Analysis of Potential Problems in People Management concerning Information Security in Cross-cultural Environment -In the Case of Malaysia-

This paper discusses the potential problems due to cultural differences, which foreign companies may face in Malaysia concerning information security. Top five investing countries in Malaysia: Japan, US, Singapore, Germany and UK are examined. Potential problems concerning people management are developed by using Geert Hofstede’s and Edward Hall’s cultural frameworks. Analyzed are the problems concerning people management. To evaluate the magnitude of potential of problems, a new measure namely Level of Potential (LoP) is adopted. A survey was conducted in Malaysia to evaluate the severity of potential problems and the practicability of LoP. To examine the usability of developed LoPs (logical LoPs), the association level between the logical LoPs and their surveyed LoPs is compared. As a result, LoP can predict problems to a certain extent. The problem “Unintentional sharing of confidential information.” is a problem with the highest severity among the potential problems as “teaching others” is encouraged by employees’ beliefs.