Unveiling Valuable Insights Amid Uncertainty

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

Dr. HoWook Shin, an Assistant Professor of Management, has dedicated his research to exploring firms’ behaviors and performance in the face of uncertainty and information asymmetry. During his Ph.D. studies, he recognized that these two factors are critical considerations in entrepreneurship and business management. Essentially, individuals make decisions and take actions without full knowledge of what they do not know or should know.

Since this realization, Dr. Shin has pursued research projects investigating this topic in various contexts. In one of his early papers, he and his co-authors proposed methods for establishing a learning organization capable of navigating uncertain business environments through continuous learning and improvement. He has also examined how multinational corporations respond to economic crises, the impact of small grants on the performance of microbusinesses in tsunami-affected countries, and how firms’ reliance on bribery influences the likelihood of betrayal by bribed government officials.

Recently, Dr. Shin has broadened his research interests to include diverse types of organizations, such as newly public firms, family businesses, and professional sports teams. In these projects, he has explored how organizations act to reduce uncertainty and information asymmetry, how they strategically prepare for an uncertain future, and how their decisions, made without knowing the future outcome, affect their subsequent performance.

The world has experienced a series of disruptive events, including the 2008 financial crisis, natural disasters, the trade war between the United States and China, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These events have heightened uncertainty in the business environment. Consequently, firms are struggling to navigate these challenging and uncertain circumstances. Dr. Shin hopes that his research on how firms are affected by and strategically respond to uncertainty and information asymmetry will provide valuable insights for businesses and the community.