Kar Yan Tam

Prof Kar Yan Tam is Dean of the Business School and Chair Professor of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He received his PhD from Purdue University and started off his academic career at the University of Texas (Austin). He joined HKUST in 1992 as a founding member of the Business School, where he served as Associate Dean from 1999-2006 and Associate Vice-President of the Provost Office from 2005-2007. He was appointed founding Dean of Undergraduate Education in 2007 and was the Associate Provost and Dean of Students from 2011-2016.

As Dean of HKUST Business School, Prof Tam leads a wide spectrum of academic programs from BBA to MBA, and EMBA to PhD. These include some of the world’s leading programs such as the top-ranked Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA Program. In terms of research, HKUST Business School has been ranked the top in Asia from 2017 to 2021 by the reputable UT (Dallas) Top 100 Business School Research Rankings.

Prof Tam is currently a Board Member of EFMD and AACSB - the two major business education accreditation institutions in the world. He was the President of the Association of Asia Pacific Business Schools in 2018. As a researcher, Prof Tam is well known for his contributions in information systems and the diffusion of innovations in organizations. His earlier work on machine learning applications in financial distress prediction and investment portfolio construction was regarded as pioneer research in Fintech. He is the project leader of a theme-based research project on Fintech funded by RGC. According to Google Scholar, his publications received over 20,000 citations. Prof Tam is currently serving on the editorial board of a number of academic journals.

Prof Tam plays an active role in public services. He is currently serving on the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, and the Anti-money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Review Tribunal. He is also Chairman of the Curriculum Development Council of the Education Bureau and Chairman of the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. He serves on the Council of two tertiary institutions - Metropolitan University of Hong Kong (MUHK) and Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi). He is a member of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance.

Academic qualification

• PhD Purdue University, Management Information Systems
• M.S. Purdue University, Computer Science 
• B.S. University of Illinois, Mathematics and Computer Science 

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

• Dean, School of Business and Management, 2016 - present
• Associate Provost and Founding Dean of Students, 2011 - 2016
• Founding Dean of Undergraduate Education, 2007 - 2011
• Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs, 2005 - 2007

HKUST Business School

• Associate Dean, 1999 - 2006
• Chair Professor of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management

University of Texas, Austin

• Assistant Professor, 1987 - 1992

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Xu Xin, J. Y. L. Thong,  K. Y. Tam , “Winning Back Technology Disadopters: Testing a Technology Re-adoption Model in the Context of Mobile Internet Services,” Journal of Management Information Systems, 34, 1, 2017, 102-140.
• Hui, W., B. Yoo, V. Choudhary and  K. Y. Tam , "Sell by Bundle or Unit?: Pure Bundling versus Mixed Bundling of Information Goods" Decision Support Systems, 53, 3, 2012, 517-525.
• Ho, S.Y., Bodoff, D., and  Tam, K.Y. , "Timing of Adaptive Web Personalization and its Effects on Online Consumer Behavior" Information Systems Research, 22, 3, 2011, 660-679
• Kwan, S., So, M.,  Tam, K. Y. , “Applying Randomized Response Technique to Elicit Truthful Responses to Sensitive Questions in IS Research: The Case of Software Piracy Behavior” Information Systems Research, 21,4,2010, 941-959.
• Xu, X., Venkatesh,  Tam, K. Y., and Hong, S. J., “Model of Migration and Use of Platforms: Role of Hierarchy, Current Generation, and Complementarities in Consumer Settings” Management Science, 56, 8, 2010, 1304-1323.
• Tam, K. Y.  and S. Y. Ho, “Understanding the Impact of Web Personalization on User Information Processing, Behavior and Judgment” MIS Quarterly, 30, 4, 2006, 865-890.
• Hong, S. J. and  Tam, K. Y. , "Understanding the Adoption of Multi-purpose Information Appliances: The Case of Mobile Data Services, " Information Systems Research, 17, 2, 2006, 162-179
• Tam, K. Y.  and S. Y. Ho, "Web Personalization as a Persuasion Strategy: An Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective, " Information Systems Research, 16, 3, 2005, 271-291.

PUBLIC SERVICES

• President, Association of Asia Pacific Business Schools
• Chairman, Curriculum Development Council of EDB
• Member, Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board
• Member, Hong Kong Productivity Council
• Member, PASS Vetting Committee of CEDB
• Member, Research Grants Council of UGC
• Member, The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Fintech Advisory Council of HKMA

CONSULTATIONS AND EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Consultant, IBM China/Hong Kong; Merrill Lynch(Asia Pacific); Hongkong Telecom; Tele Danmark; Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre Corporation; Open University of Hong Kong; HSBC; Sun Microsystems; Symantec, PCCW eBusiness Solutions, and OFTA.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Electronic Commerce
• Big Data
• Personalization and HCI