MBA Online

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
Information Systems

The Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management (ISOM) consists of two divisions: Information Systems and Operations Management. The Department was ranked 12th in research productivity worldwide based on publications in the top Information Systems and Operations Management journals by INFORMS.

Faculty members of the Information Systems (IS) division are on the editorial boards of the top IS journals and hold prominent positions on the Councils of the Association for Information Systems and the International Telecommunications Society. Our students have gone on to academic positions in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK, and the USA.

The research foci of the IS division are:

Behavioral Research: The primary interest is in studying the management of information technology (IT) and the use of IT for managerial and organizational purposes. The research examines more than just the technological system or just the social system; it investigates the phenomena that emerge when the two interact. Examples include human-computer interaction, user acceptance of IT innovations, IT strategy, electronic communities, e-government, e-commerce, and telecommunications policy. The methodologies employed are surveys, experiments, and field studies. PhD students will need to take courses in psychology, organizational behavior, survey design, experimental design, multivariate statistics, etc. Prospective students with excellent analytical ability and good proficiency in English are preferred.

Analytical and Empirical Modeling: Economics has contributed to the theoretical richness and methodological rigor of IS research. Examples include information economics, the economics of electronic commerce, economic models for the impact of IT on organizations and markets, and supply and demand of IT. This interdisciplinary collaboration will help resolve many difficult IS issues. The research methodologies are analytical and empirical modeling. PhD students interested in the area need to take courses in game theory, industrial organization, price theory, econometrics, etc. Prospective students with a strong quantitative academic background are preferred.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

Finance

The mission of the Finance department is to teach and conduct research on the financial markets and on the investment and financial decisions made by individuals and corporations. While striving to be one of the top finance programs in the world, the Department places special emphasis on developing expertise on Asian financial markets. The Center for Asian Financial Markets specializes in basic and applied research related to the Asian financial markets.

In a study on finance research output in Financial Management, the official journal of the Financial Management Association International, HKUST was named the top university in the Asia-Pacific region. Arizona State University’s research ranking of finance departments throughout the world (based on publications in the top four journals in finance during 1991-2005) ranked HKUST 23rd in the world.

Because of the quality of its faculty, the Department has quickly gained an international reputation for its research, as well as a local reputation for its expertise in corporate finance, derivatives, and the local and regional financial markets.

The teaching in the department is both current and relevant, and its programs in corporate finance, derivatives and risk management are highly regarded by local industry. This recognition has transformed into favorable placement of its students and repeated recruitment from major firms. PhD graduates are well sought after by universities and research organizations.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

Economics

The Department of Economics emphasizes both teaching and research, and sees them as mutually reinforcing. Faculty members are encouraged to engage in important research that leads to publication in leading international journals. Faculty members are also encouraged to apply rigorous methodologies to local economic issues that are of high academic value.

The Department’s research effort is focused on four specific areas in addition to the common core of microeconomics and macroeconomics. They are (1) econometrics; (2) economic growth and development; (3) industrial organization and theory of the firm; (4) international economics; and (5) China’s Economy.

Faculty members in the Department are highly regarded and their accomplishments are formally recognized in several studies of productivity in economics research. In a study of East Asian universities published in Economic Inquiry (October 1999), HKUST was ranked number one in East Asia. In a study commissioned by the European Economic Association (2001), HKUST was ranked first in Asia and 37th in the world. In a study of publications in econometrics published in Econometric Theory (2003), HKUST was ranked 17th in the world for its publications in three core econometrics journals and 26th in all theoretical econometrics publications.

The Center for Economic Development was established in 1995 with support from the Department. Its goals are to support research on the process of economic development, with emphasis on economic development in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region. Some of the department’s members are active in the School’s multidisciplinary Center for Experimental Business Research.