The Internet of Things in the Corporate Environment

The Internet of Things (IoT) is formed by a set of physical objects with embedded sensors, connected using a network so that they can collect and exchange data. Though the concept looks simple, its deployment in industry has enormous potential to bring major business benefits and radical change. This chapter examines IoT technology and how it is being used in the corporate environment. Based on a review of existing literature and case examples, the various definitions and elements of IoT are discussed, followed by an assessment of how IoT is being used and what benefits are being delivered. Some key emergent themes are then examined – security aspects, the significance of 5G networks, and the need for an IoT strategy and project implementation guidelines. The chapter concludes by outlining possible areas for future research and suggests a step-change in the mega-infrastructure connecting IoT devices is imminent.

She-E-Os and innovation: do female CEOs influence firm innovation?

PurposeThis paper empirically investigates whether female CEOs (She-E-Os) have an effect on firm innovation among Chinese listed firms based on patent data. This study also delved further by looking at whether the internal corporate environment moderates the effect of female CEOs on innovation, that is, state ownership. Finally, this study investigates an additional test of financial constraints to examine whether financial constraints also moderate the impact of female CEOs on firm innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the data of all A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period from 2008 to 2017. The authors use ordinary least squares regression as a baseline methodology, along with firm-fixed effect, lagged measure of female CEOs, alternative measures of innovation, Heckman two-step model and negative binomial regression to check and control the possible issue of endogeneity.FindingsThe authors’ findings show that CEO gender plays an important role in producing higher levels of innovation output by improving the governance structure. However, female CEOs have no effect on state-owned enterprises' (SOEs) innovation activities, which suggests that the main goal of SOEs is achieving sociopolitical objectives. Furthermore, female CEOs' influence on innovation output is weaker in firms with financial constraints.Social implicationsThis study adds to the emerging global discussion on gender diversity. Many legislative bodies require a quota for women on corporate boards due to gender inequality. This study's findings reinforce such guidelines by emphasizing the economic benefits of including women in top management positions.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights by highlighting the role of female CEOs in increasing firms' innovation activities. Additionally, this study provides evidence on whether the internal corporate environment (state ownership and financial constraints) moderates female CEOs' effect on innovation.

Evaluation of the Strategic Leadership Characteristics of Provincial Directors of Youth and Sports in Terms of Some Variables

This study aims to examine the strategic leadership characteristics of Provincial Directors of Youth and Sports in terms of some variables. The sample group consists of 59 people serving as Provincial Directors of Youth and Sports in Turkey. The Strategic Leadership Questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS 22.0 program was utilized to analyze the data obtained. According to demographic variables, one-way analysis of variance (One way Anova), Independent T-test and Pearson correlation analysis were used to compare the scores of the strategic leadership scale sub-dimension of the provincial directors of youth and sports participating in the study. As a result of the analyses, it has been determined that the provincial directors of youth and sports participating in the study use high levels of transformational leadership and managerial leadership, their ethical leadership and political leadership use levels are above the moderate level and their leadership effectiveness perceptions and corporate environment perceptions are above the moderate level. There is a positive relationship between Transformational leadership, Managerial leadership, Ethical leadership, Political leadership and Leadership effectiveness (p <0.05). However, there is no significant relationship between corporate environment perception and leadership effectiveness (p> 0.05). There is a positive relationship between perception level and corporate environment perception and it is below average (p <0.05).

Toward a Vulnerability Mitigation Model

This chapter demonstrates how the elements of a cybersecurity incident can be analysed systematically, and suggests an alternative way to mitigate the causes and consequences of such incidents. Cybersecurity incidents can be explained in terms of a sequence of elements linking the attacking agents to their objectives: the attacking agent uses tools to exploit vulnerabilities, causing actions on a specific target to obtain unauthorized results, achieving their objectives. Cyber security can be improved by stopping the flow of the attack by mitigating one or more elements that make up the process. Unfortunately, most of these elements have characteristics that limit the opportunities for mitigation. The least difficult element to mitigate is vulnerability. The current model of vulnerability mitigation has behaved for the corporate environment, which can pay for specialized tools and consulting. This is an excellent business model but inaccessible to the public. A new model is necessary to prevent cybersecurity incidents on a broader, more inclusive level. The main proposal for vulnerability mitigation is multisector cooperation to create an independent, trustworthy, and secure vulnerability database, based on a new vulnerability report protocol developed in accordance with researchers, companies, governments, and society. However, this proposal creates some social, political, and technical challenges.

East-West

Expansion of contemporary trade and information exchange relations does not seem to alter significantly the multi-layered requirements of inter-cultural communication. In a very important sense of this term, many of individual decisions related to communication in a multi-cultural environment are inevitably narrowed to single-context world. Only to some extent, this unavoidable limitation of communication on the verge of heterogeneous cultures may be overridden by omnipresent stereotypes and ad hoc generalizations. On a more advanced level of communication, it is the stereotypes that may foster the instances of miscommunication and lead to serious misunderstandings. In the paper, a short account on stereotypes in inter-cultural communication is going to be presented, with some examples of actual instances of miscommunication in Japanese-Polish corporate environment. A proposition of a systematized approach towards the issues and intricacies of Japanese-Polish communication will follow.