Business Continuity Research Articles

When healthcare becomes sick: Recovering from ransomware

This teaching case describes the ransomware attack on Ireland’s national health provider, the Health Service Executive (HSE), and how it recovered. The attack disrupted critical healthcare services across more than 50 hospitals and, in retrospect, highlighted significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The case provides an in-depth analysis of the events leading up to the attack, the immediate organizational and technical impacts, and the subsequent response and recovery efforts. It explores issues such as incident response, risk management, business continuity, and the broader implications for public health organizations. It provides insights into the complexities of managing cyber threats in a healthcare context and the importance of robust cybersecurity preparedness. This case is designed for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in courses related to information security, cybersecurity management, and information systems. Students will be encouraged to evaluate the HSE’s preparedness, response strategies, and long-term recovery plans, and to develop recommendations for enhancing cybersecurity resilience in similar organizations.

The impact of working capital management to profitability of chemicals companies listed on the Vietnamese stock market

Working capital plays an important role in ensuring business continuity. Effective management of working capital will directly affect the success of the business. In contrast, poor management will lead to a lack of financial ability, difficulty in payment, reduced sales leads to reduced profits. This paper examines the impact of working capital management on the profitability of chemical companies listed on the Vietnamese stock market. Data sources used in the analysis are from the financial statements of 32 chemical companies listed on Hanoi and Hochiminh City Stock Exchange form 2019 to 2023. Through the results of SPSS 20, the authors assessed the impact of working capital management to profitability and recommendations to improve working capital management of chemical companies listed on the stock market of Vietnam.

Business Continuity and Sustainability in Government Organisations

Business Continuity and Sustainability in Government Organisations

Antecedents of Financial Behavior of MSME

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have an important role in economic growth and development in Indonesia. MSMEs are an integral part of the national business world and have a strategic position, potential, and role in realizing national development goals. The way to achieve the goals above, it is necessary to have MSMEs that can survive in various conditions. Good management is needed in managing these MSMEs, one of which is the financial behavior of MSMEs because financial behavior is an individual's perception of controlling sources of funds (money). This research aims to analyze the role of financial factors that can influence the financial behavior of MSMEs. This research uses a quantitative method with a structural equation model. So, MSMEs need to have good financial behavior to maintain business continuity. The financial factors used in this research are Financial Literacy, Financial Attitude, Locus of Control, and Financial knowledge. The research results show that all the variables used have an impact on the financial behavior of MSMEs in Gresik.

Proactive self‐healing techniques for cloud computing: A systematic review

SummaryEnsuring the seamless operation of cloud computing services is paramount for meeting user demands and ensuring business continuity. Fault‐tolerant self‐healing techniques play a crucial role in enhancing the reliability and availability of cloud platforms, minimizing downtime and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery. This article systematically categorizes and analyzes existing research on fault‐tolerant self‐healing techniques published between 2005 and 2024. We provide a comprehensive technical taxonomy organizing self‐healing techniques based on fault tolerance processes, encompassing considerations for both reliability and availability. Additionally, we evaluate applications of proactive self‐healing techniques, highlighting their achievements, and limitations in enhancing service continuity. Strategies to address identified weaknesses are discussed, alongside future research challenges and open issues in the domain of cloud resilience. Through this analysis, the article contributes to understanding self‐healing techniques in cloud computing, offering insights into their effectiveness in ensuring service continuity. The findings aim to guide future research efforts in developing more robust and resilient cloud infrastructures, ultimately enhancing overall service reliability and availability. By emphasizing the importance of fault tolerance and self‐healing techniques, this article lays the foundation for advancing the state‐of‐the‐art in cloud computing.

Digital Literacy in the Informal Economy of Ghana: Life-long Learning and Extending Working Lives of Older Persons in Post-Covid-19 Era.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the growing importance of digital technologies for economic resilience, especially for vulnerable groups like older workers in the informal sector. However, barriers to access and digital literacy create challenges alongside potential opportunities, particularly in less developed countries such as Ghana. Using older adults over 50 years engaged in informal work in Kumasi's Central Business District in Ghana as a case, this paper explores older informal workers' use of digital technologies in Ghana during the pandemic. Findings suggest that older informal workers relied heavily on their mobile phones as the only critical technological tool to sustain their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the findings also reveal critical gaps in skills, training, and support, alongside resourcefulness in leveraging digital tools for business continuity. Key policy implications include expanding mobile-centric digital literacy programs, addressing infrastructure divides, and integrating capacity building into social protection. The paper contributes insights on strengthening lifelong learning and extending the working lives of older persons in the informal sector in the post-COVID era.

Getting the ‘Why, What, and How’ Right About Your Metaverse Strategy

OVERVIEW: The metaverse is widely expected to become the next generation of the Internet and to have a comparable business impact. Thus far, however, many companies have experienced significant challenges and disappointments with the metaverse. This article introduces a method for companies to create a metaverse strategy and to ask the right managerial questions to move beyond the hype and derive tangible value from metaverse technologies. We also propose three alternative pathways for implementing a metaverse strategy in practice, thereby helping managers respond effectively to metaverse-related strategic questions.

A Systematic Approach to Developing Sustainable Post-Disaster Shelters in the Southern Region of the United States

This study aims to propose a sustainable shelter design involving energy savings, less environmental impact, and rapid construction. The structural design of the shelter is based on 3D-printing technology. Sustainability assessments, including life cycle analysis (LCA), life cycle energy assessment (LCEA), and energy justice of the designed shelter, were conducted to prove the sustainable shelter design. The outcomes of this study for several scenarios will not only allow decision-makers to design permanent shelters with maximized utilization of limited resources but also help local communities strengthen their ability to recover with minimal outside assistance post-disaster. Furthermore, residents can utilize the sustainable shelter to maintain critical functions, including business continuity and local business in emergencies.

Managing SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk in workplace COVID-19 outbreaks.

A Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) workplace outbreak is a risk to the health of workers and business continuity. To minimise this risk, companies have implemented risk management measures (RMMs) designed to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission within the workforce. The objective of this work was to gather insights into the application of RMMs in non-healthcare workplaces and to improve understanding of the practical barriers to their implementation. Data were collected using a pre-designed framework from 12 volunteer workplaces through discussions with staff responsible for site safety and during site visits to observe the RMMs and work processes. To evaluate ventilation effectiveness, measurements for carbon dioxide (CO2) were taken during the site visit and logged over an extended period in selected occupied areas. RMMs that were implemented well included working at home for office and other non-production staff, provision, and use of face coverings, provision for hand hygiene, and as methods became commonly available, carrying out testing for infected people. However, maintaining adequate physical distancing in many production areas proved difficult because established factory layouts cannot be easily changed and there is often a need for workers to be close to each other to communicate. A major shortcoming identified was the understanding and application of measures to improve workplace ventilation. Rapidly installing and/or upgrading mechanical ventilation systems during a pandemic may not be practical and ideally should be considered in building design. Measuring CO2 in occupied workspaces proved to be a useful tool for identifying areas with potentially inadequate ventilation. Preventing workplace attendance by identifying infected individuals is challenging, making effective RMMs crucial to mitigating virus transmission. The effectiveness of individual RMMs can be uncertain; therefore, it is necessary to adopt multilayered RMMs. Successful implementation relies on measures that are specific to individual workplaces, identified by accurate risk assessment, regularly reviewed for effectiveness, and worker compliance. Establishing suitable risk mitigation policies and providing staff supervision are vital to ensure the sustained and effective implementation of RMMs. For RMMs that require technical understanding, such as workplace ventilation systems, specialist support may be necessary to ensure effective implementation.

Strategi Pemasaran 4P pada Usaha Kerajinan Tangan Accessoris di Bengkayang

This study aims to determine the marketing strategy used by the handicraft business Caa Handmade to attract consumers to buy in the Shanti Bhuana campus and dormitory environment. This research was conducted at the Shanti Bhuana campus and dormitory, Jl. Bukit Karmel No.1 Sebopet, Bengkayang. The research was conducted using qualitative methods through data collection techniques, namely observation, interviews and documentation. The results of the research conducted show that to attract consumers' interest in CHM products, an appropriate marketing strategy is needed. The marketing strategy used in this research is Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Every part of the marketing strategy used by the CHM business to attract consumer interest has an important role and is interrelated with one another so that this will help business continuity

The Role of Ownership Structure on Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Manufacturing Company in Indonesia

ABSTRACT This research aims to examine the influence of company ownership structure on tax avoidance. The ownership structure in this research uses three types of ownership, namely managerial ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership. The sample used is manufacturing companies registered on the IDX during 2021-2022. By using purposive sampling, the final data used for analysis was 176 data. The analytical tool used is SPSS with multiple linear regression analysis. The research results support all hypotheses, showing that managerial ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership have a negative effect on tax avoidance. The results of this research conclude that the existence of an ownership structure tends to be reluctant to be involved in tax avoidance, because it is more interested in improving the company's reputation and business continuity in the long term.

How Business–Government Relationships Drive Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A Study of 292 Cities in China Using NCA and TDQCA

Innovation is the driving force for achieving sustainable economic development, and healthy business–government relationships are the foundation and guarantee for promoting the sustainability of digital innovation and entrepreneurship. However, current academic research on the impact of business–government relations on digital innovation and entrepreneurship often neglects the configurational effects of various factors. Therefore, this study constructed an analytical framework from the new dimension of “close” and “clean” business–government relationships, selected 292 Chinese cities as research subjects, and employed the Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and Time-Differencing Qualitative Comparative Analysis (TDQCA) methods. From a configurational perspective, it explored the relationship between business–government relations and digital innovation and entrepreneurship. The results showed the following: Firstly, the various business–government relationship factors did not have a single linear impact on digital innovation and entrepreneurship, and configuration was more crucial than a single factor. Secondly, based on the integration of research findings and the theoretical framework, five successful configurations were proposed. However, these configurations possess certain adaptability and need to be tailored to local conditions. Thirdly, analyzing the three “non” condition variables in these five configurations, including “clean” business–government relationships, government efficiency, and new infrastructure, also contributed to enhancing the sustainability of digital innovation and entrepreneurship outcomes. Additionally, the study analyzed the implications of these critical configurations for five key stakeholders: government, enterprises, research institutions and academia, policymakers, and the public. Specifically, the government can implement policies tailored to local conditions to promote the sustainable development of digital innovation and entrepreneurship. These policies include increasing investment in digital infrastructure, simplifying approval processes, and enhancing the efficiency of government services.

Customer Service and Delivery Service Quality of Delivery Service Companies

The development of goods delivery services could be seen from the growth of service companies’ quantity domestically and abroad. People could determine which delivery services they will use based on their will and the service quality. Freight forwarding companies often experience difficulty in retaining delivery services’ loyal customers. The purpose of the study is to analyze the influence of satisfaction, service quality, and customer’s services on customer’s loyalty of the freight forwarder company. The research technique used the Quantitative approach that the survey data was collected and processed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method of AMOS 22 software. This research used 200 purposive sampling of the company’s customers as respondents. The results show that there is direct and indirect influence of customer’s satisfaction, service quality, and customer’s service on customer’s loyalty. Therefore, the role of service quality and customer’s satisfaction has a significant impact on the business continuity of freight forwarding service companies. It means that the freight forwarding company should maintain the customer’s loyalty optimally by increasing customer’s satisfaction through the quality of service provided to customers in order to build the customer’s loyalty.

Strategic and tactical planning model for the design of perishable product supply chain network in Ethiopia

This article discusses the challenges associated with ensuring food security for a growing global population and emphasizes the critical role of the Agri Fresh Food Supply Chain in addressing these challenges such as mitigating food insecurity and reducing wastes. The economic repercussions of inefficiencies in perishable supply chains impact businesses' profit margins and consumers' access to essential goods. The focus is on the effective management of the complex perishable product supply chains, considering the economic significance of this sector and the need for advanced strategies to optimize the flow of time-sensitive products. The study discusses the limited consideration of product intrinsic characteristics in strategic and tactical planning decisions. The research aims to contribute to supply chain management by proposing a mathematical model (multi echelon, multi product, and multi period) for designing a perishable product supply chain network, considering factors like perishability, quantity discount policy, souring strategies and business continuity. The study explores the impact of these factors on the Agri Fresh Food Supply Chain design and its overall performances. Although the proposed model is designed to be applicable to any country or region, but its capabilities are shown through a real case study in Ethiopia. Results show that a agri-food supply chain design model that considers the intrinsic characteristics of the product, processing capacity level, and quantity discount leads to improved configurations of the food supply chain regardless of adding the associated cost.

Ways to stimulate business towards socially responsible behavior and respect for human rights in the economic sphere

The article focuses on the growing role and importance of socially responsible business behavior. This is associated with a number of factors, such as the increasing ethical consciousness of society, the growing impact of business on the environment and people’s lives, and intensified competition in the market. It is noted that socially responsible business behavior involves respect for human rights, environmental protection, investment in human capital, and the fight against corruption. The purpose of the article is to explore and substantiate the ways to stimulate business towards socially responsible and respect human rights in the economic sphere. This goal is realized in the article by solving the following research tasks: the author analyzes the concept and essence of socially responsible business behavior and respect for human rights in international legal documents; defines the basic principles of socially responsible business behavior; studies the factors influencing the incentives for business towards socially responsible behavior; and develops and substantiates a complex of measures to stimulate business towards socially responsible behavior and respect for human rights. The author explores the role of business in society and the need to take into account social and ethical aspects in its activities. The author analyzes the impact of socially responsible behavior of business entities on economic development and positive impact on society as a whole. The expected results of the proposed measures are determined. The general conclusion of the article is that socially responsible business behavior and respect for human rights in the economic sphere are important components of sustainable development in modern society. Specific recommendations are proposed for enterprises to engage in these processes and maximize their social impact. The results of this study can be used to develop and implement state policy in the field of stimulating socially responsible business behavior, as well as for self-improvement of business entities.

Multi-objective discrete Cuckoo search algorithm for optimization of bag-of-tasks scheduling in fog computing environment

Internet of Things (IoT) applications are mostly time-sensitive and require reliable executions. The majority of IoT applications experience low quality of service (QoS) because of the intrinsic delay in utilizing the far-distant cloud infrastructures. To experience better QoS, fog computing as a complementary facility for cloud infrastructure is extended near the IoT devices. The bag of tasks (BoTs) IoT applications include a number of independent tasks each of which needs a certain amount of processing time so it is favorable to experience the lowest total execution time, makespan, for all applications. In addition, reliable execution guarantees the business continuity of IoT applications. Therefore, this paper presents a fog computing scheduler for the execution of BoT IoT applications in the fog platforms to minimize makespan and maximize the reliability execution at the same time. To this end, a new reliability model is presented. Then, the BoTs scheduling issue is formulated into a multi-objective discrete optimization problem with makespan and reliability optimality viewpoints. To solve this combinatorial problem, a multi-objective discrete cuckoo search algorithm (MoDCSA) is extended. The proposed MoDCSA optimization algorithm takes the benefit of several discrete operators each of which is smartly invoked. The quality of gained results from simulations of extensive scenarios verifies the effectiveness of the proposed MoDCSA scheduling algorithm which has 2.27%, 3.89%, 5.45%, 5.40%, and 4.55% improvement in terms of makespan and 1.99%, 5.11%, 6.39%, 7.95%, and 7.78% improvement in terms of reliability against MoBLA, MoGA, MoGWO, MoSA, and MoGSA comparative algorithms respectively.

Transform to “What When” (TARA) Readiness from “What If” (KAMO)—Worries Beyond Multiple BCPs for Various Hazards in Japan

Since 2011, disasters have evolved into events that cannot be imagined from past experiences, and typical business continuity plans (BCPs) in Japan are unable to effectively deal with them. Through analysis of a questionnaire survey on BCPs in Japan, we found in this study that, typically private company-owned BCPs have focused on disaster response measures or plans for business itself, and are not directly relevant to the business units of individual employees and, as a result, have low feasibility. To focus on the continuity plans for business operations, which should be the original objective of a BCP, we propose a procedure to develop BCPs by moving from the perspective of “what if” (KAMO) to that of “what when” (TARA).

Special Issue on The Resilience Research Council of Japan

We are glad that this special issue takes up the activities of The Resilience Research Council of Japan (RRCJ). Twelve years have passed since the founding of the RRCJ. In addition to regular meetings at which experts from various fields participate in disseminating information, one of the RRCJ’s main activities is holding study groups to delve deeply into specific aspects of disaster preparedness. To respond to the intensification and frequent occurrence of disasters in recent years, it is urgent to review existing measures against disasters and business continuity plans (BCPs). Furthermore, comprehensive and flexible strategies should be developed to enhance disaster resilience. Each study in this special issue provides new perspectives and clues on this problem. First, the existing BCPs lack concrete measures from the perspectives of individual corporate departments and employees. To tackle this problem, new procedures are proposed to formulate BCPs based on the questions “What if?” and “What when?” This is expected to increase the effectiveness of BCPs. Second and third, comprehensive methods for evaluating resilience are lacking. As a result of an examination of the 13 current indexes of “Resilient Organizations” and the “Organization Resilience Index” of the British Standards Institution, it is revealed that some important elements are absent from the evaluation of corporate resilience. By complementing the corporate resilience model with these elements, the model can be improved. Furthermore, local governments must implement effective disaster countermeasures for those with limited resources in their disaster management plans. The fourth study evaluates disaster management measures from the point of view of both local governments and residents, and proposes innovative solutions to collaborate and organize, adapt to the environment, and manage for the next generation. This reveals the problems faced by local governments and residents’ lack of knowledge, and provides a roadmap for future improvements. Overall, these studies indicate that creating a resilience strategy involving all stakeholders is an urgent matter, provide valuable insight into the limits of current strategies, and offer guidelines for strengthening the important aspects of resilience so that corporations and local governments can respond to disasters more effectively. We expect that the effectiveness of disaster measures will be enhanced through incorporating these proposals and methods into practical policies and actual works. We sincerely thank all the contributors for their contributions to this special issue and the reviewers for their valuable comments.

Crisis Management vs Business Continuity: Perspectives from Practitioners and Researcher

Crisis Management vs Business Continuity: Perspectives from Practitioners and Researcher

Impact of Cloud Computing on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Impact of Cloud Computing on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery