Jisu Kim

Feature article written by Carol Jones – Updated (08/16/2022) – .

Jisu Kim, a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Washington, was a Doctoral Student Liaison until 2022.

Before joining her doctoral program, Jisu was an IT consultant for the U.S. federal government where she was the liaison between customers and software developers. Jisu is now a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington. Her interest in marketing began as an information systems undergrad when she took a marketing elective and was won over by the idea of studying both the consumer’s and firm’s perspectives. She also credits her business school professor father for exposing her to the world of marketing.

Jisu has main interests in relationship dynamics, customer loyalty, retail marketing, online relationships, and customer privacy because these areas inform firms on the best ways to dynamically manage customer relationships while accounting for customer privacy concerns. She expects to see more research on how marketers will win back customers after the pandemic, or any relationship-disrupting events.

“I am fortunate to have many academic role models, but one of the most impactful role models is (inevitably and genuinely) my adviser, Rob Palmatier. His passion to bridge the gap between marketing research and practice is what I aspire to have.”

Jisu is off to a successful start having already received the Davison Award for best paper in the Journal of Retailing twice (2019 and 2021). She was also the RAPSIG’s 2020 winter AMA PhD student award recipient, which she says was a very proud moment for her as she has published several retail articles such as her research on loyalty programs (JAMS 2021), online platform relationships (JR 2018), and customer data privacy (JR 2020). If she were to give advice to PhD students based on what she knows now, she would suggest having a 5-year plan to navigate your PhD program that at least maps out major milestones that can be celebrated when accomplished. To celebrate her own accomplishments, Jisu indulges in good cupcakes and retail therapy by browsing in-stores or online.

When Jisu is not working, she likes to try new recipes or restaurants, listen to all kinds of music, and explore nature. She has also developed a new skill of being able to identify multiple types of heavy machinery due to her toddler boy’s teachings. I’m sure that will come in super handy for her next paper.