KAM PHUNG

Social Scientist by Training, Activist at Heart.

ABOUT ME

In my professional life, I am an Assistant Professor of Business & Society at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business where I study the organizational and entrepreneurial underpinnings of social innovation and change.

Beyond academia, I have contributed to building social, environmental, and financial technology startups in Canada, and worked in sustainability-focused consulting firms, social enterprises, and not-profit organizations around the world, and draw on these on ground experiences to inform my research in an effort to derive insights that drive meaningful action and social change. Today, I continue to actively contribute to various socially-driven organizations and projects.

I grew up in a small countryside town as an uninvited guest on the unceded traditional territories of the Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan First Nations within the province that we know today as British Columbia, Canada, but I have also lived, studied, and worked in an array of places around the world.

Education

PhD in Business Administration, Schulich School of Business - York University

Area: Organization Studies

MSc in Economics and Business Administration, Norwegian School of Economics

Major: Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment

MSc in Sustainable Development, HEC Paris

Specialization: Social Enterprise and Poverty

BCom in International Business, Gustavson School of Business - University of Victoria

Distinction: Co-operative Education

Academic Positions

Assistant Professor, Beedie School of Business - Simon Fraser University (2022-Present)

Affiliations: Business & Society Area; School of Public Policy; Re:Structure Lab

SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Judge Business School - University of Cambridge (2022)

Affiliations: Organisational Theory & Information Systems Group (OTIS); Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation (CCSI)

Vanier Scholar and Sessional Instructor, Schulich School of Business - York University (2017-21)

Affiliations: Organization Studies Area (ORGS); Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (COERB); Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research (DIGHR); Global Labour Research Centre (GLRC)

Visiting Researcher, Sauder School of Business - University of British Columbia (2020)

Affiliations: W. Maurice Young Centre for Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Research

Select Awards and Honours

Simon Fraser University

Early Career Excellence in Teaching Award, Provost and Vice-President Academic (2026)
TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award, Beedie School of Business (2025)

Academy of Management

Chair - Evaluation Committee, Best Business Ethics Paper Award (2022; 2023; 2024)
Member Evaluation Committee, Best Business Ethics Paper Award (2019; 2020; 2021)
Best Social Issues in Management Paper Award (2018)
Best Business Ethics Paper Award (2018)
Chair, Academy-wide New Doctoral Students' Consortium (2017)

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

SSHRC Storytellers Research Communications Challenge - Top 25 Finalist (2020)
SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - #3 Ranked National Application (2020)
SSHRC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarhip - #1 Ranked National Application (2017)

Other Recognitions

ThinkList Next, Centre for Business, Organisation and Society
Financial Times Business School Research with Social Impact - Top 100
Mitacs Accelerate Research Funding
Dean’s Recognition for Outstanding Teaching Contribution, Schulich School of Business
Best Master’s Thesis Finalist, Norwegian School of Economics
Dean's List for BCom, Gustavson School of Business
Canadian Millennium Scholarship Laureate
Governor General's Bronze Medal for Academic Excellence

Industry Experience

As an active member of the community, I currently support socially-driven entrepreneurs and leaders through my independent consultancy, drawing on my formal training and prior industry experiences.

Startups

Before starting my PhD, I spent several years in the depths of Vancouver’s startup scene with two close friends — Tom Kineshanko and Kevin Starke — actively contributing to a series of social, environmental, and financial startups at various stages of development centered around the deployment of digital technologies to create a better society and planet. The bulk of this time was spent within the confines of a holding company (Habitat Enterprises) that Tom and Kevin founded embracing a lean startup approach that I had to opportunity to join as a member of the founding team to build and contribute to a United Nations Clean Development Mechanism carbon credit development company (Habitat Carbon Assets), the world’s first “roof auction” for solar (Gridbid), and a suite of experimental financial technology solutions to societal problems (PowerLend), which spurred the initial development of a decentralized data and cryptocurrency platform (Walter.ai), amongst other ventures including a once "Amazon Best Seller" sustainably-sourced omega-3 fish oils company (Today). There were also many other ideas and ventures that never really saw the light of day or were short-lived, but shaped who I am today.

Professional Service Firms

During my time in Paris, I also gained experience working in professional service firms that were in the early stages of developing and implementing new social and environmental initiatives, including an energy access program for social enterprises in development countries (ENEA Consulting) and an ISO 26000 social responsibility audit program (Label Lucie).

Not-profits

Some of my earliest work took place in not-for-profit organizations focused on community and socio-economic development. The scope of this work included the creation and maintenance of social enterprises in and around the rural village of Palapye, Botswana (Action for Economic Empowerment Trust), the development of access to energy solution in Bangladesh (Grameen Shakti), and the promotion of local businesses in and around Victoria, Canada (Tourism Victoria).

RESEARCH

My research centers around the relationship between organizational and entrepreneurial settings and social and environmental issues. As a researcher, my goal is to advance our understanding of what perpetuates and disrupts pressing societal issues—especially those affecting communities that have been systematically excluded, exploited, and/or devalued—so we can better design effective interventions to address them and realize positive social change.

I frequently work hand in hand and in close quarters with organizations and entrepreneurs on my projects and continue to maintain strong ties to industry, enthusiastically embracing an engaged approach to research.

My research and insights have been featured in media outlets such as CBC News, Global News, The National Post, Reuters, Times Colonist, The Tyee, Vancouver Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, and Yahoo News, amongst other. It has also been shared with and presented to a diverse range of organizations across all sectors (private, public, and voluntary).

Scholarly Publications and Works

Refereed Journal Articles

Annisette, M., Stringer, C., & Phung, K. (2026). The modern slavery audit and the inherent biases of auditing. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 39(5): 831-858.

Choi, TJ. & Phung, K. (2026). When newspapers fail to deter corporate illegality: The constraining effects of economic institutions. Journal of Management Studies, 63(6): 3428-3459.

Rheinhardt Beer, A., Crosina, E., Wittman, S., Johnson, T., Phung, K., & Roberts, A. (2026). From the field to the field: Mapping the landscape of qualitative research through scholars’ personal letters. Journal of Management Inquiry, 35(2): 153-176.

Sadri, M., Piazza, A., Phung, K., & Helms, W. (2023). The disparate economic outcomes of stigma: Evidence from the arms industry. Strategic Management Journal, 44(10): 2489-2533.

Crane, A., LeBaron, G., Phung, K., Behbahani, L. & Allain, J. (2022). Confronting the business models of modern slavery. Journal of Management Inquiry, 31(3): 264-285.

Phung, K., Buchanan, S., Toubiana, M., Ruebottom, T., & Turchick-Hakak, L. (2021). When stigma doesn't transfer: Stigma deflection and occupational stratification in the sharing economy. Journal of Management Studies, 58(4): 1107-1139.

Book Chapters

Phung, K., LeBaron, G., & Crane, A. (2025). Rationalizations and institutional deflection on the ground: Combatting modern slavery in supply chains. In Markovic, Lindgreen, Maon & Sancha (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Responsible Business: 297-310. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Phung, K. & Crane, A. (2019). The business of modern slavery: Management and organizational perspectives. In J. B. Clark, & S. Poucki (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of human trafficking and modern day slavery: 177-197. London, UK: SAGE.

Phung, K. Slavery and its links to organizations. (2018). In R. Burke, & C. Cooper (Eds.), Violence and abuse in and around organisations: 273-291. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Select Conference Papers

Phung, K. (2023). Decontextualizing software craftwork: An ethnography of an emerging blockchain and climate venture. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, (1): 14117.

Crane, A., LeBaron, G., Phung, K., Behbahani, L. & Allain, J. (2018). Innovations in the business models of modern slavery: The dark side of business model innovation. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, (1): 13381.

Monographs / Dissertations

Phung, K. (2021). Translating lightning in a bottle: Idealists, pragmatists, and the reorientation of translators at the intersection of blockchain and climate. York University: Toronto, Canada.

Reports

LeBaron, G., & Bhagat, A., Phung, K. (2026). Understanding the scale of worker driven social responsibility agreements. Re:Structure Lab: Simon Fraser University and Stanford University.

Phung, K. (2026). Teaching about the business of modern slavery: Insights on bringing the uncomfortable into the classroom. Re:Structure Lab: Simon Fraser University and Stanford University.

Bhagat, A., Phung, K., LeBaron, G., & Calabretta, M. (2026). Temporary foreign workers in British Columbia’s agriculture sector: Current state of affairs and suggestions for improvement. Re:Structure Lab: Simon Fraser University and Stanford University.

Bhagat, A., Phung, K., LeBaron, G., & Calabretta, M. (2025). Temporary foreign workers in British Columbia’s agriculture industry: Learning from lived experience. Simon Fraser University Breaking Barriers Research Report.

Phung, K., Greig, D., & Lewchuk, S. (2019). The straight goods: Canadian business insights on modern slavery in supply chains. Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business, SHARE, and World Vision Canada.

Media Features and Contributions

Select Media Features

Featured Study and Collaboration. (2026). This deal has cut violence against women on factory floors, but many clothing brands won’t sign on. The Financial Post.

Featured Study and Collaboration. (2025). 'This is the new slavery': Migrant farm workers underpaid, abused and injured. The National Post.

Online and TV Interview. (2024). Can a Canadian ride-hailing startup compete with Uber and Lyft? CBC News - The National.

Radio Interview. (2023). Can Canada’s new law end forced labour in supply chains? CBC Radio - All in a Day with Alan Neal.

Practical Translations and Commentaries

Phung, K. (2025). How businesses deflect responsibilities for addressing modern slavery in their supply chains. The Conversation.

Phung, K. & LeBaron, G. (2023). Canada’s Modern Slavery Act is the start — not the end — of efforts to address the issue in supply chains. The Conversation.

Phung, K., Turchick-Hakak, L., Toubiana, M., Buchanan, S., & Ruebottom, T. (2022). The manipulation of Uber’s public image profoundly impacted the lives of taxi drivers. The Conversation.

LeBaron, G., Phung, K., Behbahani, L., Crane, A., & Allain, J. (2021). Business models have evolved to keep profiting from slave labour. Thomson Reuters Foundation News.

Lam, L. & Phung, K. (2021). How should Canada design policies to protect gig workers? Policy Options.

Phung, K., Turchick-Hakak, L., Toubiana, M., Buchanan, S., & Ruebottom, T. (2021). How Uber drivers avoided – and contributed to – the fate of taxi drivers. The Conversation.

TEACHING

I am passionate about preparing my students for a changing society. In all learning environments, I strive to make the most of the time that I spend with my students and ensure that my teaching gives them the tools and knowledge that they need to continue to explore ideas beyond the classroom and develop as members of society.

Committed to creating the best possible learning experiences, I am constantly exploring and updating how I can best deliver my courses to create effective and safe learning environments that enable my students to thrive.

My experiences spans an array of courses, programs (BBA, MBA, Executive MBA, GDBA), and learning environments (in-person and online), including large-format mandatory courses with hundreds of students to intimate elective seminars and everything in between.

Courses

Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University

While I have taught organizational and management courses at other leading institutions, my current portfolio of courses centers around helping business students explore a range of issues and practices related to sustainability and responsibility.

Undergraduate (BBA)

Business in a Sustainable Society (BUS275)
Sustainable Innovation (BUS453)
Management Practices for Sustainability (BUS489)

Graduate (MBA, Executive MBA - Indigenous Business Leadership, and GDBA)

Responsible Innovation (BUS576)
Indigenous Sustainability (BUS692)
Sustainability (BUS716/735)

CONNECT WITH ME

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