What small businesses in developing country think of cybersecurity risks in the digital age: Indonesian case

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ratna Yudhiyati ◽  
Afrida Putritama ◽  
Diana Rahmawati

Purpose This study aims to identify and analyse the issues faced by internet-based small businesses in developing countries regarding cybersecurity and document how these businesses address the risks. Design/methodology/approach This study used the qualitative method. Respondents were internet-based small businesses selected by using theoretical sampling. Data were collected by using interviews and observations. The validity of the analysis was ensured by using triangulation and member checking. Findings This study reveals that small businesses managed to identify the loss of physical and monetary assets as possible damage. However, only a few businesses identified loss of intangible assets as possible cyber risks. Most small businesses had used basic cybersecurity measures to protect data access and some primary business activities. Unfortunately, they rarely take initiatives in preventing and early detecting cyber risks. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study cannot be generalised as it aims to obtain new insights and document unexplored findings. Thus, if this study’s findings are going to be generalised, it is necessary to conduct an additional study. Secondly, this study did not assess how far small business had fulfilled the relevant information security framework as assessment required additional research, and this study only aimed to map the current situation in small businesses. Practical implications This study emphasised the importance of identifying valuable assets or resources when implementing cybersecurity measures. Focusing on security measures to protect identified assets from cyber risk will make the efforts more efficient and effective than using standardised cybersecurity measures. Third-party developers can also use this study to understand small businesses’ current cybersecurity implementation and their characters to design online platforms that suit these needs. Governments can also design educational activities that address small businesses’ lack of knowledge. Originality/value Most studies which focus on small businesses and information technology (IT) usually only discuss how they use IT. This study also brings new contributions by focusing on developing countries and specifically addresses internet-based technology cyber risk faced by e-commerce businesses. The qualitative method is used as most studies in e-commerce adoption were positivistic in nature, and inductive-based studies were rarely found on the topic.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akintayo Opawole ◽  
Godwin Onajite Jagboro

Purpose Demand–supply matrices with adverse consequences has occasioned government response to concession initiatives in infrastructure in Nigeria. However, concession-based projects have been trailed by administrative and legal controversies. While this scenario has negatively impacted the acceptability of a concession contract, there is, nevertheless, a paucity of research effort aimed at developing a sustainable framework. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for the evaluation and allocation of obligations of parties, thereby enhancing the synergy and cooperation between the public and private sector organization. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained through a questionnaire administered to professionals in concession-based contracts in southwestern Nigeria, which included architects, estate surveyors, quantity surveyors, engineers and builders, accountants/bankers/economists and lawyers. The respondents were selected using random and respondent driven sampling approaches. The questions were structured to ensure that the respondents have appropriate experience in concession-based projects and hold appropriate positions as decision-makers so as to give credence to the collected data. Findings The study identified 47 contractual obligations in the specific context of developing countries. Based on “half-adjusting principle”, 13 of the obligations notably cost of land acquisition and cost of social disturbances were allocated to the public party; 18 of the obligations notably project design and cost of feasibility study were allocated to the private party; and 16 of the obligations including preparation of terms of a contract and relocation of third party facilities were shared by the parties. Originality/value The framework benchmarked the categorization of public and private parties’ obligations in concession-based public–private partnership (PPP) contracts. The study has the implication for the evaluation and allocation of obligations of parties, which could mitigate the risk of failure of PPP projects in relation to the specific context of developing countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos M. Jardón ◽  
Nilda C. Tañski

Purpose This paper aims to study the competitiveness of subsistence small businesses (SSBs) and the use of the place to get competitive advantages. Complementarily the paper analyzes the intellectual capital as a possible mediator for the competitiveness of SSBs. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained by conducting surveys with owners and managers of wood-processing companies located in Misiones (Argentina), during 2015. The research uses principal component analysis and path analysis to study the relationships. The study introduces tangible resources and size as control variables. Findings The results show the importance of place as source of competitive advantages in SSBs. The SSBs present competitive advantages that generate better results. The place affects competitive advantages directly and indirectly through intellectual capital. Research limitations/implications The data used refer to a certain period, so the use of the panel data enables generalizing findings over time. Sample is in a particular region and sector, and generalizations should be done carefully. Practical implications SSBs should raise the strategy integrating short and long term, which requires a strengthening of intellectual capital, especially in cooperation, professionalism and training. Social implications The findings suggest specific support local policies to these businesses to improve their performance in developing countries. Originality/value SSBs are very important in developing countries, but they are not sufficiently studied. This paper examines place-based competitiveness of SSBs and the moderation effect of dimensions of intellectual capital.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1451-1474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamal El Baz ◽  
Issam Laguir

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the environmental sustainability practices of third-party logistics providers (TPLs) in a developing country and analyze the efforts made by TPLs to implement green practices through a case study of Moroccan TPLs. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study of Moroccan TPLs was conducted using an interview guide. Findings The findings indicate that the internal and external drivers motivate TPLs to implement green practices while internal and external obstacles hinder them. The authors identified two groups of TPLs, each with a specific environmental sustainability approach. The results indicate also that environmental sustainability is at an early stage of development in Moroccan TPLs. Based on these findings, the authors were able to develop several propositions for further research. It is suggested that TPLs market coverage can influence positively their green initiative; the lack of collaboration and partners involvement hinders TPLs environmental initiatives; and the lack of clear environmental strategy limits TPLs environmental sustainability initiatives. Research limitations/implications This study has some limitations that provide future research opportunities. Because this study is qualitative, further statistical support is needed to justify wider generalization of its findings. The possibility of generalizing the present findings to countries beyond Morocco is limited by the fact that data were collected exclusively there. Studies might therefore do well to investigate TPLs in developing countries other than Morocco to increase the external validity of the results. Also, the research could be expanded by taking into account how shippers or client companies collaborate with TPLs to improve sustainability initiatives. Practical implications The results can be used to inform companies about environmental sustainability initiatives that have been implemented or to identify practices that can be adopted. Originality/value The relevant literature has centered on advanced countries, and few studies have been conducted in the logistics market. Research on the sustainable initiatives of TPLs in developing countries in general and African countries in particular is sparse. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the sustainable practices of TPLs in Morocco.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 756-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatma Ben Slama ◽  
Mohamed Faker Klibi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss accounting development in Tunisia, which is a developing North African country little known in the international accounting literature. Design/methodology/approach Methodologically, this paper is based on an exploratory approach. It uses the descriptive tradition of research by collecting and analyzing numerical and narrative data to identify and describe environmental factors that favor or hamper accounting development in Tunisia. Findings This paper indicates that Tunisian companies have been applying the Enterprise Accounting System (EAS) since 1996. This system, while keeping with the logic of a chart of accounts, represents a first attempt to harmonize with international accounting standards. Accounting harmonization in Tunisia is meant to support the strategy, launched in the early 1990s, to integrate the country into the globalization process. Accordingly, the EAS has helped to achieve macroeconomic benefits (public interests). However, it does not lead to the desired level of financial transparency (private interests), especially that of large companies. Currently, Tunisian Accounting Standards neither reflect the rapid evolution of business activity nor changes in international accounting standards. This unachieved harmonization has led some listed companies to comply with some International Financial Reporting Standards which are not included in the EAS. Research limitations/implications The unachieved harmonization in Tunisia is mainly related to the political system, taxation factors, the legal system, the weak state of corporate governance and governmental control over standardization. Practical implications This paper provides insights into the problems of developing countries that harmonize with international standards to achieve public interests. These countries may encounter many difficulties in bringing their accounting standards up to date. These difficulties seem to be associated with environmental specificities. Accordingly, international standardization bodies and developing country regulators should take into account environmental factors which are determinant for the harmonization decision to succeed. Originality/value This paper contributes to the existing literature on accounting development in developing countries. It implies that recent accounting development, as it is designed in Tunisia, is better suited to the needs of small businesses. Large companies would be compelled to complement local generally accepted accounting principles by standards they choose, voluntarily, among international standards.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 870-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdoulaye N’Guilla Sow ◽  
Rohaida Basiruddin ◽  
Siti Zaleha Abdul Rasid ◽  
Maizaitulaidawati Md Husin

Purpose The paper aims to provide an overview of fraud risk among Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, the authors investigate the understanding of SME owners and managers on fraud schemes and the usage of antifraud measures. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 126 Malaysian SMEs from different industries participated in this study. Findings The results suggest that Malaysian SMEs are exposed to a broad range of fraud schemes, yet few take actions to prevent these frauds. Practical implications The findings should be useful to academic researchers, entrepreneurs, regulators and others who are interested in understanding the fraud risk in small businesses. Originality/value This study extends and contributes to prior literature by linking the state of fraud and SMEs in developing countries.


Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-54
Author(s):  
Wanyenda Leonard Chilimo

 There is scant research-based evidence on the development and adoption of open access (OA) and institutional repositories (IRs) in Africa, and in Kenya in particular. This article reports on a study that attempted to fill that gap and provide feedback on the various OA projects and advocacy work currently underway in universities and research institutions in Kenya and in other developing countries. The article presents the findings of a descriptive study that set out to evaluate the current state of IRs in Kenya. Webometric approaches and interviews with IR managers were used to collect the data for the study. The findings showed that Kenya has made some progress in adopting OA with a total of 12 IRs currently listed in the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) and five mandatory self-archiving policies listed in the Registry of Open Access Repositories Mandatory Archiving Policies (ROARMAP). Most of the IRs are owned by universities where theses and dissertations constitute the majority of the content type followed by journal articles. The results on the usage and impact of materials deposited in Kenyan IRs indicated that the most viewed publications in the repositories also received citations in Google Scholar, thereby signifying their impact and importance. The results also showed that there was a considerable interest in Swahili language publications among users of the repositories in Kenya.


Network ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-94
Author(s):  
Ed Kamya Kiyemba Edris ◽  
Mahdi Aiash ◽  
Jonathan Loo

Fifth Generation mobile networks (5G) promise to make network services provided by various Service Providers (SP) such as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and third-party SPs accessible from anywhere by the end-users through their User Equipment (UE). These services will be pushed closer to the edge for quick, seamless, and secure access. After being granted access to a service, the end-user will be able to cache and share data with other users. However, security measures should be in place for SP not only to secure the provisioning and access of those services but also, should be able to restrict what the end-users can do with the accessed data in or out of coverage. This can be facilitated by federated service authorization and access control mechanisms that restrict the caching and sharing of data accessed by the UE in different security domains. In this paper, we propose a Data Caching and Sharing Security (DCSS) protocol that leverages federated authorization to provide secure caching and sharing of data from multiple SPs in multiple security domains. We formally verify the proposed DCSS protocol using ProVerif and applied pi-calculus. Furthermore, a comprehensive security analysis of the security properties of the proposed DCSS protocol is conducted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia Álvarez-Botas ◽  
Víctor M. González-Méndez

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of economic development on the influence of country-level determinants on corporate debt maturity, bearing in mind firm size and the period of financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach The authors employ panel data estimation with fixed effects to examine the role of economic development in influencing the relationship between country-level determinants on corporate debt maturity. The paper uses a sample of 30,727 listed firms, belonging to 39 countries, over the period 2005–2012. Findings Corporate debt maturity increases with the efficiency of the legal system and bank concentration and decreases with the weight of banks in the economy. However, the importance of these country determinants is greater in developing than in developed countries. The authors also show that firm size in developed and developing countries influences country determinants of corporate debt maturity. Finally, the results reveal that the financial crisis has affected the debt maturity of firms differently in developed and developing countries, with the effect of bank concentration lengthening debt maturity, this effect being more pronounced in developing countries. Practical implications The findings provide useful insights to guide policy decisions providing access to long-term financing, as corporate debt maturity depends on economic development, institutional environment, banking structure and firm size. Originality/value This study incorporates economic development in explaining the relationship between country-level determinants and corporate debt maturity.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Chen

PurposeBoth foreign and local companies frequently name their brands in foreign language on the market of developing countries, and some of them choose to disclose the brands' country of origin to consumers. The purpose of this research is to investigate the joint effects between the practices of disclosing the actual country of origin of the brands and the language of the brand names on consumers' purchase intention for foreign brands and local brands in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed hypotheses were tested in two studies, namely an experiment and a field experimental survey, with stimuli from two product categories.FindingsThe results of the two empirical studies with Chinese participants consistently demonstrate that revealing the actual country of origin of the brands undermines consumers' purchase intention for local brands that use foreign brand names, but does not impact consumers' purchase intention for foreign brands that use local brand names.Originality/valueThis research first investigates the effects of adapting the brand names into local language of developing countries for brands from developed countries on consumers' purchase intention, which provides new insight into the literature on foreign branding and country of origin effects as well as practical implications for brand managers.


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