Business Interruption Research Articles

Disruption Dynamics Maturity Model: An empirical tool for Business Disruption Diagnosis and Intervention

Numerous models and frameworks addressing Digital Transformation and Business disruption have emerged in the last two decades. Generally, such models and frameworks can describe Business disruption well and even help with post-facto analysis as they delve mostly into prior popular examples and cases. The Disruption Dynamics Maturity Model (DDMM) proposed here takes a deeper and more action-oriented approach towards providing diagnosis and a path for possible Interventions. Disruption Dynamics Maturity Model can be applied empirically to business situations, to capture the emerging scenarios and analyze possibilities for the future. While a number of authors, researchers from all over the world and even major consulting firms like McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture etc. have all tried to gauge this phenomenon, the challenge is that the factors triggering business disruption are becoming more granular and widespread, coming in from multiple directions, mostly not even identifiable in time. This makes it difficult to have a universal or at least a widely accepted model for diagnosing Business Disruption. Hence such a model must be dynamic, evolving in time and must also allow the practitioners or managers to track, group, pre-empt and envision various scenarios allowing them to deduce various strategic and tactical decisions. Through an integrative literature review, this working paper explores and captures significant dimensions to conceptualize such a model which can be used as an empirical tool for Business Disruption Diagnosis and Intervention. The outcome of this study is conceptualizing the Disruption Dynamics Maturity Model and demonstrating its dimensions.

Minimizing Business Disruption During Enterprise End-Point OS Upgrade while Maintaining a Robust Security Posture

The deployment of a major end-point operating system (OS) upgrade presents significant challenges for enterprise organizations, requiring a comprehensive strategy to minimize business disruption and maintain a robust security posture. Beyond the operational complexities of managing user productivity and application compatibility, organizations must also proactively address the critical security risks associated with such large-scale technology transitions. Cybercriminals often target organizations undergoing major IT changes, seeking to exploit vulnerabilities that may arise due to shifts in the OS architecture, user workflows, and security controls. This paper outlines practical strategies for executing successful OS upgrade projects that balance operational resilience and cyber risk management. Key focus areas include proactive management of end-point security, comprehensive contingency planning and rollback procedures, strategies to sustain productivity and business continuity, effective end-user training and communication, and valuable insights into the next- generation OS deployment. By focusing on these critical aspects, organizations can navigate major OS upgrade initiatives while preserving vigorous business operations, enhancing end-user experience, and safeguarding sensitive data and systems from costly security incidents.

Planning and Preparation of Cybersecurity

In today's digital environment characterized by fast-evolving adversaries, expanded attack surfaces, and complex IT environments, having a formidable plan and being prepared could create a world of difference when faced with a potential cyber-attack. Cyber threats are growing risks to everyone and any institution. Cybercriminals target individuals and companies of all sizes. Today's attacks are agile and sophisticated. Ransom demands are elevating and advancing rapidly while attackers drill down their focus to specific victims like critical infrastructure businesses, which can spend millions of dollars in losses from cyber disasters since such companies have less tolerance for downtime. The evolution of artificial intelligence technology, which is more interesting and scarier at the same time, is impacting the field of cybersecurity. The negative side of AI is that it has enabled threat actors to blend new data theft-based extortion techniques into ransomware. Attackers can steal companies' sensitive data or even encrypt the data and demand ransom for the decryption key failure, to which they threaten the company to expose the data to the public or even trade in the dark web. The intelligent techniques and tactics utilized by threat actors are a clarion call for organizations to proactively plan and prepare adequately by developing a cybersecurity strategy as a countermeasure. A cybersecurity strategy is a comprehensive plan that stipulates an organizational approach to secure its IT infrastructure against cyber threats. The common cybersecurity strategy various organizations use to plan and prepare for inevitable attacks is the incidence response plan. Incidence response is the processes and technologies organizations use to detect and respond to cyber threats, security breaches, or cyberattacks within an organization. Developing and implementing a formal incident response plan allows organizations to minimize and prevent damage. This research paper focuses on the primary goal of the incident response of preventing cyberattacks prior to occurring and reducing the cost and business disruption emanating from cyberattacks that happen. Keywords – incident response, threats, Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, threat attacks, plan, preparation.

Relationship between Risk Appetite and Investment Decisions in High-Risk Ventures in South Korea

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between risk appetite and investment decisions in high-risk ventures in South Korea. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The relationship between risk appetite and investment decisions in high-risk ventures in South Korea reveals a strong correlation where investors with higher risk tolerance are more likely to engage in high-risk ventures. These investors are driven by the potential for substantial returns, despite the associated volatility and uncertainty. The findings indicate that cultural factors, economic conditions, and market dynamics in South Korea play a significant role in shaping this risk appetite. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Prospect theory, risk parity theory & behavioral portfolio theory may be used to anchor future studies of relationship between risk appetite and investment decisions in high-risk ventures in South Korea. Practically, businesses should focus on several strategies to optimize the effectiveness of their insurance coverage in managing business interruption risks.

Developing resilience pathways for interdependent infrastructure networks: A simulation-based approach with consideration to risk preferences of decision-makers

In this study, we propose a methodological framework to identify and evaluate cost-effective pathways for enhancing resilience in large-scale interdependent infrastructure systems, considering decision-makers’ risk preferences. We focus on understanding how decision-makers with varying risk preferences perceive the benefits from infrastructure resilience investments and compare them with upfront costs in the context of high-impact low-probability (HILP) events. First, we compute the costs of interventions as the sum of their capital costs and maintenance costs. The benefits of the interventions include the reduction in physical damage costs and business disruption losses resulting from the improved resilience of the network. In the final stage, we develop statistical models to predict the perceived net benefits of different network resilience configurations in power, water, and transport networks. These models are employed in an optimization framework to identify optimal resilience investment pathways. By incorporating Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) in the optimization framework, we show that decision-makers who assign higher weights to low probability events tend to allocate more resources towards post-disaster recovery strategies leading to increased resilience against HILP events, like earthquakes. We illustrate the methodology using a case study of the interdependent infrastructure network in Shelby County, Tennessee.

An apolitical risk assessment of the 2024 US elections: The threat of widespread riots and significant business disruption

Civil disorder has always plagued humanity, with violence being triggered by real or perceived grievances, rumours and speculation, and internal or external agitators. The risk to people, communities, businesses and the rule of law is not isolated to a particular country or society. The propensity for violence and how it is incited is, however, an evolving threat with the advent of the ‘modern riot’. The causes of violence centre on economic and social injustice, sports- and event-related riots, a reaction to police or security forces and political unrest. As the US nears the contentious 2024 elections, the failing trust in the three branches of government combined with external global tensions and conflict, threats from domestic extremist groups, a rising acceptance of violence as a means of settling political disagreements, hostile nation actors and international terror groups that exploit societal instability create fertile conditions for widespread violence. Exacerbating these factors are the risks from artificial intelligence (AI) deepfake, rapid mass communications, the citizen journalist, prominent influencers amplifying grievances and inflammatory media reporting. This convergence of exacerbators and accelerants for political discord offers the potential for serious security risks and significant business disruption.

Experimental implementation of the nonstructural element simulator on shake table (NEST) for an archetype tall building

AbstractNonstructural damage, usually predominates in buildings subjected to low to moderate seismic intensities and contributes significantly to business interruption and economic losses. It promotes a rapidly growing need for experimental research and qualification of various types of nonstructural elements in buildings in the recent decades. To provide a novel option of experimentally simulating the realistic boundary conditions for various nonstructural elements in labs, we developed the Nonstructural Element Simulator on Shake Table (NEST), a passively controlled three‐layer substructural testbed driven by existing shake tables. This paper presents the first experimental implementation of NEST on a challenging 42‐story archetype tall building. The dynamic properties of the substructure were tuned to adapt the archetype building and the required shake table motions were solved as a reverse problem by an open‐loop control algorithm. The test results proved the capability of NEST to replicate the history responses of the target floors in the archetype building under either recorded earthquake ground motion or artificial loading protocols for qualification purposes. In all cases, the synthetic relative error in the floor accelerations and the inter‐story drift within the frequency range of interest was less than 5% in the numerical domain and less than 30% in the physical realization. The seismic responses of a variety of nonstructural elements to the substructural motions show that, in the mid‐story of the archetype tall building, the ceiling sustained minimum damage because of the small floor acceleration while the indoor contents slid significantly and even overturned.

Projection transformation-based link prediction for possible collaboration connections in bimodal supply chain networks

Aiming at the problems of information disconnection and business interruption in supply chain networks caused by uncertainties such as trade wars and COVID-19, a projection-transformation-based model for predicting possible collaborative relationship links in bimodal supply chain networks is designed from the perspective of network science. The model first transforms the bimodal network structure of supply chain into a corresponding unimodal projection network by projection transformation; then screens the candidate collaborative links in the network; finally assigns weights to the similarity links according to different influencing factors, and calculates the possibility of potential collaborative links in the bimodal supply chain network by this. The experimental results show that the model can achieve higher quality prediction in real bimodal supply chain networks compared with other baseline link prediction models, which provides theoretical and methodological support for better formulation of business contingency plans and risk defense measures.

Untangling the relationship between power outage and population activity recovery in disasters

Despite recognition of the relationship between infrastructure resilience and community recovery, very limited empirical evidence exists regarding the extent to which the disruptions in and restoration of infrastructure services contribute to the speed of community recovery. To address this gap, this study investigates the relationship between community and infrastructure systems in the context of hurricane impacts, focusing on the recovery dynamics of population activity and power infrastructure restoration. Empirical observational data were utilized to analyze the extent of impact, recovery duration, and recovery types of both systems in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The study reveals three key findings. First, power outage duration positively correlates with outage extent until a certain impact threshold is reached. Beyond this threshold, restoration time remains relatively stable regardless of outage magnitude. This finding underscores the need to strengthen power infrastructure, particularly in extreme weather conditions, to minimize outage restoration time. Second, power was fully restored in 70% of affected areas before population activity levels normalized. This finding suggests the role infrastructure functionality plays in post-disaster community recovery. Quicker power restoration did not equate to rapid population activity recovery due to other possible factors such as transportation, housing damage, and business interruptions. Finally, if power outages last beyond two weeks, community activity resumes before complete power restoration, indicating adaptability in prolonged outage scenarios. This implies the capacity of communities to adapt to ongoing power outages and continue daily life activities. These findings offer valuable empirical insights into the interaction between human activities and infrastructure systems, such as power outages, during extreme weather events. They also enhance our empirical understanding of how infrastructure resilience influences community recovery. By identifying the critical thresholds for power outage functionality and duration that affect population activity recovery, this study furthers our understanding of how infrastructure performance intertwines with community functioning in extreme weather conditions. Hence, the findings can inform infrastructure operators, emergency managers, and public officials about the significance of resilient infrastructure in life activity recovery of communities when facing extreme weather hazards.

<p>Livelihood Impacts of Drought: Experiences from Households and Business Organizations in Western Cape Province of South Africa</p>

Drought is a recurring natural phenomenon with significant socio-economic and environmental impacts across South Africa. This research investigates the livelihood impacts of drought on households and organizations in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, utilizing a secondary dataset collected by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and explore the dataset. Likewise, heterogeneous choice modeling was applied to investigate the factors influencing the levels of livelihoods impacts of drought among household and organizations. The findings underscored households’ greater vulnerability to drought compared to organizations across all the levels of drought impacts. Many households reported considerable and major impacts, which were largely due to differentials in adaptive capacity. While awareness of the drought was widespread, perception varied regarding the government’s effectiveness in managing the crisis, as less than half of the population of organizations (43.7%) and households (42.1%) have strong belief that the government was very effective in the management of drought disaster, while 30.9% and 34.6% of the organizations and households respectively, believed that the government was not effective enough with the management of drought crisis. Hygiene, chores, and gardening suffered the most among households, whereas disruption of business and financial burdens were predominant for organizations. Factors that significantly influenced the levels of drought impacts include age, institutional engagement of water restrictions, livelihood areas impacted by drought, and perceptions on water consumption rate. The study recommends heightened awareness of water conservation, compliance with restrictions, investment in infrastructure, and embracing community-based adaptation and disaster risk reduction initiatives. For organizations, emergency response plans, business continuity planning, and stakeholder engagement will be helpful to bolster resilience to drought.

Система суб’єктів адміністративно-правового забезпечення кібербезпеки

This article analyzes the role of administrative bodies in ensuring cyber security from a legal and administrative perspective. The key functions and tasks they perform for effective management and protection of information resources and cyber infrastructure are considered, as well as the importance of the role of subjects of administrative and legal protection of cyber security in the formation of strategies and policies aimed at ensuring cyber security is highlighted, and their contribution to the creation of a secure and stable cyberspace. Aspects that contribute to a better understanding of the role of state structures in ensuring security in cyberspace and increasing their effectiveness in this direction are considered. The normative legal acts regulating the powers and functions of subjects of administrative and legal protection of cyber security are described, in particular the Law of Ukraine “On the Basics of Cyber Security of Ukraine”, as well as the impact of the administrative and legal protection of cyber security on the effectiveness of the protection of information resources and cyber infrastructure. It is characterized that the system of subjects of administrative and legal support for cyber security is an organic combination with a common goal of state and non-state institutions, as well as other subjects that participate in the implementation of measures aimed at ensuring cyber security. Proposed: development and implementation of relevant legislation; coordination of actions between various subjects, detailed and clear demarcation of the competence of state bodies that are subjects of cyber security; establishment of a mandatory certification system to assess and confirm the level of cyber security for all entities that are critical to infrastructure or national security; cooperation with the private sector and the public; developing cyber incident response plans and recovery programs after they occur to minimize damage and business interruptions.

Factors Contributing to Millennial Employees’ Turnover Rates

Millennial employees in the bakeshop industry exhibited high turnover rates primarily due to the need for a safe work environment, recognition, and opportunities for promotion. The study focused on the factors contributing to millennial employees’ turnover rates. This study employed a quantitative, non-experimental, correlational design to investigate turnover intention among millennial employees in the bakeshop industry in Cebu Province. Data were collected via a researcher-made questionnaire from 34 randomly selected millennial employees. Analysis through descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and weighted means revealed that millennials, who formed a significant portion of the working class, tended to leave their jobs if their specific needs were not met. The primary factor driving their turnover was self-preservation, with employees prioritizing a safe and healthy work environment. A workplace free from injuries and accidents not only attracted but also retained employees, leading to reduced absences and increased productivity. Consequently, a commitment to health and safety by employers enhanced employee retention and reduced business disruptions. Additionally, recognition and opportunities for promotion were crucial for retaining millennial employees. They were likely to leave if they felt undervalued or saw limited promotion opportunities. Training and development were less significant than promotions in influencing their decision to stay. The study also found that changes in management or internal talent management practices had minimal impact on retention, provided the work environment remained stable and employees were treated well. Overall, addressing millennials’ needs for safety, recognition, and career growth was vital for reducing turnover rates in the bakeshop industry.

An Appraisal of the Extent of Business Interruption Insurance Coverage in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

An Appraisal of the Extent of Business Interruption Insurance Coverage in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Overcoming Business Disruption for MICE Business (Powered by Zoho CRM)

Digital technology disrupted MICE industry during the COVID 19 pandemic. Due to rapid changes of customer behavior, business need to implement the concept of customer centric by using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology to improve business processes. Zoho CRM is one of CRM information system which include the capacities that can support MICE business. Results from the workshop in Overcoming Business Disruption with Digital Transformation reflexed that MICE professional together with the academics improved the background in CRM technology and cloud solutions as well as Zoho CRM. Participants agreed that Zoho CRM could implement to business easily. It also provides the features of data privacy and security due to the cloud-based system and the IoTs standard. This application can provide real-time processing and responding for business especially in the event professional perspective. Academics sector realized about data privacy and system's security rather than event professionals. Implementing Zoho CRM to business in MICE industry is valuable which can gain the competitive advantages on customer data centric. System is user-friendly and support business strategics when operating business in globalization era.

Adopting Transitional Business Models in Small Fitness Businesses in Response to Business Disruptions

Adopting Transitional Business Models in Small Fitness Businesses in Response to Business Disruptions

Analisis Kelayakan Finansial dan Non Finansial Usaha Agroindustri Kopi

The Casim Coffe business is a coffee processing business located in Karang Pring village and uses coffee beans as its main raw material. Every year coffee beans always experience price increases which cause business disruptions. This study aims to analyze the financial and non-financial feasibility of the Cash Coffee business. The financial aspect is seen from the four criteria, namely NPV, IRR, PI or Net B/C and Payback Period. The NPV value obtained is IDR 366,069,410, the IRR value obtained is 26.79%, the B/C value obtained is 2.03, and the payback period is 2 years and 2 months. On the non-financial aspects seen from technical aspects, legal aspects, social and economic aspects, environmental aspects, market aspects. The results of the study show that Casim Coffe's business is feasible from a financial and non-financial perspective, except for the environmental aspect where Casim Coffe's business needs to process liquid waste so as not to damage the surrounding environment. The results of the sensitivity analysis conducted on Casim Coffe's business show that Casim Coffe's business is sensitive to changes in raw material prices and product sales prices.

DATA BREACHES EXIT STRATEGY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DATA PRIVACY LAWS

Data has become highly valuable in the era of digitalisation and is the main target of cybercriminals. Cybercriminals steal data by exploiting system vulnerabilities. The rise of catastrophic data breach incidents affects business operations, reputation and legal standing, leading to business disruptions, financial loss and reputation damage. These incidents have raised data security concerns. The frequent incident is partly due to insufficient security measures in place. This article employs doctrinal research focusing on legal principles based on legislation to analyse Malaysia’s legal framework for protecting personal data in Malaysia and a comparison with other jurisdictions, i.e. the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Singapore Personal Data Protection Act 2012 and the China Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL). The findings show that Malaysia’s data protection laws fall short of the international norm in some areas. This article suggests that Malaysian policymakers may amend the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 to align with international data protection standards to strengthen data security measures in preventive, detective and responsive data breaches. Consequently, this article provides an analysis of data protection laws in Malaysia and compares them with other advanced jurisdictions. It offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities involved in safeguarding personal data, the legal framework, and organisational strategies related to data privacy and security.

A Reinforcement Learning-Based Traffic Engineering Algorithm for Enterprise Network Backbone Links

Large enterprise networks typically rely on expensive, high-speed backbone links to connect multiple campuses across diverse regions. As the volume of traffic traversing these backbone links increases, traffic engineering techniques are employed to filter or redirect traffic flows. Nevertheless, simple rerouting strategies can introduce business disruptions such as packet reordering, which significantly impact the user experience. To address this issue, we introduce an enhanced traffic scheduling algorithm named Critical Flow Rerouting with Weight- Reinforcement Learning(CFRW-RL), which builds upon the critical flow rerouting-reinforcement learning (CFR-RL) algorithm. CFRW-RL incorporates the principles of reinforcement learning, accounting for both the weights and classifications of data flows. This approach enables the algorithm to prioritize flows with lower weights for rerouting. The simulation results demonstrate that CFRW-RL significantly minimizes the rerouting of high-priority business flows and reduces business interference compared with the CFR-RL algorithm and that it maintains a similar computational complexity.

Enhancing resilience: Understanding the impact of flood hazard and vulnerability on business interruption and losses

Without taking additional measures, flooding is becoming more likely and intense in a changing climate, which causes large economic damage. Households and firms are directly impacted by physical flood damage, but further ripple effects on society occur through business disruptions. By using post-disaster survey data from the 2021 flood event in the Netherlands, this study adds to the literature on business interruption duration and losses after flooding. The current empirical literature on flood impacts on firms is often unable to distinguish separate effects for flooded and non-flooded firms and does not incorporate flood severity and the influence of risk reduction measures. Here, we use multivariate regression models to determine depth-duration functions that describe the relationship between flood hazard characteristics and business interruption duration. This relationship can be used to calibrate flood damage models that capture indirect firm impacts. The prediction of business interruption after flooding allows for differentiation in business interruption between firms within a flooded area, reducing the reliance of these macroeconomic models on restrictive assumptions. Our results indicate that a day of business interruption duration costs a firm on average 0.5 % of their annual revenue; an effect that is stronger for firms with a weaker connection to their region. Flood damage mitigation (FDM) measures taken at the building level do not significantly affect business interruption duration, although further research on this is required. Finally, quick damage compensation is found to reduce business interruption duration and thus revenue losses, calling for higher insurance uptake and rapid and streamlined post-disaster insurance and government compensation.

Enhancing FM digitalization strategies for shopping complexes amidst post-COVID-19: a case study analysis and improvement insights

PurposeThis study aims to improve the use of digitalization in facilities management (FM) for shopping complex facilities in the post-COVID-19 era. The resumption of economic activities, especially in shopping complexes, poses challenges for FM with throngs of shoppers. To tackle these challenges, enhanced and innovative FM practices are necessary.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a qualitative research approach, incorporating case studies, interviews, observations and documentation. It focused on super-regional shopping complexes in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, selecting two complexes for qualitative data collection. Supplementary data were gathered from various sources, including government policy publications, websites, books, journal papers and archival records.FindingsThe research provides valuable insights into FM innovations and the application of FM digitalization in shopping complexes after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also addresses challenges faced by FM teams during this period. Recommendations for implementing FM digitalization in super-regional shopping complexes post-COVID-19 include developing skilled personnel, defining appropriate work scopes, strategies and policies, using cost-effective software, and increasing occupant awareness. The involvement of outsourced service providers is advised, emphasizing their understanding of the organization’s business model and innovative approaches.Originality/valueThe findings offer new perspectives on the characteristics of FM digitalization in the commercial sector during business disruptions caused by the pandemic. The proposed strategies are grounded in real industry implementations, aiming to enhance the FM digitalization approach for improved business performance.