Faculty
Cho, Theresa Seung Ah
Professor / Strategy and International Management
Contact
02-880-5077
Bldg 59-1, Room 607
tcho@snu.ac.krProfessor Introduction
Theresa Cho is Professor of Strategic Management and International Business at Graduate School of Business. She has served in several positions including Vice President of International Affairs at Seoul National University, Associate Dean of Student Affairs at the College of Business Administration, Deputy Vice President of International Affairs at Seoul National University, President of Association of Korean Management Scholars, Representative-at-Large for Strategic Management Society, and Vice President of Korean Strategic Management Society. In 2024, she was elected to serve a three-year term as a director for the board of Harvard University Alumni Association.
Before joining SNU in 2007, Professor Cho was Associate Professor (with tenure) at Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey. She received an A.B. (with honors) in Economics from Harvard College, Harvard University, and received her M.Phil. and Ph.D. (with distinction) in Strategic Management from Columbia Business School, Columbia University.
Her recent research topics include: managerial cognition in organizational adaptation, interfirm trust in strategic alliances, and competitor dynamics in the context of market and resource heterogeneity. Her scholarship is published in leading journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Research in Organizational Behavior, among others. Her recent studies have received numerous research awards including the Jürgen Hauschildt Prize, KSG Entrepreneurship Research Award by the Karl Schlecht Foundation, Strategic Management Society Best Paper Prize, and the William Newman Award by the Academy of Management. She was also the recipient of the Thomas H. Mott Award for Teaching Excellence, and General Electric Teaching Fellowship at Rutgers Business School. She currently serves as an associate editor at Journal of Business Research, as well as an editorial board member of Strategic Organization and Journal of Management Studies.
Google Scholar:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=D7VywY0AAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1&oi=ao
Download CV ↓
Before joining SNU in 2007, Professor Cho was Associate Professor (with tenure) at Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey. She received an A.B. (with honors) in Economics from Harvard College, Harvard University, and received her M.Phil. and Ph.D. (with distinction) in Strategic Management from Columbia Business School, Columbia University.
Her recent research topics include: managerial cognition in organizational adaptation, interfirm trust in strategic alliances, and competitor dynamics in the context of market and resource heterogeneity. Her scholarship is published in leading journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Research in Organizational Behavior, among others. Her recent studies have received numerous research awards including the Jürgen Hauschildt Prize, KSG Entrepreneurship Research Award by the Karl Schlecht Foundation, Strategic Management Society Best Paper Prize, and the William Newman Award by the Academy of Management. She was also the recipient of the Thomas H. Mott Award for Teaching Excellence, and General Electric Teaching Fellowship at Rutgers Business School. She currently serves as an associate editor at Journal of Business Research, as well as an editorial board member of Strategic Organization and Journal of Management Studies.
Google Scholar:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=D7VywY0AAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1&oi=ao
Education & Experiences
[EDUCATION]
[RESEARCH/TEACHING INTERESTS]
[ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS]
- A.B., Harvard College, Harvard University (Economics), 1990
- M.Phil, Columbia Business School (Strategic Management), 1996
- Ph.D. Columbia Business School (Strategic Management), 1999
[RESEARCH/TEACHING INTERESTS]
- Strategic Management
- Behavioral Strategy
- Negotiation & Strategic Decision-Making
[ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS]
- Professor, Graduate School of Business, Seoul National University (2013-present)
- Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business, Seoul National University (2008-2013)
- Associate Professor, Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University (2007-2008)
- Assistant Professor, Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University (1997-2007)
[PROFESSIONAL/ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE]
- Hyundai Steel, Independent Director (2024-present)
- Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, Elected Director (2024-present)
- Global Network for Advancement of Management (GNAM), Steering Committee (2024-present)
- Seoul National University Women Faculty Council, Executive Vice President (2024-2025)
- Seoul National University, Vice President of International Affairs (2022-2024)
- Korea Telecom (KT), Independent Director (2023-2024)
- Samsung SDS, Independent Director (2020-2024)
- Seoul National University, College of Business Administration, Associate Dean of Students, Strategic Planning & International Affairs (2020-2021)
- Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, Appointed Director for Asia-Pacific (2018-2021)
- Strategic Management Society, Representative-at-Large (Elected) (2018-2020)
- Korean Strategic Management Society, Vice President (2016-2017)
- Association of Korean Management Scholars, President (2014-2015)
- Seoul National University, College of Business Administration, Associate Dean of Students (2013-2015)
[AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS & HONORS]
- Jürgen Hauschildt Prize, 2025. (An annual award for the best empirical publication on innovation management in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
- Finalist for the Best Paper Award, Strategy Division, The 2022 Academy of Management Association Annual Conference.
- KSG Entrepreneurship Research Award, 2019 Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SMEs, Vienna, Austria.
- Best Paper Award, 2019 European Academy of Management (EURAM).
- Finalist / Honorable Mention, 2018 Strategic Management Society Best Paper Prize.
- Best Paper Award, 2018 Strategic Management Society Cooperative Interest Group.
- The Best Conference Paper Award (Honorable Mention), 2018 Meeting of the Strategic Management Society.
- Elected as the Representative-at-Large, Strategic Management Society, Behavioral Strategy Interest Group, 2018-present.
- Appointed as the Director of Asia-Pacific Clubs and SIGs, Harvard Alumni Association, 2018-2021.
- The Best Conference Paper Award (Honorable Mention), 2018 Meeting of the Strategic Management Society.
- Institute of Management Research Grant, Seoul National University, 2008-2014.
- The Best Alliance Program Research Award, 2013.
- The Overseas Training Expense Program for Humanities & Social Sciences, Seoul National University, 2012.
- The Aspiring Researcher Program at Seoul National University, 2011.
- Young Faculty Research Award, Korea Research Foundation, 2009.
- Thomas H. Mott Award for Teaching Excellence, Rutgers Business School, 2004.
- Finalist, The William Newman Award for the Best Paper Based on Dissertation, Academy of Management, 2001.
- Rutgers Business School Technological Management Research Center Grant, 2003-2004.
- GE Teaching Fellow, 2000-2001.
- Rutgers University Research Council Grant, 1999-2006.
- Rutgers Business School Research Resource Committee Grant, 1999-2006.
- Recipient of With Distinction honors for the doctoral thesis (awarded to the top 1% of the doctoral candidates), Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1999.
- Member, Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, 1999-present.
- Columbia University Doctoral Fellowship, 1991-1995.
- Harvard College Scholarship, 1987-1990.
- Dean’s List, Harvard College, 1987-1990.
- First Place, The Korea Times Literary Competition, Non-Fiction Division (in Korean), 1990.
- Rotary Scholarship, 1986.
- Hyundai Steel, Independent Director (2024-present)
Publications
[SELECTED PUBLICATIONS]
- Ahn, S., Cho, T. S., Cho & Park, S. H. “Market entry decisions revisited: The case of biopharmaceutical firms in the midst of COVID-19,” Journal of Business Research, in press.
- Ahn, S., Cho, T.S. and Cho, C.K. 2025. “Stock Market Reaction to Environmental Performance: The Role of Organizational Reputation as an Interpretive Lens,” Organization & Environment, 36:440-470.
- Hanisch, M., Koenig, A., Haussler, C., Graf-Vlachy, L. and Cho, T. S. 2025. “Kindred spirits: Cognitive frame similarity and good faith provisions in strategic alliance contracts." Strategic Management Journal, 46:436-469.
- Mack, D., Cho. T.S. and Yi, A.C. 2024. “Attentional engagement and strategic responses to discontinuous environmental change: Evidence from the U.S. banking industry," Strategic Organization, 22:49-90.
- Ahn,S. and Cho. T.S. 2022. “The effects of analyst coverage on innovation strategy: A cognitive perspective,” The academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings.
- Ahn, S., Cho, C.K. and Cho, T.S. 2021. “Performance feedback and organizational learning: The role of regulatory focus,” Management Decision, 59:616-637.
- Cho, C. K., Cho, T. S., and Lee, J. 2018. “Managerial attributes, consumer proximity, and corporate environmental performance,” Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.
- Cho, C. K. and Cho, T. S. 2018. “On averting negative emotion: Remedying the impact of shifting expectations,” Frontiers in Psychology.
- Hanisch, M., Koenig, A., Haussler, C., Graf-Vlachy, L. & Cho, T. S. 2018. “The Influence of cognitive frame similarity on contingency planning in strategic alliances,” The Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings.
- Chung, D., Kang, J. and Cho, T. S. 2018. “TMT knowledge specificity, organization and search behavior on innovation: A contingency perspective,” International Journal of Technology Management, 78: 208-233.
- Choi, J. N., Sung, S. Y., & Cho, T. S. 2014. “Creative contribution of individuals in groups: Effects of goal orientation and participative safety,” Social Behavior and Personality, 41.
- Mack, D. and Cho, T. S. 2011. “SK Telecom R11; Going for the global leadership,” Asian Case Research Journal, 15:2.
- Ahn, K. J., Chae, H. W., Song, J. Y. and Cho, T. S. 2009. “The effects of founder-CEO attributes on alliance formation of venture startups: The social network perspective,” Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings.
- Cho, T. S. and Shen, W. 2007. “Changes in executive compensation following an environmental shift: The role of top management team turnover,” Strategic Management Journal, 28:747-754.
- Cho, T. S. and Hambrick, D. 2006. “Attention as the mediator between top management team characteristics and strategic change: The case of airline deregulation,” Organization Science, 17:453-469.
- Cho, T. S. 2006. “The effects of executive turnover on top management team's environmental scanning behavior after an environmental change,” Journal of Business Research, 59:1142-1150.
- Shen, W. and Cho, T. S. 2005. “Exploring involuntary executive turnover through a managerial discretion framework,” Academy of Management Review, 30:843-862.
- Hambrick, D.C., Finkelstein, S., Cho, T.S., and Jackson, E. M. 2005. “Isomorphism in reverse: Institutional theory as an explanation for recent increases in intraindustry heterogenity and managerial discretion,” Research in Organizational Behavior (Issue 26). Staw, B. and Kramer, R. M. (Ed). Berkeley: Elsevier.
- Cho, T. S. 2001. “The Effects of top executive team composition, pay structure and attention on strategic change: A case of airline deregulation,” Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings (nominated for the William Newman Best Paper Award Based on Dissertation).
- Hambrick, D. C., Cho, T. S., and Chen, M. J. 1996. “The influence of top management team heterogeneity on firms' competitive moves," Administrative Science Quarterly, 41: 659-684. Reprinted in Corporate Governance in the New Global Economy, 2004. Keasey, K., Thompson, S. and Wright, M. (Ed.). Surrey, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
- Cho, T. S., Hambrick, D. C. and Chen, M. J. 1994. "The effects of top management characteristics on competitive behaviors of firms," Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings.
- Ahn, S. H. & Cho, T.S. 2025. “Linguistic Framing of Information Disclosure and Analysts’ Evaluation of Innovation Strategy.” Korean Journal of Management (인사조직연구), 25: 27-55.
- Choi, W.S., Ahn, S. H. & Cho, T.S. 2021. “Interfirm rivalry in action: An exploratory study of multiplex theaters in Korea,” Korea Business Review, 25: 27-55.
- Cho, T. S. 2011. “Environmental scanning behavior of the top managers: A regulatory focus model,” Seoul Journal of Business. Vol. 17(2): 151-166.
- Cho, T. S. 2011.”Exploring the effects of macrocultural forces on institutional isomorphism,” Journal of Strategic Management. 14 (2): 77-92.
- Cho, T. S. 2009. “Managerial attention and organizational adaptation following an environmental shift,” Korean Management Review.
- Ahn, K.J., Chae, H., Song, J. and Cho, T. S. 2009. “The effects of founder-CEO attributes on alliance formation of venture start-ups: A social network perspective,” Korean Business Review, 38 (6): 1545-1572.
[KCI Journals]
