Wittenborg's MBA Finance Student Thesis Published

Another Proud Achievement for Wittenborg

Wittenborg prides itself on another of its MBA students' theses being published this year. (Click here for the previous thesis publication). The thesis, entitled 'Financing Alignment and Financing Performance of Chinese Companies Within Buyer-Supplier Relationships: The Moderate Effect of Supply Chain Finance Challenges',  was written by Chinese student Aoer Zhang and supervised by Wittenborg lecturer Dr Muhammad Ashfaq.

The paper, which was published in the International Journal of Supply Chain, London, UK, evaluates the literature on financing alignment and performance of Chinese companies within buyer-supplier relationships and the moderate effect of supply chain finance challenges. It also ventures into the application of blockchain technology in supply chain finance adoptions, especially in emerging countries like China.

Importance of research in knowledge economy

Zhang's academic supervisor, Dr Muhammad Ashfaq, is not new to the world of publication. Having a background in management and finance spanning over 10 years, Ashfaq has written various research articles and contributed several chapters in different books on the topic of Finance, Ethics and Islamic banking. He has also spoken at various national and international conferences in more than 25 countries.

When asked to comment on his student's research topic, Dr Ashfaq said that this subject is very important because supply chain finance has emerged as an important avenue for finance for many companies and is especially important when dealing with the Chinese market. He is delighted that his student's thesis is published as he believes strongly in the importance of sharing research in this knowledge economy.

Head of School of Business applauds achievement

Dr Rauf Abdul, Head of School of Business at Wittenborg, expressed his happiness over this  wonderful achievement and commented: "It is great to see the constructive research collaboration between faculty and fresh master's graduates in publishing excellent research papers in internationally recognised, peer-reviewed journals in a variety of business and management disciplines."

Dr Rauf is also another of Wittenborg's lecturers who is no stranger to the academic arena. He has written and co-written books, especially related to human resources, and has presented many research papers at several international conferences in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands. Reflecting on the published paper, he said that this achievement gives him the confidence to say that we, at Wittenborg, are building a research community beyond campus and borders. To him, it is vital for both the academic team and graduates to showcase their cutting-edge research and also to contribute to the society through their research. He hopes that this can open more opportunities for further research-based, higher qualifications for fresh graduates and/or rewarding careers within the context of the knowledge economy.

The research paper can be accessed through the link here.

WUP 30/12/2020
by Hanna Abdelwahab
© WUAS Press