W. Chan Kim (born 1951) is a South Korean business theorist and professor of strategy at INSEAD, where he also serves as co-director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute in Fontainebleau, France. He is best known for co-authoring the influential book Blue Ocean Strategy (2005) with Renée Mauborgne, which has sold over four million copies and is recognized as a seminal work in strategic management.
Kim earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and previously taught at the University of Michigan Business School. His research focuses on market-creating strategies and value innovation, emphasizing the importance of creating uncontested market spaces rather than competing in saturated markets.
In addition to Blue Ocean Strategy, Kim co-authored Blue Ocean Shift (2017) and Beyond Disruption (2023), further exploring themes of innovation and growth without displacing existing industries. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including the Nobels Colloquia Prize for Leadership on Business and Economic Thinking. Kim is also a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and has advised various multinational corporations and governments worldwide.
