Determinants of the Locus of Global E-commerce

Internet and e-commerce are experiencing hyperbolic growth rates and highly asymmetric global distribution. There is also a significant variation worldwide in the means used to access the Internet and the e-commerce models adopted. This paper attempts to identify and synthesize the available evidence on predictors of mag-nitude, global distribution and forms of e-commerce. The analysis indicates that the twin forces of globalization and major revolutions in ICT are fuelling the rapid growth of global e-commerce. On the other hand, economic and infrastructure-related factors, cultural factors, political and legal factors and the activities of supranational institutions determine the proportion of the global e-commerce a country is likely to receive and the forms in which it is implemented. The success of a company is a function of its ability to understand how various environmental factors influence the optimum combination of fixed and mobile telecommunications networks in a country; appropriateness of a product to be sold online; website design; payment mechanism; delivery means; etc

Can Blockchain Strengthen the Internet of Things?

Blockchain—a kind of distributed ledger technology—has been described in the popular press as the next big thing. Put simply, a blockchain is a data structure that makes it possible to create a tamper-proof digital ledger of transactions and share them. This technology uses public-key cryptography to sign transactions among parties. The transactions are then stored on a distributed ledger. The ledger consists of cryptographically linked blocks of transactions, which form a blockchain (bit.ly/2sgabnq). It is impossible or extremely difficult to change or remove blocks of data that are recorded on the blockchain ledger

Cyber-threats and cybersecurity challenges: A cross-cultural perspective

As is the case of any economic activity, cultural factors are tightly linked to cybercrimes, cyberattacks and cybersecurity. Just like any other activities, some forms of cybercrime may be more acceptable in some cultures than in others. For some categories of cyberoffenses, cultural factors appear to play more important roles than other environmental factors. For instance, cybercrimes are more justifiable in some cultures. Quoting a Russian hacker-turned-teacher, Blau (2004) describes how he and his friends hacked programs and distributed them for free during their childhood: “It was like our donation to society, it was a form of honor; [we were] like Robin Hood bringing programs to people.” Likewise, it is argued that culture and ethical attitudes may be a more crucial factor in driving software piracy as well as a number of other cybercrimes than the levels of economic development (Donaldson, 1996; Kshetri, 2009b, 2013a, b, c, d; Kwong et al., 2003)

Blockchain adoption in supply chain networks in Asia

Reports on how blockchain can impact industries. IN 2009, Toyota announced a recall of four million vehicles due to faulty gas pedals.1 The recall cost an estimated US$2 billion. The company had received pedals from many suppliers. It lacked mechanisms to track the suppliers that were responsible for the faulty pedals. There was, thus, no way to know which cars had the defective pedals. Similar problems are found in the food industry. Blockchain has the potential to provide solutions to problems such as mentioned above by addressing visibility and traceability challenges. Blockchain technology enables companies to record every event or transaction within a supply chain (SC) on a distributed ledger, which is shared among all participants, making it secure, immutable, and irrevocable. It makes it possible to deal with a crisis in a targeted way after such a crisis is discovered and provides distributed trust. Blockchain can facilitate handling and dealing with crisis situations such as product recalls due to faulty parts or security vulnerabilities. Blockchain's public availability means that it is possible to trace back every product to the origin of the raw materials, and transactions can be linked to identify users of vulnerable parts and devices. Also, blockchain can reduce the costs of a supply chain

Institutional Changes Affecting Entrepreneurship in China

Institutions influencing entrepreneurship are undergoing significant transformation in China. During the Mao era, private entrepreneurship was virtually eradicated and was a political taboo. As reflected in the macro-level economic data, there has been an evolution of entrepreneur-friendly institutions in the country. A constellation of factors linked to China‘s global integration is pushing through fundamental changes in institutions related to Chinese entrepreneurship. The logics or governance structures and organizing principles related to entrepreneurship are rapidly changing in the country. This paper examines forces influencing the diffusion of instrumental values promoting entrepreneurship among Chinese institutional actors

Positive Externality, Increasing Returns, and the Rise in Cybercrimes

The meteoric rise in cybercrime has been an issue of pressing concern to our society. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), nine out of 10 U.S. companies experienced computer security incidents in 2005 which led to a loss of $67.2 billion. A survey conducted by IBM found that U.S. businesses worry more about cybercrimes than about physical crimes. Internet-related frauds accounted for 46$205 million in 2003 to $336 million in 2005. In a July 2007 interview with USA Today, McAfee CEO reported that his company received 3,000-5,000 threat submissions per day from customers and 10% of them were new

The Economics of Cyber-Insurance

The cyber-insurance market currently is at a nascent stage. According to the German reinsurance company Munich Re, worldwide spending on cyber-insurance was US3.4-US4 billion in 2017, which is estimated to increase to US8-US9 billion by 2020 (https://tinyurl.com/ycrwhvlf). Cyber-insurance premiums currently account for only a tiny fraction of total insurance premiums. For instance, only in OECD economies do total insurance premium exceed US$5 trillion in 2016 (https://data.oecd.org/insurance/gross-insurance-premiums.htm)

Gambling with Source Code

Tech companies required to comply with controversial regulations in foreign countries as a cost of doing business there must trade off the potential economic benefits with the risk of long-term harm

Development of a Smart City and its Adoption and Acceptance: the Case of New Songdo

South Korea's new Songdo city provides a spectacular example of a smart city, which is developed as an aerotropolis, and a ubiquitous city (U-City). An intriguing aspect of the development of the new Songdo city is that supportive formal and informal institutions are the primary reason why the U.S.-developed smart city technologies have been first implemented in Korea rather than anywhere else. Nonetheless, these institutions also pose challenges that are yet to overcome. This article aims to provide new insights into how formal and informal institutions have shaped the development of the new Songdo city and its adoption and acceptance by the targeted end users

Blockchain’s Roles in Meeting Key Supply Chain Management Objectives

Arrival of blockchain is set to transform supply chain activities. Scholars have barely begun to systematically assess the effects of blockchain on various organizational activities. This paper examines how blockchain is likely to affect key supply chain management objectives such as cost, quality, speed, dependability, risk reduction, sustainability and flexibility. We present early evidence linking the use of blockchain in supply chain activities to increase transparency and accountability. Case studies of blockchain projects at various phases of development for diverse purposes are discussed. This study illustrates the various mechanisms by which blockchain help achieve the above supply chain objectives. Special emphasis has been placed on the roles of the incorporation of the IoT in blockchain-based solutions and the degree of deployment of blockchain to validate individuals’ and assets’ identities