision on purchasing a sedan, is the buyer influenced mostly by individual desires and needs or the expectations and suggestions from family or peers? With 40-years of sedan sales among different countries, I analyzed these consumer behaviors to investigate whether there were similarities and differences in these patterns across different cultures and economies. My goal is to create a model which could help auto makers to predict their future sales in a particular country with the given country statistics. Did you work with anyone for your research? I have a co-worker from Wisconsin University, Maxwell Hsu. I do the analysis. He’s a marketing professor, so, he collects the data. Did you do any traveling during this time? I spent three weeks in Europe with my wife. I joined a bus tour to visit nine countries in 14 days. The tour itself was a good experience, wonderful but, I may not do that again because you need to visit nine countries in 14 days. So, that means there will be a lot of travel. I wish I could have stayed in Rome for five days; we only stayed there two nights. You stand on the Coliseum and it was built 2,000 years ago and it’s still standing. And on top of that, it’s amazing. What did you study/ research while on sabbatical? I proposed pursuing a public relation certificate offered by Clarion University. It was a 15-credit program that I was pursuing. I started a year and a half ahead and during my sabbatical I was able to finish and complete the certificate. I was pretty much taking classes and enjoying myself. Did you travel anywhere? If so, where? Because it was an online course, I was able to travel. I spent eight months in Korea. The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was held there and I did go visit the site. When I went back to Korea, I was able to go visit the schools that I attended and meet professors, advisors, and my mentors. I was able to do short mini lectures for undergrads within the sports management major. What are some of the things you will be able to do with your certificate? The reason why I pursued this was to broaden the field that I do research. I just started a research project. I’m sure you’ve been exposed to the Collin Kaepernick Nike ad. In regards to that, myself, Dr. Kang in the Business Administration department and Dr. Kim, who is on sabbatical at the moment, are collaborating on working where it taps not solely on public relations, but it is a combination of public relations, communications and marketing. We are investigating how the ad is being perceived and how the effectiveness of the ad can be influenced by endorsers. This is research that will lead to a presentation and publication. GARY CHAO SOOJIN KIM