Curriculum Vitae
Sukhun Kang
Assistant Professor of Technology Management
University of California, Santa Barbara
sukhunkang@ucsb.edu, sukhunkang.com
Download PDF, Last updated October 2026
Academic Appointment
University of California, Santa Barbara
Assistant Professor of Technology Management
Education
London Business School
Ph.D. in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Dissertation: Essays on Innovation Commercialization
Committee: Gary Dushnitsky (chair), Sungyong Chang, Sendil Ethiraj, Olenka Kacperczyk, Abhishek Nagaraj
University of Southern California
M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Focus: Entrepreneurial strategy)
M.S. in Computer Engineering (Focus: Computer architecture)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.S. in Computer Engineering
Publications
Uncovering Seeding Trials: Examining Non-Scientific Purposes in Clinical Trials
with Ivan Lin and Sungyong Chang, BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 2026, Online First, Journal
Implementation of 21st Century Cures Act Expanded Access Policies Requirements
with Sungyong Chang, Joseph Ross, and Jennifer Miller, Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2021, Journal
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Political Competition: How the Public Sector Helps the Sharing Economy Create Value
with Yongwook Paik and Robert Seamans, Strategic Management Journal, 2019, Journal
Working Papers
When Do Firms Provide Early Access to Investigational Drugs? Evidence from Expanded Access in the Oncology Drug Market 1990–2020
with Sungyong Chang, 2nd Round Revise & Resubmit, SSRN
Revealed Relatedness: How New Mapping Criteria Reshape Organizational Search
2nd Round Revise & Resubmit
- 2023 AOM Annual Meeting Best Paper Proceedings
- 2024 Runner-up for ISA Giarratani Rising Star Award
Bridges or Barriers? How Venture Capital Portfolio Ties Shape Startups’ Market Entry
with Sarath Balachandran and Sungyong Chang, 1st Round Revise & Resubmit, SSRN
- 2025 AOM Annual Meeting Best Paper Proceedings
- 2025 AOM Sumantra Ghoshal Research and Practice Award
- 2025 AOM STR Distinguished Paper Award in Corporate and International Strategy
Data Privacy Regulation and Innovation
with Jennifer Kao, 1st Round Revise & Resubmit, SSRN
- 2026 AOM TIM Best Conference Paper Award, Finalist
- 2026 AOM Annual Meeting Best Paper Proceedings
- 2026 Runner-up for ISA Babbage Best Paper in Industrial Innovation Policy Award
Do Biomedical Researchers Study Topics Related to Their Own Ethnicity? Evidence from the NIH
with Wesley Greenblatt and Young Hou
Selected Work in Progress
Attention Triage in Sequential Innovation
with Sandra Barbosu and Sungyong Chang
- 2026 ISA Best Paper in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award
Orchestrating an Ecosystem of Innovative Startups: Ex-Ante and Ex-Post Actions and Orchestrator’s Performance
with Gary Dushnitsky
Awards & Honors
- Sebastian Hoenen Research Prize, SEI Consortium2026
- AOM TIM Best Conference Paper Award, Finalist2026
- Swildens Family Faculty Fellowship, UCSB2026–2029
- ISA Babbage Best Paper in Industrial Innovation Policy Award, Runner-up2026
- ISA Best Paper in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award2026
- AOM Sumantra Ghoshal Research and Practice Award2025
- AOM STR Distinguished Paper Award in Corporate and International Strategy2025
- University of California Regents’ Junior Faculty Fellowship2025
- ISA Giarratani Rising Star Award, Runner-up2024
- AOM TIM Dissertation Award, Finalist2024
- AOM STR Dissertation Award, Finalist2024
- Sir James Ball PhD Prize, LBS2022
- Organization Science/INFORMS Dissertation Proposal Competition, Finalist (one of 8 selected from 100+ proposals)2022
- Best Reviewer Award, AOM (TIM)2021
- Best Reviewer Award, AOM (ENT)2019
Grants
*indicates co-investigator
- Swildens Family Faculty Fellowship, UCSB2026–2029
- Faculty Career Development Award, UCSB2026
- University of California Regents’ Junior Faculty Fellowship2025
- Faculty Travel Grant, UCSB2023, 2024, 2025
- Proposal Writing for Success (PROWESS) Grant, UCSB2024
- Strategy Research Foundation (SRF) Dissertation Research Grant, SMS2022–2023
- Wheeler Institute for Business and Development Research Grant, LBS2021
- Wheeler Institute for Business and Development Research Grant, LBS*2020
- Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Grant, LBS*2020
- Wheeler Institute for Business and Development Research Grant, LBS*2019
- Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Grant, LBS2019
- Fellowship for Doctoral Students, LBS2016–2023
Invited Presentations
SMS Berlin, People and Organizations Conference, SEI Consortium, AOM Philadelphia
ISA Washington DC, Strategy Science Conference, UC Merced Yosemite Retreat in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of California, Santa Barbara, Technology and Organizations Research Seminar (TORS), Entrepreneurship & Innovation Policy Virtual Seminar Series, Utah Winter Strategy Conference, UT Austin Technology and Entrepreneurship Conference, Duke Fuqua Strategy Junior Faculty Conference, SMS San Francisco, IQVIA Institute Research Forum, University of Washington, West Coast Research Symposium, FDA’s Economics Brownbag, HIWG Research Chat, AOM Copenhagen
Harvard Medical School, Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) Guest Lecture Series, ISA Boston, UCLA, Seminar on Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy, UC Merced, Economics Department Seminar, SoCal Strategy/OT Workshop, Korea University, International Business Department Seminar, Troesh Entrepreneurship Conference, USC, Research Roundtable on Platform Dynamics, International Conference on Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, UCLA, Price Center Workshop in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Oregon, West Coast Research Symposium, AOM Chicago
HIWG Research Chat, ISA Sacramento, UCLA, Price Center Workshop in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Maryland, Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) College of Business, Technology/Organization/Strategy Department Seminar, USC, SoCal Strategy/OT Workshop, University of California, Riverside, Management Department Seminar, University of California, Santa Barbara, Technology and Organizations Research Seminar (TORS), SMS Toronto, AOM Boston
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Workshop on the Organisation, Economics and Policy of Scientific Research, University of Sussex Business School, SPRU Freeman Friday Seminar, University of California, Santa Barbara, Technology Management Seminar, National University of Singapore (NUS), Strategy and Policy Seminar, HIWG Research Chat, Global Conference on Regulatory Science, SMS London, AOM Seattle
CCC Doctoral Conference, Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference, IP & Innovation PhD Seminar, East Coast Doctoral Conference, Wharton Innovation Doctoral Symposium, SMS Virtual, Research Policy Conference, DRUID Annual Meeting, AOM Virtual, IP & Innovation PhD Seminar, Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference
SMS Virtual, People and Organizations Conference, Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference, West Coast Research Symposium
Other Publications, Cases, and Media
with I. Lin and S. Chang, The Conversation, 2026
Behind the Scenes of a YouTube Mega-Hit: Baby Shark, The Pinkfong Company, and What’s Next
with A. Nagaraj, Berkeley Haas Case, 2025
Measuring Biopharmaceutical Innovation in the Modern Era
with S. Barbosu, S. Chang, and F. David, The Incidental Economist, 2025
Conversation with Sukhun Kang on access to medicines
The PI-Squared Initiative (The Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University Podcast), 2025
Why should collaboration enhance oncology drug innovation?
Think at London Business School (The Why Podcast), 2023
WearMon: Reliability Monitoring Using Adaptive Critical Path Testing
with B. Zandian, W. Dweik, T. Punihaole, and M. Annavaram, IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, 2010
Magellan: A Search and Machine Learning-Based Framework for Fast Multi-Core Design Space Exploration and Optimization
with R. Kumar, Design, Automation and Test in Europe, 2008
Teaching
UC Santa Barbara, Technology Management
- Instructor, TMP412, “Technology Strategy,” Master’s-level course2025–PresentRating: 4.7/5 (Winter 2026)
- Instructor, TMP120, “Strategy,” Undergraduate-level course2023–PresentRating: 4.5/5 (Winter 2024); 4.8/5 (Winter 2025); 4.8/5 (Winter 2026)
London Business School, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
- Teaching Assistant, Executive Education, “Developing Strategy for Value Creation”2021
- Grader, C002, “Strategic Management”2017
University of Southern California
- Instructor, EE201, “Introduction to Digital Design”2008–2010
- Teaching Assistant, ACAD182, “Case Studies in Innovation”2015
- Teaching Assistant, EE560, “Digital System Design”2009–2010
- Teaching Assistant, EE557, “Advanced Computer Architecture”2008
- Grader, GSBA550, “Entrepreneurship”2016
Service
Editorial Review Board
- Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal2026–Present
- Organization Science2025–Present
Ad-hoc Refereeing
- California Management Review; Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics; Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice; Journal of Business Venturing; Journal of Management Studies; Journal of Public Economics; Management Science; National Science Foundation; Research Policy; Strategic Management Journal; Strategy Science; Socio-Economic Review
- (Conferences) AOM Annual Meetings; AOM TIM Best Conference Paper Award; AOM TIM Dissertation Award; Organization Science/INFORMS Dissertation Proposal Competition; SMS Conferences
Affiliations
- Health Innovation Lab (HIL), Founder and Co-director2024–Present
- Health Innovation Working Group (HIWG), Co-founder and Organizer2021–Present
- Working Group on Compassionate Use & Preapproval Access (CUPA) at NYU, Member2021–Present
Professional Service
- Strategic Management Society, Rep-at-Large of Knowledge and Innovation IG2026–Present
- Academy of Management, Research Committee of STR Division2025–Present
- Strategic Management Society, Rep-at-Large of Research Methods Community2025–Present
- Industry Studies Association, Giarratani Rising Star Award Committee2025
- International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), Member of Task Force on Funding Models to Support the Spectrum of Rare Disease Research and Development2023–2024
- Working Group on Compassionate Use & Preapproval Access (CUPA) at NYU, Speaker– A panel on Expanded Access at CUPA Webinar2023– A panel on Advanced Topics in Expanded Access at CUPA Webinar2023– A panel on Expanded Access at CUPACON2022
- LBS, Strategy and Entrepreneurship Area PhD Committee2018
Conference Organization
- Co-organizer, Virtual Webinar on Agentic AI in Strategic Management Research, SMS2026
- Co-organizer, PDW on the Frontiers in Organizational Search, AOM2026
- Co-organizer, West Coast Research Symposium, Doctoral Consortium2025
- Co-organizer, Conference Extension on Strategy and Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry, SMS2025
- Co-organizer, Managing Your Dissertation Workshop, AOM2025
- Co-organizer, PDW on Strategy and Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry, AOM2025
- Co-organizer, PDW on Strategy and Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry, AOM2024
- Co-organizer, PDW on the Empirical Research on Organizational Search, AOM2024
- Co-organizer, PDW on Strategy and Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry, AOM2023
- Co-organizer, PDW on the Landscape of Research on Organizational Search, AOM2022
- Co-organizer, Presenter symposium on Strategy in Pharmaceutical Industry, AOM2022
- Co-organizer, Panel symposium on Science and Firm Strategy, AOM2021
- Co-organizer, Presenter symposium on Where Do Ecosystems Come From?, AOM2021
Service to UCSB
- UCSB, Faculty Legislature (Senate) Representative2024–Present
- Technology Management Department, Social Committee2023–Present
- College of Engineering, Faculty Search Committee2023–2024
Mentoring
- AOM, STR Dissertation Consortium Mentor2026
- UCSB, McNair Scholars Program Mentor2025–Present
- UCSB, Research Mentorship Program Mentor2025
- West Coast Research Symposium, Doctoral Consortium Mentor2024–2025
- CancerX, Accelerator Mentor2024–2025
Students Advised
Current PhD
- Masoom Suchdeo (UCSB PhD): Committee Member for Doctoral Thesis
- Mostafa Khoshbash (UCSB PhD): Committee Member for Doctoral Thesis
- Zerin Dong (UC Merced PhD): External Committee Member for Oral Examination
Undergraduates
- Fan Ye (UCSB), Research Assistant, Harvard Medical School
- Janice Jiang (UCSB), MS in Biostatistics, Harvard University
- Sean Wang (UCSB), Data Scientist, Applied Materials
- Ivan Lin (UCSB), Project Engineer, Leed Electric Inc.
- Kuan-I (Brian) Lu (UCSB), Master of Business Analytics, MIT
- Pramukh Shankar (UCSB), MS in Applied Urban Science and Informatics, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
- Carter Kulm (UCSB), MS in Data Science, UT Austin
- Amy Ji (UCSB), IQVIA
Industry Experience
Primer Accelerator
Intern, Los Angeles, CA, USA
City of Glendale
MBA Intern, Glendale, CA, USA
Samsung Electronics
Engineer, Yongin, South Korea
I&C Technology
Research Engineer, Seoul, South Korea
Egghead
Founder, Seoul, South Korea
LG Electronics
Intern, Seoul, South Korea