Biography

Shu-Chun Ho is currently a Visiting Scholar and Research Project Associate in the MIS Research Center in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota . She is also a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Information Management at National Sun Yat-Sen University in Kaohsiung , Taiwan . Her current academic appointment is with the Department of Information Management at Shu Te University in Kaohsiung , Taiwan , where she serves as a Lecturer. She holds a B.S. degree in International Trade from Providence University in Taiwan , which she received in 1997. She also earned a Master of Science in Marketing Communication from Illinois Institute of Technology in the United States in 2000. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for AACSB-Accredited Business Programs.

Shu-Chun is also a recipient of a 2003-2005 National Science Council research fellowship. She recently obtained a sponsorship from the Graduate Students Study Abroad Program from the National Science Council in Taiwan for the 2005 academic year. She will use this to visit the MIS Research Center in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota . She presented her research at the First Workshop on E-Business in Barcelona , Spain in December 2002, and earlier at the International Conference on Advanced Science and Technology in Chicago , United States in 2001. Her most recent publication is “Consumer Attitudes toward Mobile Advertising: An Empirical Study (joint with M. Tsang and T. P. Liang), which was published in Spring 2004 in the International Journal of Electronic Commerce .

Background: “Prior to my graduate study, e-commerce was a very hot topic, but I had no real firsthand knowledge of it. I started exploring this subject out of curiosity. When I pursued a master's degree in the United States in 1999, I had a chance to take courses, such as electronic commerce and Internet marketing, which opened the door for me to this field. Industry has offered an exciting setting for the new ideas I was reading about in textbooks and journals in school. In mid-2000, I became involved in a startup 3D software engineering company on the Internet. My major responsibility at work was to propose a marketing business plan. This experience helped me to learn more about what was really happening in the business world, and how theory and reality eventually meet. It was a great experience for me to pursue graduate studies and to be involved in the creation of a dot.com company during that time period. When I returned to work in Taiwan in 2000, few universities were offering e-commerce courses. This gave me the incentive to bring some of this new knowledge into my teaching and to make a commitment to research in the area of e-business. This experience also motivated me to return to the United States to be involved in e-business-related research, if there was a chance to do that in the future.”

Research Interests: “My research interests are related to information technology adoption and consumer behavior in electronic commerce. I have studied issues such as consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising, intention of adoption in mobile valued-added services, and factors affecting mobile commerce adoption in business. In my research, I typically draw upon theories from the fields of Marketing Science, Psychology and Information Systems. It is interesting to learn about theoretical perspectives that are outside the Information Systems discipline and to see how they can apply to solve the problems in the IS field. During the coming year at the MISRC in my work with Professor Rob Kauffman, I expect to extend my interdisciplinary knowledge and research capabilities in the areas of Economics and Statistics, and to blend what I learn with my prior studies in Marketing and Psychology.”

Current Research Projects: “I am currently working with my advisor, Professor Ting-Ping Liang of National Sun-Yat Sen University , on two research projects. One involves a cross-national study of the factors that affect the penetration of e-commerce. A second is a study of various factors that affect mobile technology adoption. During my time at the MISRC, I expect to be working with Professor Rob Kauffman to extend my work on the cross-national study of B2C online shopping adoption with new theory and new research methods. He will be co-advising me on my doctoral dissertation research with Professor Liang. I also hope to benefit from exposure to other research projects that he is currently conducting with doctoral and faculty colleagues at the University of Minnesota , as well as the research environment of the Carlson School of Management.”

Other Personal Information: “I was born in Kauhsiung, which is in the south of Taiwan . My family members include my parents, and I have one younger brother and two sisters. My father is an open-minded and intelligent business person. He has his own philosophy in running his business and that has resulted in his success in industry. He likes to talk to us about his business during dinner. So I have learned a lot of different stories from him when we had dinner together. In addition, sometimes he asked for our help in his business when we were very young. He did that because he wanted to get us involved in his business and let us ‘think of its source when drinking water.' Today, he still encourages us to pursue our own interests and enjoy our lives. For example, my sister and I have traveled to about 20 different countries around the world so far. We planned most of the trips by our own. When we traveled together, we learned to take care of each other, to be independent, to interact and communicate with others, to appreciate exotic cultures, and to respect the ways people live in different countries. I could not have had such wonderful and valuable experiences like this without my parents' fully support.”

“Besides traveling, I like playing badminton, reading, gardening, and enjoying gourmet food in my leisure time. Because of my tight schedule with Ph.D. study, I have had to set aside most of my personal interests—except playing badminton. This has been my favorite sport in recent years. In my opinion, it's not only a sport. There's also an art of winning the game. The most fun is to win points by using accumulated wisdom and tacit communication with my partner. I am trained to quickly pick up on my competitors' weaknesses and attack them. I am also able to cooperate well with my partner to maintain an effective defense. The more I play badminton, the more I improve the skills I need to win. Badminton helps me to forget the pressure and everything while I am in the court, so I feel completely relaxed after the games. That's why I enjoy playing badminton so much.”