Catherine Yeung
Associate Professor of Marketing, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
bio:
Catherine Yeung is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Catherine conducts research that draws on cognitive and social psychology, as well as behavioral economics to understand complex behavioral challenges. She conducts both academic and community-based research, which develops and evaluates behavioral interventions that aim at improving individual and community wellbeing. Her research cuts across multiple domains, including lifestyle change for weight loss, diabetes prevention, falls prevention in older adults, commuter behavior and workforce development. Previously, Catherine has taught at the National University of Singapore and also for the Civil Service College of Singapore. She provides consultations for and collaborates with government and health agencies that are interested in deriving policy implications based on research findings.
Website: https://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk/staff/yeung-catherine-wing-man/
3 questions:
What aspects of this research agenda are you most excited about?
I’m most excited about the agenda of embedding BI in organizations. It is every BE researcher’s dream to reap the benefits of BI to the fullest. Embedding BI in public and private organizations is a promising way to make this dream happen.
Of all the work you have done, what project / paper is your personal favourite and why?
My personal favorite is a recent project that shows a dramatic gender difference in the way middle-age overweight individuals respond to a financial incentive for weight loss: The reward of $150 for losing 5% of weight in three months motivated only males, but not females, to achieve weight loss. It strikes me how important it is to study the interplay between psycho-social factors and traditional economic tools to promote positive behavioral change.
Which is the one paper or book that you wish you had written (but have not)?
My dream book is a comic book series that spells out the true colors of behavioral struggles of consumers, investors, gamblers, service users as humans. The comic / story format may work very well in capturing the complexity and multifaceted nature of humans’ interests and struggles. The format may also work well for illustrating how behavioral change techniques can be applied along the way and how behavioral changes unfold over time (rather than overnight). Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Manga Edition)” is example of this approach.