Dr Tan is an Associate Professor in Finance at the UQ Business School.
Dr Tan has earned a reputation as a researcher with expertise in capital structure and econometrics. His work has been published in leading academic and practitioner journals, such as Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Banking and Finance, and Nature Profolio's Scientific Reports. Five of his papers have also been named as the Best Papers at the following five conferences: (1) the Asian Finance Association Conference, (2) the European Real Estate Society Conference, (3) the Western Risk and Insurance Conference; (4) the 6th Behavioural Finance Conference; and (5) the 4th International Conferences on Advances in Business & Law. In addition, he was recently awarded the 2016 Early Career Researcher Excellence in Research Award by the UQ Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, and the 2017 Award for Excellence in Research by the UQ Business School.
Dr Tan teaches FINM3403 International Financial Management and FINM7402 Corporate Finance at UQ Business School, and was recently awarded the Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2013 and the Commendation for Postgraduate Teaching in 2017. Besides being an inspiring teaching instructor, Dr Tan is also a great research mentor for junior faculty and Ph.D. students. Dr Tan is particularly proud of all of his Ph.D. students, because all of them had at least one chapter of their theses published in an A* journal (ABDC ranked) and/or received at least a research award before their Ph.D. graduation. In addition, his current first-year PhD students have also been awarded a few numerous best paper awards at various prestigious international conferences. In recognition of his contribution to research supervision, he was awarded two research supervision awards in 2020: (1) the UQ Business School Award for Excellence in PhD Supervision; and (2) the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law (BEL) Award for Excellence in Higher Degree Research (HDR) Supervision.
His research has been featured in UQ News and over 100 media outlets across the globe, such as Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, 7News, ABC Radio, Yahoo News, International Business Times, MedicalXpress etc. As of 2022 June, his research was ranked in the Top 0.2% of all research outputs (21,383,946) ever tracked by Altmetric. In recognition of his contribution to cross-disciplinary research, he was awarded the Cross-Discipline Research Award by the UQ Business School in 2022.
In terms of service and engagement within the UQ Business School (UQBS), Dr Tan is the Honours Program Leader, who also sits on the UQBS Research Committee and UQBS Education Committee. Dr Tan was a Postgraduate Coordinator for the finance Ph.D. program between 2017 and 2020. Outside UQBS, Dr Tan serves as a Vice President (membership) and a board member for the Asian Finance Association, which is one of the top finance associations in Asia. Dr Tan is a Guest Editor for Pacific-Basin Finance Journal (ABDC "A" ranked Journal). Dr Tan also served as an Associate Editor at the Accounting Research Journal between 2018 and 2021.
His research interests focus on corporate finance, capital structure, and labor economics.
Dr Tan's work has had a substantial impact beyond academic philosophy through media and the finance industry. For instance, his 2016 ‘A*’ publication in the Journal of Corporate Finance attracted some media attention. It was covered in the London School of Economics (LSE) Business Review (UK) on 3 February 2016 with the following headline: “Overconfident CEOs Prefer Short-term Debt”. My work also has had an impact on the finance industry. For example, in conjunction with the Finance and Treasury Association in Australia (FTA), he conducted a survey of CFOs’ corporate capital structure decisions in Australia and New Zealand. This project has produced not only an ‘A’ journal publication but also a practitioner report that was distributed to the FTA’s members, who typically hold senior finance positions. Furthermore, the findings from the survey were the subject of a panel discussion at the 2014 FTA Congress. As a result of this project, the FTA’s members can benchmark their treasury performance and corporate decisions to their peers and improve their current practices.
His research has been featured in UQ News and over 100 media outlets across the globe, such as Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, 7News, ABC Radio, Yahoo News, International Business Times, MedicalXpress etc. As of 2022 June, his research was ranked in the Top 0.2% of all research outputs (21,383,946) ever tracked by Altmetric.
Journal Article: Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: the bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses
Woods, Keegan, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Faff, Robert (2019). Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: the bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 37, 28-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jfi.2017.05.005
Journal Article: Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment
Zhou, Qing, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng, Faff, Robert and Zhu, Yushu (2016). Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment. Journal of Corporate Finance, 39, 99-120. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.06.002
Journal Article: CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity
Huang, Ronghong, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Faff, Robert W. (2016). CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity. Journal of Corporate Finance, 36, 93-110. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.009
Climate regulatory risk and eco-friendly innovation
(2022–2023) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
(2018–2019) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
(2018) Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Determinants of SPAC Investment Performance
Doctor Philosophy
Three Essays on Contracting and Compensation
Doctor Philosophy
Social Capital and Market Reaction to Earnings Announcement
Doctor Philosophy
Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: the bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses
Woods, Keegan, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Faff, Robert (2019). Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: the bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 37, 28-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jfi.2017.05.005
Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment
Zhou, Qing, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng, Faff, Robert and Zhu, Yushu (2016). Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment. Journal of Corporate Finance, 39, 99-120. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.06.002
CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity
Huang, Ronghong, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Faff, Robert W. (2016). CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity. Journal of Corporate Finance, 36, 93-110. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.009
Corporate cash holdings through economic policy uncertainty: An Australian study
Heeney, Luke, Yang, Shanelle, Chowdhury, Hasibul and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2023). Corporate cash holdings through economic policy uncertainty: An Australian study. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal 102008, 102008. doi: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102008
Missing the boat: regulatory approval delay and investment project outcomes
Ye, Qiaozhi, Huang, Ronghong and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2023). Missing the boat: regulatory approval delay and investment project outcomes. The British Accounting Review 101186, 1-27. doi: 10.1016/j.bar.2023.101186
The determinants of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality across countries
Chang, Dianna, Chang, Xin, He, Yu and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2022). The determinants of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality across countries. Scientific Reports, 12 (1) 5888, 5888. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09783-9
Nowhere to hide: response of corporate restructuring activities to mandatory segment disclosure
Le, Trinh Hue, Oliver, Barry and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2022). Nowhere to hide: response of corporate restructuring activities to mandatory segment disclosure. Journal of Corporate Finance, 76 102251, 1-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2022.102251
Toxic emissions and corporate green innovation
Li, Wenquan, Neupane-Joshi, Suman and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2022). Toxic emissions and corporate green innovation. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1-82. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4113290
Do external labor market incentives improve labor investment efficiency?
Chowdhury, Hasibul, Hossain, Ashrafee, Tan, Kelvin and Zheng, Jiayi (2022). Do external labor market incentives improve labor investment efficiency?. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 34 100648, 100648. doi: 10.1016/j.jbef.2022.100648
Business shocks and corporate leverage
Keng Tan, Kelvin Jui, Zhou, Qing, Pan, Zheyao and Faff, Robert (2021). Business shocks and corporate leverage. Journal of Banking and Finance, 131 106208, 1-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2021.106208
CEO turnover and bankrupt firms’ emergence
Lin, Beiqi, Liu, Chelsea, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Zhou, Qing (2020). CEO turnover and bankrupt firms’ emergence. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 47 (9-10) jbfa.12482, 1238-1267. doi: 10.1111/jbfa.12482
The role of blockholders in the corporate debt maturity structure
Pan, Zheyao and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2019). The role of blockholders in the corporate debt maturity structure. Economics Letters, 185 108740, 108740. doi: 10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108740
Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: the bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses
Woods, Keegan, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Faff, Robert (2019). Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: the bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 37, 28-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jfi.2017.05.005
Why do overconfident REIT CEOs issue more debt? Mechanisms and value implications
Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2017). Why do overconfident REIT CEOs issue more debt? Mechanisms and value implications. Abacus, 53 (3), 319-348. doi: 10.1111/abac.12111
Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment
Zhou, Qing, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng, Faff, Robert and Zhu, Yushu (2016). Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment. Journal of Corporate Finance, 39, 99-120. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.06.002
A contemporary view of corporate finance theory, empirical evidence and practice
Faff, Robert W., Gray, Stephen and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2016). A contemporary view of corporate finance theory, empirical evidence and practice. Australian Journal of Management, 41 (4), 662-686. doi: 10.1177/0312896216632032
CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity
Huang, Ronghong, Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng and Faff, Robert W. (2016). CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity. Journal of Corporate Finance, 36, 93-110. doi: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.009
Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng, Lee, Jia Min and Faff, Robert (2015). Short-selling pressure and last-resort debt financing: evidence from 144A high-yield risk-adjusted debt. Accounting and Finance, 56 (4), 1149-1185. doi: 10.1111/acfi.12125
Joint leverage and maturity choices in real estate firms: the role of the REIT status
Alcock, Jamie, Steiner, Eva and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2014). Joint leverage and maturity choices in real estate firms: the role of the REIT status. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 48 (1), 57-78. doi: 10.1007/s11146-012-9379-7
The determinants of debt maturity in Australian firms
Alcock, Jamie, Finn, Frank and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2012). The determinants of debt maturity in Australian firms. Accounting and Finance, 52 (2), 313-341. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-629X.2010.00397.x
An empirical investigation of the mergers decision process in Australia
Breunig, Robert, Menezes, Flavio M. and Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng (2012). An empirical investigation of the mergers decision process in Australia. Economic Record, 88 (283), 459-475. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2012.00831.x
Kelvin Jui Keng Tan (2011). Corporate Debt Maturity. PhD Thesis, UQ Business School, The University of Queensland.
An empirical examination of corporate capital structure in Australia / Kelvin Jui Keng Tan.
Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng. (2006). An empirical examination of corporate capital structure in Australia / Kelvin Jui Keng Tan.. Honours Thesis, School of Business, The University of Queensland.
Climate regulatory risk and eco-friendly innovation
(2022–2023) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
(2018–2019) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
(2018) Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Can business shocks explain the failure of empircal tests of capital structure theories?
(2017–2018) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Debt Issuance: Evidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
(2016–2017) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
What drives the firm's heterogeneous speed of adjustment toward an optimal capital structure?
(2016) UQ Early Career Researcher
Managerial Overconfidence and Corporate Debt Maturity
(2012–2013) Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
The Role of Australian CFOs Survey in Capital Structure Theories
(2010–2012) UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
Determinants of SPAC Investment Performance
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Three Essays on Contracting and Compensation
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Social Capital and Market Reaction to Earnings Announcement
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Sustainable investment decisions and the value of the firm: The roles of managers and corporate financial policies
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Corporate venture capital investment in China
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Essays on environmental finance
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Climate Change Risk and Labor Investment Efficiency
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Firm-level political risks, CEO turnover, and CEO compensation
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Three Essays on Disclosure and Organization Capital in Firms
(2022) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Three essays on the impact of exchanged-traded funds
(2022) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Asymmetric Information, Fraud, and Switching Costs in Healthcare Insurance Markets
(2021) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Essays on Labour Unions and Corporate Finance
(2018) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Managerial Overconfidence and Corporate Finance Policies
(2017) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor