• Ph.D. in Business Administration (Concentration: Service Marketing & Hospitality Management), Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech Univesity, Blacksburg, VA, 2015
• Master of Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2011

Dr. Seontaik Kim is an Associate Professor in the Business Administration Department of the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management School at Morgan State University. Based on his scholarship reputation, fine contributions, and commitment, Dr. Kim is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (JHTR), one of the top-tier journals in his discipline. Dr. Kim received his doctoral degree (Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in service marketing) from Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business and his master's degree (M.S.) from Purdue University. His research interest areas focus on service marketing & management. 

Employing the constituency model of services marketing management as a guiding paradigm, Dr. Kim's research interests comprise three themes: setting service promises (external marketing), delivering service promises (interactive marketing), and enabling service promises (internal marketing). In general, his research has contributed to services marketing management, and in particular, it has improved our understanding of how firms can market to their external audiences (customers) via menus and physical environment designs and how firms can manage their internal customers (service personnel) via effective service encounters to lead to greater financial return and higher encounter satisfaction concerning service promises. He is very skilled in various research methods and statistics, such as experimental and survey designs, qualitative research designs, multivariate statistics, structural equation modeling, and statistical software (e.g., SAS, SPSS, R, LISREL, Amos, Nvivo, etc.). His work has been published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals, such as the International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, and Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, among others. With additional scholarships in diverse publications, he has successfully obtained competitive research grants from the Darden Restaurants Corporation, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Virginia Tech, Purdue University, and Morgan State University, among others. He has also received the best paper awards and outstanding reviewer awards from prestigious conferences and leading journals, such as the International CHRIE conference and the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. Further, he has acquired certifications in his field and online education, such as Hotel Industry Analytics, awarded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute, Quality Matters (QM) Master Reviewer, QM Program Reviewer, and QM Teaching Online Contract Facilitator.  

Dr. Kim has taught courses at the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate levels in business administration and hospitality management and has received nearly perfect teaching evaluation ratings from the students. In addition, Dr. Kim consistently conducts innovative research to inform and enrich his teaching and maintain his expertise in service marketing and management. He has actively engaged in the academic community as a board member and a reviewer with nearly all of the top-ranked research journals and international conferences in the hospitality & tourism management discipline. He has consistently disseminated relevant research findings and innovations through scholarly journals, presentations at academic conferences, and professional associations. Dr. Kim is a co-chair of the undergraduate assessment committee for AACSB, a board member, and a chapter advisor of renowned professional associations such as the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE) and the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH). 

Research Interests:

• Service Marketing & Management
• Hospitality Management
• Consumer Behavior

Selected Refereed Publications:

• Topcuoglu, E., Kim, H., Kim, S., & Kim, S. (2022). Green message strategies and green brand image in a hotel context. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 31(3), 311-325. [2022 Impact Factor: 12.5, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A” rank].  
• Kim, S., Kim, P. B., & Lee, G. (2021). Predicting hospitality employees’ safety performance behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 93. [2022 Impact Factor: 11.7, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A*” rank].
• Kim, S., & Magnini, V. P. (2020). The impacts of descriptive food names on consumer impressions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 88. [2022 Impact Factor: 11.7, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A*” rank].
• Kim, S. S., Kim, P. B., Kim, S., & Kruesi, M. A. (2020). An examination of the progressive effects of frontline employees' brand perceptions on desirable service outcomes. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 84. [2022 Impact Factor: 11.7, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A*” rank]
• Kim, S., & Lee, S. (2020). Influences of background colors and calorie information disclosure on consumers’ psychological process. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 23(3), 228-245. [2022 Impact Factor: 4.8, SCOPUS Index]
• Kim, B.P., Kim, S., Kim, S.S., & Kim, J. (2017). Organizational drivers and outcomes of work adaptability, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 26(3) 276-296. [2022 Impact Factor: 12.5, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A” rank].  
• Mathe-Soulek, K., Scott-Halsell, S., Kim, S., & Krawczyk, M. (2017). Psychological capital in the quick service restaurant industry: A study of unit-level performance, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 41(7), 823-845. [2022 Impact Factor: 5.0, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A” rank].
• Magnini, V.P. & Kim, S. (2016). The influences of restaurant menu font style, background color, and physical weight on consumers' perceptions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 53, 42-48. [2022 Impact Factor: 12.5, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A*” rank].
• Kim, S. & Magnini, V.P. (2016). Prompting restaurant diners to eat healthy: Atmospheric and menu-related Factors, Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 19(3), 236-254. [2022 Impact Factor: 4.8, SCOPUS Index].
• Kim, S., Kim, I., & Hyun, S.S. (2016). First-class in-flight services and advertising effectiveness: Antecedents of customer-centric innovativeness and brand loyalty in the United States (US) Airline Industry, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(1), 118-140. [2023 Impact Factor:8.3, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC)  Journal “A” rank].
• Kim, S., Miao, L., & Magnini, V.P. (2016). Consumers’ emotional responses and emotion regulation strategies during multistage waiting in restaurants, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 40(3), 291-318. [2022 Impact Factor: 5.0, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal “A” rank].

Courses Taught:

• BUAD 702: Foundations of Scientific Research (Ph.D.)
• HOMG 625: Management of Lodging & Resort Operations (Master)
• HOMG 600: Principles & Practices of Food Service Management (Master)
• MKTG 345: Services Marketing (Undergraduate)
• MKTG 335: Consumer Behavior (Undergraduate)
• MKTG 331: Principles of Marketing (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 486: Hospitality & Tourism Marketing (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 412: Meeting & Convention Management (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 325: Rooms Division Management (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 322: Principles of Hotel & Restaurant Management (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 292: Food Service Management & Operations (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 290: Travel & Tourism Operations (Undergraduate)
• HOMG 101: Introduction to the Hospitality and Tourism Industry (Undergraduate)