Minjae Kim’s research addresses when, why, and how social actors (e.g., individuals, firms) coordinate their actions. Even strategic actions among competitors often require some degree of coordination, while cooperative efforts may also fail to align. Without effective coordination, well-intentioned actions may lead to unintended macro-level consequences that ultimately undermine their original goals. Kim examines these dynamics across a variety of domains—including organizations, entrepreneurship, politics, and cultural markets—to develop and test theories of social interaction and coordination.
For instance, one of his ongoing projects examines how entrepreneurs coordinate with employees to retain them within startups. Another examines how police respond to accountability initiatives, sometimes curbing and other times reinforcing their existing behaviors. Another project explains why moderate voters may support extreme candidates, a pattern increasingly evident in contemporary U.S. politics. His research has appeared in American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, and Organization Science, among others. It has also been recognized by best paper awards and designations from American Sociological Association and Academy of Management. He was selected as one of Poets & Quants Top 50 Undergraduate Professors in 2022.
Before joining Yale, Kim was an assistant professor of management (organizational behavior) at Rice University. He was previously a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and received his doctoral degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and bachelor’s from University of Chicago. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a consultant for local governments.
