IT Security Investment Decision by New Zealand Owner-Managers

Author(s):  
Radiah Othman ◽  
Sydney Kanda

Small businesses employ 29% of New Zealand's private sector workforce and account for more than a quarter of its gross domestic product. Thus, a large-scale attack on small businesses could prove to be catastrophic to the economy. This chapter, which is framed by the protection motivation theory, explores 80 small business owners' IT security decision-making via an online survey. The findings revealed that 21% of small businesses were affected by ransomware. Fifty-one percent of the respondents did not have any anti-malware and none of the respondents used data classification, which means all information was regarded as the same. Since they managed to recover their backup information, they did not perceive the threat of ransomware as imminent. In terms of coping appraisal, it is assumed that if the business owner-managers believe that the capability of IT security investment averts threats in their organizations, they will be more inclined to develop an intention to invest in it.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1532673X2094355
Author(s):  
Brian E. Adams ◽  
Edward L. Lascher ◽  
Danielle Joesten Martin

American voters commonly express abstract support for candidates with a business background, yet there is minimal systematic evidence about whether it advantages candidates in actual electoral contests. We examine this question using observational data, drawing on a California law allowing candidates to designate their occupational background on the ballot, and experimental data. Candidates with a business background are prevalent in California. However, neither of our studies indicate that business candidates enjoy atypical overall electoral success (although Republican leaning constituencies have a notably more favorable view of such candidates). A political background predicts electoral success far more effectively. Further, “small business owners” have more success than other business candidates, suggesting that voters consider the specifics of a candidate’s business experience. These results advance our knowledge of decision making in low-information elections, how voters weigh private-sector versus political experience, and how they filter occupational information through a partisan lens.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Hienerth ◽  
Alexander Kessler

The problems associated with measuring success in small businesses are primarily caused by a lack of comparable data due to the ambiguity of “success” and by subjective biases. Success evaluation is dominated by the estimates of business owners, who tend to overestimate overall success and internal strengths. However, reliable success measurement instruments would be useful for small business owners/managers as well as small business policymakers. The main purposes of this article are to compare various measures of success, to explore the differences in their outcomes, and to analyze whether a model of success measurement using configurational fit can be used to overcome subjective biases. The study is based on a recent survey of 103 small family-owned businesses in the eastern Austrian border region. Our analysis of the data confirmed the existence of the measurement problems mentioned above. Although some individual indicators show significant biases as well as effects due to company age, size, and industry, the aggregated indicator based on the concept of configurational fit seems to be an appropriate means of overcoming most of these drawbacks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Olufemi Muibi Omisakin

Entrepreneurship is an important concept in both developing and developed societies today. Although there is no consensus on the definition of entrepreneurship, it is believed to be a process of creating value by bringing together a unique package of resources to exploit entrepreneurship opportunities (Morris, 2002). This study aims to discover the economic contributions and challenges of immigrant entrepreneurs to their host country, and focuses on African small business owners in Auckland, New Zealand. Literature on immigrant entrepreneurship was reviewed, resulting in a discussion of the economic contributions of immigrant entrepreneurship as well as its challenges. Data was collected using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, observation and field notes as the sources of inquiry. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 17 participants. All participants were African immigrant small business owners running businesses in Auckland. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected (Braun & Clarke, 2006). 


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Vincent Feriano Mulja ◽  
Jacquelinda Sandra Sembel

<p>This research was triggered by the massive disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic which has heavily affected small businesses in a negative way. The unprecedented pandemic resulted in a sharp decline in the number of micro businesses in affected areas in Indonesia, including Semarang. Thus, there is an urgent need to revive micro businesses. This research aims on analyzing the effect of entrepreneurial spirit and values through entrepreneurial behavior to develop business independence. Data analysis in this study was conducted using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Research samples consisted of 200 entrepreneurs in Semarang who have run their businesses for more than one year. The findings show that there is an effect of entrepreneurial value and spirit on entrepreneurial independence directly and through entrepreneurial behavior.</p><p><strong>BAHASA INDONESIA ABSTRACT:</strong></p><p>Penelitian ini dipicu oleh disrupsi secara massif pada usaha kecil di daerah-daerah terdampak di Indonesia di masa pandemi COVID-19, Semarang. Untuk itu perlu adanya upaya untuk membangkitkan kembali geliat para pelaku bisnis kecil menuju kemandirian usaha. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keterkaitan antara jiwa kewirausahaan para pelaku usaha dan nilai kewirausahaan yang mereka yakini, yang dapat meningkatkan kemandirian usaha melalui perilaku usaha. Penelitian ini menggunakan <em>Structural Equation Modelling</em> (SEM) untuk melakukan analisis data. Sampel penelitian terdiri dari 200 wirausahawan di Semarang yang sudah menjalani usaha selama lebih dari satu tahun. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa jiwa kewirausahaan dan nilai kewirausahaan berpengaruh terhadap kemandirian usaha baik secara langsung mampun melalui perilaku kewirausahaan. Perilaku kewirausahaan berpengaruh positif terhadap kemandirian usaha.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-488
Author(s):  
Catherine Mpolokeng Sephapo ◽  
Johannes Arnoldus Wiid ◽  
Michael Colin Cant

Sponsorship is a powerful marketing tool that organisations in South Africa are embracing. From the evaluation of the sponsorship growth over the years, the industry in South Africa has developed from a R63 million industry in 1985 to the value of just under R7 billion in 2011 (City Press, 2012). Small businesses in South Africa are faced with the challenge of effectively reaching target segments. These small businesses are restricted in terms of limited marketing budgets and therefore need alternative ways of improving their brands in the eyes of the consumer. Theoretically, sponsorship is considered to improve the brand image of an organisation and ultimately improve sales. However, the question that this study aims to answer is whether small business owners perceive sponsorship to be a useful tool that even they can utilise. The study made use of a quantitative approach whereby a web-based questionnaire was distributed to small business owners. The findings indicated that the general attitude towards sponsorship as a marketing tool is positive. The correlation between sponsor sincerity and sponsorship usefulness was found positive; however, average in strength. Although sponsorship is seen as a useful tool, 15.4% of the respondents indicated that they would not consider using this marketing tool. This response may provide an opportunity for further research to be conducted which may shed some light on the strategies small business owners perceive to be most effective for their unique circumstances


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
Chandra Prasad Dhakal

Small businesses play important role for economic development and stability. It develops access in financial services through enhancing economic activities. The study analyzes the growth and development of small businesses that enhance through the support of micro finance in Nepal. Descriptive and inferential were used to collected data and collected data were analyzed through using multiple linear regression analysis. Only 124 small business owners were selected for this study. The study helps to find out the growth of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and small businesses in emerging economy in Nepal. It also assists MFIs to assess the effectiveness of their services and help to efficient utilization of available resources in the economy of Nepal.


Author(s):  
Courtney Lewis

This introduction describes how encouraging a diversity of small businesses can help support a Native Nation’s long-term economic stability, but goes further to demonstrate this uniquely through the eyes of the small-business owners themselves along with an in-depth examination of their local, national, and international contexts. In doing so, it describes how this book also addresses the ways in which Native Nations, by supporting small business resilience, are responding in politically and socioeconomically meaningful ways to settler-colonial economic subjugations. This introduction further describes how the book unpacks the layers of small-business complications specific to Native Nations and American Indian business owners while speaking to larger theoretical questions regarding the impact of small businesses in a global indigenous context. Debates regarding economic sovereignty versus economic power, measures of autonomy, land status, economic identity, fluctuating relationships with settler-colonial society, and the growth of neoliberalism (along with its accompanying “structural adjustment” policies) meet with specific practices, such as the implementation of guaranteed annual incomes, cultural revitalization actions, environmental justice movements, and the potentially precarious choices of economic development—issues that are exacerbated during times of economic precarity, such as the Great Recession.


1984 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Buckman Stephenson

The most pressing problem of small business owners is how to get sales now and in the future. Items such as inflation, taxes, government regulation, costs of paper work, etc. become more important as a small business moves beyond stage 1 and possibly 2. Yet even then, how to get customers should still be the significant focus. Many entrepreneurs, especially providers of services, rely almost exclusively on word-of-mouth, which is often ineffectively utilized and, as the major source of business, should not be relied on. The entire selling process must be focused on in the first stage to change the survival rate of small businesses.


Author(s):  
Dean Kyne ◽  
Arlett Sophia Lomeli ◽  
William Donner ◽  
Erika Zuloaga

Abstract The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has been impacted by various hurricanes throughout history. While Hurricane evacuation has been studied extensively in other contexts, there is limited systematic research on the warning and response to a large-scale severe weather event in South Texas. This study attempts to understand the evacuation decision-making behavior of Southern residents in the event of a Hurricane making landfall over the Rio Grande Valley. The study uses an online survey questionnaire with 1060 participants: 275 students attending the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and the remaining 785 are members of the community. Throughout the course of the study, information was gathered about selected elements: demographic characteristics, living conditions, the following and awareness of authority recommendations, decision maker roles, reasons for not wanting to leave a disaster-prone area facing an emergency, perception of a safe place, and expected help from both, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during evacuation that could impact residents’ evacuation decision. Findings reveal there are a number of individuals who will remain in their place of residence, even in the deadliest of hurricane Category 5. The study provides complex factors influencing the nature of evacuation decision-making of individuals who are Hispanics living in a unique geographical location of RGV.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-117
Author(s):  
Sarah Gundlach ◽  
Andre Sammartino

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of individual traits and attributes on the entrepreneurial and internationalization actions of Australian businesswomen, many of whom run small businesses. Design/methodology/approach This study is exploratory and quantitative, based on a questionnaire survey of 323 Australian businesswomen. Drawing upon the extant literature on internationalization, gender and entrepreneurship, the study explores two micro-foundational relationships of interest – personality and capability assessment differences between female business owners and their employed counterparts, and the impact of such traits and assessments on their internationalization. A further question is explored in terms of any differentials in perceptions of barriers in internationalization. Findings The findings show key personality dimensions do not differ dramatically between Australian businesswomen working in their own businesses (i.e. entrepreneurs) or as employees in organizations, while there are surprisingly few differences between women who are engaged internationally and those yet to do so. When comparing the female entrepreneurs and employees, in particular, the findings around tolerance for ambiguity and management efficacy are notably counterintuitive. This leads to the development of testable propositions to refine the causal claims in this domain. Practical implications The study calls into question the distinctiveness of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial endeavors, at least for female businesswomen. Originality/value By including entrepreneurs and employees, women who have engaged internationally and those that are yet to do so, the study avoids some of the potential self-selection and confirmation biases inherent in studies of only entrepreneurs or small business owners. The investigation of individual traits, attributes and experiences as micro-foundations for internationalization motivations challenges existing theories of small business expansion.


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