Amit Das

COUNTRY-LEVEL DETERMINANTS OF E-GOVERNMENT MATURITY

This paper presents a model of the drivers of e-government maturity. We differentiate “maturity” from “readiness” on the basis that the former refers to demonstrated behavior, while the latter provides an idea of a country’s potential to achieve e-government, and argue that maturity is a more accurate measure of a country’s realized progress. We investigate the prevalence of affluent countries in many e-government rankings using a model where the relationship between GDP and e-government maturity is mediated by ICT infrastructure, human capital, and governance. Using data from authoritative sources, we find that most of the positive influence of GDP on e-government maturity occurs through ICT infrastructure. More mature e-government, however, does not necessarily reflect better governance; in fact our data show a weak but significant negative relationship between e-government maturity and the quality of governance. We suggest plausible explanations for these findings and how the future evolution of egovernment might change the observed relationships.

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF E-GOVERNMENT MATURITY

Extending the findings of prior cross-sectional studies, this paper presents a longitudinal analysis of the drivers of e-Government maturity. We constructed a panel dataset for the period from 2003 to 2007 using data published by various authoritative sources. We fitted a mixed-effects regression model to the data to study how the growth of e-Government around the globe is influenced by changing levels of affluence, ICT infrastructure, human capital, and governance. We found that countries’ e-Government matures as they become more affluent (in terms of GDP per capita) and as their ICT infrastructure improves. Human capital and the quality of governance have no significant effect on the development of e-Government maturity. The results suggest that countries investing in leading-edge ICT infrastructure can maintain or improve their global standing in e-Government without substantial changes to human capital or governance. We put forward plausible reasons to explain our findings, and their implications for future research and the practice of e-government.

Security behaviors of smartphone users

Purpose – This paper aims to report on the information security behaviors of smartphone users in an affluent economy of the Middle East. Design/methodology/approach – A model based on prior research, synthesized from a thorough literature review, is tested using survey data from 500 smartphone users representing three major mobile operating systems. Findings – The overall level of security behaviors is low. Regression coefficients indicate that the efficacy of security measures and the cost of adopting them are the main factors influencing smartphone security behaviors. At present, smartphone users are more worried about malware and data leakage than targeted information theft. Research limitations/implications – Threats and counter-measures co-evolve over time, and our findings, which describe the state of smartphone security at the current time, will need to be updated in the future. Practical implications – Measures to improve security practices of smartphone users are needed urgently. The findings ind...

Estimating the Loss from the Disposition Effect: A Simulation Study

The disposition effect is the tendency of investors to sell winners too early and hold losers too long. We use a simulation model to estimate the loss attributable to the disposition effect using historical data from five different stock markets around the world in four time periods. We find that loss increases with the relative unwillingness to sell losers, and is not reduced by trading more often. We also find that delaying the sale of winning stocks, and applying a selling discipline that sells off stocks once they cross preset thresholds, can reduce the loss attributable to the disposition effect.

India shining? A two-wave study of business constraints upon micro and small manufacturing firms in India

The national marketing slogan ‘India Shining’ was launched in 2004 by the Indian government to showcase rapid economic growth; around the same time, a number of new policy measures to promote small businesses were introduced to help them deal with an increasingly globalised environment. This article analyses survey data collected by the World Bank from owners and managers of 1300 Indian firms in 2002 and 608 firms in 2006 respectively, to explore how prevailing business constraints limit the performance of micro (fewer than 10 ) and small (10 to 49 employees) manufacturing businesses in 2002 and 2006. Using capacity utilisation to measure performance, the study finds that both micro and small firms fared somewhat worse in 2006 than in 2002.