Encrypted digital services weigh viability and privacy

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Firms ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
Encrypted Communication

Subject Business models of encrypted communication services. Significance Founded in 2009 on principles of security and privacy, WhatsApp has become one of the most popular means of digital communication on the planet. It has 1.2 billion monthly active users, up from 450 million in 2014 -- but no revenue. Impacts Users will balance the privacy gains and monetary cost of using encrypted platforms. Faced with hate speech on encrypted services, government pressure is rising for increasing law enforcement access to such services. Resistance from employees of large technology firms over privacy will dictate changes to products as much as market forces or legislation.

New EU plan for online extremism has modest promise

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Firms ◽  
Commission President ◽  
Media Firms ◽  
Annual Turnover ◽  
The Eu

Significance Proposed measures include a plan outlined by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in September, wherein the EU would oblige technology firms to remove terrorist and extremist content within one hour of being notified by the authorities or face fines of up to 4% of their annual turnover. Impacts Social media firms will invest more in automated filters -- regardless of their drawbacks. Removing extremist online content may impair law enforcement work by limiting their access to relevant materials and networks. Terrorist and extremist outfits will adapt to evade filters.

Online extremists are a step ahead of law enforcement

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Free Speech ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
User Privacy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Data Protection Regulation ◽  
General Data ◽  
Legal Pressure ◽  
Media And Communication ◽  
The Eu

Subject Online radicalisation. Significance The EU has increased political and legal pressure on major technology companies to tackle online radicalisation and remove extremist content. Simultaneously, its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) obliges all digital businesses to tighten user privacy. Security and privacy imperatives are increasingly at odds, not just in Europe but elsewhere too. Impacts Protecting user privacy and free speech while blocking extremist content is technologically challenging. The GDPR will restrict data available to independent analysts of corporate efforts to curb online radicalisation. Owners of smaller social media and communication channels may have few resources to invest in counter-radicalisation efforts.

EU green ambitions are strongly reflected in budget

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Firms ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
Financial Transactions ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Industrial Capacity

Significance Overall, some 30% of the budget will involve climate-related spending. One of the key reforms concerns the EU’s own resources mechanism to finance spending, with plans to introduce a plastic levy and a tax on carbon emissions, as well as potentially a tax on technology firms and financial transactions. Impacts Some countries have introduced or plan to introduce a digital tax; this puts pressure on Brussels to implement an EU-wide tax. Upskilling schemes in areas such as digital services and renewable energy will likely play a prominent role in recovery programmes. The spending opportunities provided by Next Generation EU will help the survival prospects of the Spanish and Italian coalitions this year. It will be a challenge for national governments to find the human capital and industrial capacity to initiate recovery programmes quickly.

scholarly journals Challenges for adopting and implementing IoT in smart cities

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1589-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijn Janssen ◽  
Sunil Luthra ◽  
Sachin Mangla ◽  
Nripendra P. Rana ◽  
Yogesh K. Dwivedi
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
Contextual Interactions ◽  
Use Of Internet ◽  
Power And Dependence

Purpose The wider use of Internet of Things (IoT) makes it possible to create smart cities. The purpose of this paper is to identify key IoT challenges and understand the relationship between these challenges to support the development of smart cities. Design/methodology/approach Challenges were identified using literature review, and prioritised and elaborated by experts. The contextual interactions between the identified challenges and their importance were determined using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). To interrelate the identified challenges and promote IoT in the context of smart cities, the dynamics of interactions of these challenges were analysed using an integrated Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliqués à un Classement (MICMAC)-ISM approach. MICMAC is a structured approach to categorise variables according to their driving power and dependence. Findings Security and privacy, business models, data quality, scalability, complexity and governance were found to have strong driving power and so are key challenges to be addressed in sustainable cities projects. The main driving challenges are complexity and lack of IoT governance. IoT adoption and implementation should therefore focus on breaking down complexity in manageable parts, supported by a governance structure. Practical implications This research can help smart city developers in addressing challenges in a phase-wise approach by first ensuring solid foundations and thereafter developing other aspects. Originality/value A contribution originates from the integrated MICMAC-ISM approach. ISM is a technique used to identify contextual relationships among definite elements, whereas MICMAC facilitates the classification of challenges based on their driving and dependence power. The other contribution originates from creating an overview of challenges and theorising the contextual relationships and dependencies among the challenges.

Fintech and crypto assets test US regulatory legacy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Risk ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Investor Protection ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Issues ◽  
Financial Firms ◽  
Technology Firms ◽  
The Government

Significance Large technology firms and fintech startups are driving the disruptive digitisation of financial services. This threatens incumbents' business models and raises complex regulatory issues around competition, jurisdiction, consumer and investor protection and systemic risk. Impacts Greater regulatory access to firms' data via a platform could shift legal liabilities to the government in the event of failures. Crypto assets need a global regulatory regime to overcome jurisdictional arbitrage and their obliviousness to national borders. Political stasis over governing crypto assets will leaving traditional financial firms in regulatory limbo.

Money laundering through raw diamonds

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Maximilian Johannes Teichmann ◽  
Marie-Christin Falker
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Compliance Officers ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Combat Money Laundering

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate how illegally obtained funds are laundered through raw diamonds in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Design/methodology/approach To identify specific money laundering techniques involving raw diamonds, this study used a qualitative content analysis of data collected from 60 semi-standardized interviews with both criminals and prevention experts and a quantitative survey of 200 compliance officers. Findings Raw diamonds are extraordinarily suitable for money laundering in European German-speaking countries. In particular, they may be used in all three stages of the laundering process, namely, placement, layering and integration. Research limitations/implications Because the qualitative findings are based on semi-standardized interviews, their insights are limited to the perspectives of the 60 interviewees. Practical implications Identifying gaps in existing anti-money laundering mechanisms should provide compliance officers, law enforcement agencies and legislators with valuable insights into how criminals operate. Originality/value While prior studies focus on the methods used by organizations to combat money laundering and how to improve anti-money laundering measures, this paper investigates how money launderers operate to avoid detection, thereby illustrating authentic experiences. Its findings provide valuable insights into the minds of money launderers and combines criminal perspective with that of prevention experts.

The effect of emotions, eWOM quality and online review sequence on consumer intention to follow advice obtained from digital services

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Ruiz-Mafe ◽  
Enrique Bigné-Alcañiz ◽  
Rafael Currás-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Structural Model ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Bias Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
Information Cues ◽  
Cognitive Information ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis paper analyses the interrelationships between emotions, the cognitive information cues of online reviews and intention to follow the advice obtained from digital platforms, paying special attention to the moderating effect of the sequencing of review valence.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 830 Spanish Tripadvisor users. In a two-step approach, a measurement model was estimated and a structural model analysed to test the proposed hypotheses. SmartPLS 3.0 software was used. The moderating effect of sequencing of reviews is tested.FindingsThe data analysis showed a bias effect of review sequence on the impact of online information cues and emotions on intention to follow advice obtained from Tripadvisor. When the online reviews of a restaurant begin with positive commentaries, their perceived persuasiveness is a stronger driver of the pleasure and arousal elicited by online reviews than when they begin with negative reviews. On the other hand, the perceived helpfulness of online reviews only triggers arousal when the user reads negative, followed by positive, comments. The impact of pleasure on intention to follow the advice provided in an online travel community is higher with positive-negative than with negative-positive sequences.Originality/valueWhile researchers have demonstrated the benefits of customer reviews on company sales, a largely uninvestigated issue is the interplay between emotions and cognitive information cues in the processing of online reviews. This is one of the first studies to examine the moderating effect of conflicting reviews on the impact of emotions and cognitive information cues on consumer intention to follow the advice obtained from digital services.

Shapeholders: managing them as allies, partners and significant constituents

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleksiy Osiyevskyy ◽  
Vladyslav Biloshapka
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
The Public ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The authors review the concept of building relationships with Shapeholders,: a broad group of players that have no financial stake in the company yet can substantively influence it. The process for doing this is the subject of a new book by Mark Kennedy, Shapeholders: Business success in the age of social activism. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine Mark Kennedy’s framework for managing the firm’s shapeholders, a model composed of seven basic steps (7A’s): Align with a purpose, Anticipate, Assess, Avert, Acquiesce, Advance common interests, and Assemble to win. Findings Managing corporate reputation in alliance with enlightened shapeholders is a potential defense against self-aggrandizing schemes to wantonly maximize shareholder value in the short run. Practical implications Managing shapeholders is part of the messy democratic process that works when power is apportioned fairly among those affected by a firm’s decisions, and this process underpins the winning business models of true market leaders. Social implications Stakeholders previously discredited as mere “mosquitos” have gained new power, particularly when their legitimate concerns and unfair treatment resonate with the interests of a significant segment of the public and influential shapeholders. Originality/value Shapeholders can create enormous opportunities for smart managers capable of effectively engaging with them.

scholarly journals Assessing asset monitoring levels for maintenance operations

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 632-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah A Alabdulkarim ◽  
Peter Ball ◽  
Ashutosh Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Event Simulation ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Asset Monitoring ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Asset management has recently gained significance due to emerging business models such as Product Service Systems where the sale of asset use, rather than the sale of the asset itself, is applied. This leaves the responsibility of the maintenance tasks to fall on the shoulders of the manufacturer/supplier to provide high asset availability. The use of asset monitoring assists in providing high availability but the level of monitoring and maintenance needs to be assessed for cost effectiveness. There is a lack of available tools and understanding of their value in assessing monitoring levels. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This research aims to develop a dynamic modelling approach using Discrete Event Simulation (DES) to assess such maintenance systems in order to provide a better understanding of the behaviour of complex maintenance operations. Interviews were conducted and literature was analysed to gather modelling requirements. Generic models were created, followed by simulation models, to examine how maintenance operation systems behave regarding different levels of asset monitoring. Findings – This research indicates that DES discerns varying levels of complexity of maintenance operations but that more sophisticated asset monitoring levels will not necessarily result in a higher asset performance. The paper shows that it is possible to assess the impact of monitoring levels as well as make other changes to system operation that may be more or less effective. Practical implications – The proposed tool supports the maintenance operations decision makers to select the appropriate asset monitoring level that suits their operational needs. Originality/value – A novel DES approach was developed to assess asset monitoring levels for maintenance operations. In applying this quantitative approach, it was demonstrated that higher asset monitoring levels do not necessarily result in higher asset availability. The work provides a means of evaluating the constraints in the system that an asset is part of rather than focusing on the asset in isolation.

From technical to non-technical skills among information systems suppliers

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bénédicte Branchet ◽  
Pierre-Yves Sanseau
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Key Skills ◽  
Critical Skills ◽  
Education And Society ◽  
Is Outsourcing

Purpose Existing research infers that in the information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) fields, a shift may occur between technical and non-technical skills. However, relatively little research has focused on going changes in terms of key skills in the IS suppliers sector. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by investigating these skills evolution in the IS suppliers domain and discusses their impacts on IS and IT curricula. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative method based on 15 semi-structured face-to-face interviews, with highly dedicated operational managers in senior positions in the field. Findings This study identifies, for the IS suppliers, the critical skills, which are basically non-technical, and peripheral skills, which are primarily technical. It then considers the consequences of this change and the necessary adaptations it requires for businesses and training for this field. Practical implications The findings suggest the need to redesign the educational curricula for future managers, and the adaptations required to the work organization, human resource management and business models of firms in the field. Originality/value The paper’s value is twofold. First, it focuses on IS service suppliers, an understudied area (most research examines IS outsourcing from the customer’s standpoint); second, it reveals the shift away from technical toward non-technical skills in a field that is intrinsically technical – a change that may occur more slowly than in other less technical sectors – and the consequences of this change for firms, education and society.

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