YAM Kai Chi Sam

Dr. Kai Chi (Sam) Yam is Provost's Chair Professor of Management at the National University of Singapore Business School, where he also serves as Head of Department. Sam received his PhD in Organizational Behavior from the University of Washington.

Sam’s research focuses primarily on behavioral ethics, leadership, humor, and the future of work. He has published over 60 papers in premier management and psychology journals. His work has received multiple Best Paper Awards and has been featured extensively both locally within Asia (e.g., South China Morning Post, The Straits Times) and internationally (e.g., The Huffington Post, The Times, Harvard Business Review).

Sam was named by Poets and Quants as one of the Best 40 under 40 Business Professors in the world in 2016. In 2022, he won three early career awards: the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science, the Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award (Science) from Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Early Career Achievement Award from the Academy of Management.

Research / Teaching Areas

• Judgment And Decision Making
• Leadership
• Organizational Behavior
• Business Ethics

Recognition & Awards

• NUS Business School Teaching Excellence Award - 2019
• Best Paper Award, Academy of Management OB Division (Lead author) - 2014
• Dean's Achievement Award, University of Washington - 2014
• Best Paper Award, Excellence in Ethics Research Conference (Lead author) - 2013
• Best Student Paper Award, Academy of Management HR Division (Lead author) - 2013
• Society for Business Ethics Founders' Award, Emerging Scholars (Lead author) - 2012
• Top Scholar Award, University of Washington - 2011

Educational Qualifications

• Ph.D., Organizational Behavior, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2015
• M.Sc., Organizational Behavior, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2014
• M.A., Human Development, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 2011
• B.S., Psychology (with Distinction), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2009