Dr. Kwang-Ho Lee
<b>Department: </b>Applied Business Studies<br><b>Research Area: </b>1) Marketing and consumer behaviors in the realms of hospitality and tourism and (2) applications of psychological measurement techniques in business areas.<br>
Department: Applied Business Studies
Research Focus: My research line is divided into twofold: (1) marketing and consumer behaviors in the realms of hospitality and tourism and (2) applications of psychological measurement techniques in business areas. I have focused on tourist/consumer behaviors in hospitality and tourism. There are significant key words in representing my primary research interests: customer attitude/loyalty, consumer behavior in virtual communities, and events/festival management in local areas. Additionally, measuring individuals’ implicit cognition is also another line of my research. Specifically, implicit association measurement techniques such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT) can be utilized to measure individuals’ automatic/unconscious responses to an object of interest in diverse areas.
Potential Student Project(s): My background is primarily in the hospitality and tourism industry. I've had leadership roles in research and development in many areas all of which could enable student mentoring. Included are customer services, virtual community marketing, and events/festival management. Some examples about research projects with students as a mentor include “The role of fantasy in luxury cruise decision-making”, “a model of cybervictimization recovery practices in online travel communities”, and “East central regional partnership tourism project”.
Attributes/skills/background sought in undergraduate: Undergraduate students should be honest and dependable (required) with a basic knowledge of a customer services and behaviors (preferred) in hospitality or service areas. I also prefer students who are familiar with spreadsheets (e.g., MS Excel).
Mentoring Plan: I will be available to meet with the student 1 or 2 times per week for 1-hour duration onsite or by scheduling an online or offline meeting. What I expect of students: I expect the undergraduate research student to set a schedule to complete his/her research. What students can expect of me: They can ask as many questions about the subject, flexibility in schedule, and advance notice of cancelation of a pre-scheduled meeting. I can show them how things work and get additional help from colleagues if required.
As a mentor, I will provide the opportunity for students to visit and observe the application of knowledge in the field or research about a specific topic of interest in the hospitality and service areas. Following successful completion of the research project(s), the student will be able to
- Create a goal statement for the purpose of independent projects
- Learn to critique and interpret scientific literature and research proposal
- Develop a timetable for implementation of activities and completion of project requirements
- Remediate deficient areas of knowledge, behavior, or skills in hospitality and service areas
- Develop an appropriate research plan of investigation, and
- Write a mini research proposal
Contact: 765-285-7610, AT 206F