Mr CHAN Chun Kwong (Cohort 2011)
Global Head of Digital Mobile and Channels Engineering, HSBC

Research topic
The Delivery of Financial Consultation Services to Premier Customers - An Empirical Study on Interactive e-Channel
卓越理財客戶的金融諮詢服務- 互動e-道的實證研究

Summary of research
This research aims to understand the factors influencing the adoption of electronic channels by customers through the review of literature on channel choices, primarily the dimensions of convenience, trust and efficacy of information acquisition pertaining to a channel, incorporating the influence of this social relationship, in the form of social capital, and its direct and moderating effects on channel adoption.

DBA learning journey sharing
The DBA learning journey is indeed a very rewarding experience, testing one’s perseverance in search of the research question, and to establish the signicance of the contributions. The emphasis on quality and academic rigor has been a very important guiding principle throughout the many reviews of the research proposal, leading to the completion of the research, and the nal completion of the thesis. The insight and the challenge to get to the real issues enlightened me to strengthen the research model and the methodology to ensure the conclusions are sound and adhere to a high academic standard. Having left the academic eld for so many years, and so used to driving projects to nish at preset deadlines, I felt the DBA journey in search of knowledge is most refreshing and is a big part of what I have beneted after completion of the programme.

Mr LUK King Sang Benny (Cohort 2014)
Regional CEO North Asia, ICAP

Research topic
The impact of Dodd Frank Act on the Financial Market’s Regulatory Environment: Evidence from Money Broking Business

Summary of research
The implementation of Dodd Frank Act has caused significant changes to the ecology of the financial market since 2010. Different financial business sectors are impacted in different ways and some sectors have even been forced to scale down in their global operations. My research is to analyze the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Act, and how do these changes affect the money broking business.

DBA learning journey sharing
To me, the DBA learning journey at the City University of HK is similar to enjoying a cruise. You will embark on the journey with your preliminary research topic and all sorts of relevant insights. You will then disembark at different ports by attending the core courses of the program, where you will be downloaded with all the necessary skillsets and knowledge to compile the thesis efciently and effectively. You will improve the thesis as the journey moves along, with the great help from your personal tour guide (i.e., your supervisor!). It is for your own benet to fully enjoy and make use of the research resources provided by the University and of course, don't forget to treat each and every assignment seriously, as they are the building blocks required to nalize your thesis.

Mr Floyd Emahn NEWSUM (Cohort 2011)
Senior Manager - Digital Banking / eFinancial Services (Top 5 multinational firm)

Research topic
The behavioral science and influence of digital banking product design on consumer financial decision making (Persuasive Technology)

Summary of research
My research explores mobile banking apps as a "persuasive technology". Persuasive technology is defined as technology designed to influence users’ attitudes or behavior. Mobile phones have been described as a powerful persuasive technology and the most important modern platform for changing human behavior. My scholarly pursuits involve investigations of the impact of digital / mobile banking product designs on consumer financial decision making, particularly savings behavior.

DBA learning journey sharing
The City University of Hong Kong doctorate of business administration (DBA) program provides the ideal balance of theoretical learning and training in pragmatic, yet scientically rigorous methodologies of applied business research and problem solving.  The innovative teaching approach (spiral learning) championed by the CityU Business School empowers an individual to expand beyond contributing standard analyses of business events from a historical context (i.e. "what happened?") to researching and determining the “how” and “why” certain business phenomena actually occur. The instruction in the use of practitioner oriented, business research tools enable DBA candidates to transition from passively applying managerial methods to actively contributing in the generation of new knowledge and the creation of commercially valuable business insights and products/services.

Dr Mayank KAUL (2015 Graduate)
Head, Asia Pacific and Japan, Real Estate Risk Management, Institutional Clients Group Citibank N.A

Research Topic
Key determinants of debt decisions of Equity REITs—An exploratory analysis of Asia Pacific REITs debt structures with a focus on Sponsors, External Management and the impact of the financial crisis: Evidence From Japan, Singapore and Australia.

Summary of research
I analysed the debt financing decisions of Asian REITs to see if the presence of sponsors had any influence, positive or negative, on decision making. My findings suggested that Asian REITs with sponsors have much higher levels of leverage and longer maturity debt than REITs without sponsors and are able to better manage the negative impact of higher leverage and longer maturity. I also studied how the global financial crises impacted the debt decisions of Asian REITs and the influence of the sponsor on such decisions and found that the presence of a sponsor had a significant positive influence as REITs with sponsors were more proactive in reducing leverage compared to non-sponsored REITs.

DBA learning journey sharing
Enrolling into the DBA program at CityU was the answer to my mid-life crisis. I was looking to develop a deeper understanding of my professional world and hopefully make some contribution to the academic world at the same time. The “spiral” learning approach ensures that all time spent by learning partners contributes incrementally to the end goal of producing a thesis document. Two residential workshops, one at the beginning of the program and one after 2 years, are well timed to provide a broad initial framework (rst workshop) and a pit-stop to take stock of the progress (second workshop). My journey was not without its ups and downs, but the team at CityU, whether it was my mentors, the program director and the associate director or the support staff, was always available to help out and recognized that my needs as a working professional were different from full time university students. As I look back, not only did I achieve my objective of answering some interesting questions related to my profession but also managed to co-author a research paper based on my thesis. Now I bring a unique perspective to solve real world problems, by combining the structure and rigor of academic research with the practical knowledge and experience of my profession.