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Inhyeock "Ian" Lee

Professor of Management

Inhyeock "Ian" Lee, PhD, is a Professor of International Business and Strategy in the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. He earned his doctorate in Business (majoring in International Business and Strategy with a minor in Entrepreneurship) from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in 2007.

Dr. Lee’s research has been published in leading journals such as Regional Studies, Journal of Business Research, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Journal of International Management, International Business Review, and Small Business Economics, among others. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of International Management, and Asian Business & Management.

Before entering academia, Dr. Lee served for eight years as Deputy Director at the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy in Korea.

Education

  • PhD, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, 2007
  • MPA, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University, 1995
  • BBA, School of Business Administration, Seoul National University, 1992

Research Interests

His primary research interests focus on the location strategies of multinational enterprises and entrepreneurial firms contributing to cluster formation. Other research interests involve how regional strategies of multinational enterprises and international new ventures link to firm performance, and how founders’ gender of new ventures translates into innovation activities. He recently initiated diverse social issues (e.g., corporate social responsibility, regional employment, local crime, etc.) of multinational enterprises, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and new ventures as his new research foci to contribute to the Jesuit tradition and mission of Loyola University Chicago in the upcoming years.

Professional Employment

  • Professor (July 2022 ~ present), Associate Professor (July 2015 ~ June 2022) & Assistant Professor (Aug. 2012 ~ June 2015) for IB/Strategy: Management Department, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago
  • Assistant Professor for IB/Strategy (Aug. 2007 ~ May 2012): Management Department, Gordon Ford College of Business, Western Kentucky University
  • Deputy Director (Mar. 2002 ~ Aug. 2002): Unfair Trade Investigation Division, Korean Trade Commission, Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Korea
  • Attendant Secretary/Policy Aide to the Minister (Apr. 2001 ~ Mar. 2002): Minister’s Office, Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Korea
  • Deputy Director (Feb. 2000 ~ Apr. 2001): Industrial Location & Environment Division, Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Korea
  • Lieutenant, the Republic of Korea Air Force (Oct. 1996 ~ Feb. 2000): In Charge of Troop Information & Education, Osan, Korea
  • Deputy Director (Nov. 1995 ~ Oct. 1996): Regional Cooperation Division, Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Korea
  • Deputy Director on Probation (Apr. 1995 ~ Nov. 1995): Passed the Higher Administrative Civil Service Examination, Ministry of Government Administration, Korea

Professional/Community Affiliations

  • A Member of the Editorial Review Board at Journal of International Management (JIM), January 2019 ~ Present
  • A Member of the Editorial Review Board at Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (ET&P), February 2018 ~ Present
  • A Member of the Editorial Review Board at Asian Business & Management (ABM), June 2018 ~ Present
  • A Member of the Editorial Review Board at IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (IEEE TEM), September 2013 ~ July 2017
  • Academy of International Business (Since 2005)
  • Academy of Management (Since 2005)
  • Regional Studies Association (Since 2013)
  • United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Since 2013)

Courses Taught

  • IBUS 201: Introduction to International Business
  • IBUS 315: International Management
  • IBUS 315WI: International Management – Writing Intensive
  • IBUS 455: International Strategies of MNEs (NextGen MBA Program)
  • MGMT 304: Strategic Management
  • MGMT 399: Undergraduate Summer Study Abroad Course
  • MGMT 499: Graduate Summer Study Abroad Course
  • MGMT 573: Business Strategy (NextGen MBA Program)

Publications/Research Listings

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles (Since 2015):
Hong, E. and Lee, I.H. (2026) Entrepreneurship and Employment: The Simultaneous Impacts of Establishment Births versus Deaths on Regional Employment across the United States. Review of Regional Studies, Accepted for Publication.
Hong, E., Jung, J.C., Lee, I.H., and Makino, S. (2025) Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), Heterogeneity in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Subsidiary Employment in Host Countries: A Signaling Perspective. International Business Review, In Press.
Lee, I.H., Hong, E., and Shin, J.K. (2023) Multinational Enterprises, Intra-regional Cross-border M&As, and Performance: Location Advantages of Market versus Knowledge. International Business Review, 32(6): 102177.
Lee, I.H. and Lévesque, M. (2023) Do Resource-constrained Early-stage Firms Balance their Internal Resources across Business Activities? If So, Should They? Journal of Business Research, 159: 113410.
Lee, Y.H. and Lee, I.H. (2022) A Regional Analysis of Crime Heterogeneity and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Location Choices: Recent Evidence from South Korea. Asian Business & Management, 21: 569-597.
Lee, I.H. (2022) Startups, Relocation, and Firm Performance: A Transaction Cost Economics Perspective. Small Business Economics, 58: 205-224.
Lee, I.H., Kim, S.M., and Green, S. (2021) Social Enterprises and Market Performance: The Moderating Roles of Innovativeness, Sectoral Alignment, and Geographic Localization. Journal of Business Research, 132: 491-506.
Lee, I.H., Hong, E., and Makino, S. (2020) The Effect of Non-conventional Outbound Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Domestic Employment of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). International Business Review, 29(3): 101671.
Park, S., Lee, I.H., and Kim, J.E. (2020) Government Support and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Performance: The Moderating Effects of Diagnostic and Support Services. Asian Business & Management, 19(2): 213-238.
Hong, E., Lee, I.H., and Makino, S. (2019) Outbound Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Motivation and Domestic Employment by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). Journal of International Management, 25(2): 100657.
Sun, L., Lee, I.H., and Hong, E. (2017) Does Foreign Direct Investment Stimulate New Firm Creation? In Search of Spillovers through Industrial and Geographical Linkages. Small Business Economics, 48(3): 613-631.
Lee, I.H., Paik, Y., and Uygur, U. (2016) Does Gender Matter in the Export Performance of International New Ventures?: Mediation Effects of Firm-specific and Country-specific Advantages. Journal of International Management, 22(4): 365-379.
Lee, I.H., Hong, E., and Makino, S. (2016) Location Decisions of Inward FDI in Sub-national Regions of a Host Country: Service versus Manufacturing Industries. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 33(2): 343-370.
Marvel, M.R., Lee, I.H., and Wolfe, M.T. (2015) Entrepreneur Gender and Firm Innovation Activity: A Multilevel Analysis. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 62(4): 558-567.
Lee, I.H., Makino, S., and Hong, E. (2015) Outward FDI Does Not Necessarily Cost Domestic Employment of MNEs at Home: Evidence from Japanese MNEs. Columbia FDI Perspectives, 148: 1-3.
Hong, E., Lee, I.H., Sun, L., and Harrison, R. (2015) Entrepreneurship across Time and Space: Empirical Evidence from Korea. Small Business Economics, 44(3): 705-719.
Scholarly Book(s)/Book Chapter(s) (Since 2020):
Verbeke, A. and Lee, I.H. (2022) International Business Strategy (3rd edition). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Lee, I.H. (2020) Inbound Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Korea: 2005 – 2017. In F.J. Froese (Eds.), Doing Business in Korea. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 61-80.

Awards

Management Department, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago:
• Selected as one of the best papers at the 2012 GIKA Conference (July 2012)
• Awarded the Excellence in Reviewing at Journal of International Management (2013)
• Recipient for the 2014 USASBE Best Empirical Paper Award (January 2014)
• Recipient for the 2014 Literati Award: Highly Commended Paper (December 2014)
• Recipient for the 2016 ICSB JSBM Best Overall Paper Award (June 2016)
• Recipient for the 2017 USASBE Best Paper Award in ENT and PP (January 2017)
• Awarded the Excellence in Reviewing at Journal of International Management (2017)
• The 2018-19 Alan Rugman Visiting Fellow, University of Reading, UK (June 2018)
• Recipient for the 2020-2021 Quinlan Research Excellence Award (April 2021)
• Recipient for the 2021-2022 Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) Scholarship (April 2021)
• Runner-up for the 2020 Best Paper Award in IBR (December 2021)
• Finalist for the CEIBS Best Paper Award at the 2023 AOM (August 2023)
• Finalist for the HKUST Best Paper Award at the 2023 AOM (August 2023)
• Recipient for the 2025 Julia Teahen-MBAA International Distinguished Paper Award (April 2025)
• Recipient for the 2025 NAMS Distinguished Research Award (April 2025)