Kyoung Yong Kim Wins 2016 Clark Award at ILA Atlanta
Kyoung Yong Kim was presented with the 2016 Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award on Friday, Nov. 4 at ILA’s 2016 annual global conference for his paper, “Supportive Leadership: A Conditional Process Model Linking Leadership, Climate, and Horizontal Relationships Between Subordinates.” Kyoung is currently an assistant professor of the Department of Management at the City University of Hong Kong College of Business.
In addition to the award itself, Kyong received a $1,000 prize, a one-year membership in ILA, travel expenses and a complimentary registration to ILA Atlanta where he had the opportunity to present his work in a concurrent session at the conference. The award is named in honor of Kenneth E. Clark, the distinguished scholar and former Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and recognizes the best unpublished student paper on leadership or leadership development. The ILA is pleased to partner with the Center for Creative Leadership on this award.
According to Kyoung, “supportive leadership is essentially about the extent to which leaders seek to satisfy subordinates’ needs and preferences. In the literature on supportive leadership, although much research has investigated its effects on supervisor-subordinate relationships, little attention has been paid on the ways in which supportive leadership affects horizontal relationships between subordinates. To fill the gap, a conditional process model was developed by which supportive leadership influences team-member exchange (TMX) via supportive team climate, and the relationship between TMX and individual employee’s job performance is moderated by group-mean TMX. A total of four studies were conducted to test the model. The results provide compelling evidence that supportive leadership via supportive team climate enhances TMX, which in turn, improves individual employee’s job performance especially in a group with low group-mean TMX.”
Jennifer Martineau at CCL shared that there were 56 submissions from nine different countries this year. While many of the submissions contained excellent scholarship, they were “impressed with Kyoung’s research conceptually, methodologically, and in terms of its implications for both research and practice.... It was clear that Kyoung is able to conceptualize research that is relevant to the field and has significant implications for research as well.” Whereas some papers were strong in one or two areas, Kyoung’s paper embodied all of these critical components.
Martineau was honored to present the award and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Kyoung. "He is extremely committed to his work, possessing a fresh curiosity for the field and the work of others — two traits that make him a delightful young professional.” She looks forward to the submissions this year and encourages students in all phases of their educational process to submit their research.
We took the opportunity to speak with Kyoung about the Clark Award and his experience at ILA Atlanta:
Kyoung, how did you learn about this award and opportunity?
One day when I was a doctoral student, I received an email about the annual Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award from my advisor, Dr. Leanne Atwater. I had the supportive leadership paper, but at that time I was not sure if the paper would be a good candidate for the award. I talked about the award opportunity with Leanne and she encouraged me to apply. She was very supportive of me, and, actually, she served as a model for supportive leadership.
What was the most memorable part of the ILA 2016 Atlanta conference for you?
My favorite part was the plenary sessions that hundreds of people attended. The most memorable moment was when I was called up to the podium for the award in the plenary session. I stood by Jennifer Martineau who explained the award and introduced me as the awardee. I accepted the award and smiled for the photos. That was it. But to people like me, an introvert, these simple “tasks” were not easy at all. In fact, I remember that I was sweating a lot at the podium!
How did your presentation at ILA Atlanta go?
It was very similar to presenting research at any other academic conference. But what made the ILA conference unique was the interesting mix of audience: academics (tenure-track and non-tenure track) and practitioners. In the session, people asked many interesting questions regarding my findings based on their experiences in the organizations. Through the conversations that I had with the audience, I was able to better understand, not only what kind of problems practitioners usually encounter when utilizing academic research findings, but also what to do to make academic research more practically impactful. I was the presenter in the session sharing my research findings with others, but the session was very informative to me. Overall, it was a great experience.
Students can now submit their papers for this year’s award. The 2017 call for papers deadline is May 1, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. EDT. The winner of this year’s award will receive a $1,000 cash prize, travel and lodging (up to two nights) and complimentary registration to ILA's 19th Annual Conference, October 12 - 15, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium, a complimentary 1-year membership in the ILA, and recognition at the ILA conference and in various multi-media ILA publications.
Take it from last year’s winner, Kyoung: “This is a valuable opportunity where students can be recognized for their hard work. The conference provides a chance to meet and network with a lot of academics and practitioners who have interesting insights on leadership and to understand practical issues better. Based on the numerous benefits that they can enjoy, I would encourage doctoral students to apply for the award this year.”
