Moonsup Hyun, a recent graduate from the PhD in Business Administration program, researches human behavior to uncover deeper connections between sports and the workplace.
Hyun, PhD ’20, wasn’t always sure he wanted to study sport management. It wasn’t until after college in pursuit of his Master’s degree that he discovered his calling.
“After graduating from college as an undergraduate, I worked in the marketing industry. That was when I first thought about studying sport management. I just wanted to do what I really enjoyed doing, something that I was passionate about,” Hyun says.
He began his academic journey at Seoul National University in South Korea, where he received a Master’s in Sport Management. He then came to the Fox School and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management to pursue his PhD with a concentration in Sport Management. Now, he has the rigorous research training to uncover the theories behind behavior and sports.
“I am interested in how the unique nature of sport influences human behavior in a sport consumption context. Drawing on human behavioral theories, I explore how to leverage the unique nature of sport, such as competition, uncertainty and teamwork,” says Hyun.
His research interests are not limited to sport behavior. He also makes use of quantitative methods to support his significant interest in big data analysis and sport analytics.
Hyun’s dissertation was titled, “Spillover Effects of Sport Participation Programs on Employees’ Psychological and Behavior Changes in the Workplace.” His research focused on the detailed benefits of employees participating in organized sports. Hyun explains that his dissertation “showed that playing team-based sports regularly with coworkers can develop employees’ cooperativeness in the workplace.”
As a PhD student, Hyun also participated in a Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. He was one of the first students to do this type of research presentation in the fall of 2019 when the Fox School implemented the idea. The competition, which began at the University of Queensland, encourages researchers to effectively translate their thesis for a wider audience
Hyun described how the 3MT presentation “provided me with an opportunity to reorganize my ideas, thoughts, findings and implications of my study.” He went on to explain why a 3MT-style presentation is important for many researchers to experience.
“Oftentimes, entry-level researchers have trouble summarizing their research. We sometimes have no idea how to explain our studies without using jargon. Even worse, we often cannot see ‘the forests for the trees’ because we focus too much on the details.”
Following his graduation, Hyun plans to continue teaching at the Fox School of Business and School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management in Fall 2020.
“I am highly interested in sport and business analytics, as well as behavioral studies in sport. Teaching courses in the Department of Statistics and Department of Sport and Recreation will provide me with a great opportunity to develop my future teaching and research endeavors,” says Hyun.
In addition to teaching, Hyun has more research projects in the works. “I am particularly excited that I am almost finished with my next study about the deceptive behavior of sport participants,” Hyun shares.