Introductory and Intermediate Finance
Foundational finance courses focused on core concepts, analytical problem-solving, and real-world application.
J.H. John Kim
Assistant Professor of Finance · College of Charleston
How leaders shape firms.
I study the people and power structures behind corporate decisions: the executives who lead firms, the boards that monitor them, and the governance systems that shape financial outcomes. My research focuses on what happens when leadership, incentives, and oversight interact. I examine how executive personality traits, leadership behavior, and board structure affect firm policy, market discipline, and the decisions that shape organizations over time. This work spans finance, accounting, real estate, and management.
About Me
My path into academia began at Temple University, where I completed my undergraduate degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in finance. Before starting my doctoral studies, I worked at BNY Mellon, where I saw how financial institutions operate from the inside and became increasingly interested in the people behind financial decisions.
Over time, that interest became the foundation of my work. I have always been drawn to the mind: how people think, decide, lead, and respond to incentives. That curiosity eventually led me to study executive personality traits, leadership behavior, and board structures, and how these forces shape corporate decisions and financial outcomes.
It also shapes the way I teach. I enjoy working with students as they learn to analyze problems, defend their reasoning, and apply finance to real decisions. For me, teaching and research are connected by the same underlying question: how people make decisions, and how better thinking leads to better outcomes.
Teaching
Financial Management
Applied finance instruction centered on analysis, managerial reasoning, and business decision-making.
Financial Management
Finance for experienced professionals, with an emphasis on strategic decisions, leadership perspective, and complex organizational challenges.
Research Interests
How managerial traits, incentives, and biases shape corporate decisions.
How CEOs and top executives influence firm strategy, governance, and financial policy.
How boards monitor, advise, discipline, and shape leadership outcomes.
Selected Research
Collateral Impact: How Rivalry Diffuses Shareholder Activism Threats
This study examines how shareholder activism directed at rival firms shapes the behavior of non-targeted companies. We show how financial and social activism create different competitive signals, influencing firms’ growth strategies and CSR actions even when they are not directly targeted. The study highlights how activism can diffuse across markets and affect corporate strategy beyond the original target firm.
CEO's Narcissism and Opportunistic Insider Trading
Featured in the Financial Times, this study examines the link between CEO narcissism and opportunistic insider trading. We show that narcissistic CEOs are more likely to trade in ways that appear timed around private information, suggesting that managerial personality can shape the boundary between corporate leadership and personal financial gain. The paper highlights how behavioral traits influence governance risk, insider incentives, and market integrity.
CEO Narcissism and the Agency Cost of Debt
This study examines whether CEO narcissism increases the agency cost of debt. We show that lenders appear to price managerial personality into debt contracts, demanding higher compensation when CEOs exhibit traits associated with greater discretion, risk-taking, and self-focus. The paper highlights how executive behavior shapes not only corporate decisions, but also the cost of financing those decisions.
Contact
College of Charleston School of Business · Beatty 414 · 66 George Street · Charleston, SC 29424