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 7 Cyberpreneurship Education:
A New Frontier
Mariati Norhashim, Kamarulzaman Ab. Aziz, Anisah Jumaat and Muhammad Nizam
Zainuddin

Introduction

Recent times have seen an increase in the interest and demand in entrepreneurship
research particularly in entrepreneurial personalities, skills and its relationship with
entrepreneurial tendency (Basu & Virick, 2008; Peterman & Kennedy, 2003; Yusof et
al. 2007). This trend may have started as a result of perceptions about
entrepreneurship as a social adjuster (Jack & Anderson, 1999) within an economy that
can lead to positive economic growth (Garavan & O’Cinneide, 1994; Ibrahim, 2006;
Murphy et al. 2000).

Traditionally, the modern entrepreneurs were identified by Richard Cantillon (circa

1886) as individuals who undertake the risk of new ventures by investing,
transforming and making profits after the resale stages (Weber & Schaper, 2004)
usually on a small scale. In some segments of entrepreneurship research, few scholars
theorized that one either has or does not have the entrepreneur gene based on
demographic factors (Hagen, 1960; Hisrich & Brush, 1985; Light & Rosenstein, 1995;
Ronstadt, 1987). Nevertheless, this view received further grounding through the
education system (Kolvereid, 1996b). Education programmes, especially at the tertiary
level prepare and equip students with knowledge and skills for the job market and
become the ideal place for the cultivation of entrepreneurship (Davidsson & Honig,
2003; Krueger & Fernandez-Villaverde, 2001). Several empirical researches proof that
entrepreneurship education increases the entrepreneurial self efficacy (Kaushik et al.
2006; Peterman & Kennedy, 2003; Singh & DeNoble, 2003). This approach in effect
channels the graduates towards more options in their employment route (Katz, 1992;
Kolvereid, 1996a; Kolvereid & Isaksen, 2006). However, only a few with the natural
entrepreneurial tendencies opt for the entrepreneurial route, feeding into the
entrepreneurial subpopulation of the nation. Nonetheless, this claim has valid
grounds because according to the latest data taken from the Ministry of Higher
Education’s (hereafter, MOHE) Graduate Tracer Study 2006 (MOHE, 2006) involving
132,900 graduates from various higher education institutions including universities
nationwide, 30.7% of graduates remained unemployed six months after their
convocation although they were exposed to either a specialised entrepreneurship
major or elective entrepreneurship subjects. This reflects the outcomes of the
education system that hardly meets the demand to build an entrepreneurial
subpopulation of a growing nation. Thus, the academia, especially at the level of
tertiary education, needs to provide the graduates with essential entrepreneurial
knowledge to ensure that they are equipped with the necessary skills to tackle the
challenges in the entrepreneurial world.

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Mariati Norhashim et al.

Furthermore, with the emergence of new business models (Venkatraman, 1996), the
shift of the world’s economy towards a knowledge based economy has resulted in a
whole spectrum of business and market challenges that the traditional entrepreneurs
of yesteryears are not equipped to tackle. The question thus becomes, ‘Can the current
entrepreneurship syllabus prepare students in becoming entrepreneurs in e-
commerce’? An entrepreneurship course is differentiated from a management course
by the emphasis on creativity and innovation although they share many of the same
subjects such as accounting, human resource management and information systems.
Just as ‘entrepreneurship’ is similar but distinct from ‘small business management’, in
the same way, a ‘cyberpreneurship’ syllabus is distinct from ‘entrepreneurship’. The
purpose of this paper is to discuss and dissect the similarities and differences between
the two and put forth our arguments that with the advent of information and
communication technology, digital economy, the internet and ubiquitous technology;
cyberpreneurship is not a mere trend but a legitimate branch of entrepreneurship
studies that should be given its deserved focus. We are proposing cyberpreneurship
as a syllabus for a course that can be incorporated into a business degree or an
entrepreneurship degree rather than a degree programme on its own. In so far as
entrepreneurship has found its place among subjects like management and business
studies, we propose that cyberpreneurship should have a place among subjects such
as e-commerce, e-business and management information systems.

Although, the question as to whether entrepreneurship can be taught at all is still

controversial but there is bare evidence that exposure to entrepreneurship at the
college level does trigger the entrepreneurial spirit (Fiet, 2000). Entrepreneurship
education is regarded as an avenue for developing that subpopulation in the society
(Gorman et al. 1997; Kourilsky & Carlson, 1997). It can be said that through
entrepreneurial education, seeds are planted in the minds of the students by giving
them a platform to explore their entrepreneurial ideas (Savickas, 2002) and
circumscribe, compromise and self create those ideas (Gottfredson, 2002).
Furthermore, based on empirical studies, entrepreneurship education has had an
effect on motivation (Kolvereid & Moen, 1997; Webb et. al.,1982; Upton et. al., 1995),
behaviour (Basu & Virick, 2008; Krueger & Fernandez-Villaverde, 2001) as well as
entrepreneurial skills in terms of innovativeness (Clarke, 1990; Menzies & Paradi,
1999).

A cyberpreneurship course would hopefully encourage more students to become

entrepreneurs in the e-commerce industry. Those graduates at the time of enrolment
who are aiming to secure employment upon graduation may start to realise that they
can be their own boss. In effect, entrepreneurial education awakens the entrepreneurs
within individuals. According to Zainuddin & Ismail (2009), students who majored in
entrepreneurship programmes in Malaysian universities possessed high
entrepreneurial self efficacy and about 50% of them intended to become entrepreneurs
immediately upon completing their studies.

This view seems to be shared by many, judging from the fact that entrepreneurial
education has become a popular addition to many institutions around the globe (Gibb,
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1987; Linan et al. 2005; Souitaris & Zerbinati, 2004). This is certainly true in the case of
Malaysia as the number of courses offered at various levels in the education system
and efforts at public education by the government through the MOHE, the now
defunct Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development (MECD) as well as
other agencies have been on the increase (Othman et al. 2004; Ramayah & Harun,
2005). The trend is definitely timely as the deadline for developed nation status looms
in year 2020 where achieving a knowledge society is on the agenda. Entrepreneurship
development is a key national agenda and incubator. Thus, entrepreneurship
development agencies have made their presence felt (Ariff & Abubakar, 2002).

Some may be confused as to the difference between cyberpreneurs and entrepreneurs

who peddle technology products. Cyberpreneurship specifically deals with businesses
that conduct their revenue generating processes on the internet. In other words,
cyberpreneurs are entrepreneurs in e-commerce businesses. This must be
distinguished from technopreneurs (Jones-Evans, 1995). Technology entrepreneurs do
not necessarily sell or deliver products online and yet have core business processes
such as research and development or customer relationship management done
through the internet. It is a difference between generating revenue versus cost cutting
using Information and Communication Technologies (hereafter, ICT). Although both
add value, the critical difference is that of the revenue model.

Multimedia University has a Cyberpreneurship Development Centre which aims to

promote and develop virtual organisations. Their premise as to what
cyberpreneurship means is based on businesses which use the ‘improvements in
computer technology, especially the internet, to conduct business, promote business
or perform entrepreneurship’.

This paper will discuss the common approach to entrepreneurship education from the
syllabus perspective and highlight the distinctive attributes of cyberpreneurship. The
distinction of cyberpreneurship from entrepreneurship also argues for the need to
provide cyberpreneurship education separately. A prescription for teaching
cyberpreneurship as a separate subject and how it would fit into an entrepreneurship
course structure is offered. This paper will also highlight the unique challenges in
creating a cyberpreneurship education curriculum from the aspects of technology,
business models and ethics.

Cyberpreneurship vs. Entrepreneurship Education

Many researchers have opined that entrepreneurial instinct is innate and cannot be
taught. However, studies have shown that certain entrepreneurial attitudes and skills
can be inculcated through education and training. Henry et al. (2005) found that
entrepreneurship education and training have been differentiated based on the
intended outcomes as in Jamieson (1984) or the level at which training is offered
(Garavan & O’Cinneide, 1994). The differences in categorisation however, they
observed, does not seem to reflect the variation in content and methodology of
entrepreneurship courses. Teaching methods vary from the theoretical classroom
based approach to the experiential learning techniques. Although there is still much
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debate as to the best approach to teaching entrepreneurship, there is a consensus that

some things can be taught such as practical skills and abilities whereas others cannot
be taught such as entrepreneurial traits. Risk taking propensity and locus of control
are among such entrepreneurial traits. (Othman et al. 2006)

Trends among tertiary education programmes as well as governmental efforts across

the globe signal the popularity of the opposite view. Entrepreneurship education has
been focusing on providing the needed skills to set up new businesses. However, a
process perspective is getting popular with new concepts such as intrapreneurs and
social entrepreneurs.

More importantly, an entrepreneur is increasingly being seen as a distinct profession

from a manager. Management education is argued to have a negative effect on the
development of entrepreneurial skills and qualities (Jennings & Hawley, 1996;
Timmons et al. 1987). Management education focuses on the challenges of existing
businesses whereas the emphasis of entrepreneurship is on the creation of a new
venture (McMullan & Long, 1987).

The development in entrepreneurship education in recent years has focused on the

entrepreneurial process approach. The tasks of undertaking an entrepreneurial
venture were the primary content of the syllabus. However, there is a growing
emphasis on exposing students to the factors that make an individual an
entrepreneur. The socio-psychological predictors of entrepreneurship endeavour and
success have been given much attention in research and teaching. The information
seeking, processing and decision making skills of an entrepreneur has been given due
recognition in the teaching of this subject. Baron & Shane (2005) include an entire
chapter in the cognitive foundations of entrepreneurship while Hisrich & Shepherd
(2005) attempt to profile the individual entrepreneur in terms of the emotion-
psychological makeup as well as social attributes whether ascribed or attained.
Timmons & Spinelli (2003) take a look at ‘the entrepreneurial mind in thought and
action’ which attempts to provoke students into assessing their entrepreneurial
attributes. These books take advantage of recent research findings as to gender, age,
experience, social networks and other demographic and socio-economic variables on
the entrepreneurial path taken and its success.

Baron & Shane (2005) define entrepreneurship as a field of study that seeks to
understand how opportunities to create new products or services, markets,
production processes, ways of organizing existing technologies or raw materials arise
and are discovered by specific persons, who then use various means to exploit or
develop them.

Entrepreneurial research seeks to understand the process of entrepreneurship and the

factors that give rise to its success. The success factors arise from within the
entrepreneur himself/herself as well as the environment in which he/she operates
(Yusuf, 1995). The ways in which the entrepreneur engages with the environment is
also critical to his success.
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In short, entrepreneurship education has been focused on what entrepreneurship

means, the characteristics of an entrepreneur and what entrepreneurs do. Although
all these are relevant regardless whether one is doing business in the physical or the
cyber world; cyberpreneurship requires reevaluation of business ideas such as
economies of scale and scope, the creation and management of assets and the
marketing process. Rayport & Sviokla (1996) argue that since the economic logic of
the physical value chain and virtual value chain is different, the two chains must be
managed distinctly but also in concert. Hence, how then do we teach
cyberpreneurship?

Mr. /Ms. Cyberpreneur please stand up!

The ‘flattening world’ means that old skills and ideas of how value is created
may now be deemed obsolete (Friedman, 2006). It is pointed out that jobs
would go to the ‘best, smartest, most productive, or cheapest worker –
wherever he or she resides’. If these superlatives do not apply, then
individuals must acquire the right knowledge, skills and ideas to remain
employable. This is particularly so when secured employment gives way to
freelancing self-employment which is a close cousin to entrepreneurship. It
may be very soon when entrepreneurship must look beyond the creation of
business systems to sell products and services because the individual is the
product and service all in one.

Thus, the first issue of entrepreneurship education that requires modification

for the purpose of cyberpreneurship is the understanding of who
entrepreneurs are and what they do. For the purpose of teaching
cyberpreneurship, students could be made aware of the opportunities and
obstacles encountered by ‘researchers’ turned entrepreneurs or ‘users’ turned
entrepreneurs. Although the idea of a cyberpreneurship syllabus paving a
way for an ‘incubation’ career path may not be different from the usual
entrepreneurship syllabus, the level of technical competencies may be one
distinguishing factor.

Cyberpreneurship as a course aims to prepare future technopreneurs to deal

with the unique challenges of an e-commerce venture. This will entail
redefining the roles and processes of entrepreneurship in e-commerce
ventures. What it is not is a course on e-commerce itself or even technology
management which is more technical in nature.

In the following sections, we discuss how a cyberpreneurial perspective will

mean a different and perhaps deeper look at the three steps mentioned above,
namely [1] identifying opportunity [2] planning [3] assembling resources.
However, before discussing the specifics of cyberpreneurial perspectives, a
clear understanding of cyberpreneurs need to be established.

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Identifying opportunity

The general principles and methods of identifying opportunity would have

been covered in the usual entrepreneurship course. However, exploring this
step from a cyberpreneurial point of view requires a change from linear to
nonlinear thinking.

In identifying new opportunities, innovativeness is crucial. Old markets can

be revitalised using new technologies and platforms while new markets
excavated using old technologies and new platforms. Exposing students to a
framework of innovation will lead to a competence in both opportunity
identification and structuring of business models. Often, business models for
internet products and services are merely adaptation of brick and mortar
businesses. Auctions, rentals, subscriptions and straightforward purchase
orders have their physical counterparts. Problems in the real world such as
inventory storage, customer service and logistics are not entirely done away
with. The next section will address how the cyberpreneurship slant can be
given the next step in the entrepreneurial process, namely planning.

Planning

In an entrepreneurship course, this stage will be about preparing the business

proposal, which would mean among other things, gaining an understanding
of the market, researching on government policies and regulations assembling
the team and financing.

Market research for online businesses is a decidedly different proposition

than that of researching for a brick and mortar business where surveys and
focus groups might not be available or provide useful data. As yet, most e-
commerce textbooks pay little attention to this part of setting up a business.
Thus, it is proposed that a cyberpreneurship course looks at new ways of
assessing how the market would likely respond to the offering. The course
should also discuss types of businesses that actually work on the internet as
well as those that do not.

Assembling Resources

One of major attractions of doing an internet business is the low cost of entry.
Usual entrepreneurship syllabi would include issues such as financing and
credit management. However, resources needed for a business encompass
more than seeding and start up capital. Students may have difficulty
transferring brick and mortar ideas of what resources are to cyberspace.
Business dealings with digitised products and services will find that sourcing
the ‘product and/or services’ for sale is not about finding the cheapest or
logistically viable supplier. Rather it may be about ‘manufacturing’ a product

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and/or service online. Innovative acquisition of ‘inventory’ like that of the

photography industry has allowed an ‘entirely digital approach to the
capture, organisation, selection, manipulation and distribution of
photographic images’ (Friedman, 2006).

The above vignette (Norhashim et al. 2006) illustrates several ways in which
cyberpreneurship can be taught differently than entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship
education normally focuses on idea generation and recognition of opportunities,
launching of the new venture and building lasting success. Among common
objectives of entrepreneurship education are to equip students with the needed skills
and knowledge to:

[1] Recognise and develop business opportunities

[2] Study the market and understand customers’ needs and preferences
[3] Create a viable business idea
[4] Develop the business plan
[5] Design and implement a business system
[6] Scan the environment for issues that could impact the business

Although the usual model of the entrepreneurial process is highly relevant in a

technology setting, a holistic approach should be favoured above the piecemeal
approach. Merely inserting a few chapters on the issues of k-economy is insufficient.
A holistic approach would mean looking at the basic entrepreneurial process from a
cyberpreneurship point of view. The following table (Table 7.1) provides the
prescription for teaching cyberpreneurship as a separate subject and suggests how it
would fit into an entrepreneurship course structure.

However, it is important to take note that the issues above are still hotly debated both
in the industry and academia. There is still no strong theoretical rigor or framework
that has withstood the test of time. It is precisely for this reason that tertiary
educational institutions should take the lead in filtering and refining ideas and
knowledge that has been generated in the new economy. What is the role of a
university if not to provide digestible and practical applications of the latest thinking?

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Table 7.1: Common entrepreneurship syllabus vs. cyberpreneurship aspects
Common Entrepreneurship Syllabus
• Who entrepreneurs are.
• What they do.
• Entrepreneurship processes:
o Identifying Opportunities
Old markets can be
revitalised using new
technologies and platforms
while new markets
excavated using old
technologies and new
platforms.
o Planning
Performing market research
for online businesses,
developing business models
for the internet and
establishing a localized take
on government policies and
regulations.
o Organizing Resources
Sourcing the ‘product
and/or services’ for sale is
not about finding the
cheapest or logistically
viable supplier. Rather it
may be about
‘manufacturing’ a product
and/or service online.
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Cyberpreneurship Aspects
• The level of technical competencies
may be one distinguishing factor.
• Redefining the roles and processes
of entrepreneurship in e-commerce
ventures.
• What it is not is a course on e-
commerce itself or even technology
management which is more
technical in nature.
• Proposed syllabus content:
o Understanding who
cyberpreneurs are and what
they do.
o Reevaluation of brick and
mortar ideas such as
economies of scale and
scope, the creation and
management of assets and
the marketing process.
o Appreciation of the
technological infrastructure
and infostructure
dimensions.
o Examining new customer
relationships that would
suggest new revenue
models as well as digitized
products and services.
o Exploring market research
for cyberspace.
o Looking at how borders can
be created in the so-called
‘borderless world’.
o Re-thinking of resources
acquisition and
management.
o Local government policies
and regulations as well as
international cyberlaws.
o An exposure to business
ethics in cyberspace.
 Cyberpreneurship Education

We do recognize that the topics tend to be part of the syllabi of courses such as
entrepreneurship, business, Information Technology, E-commerce, Management
Information System, etc. Our argument is that these topics are pertinent when
discussing cyberpreneurship, giving cyberpreneurship enough depth, breadth and
unique aspects that warrant it to be presented as a syllabus of its own. We feel that
with ICT, digital economy, internet, ubiquitous technology, etc, cyberpreneurship is
not a mere trend but a legitimate branch of entrepreneurship studies that should be
given its deserved focus. This syllabus is appropriate at the final stage in an
entrepreneurship major or course that will allow students to put together their
existing knowledge from the courses mentioned to form their understanding of
cyberpreneurship.

Issues and Challenges

ICT has had a moderating and confounding effect on almost all aspects of business
and individual success in entrepreneurship. Popular media abounds with internet
success stories of previously disadvantaged groups such as women, the elderly, racial
minorities and the disabled in the same way it has allowed new markets to be opened
and exploited through low cost entry as well as niche market development (Friedman,
2006). The impacts of ICT and the internet brought about the need for specialised
strategies, technology challenges as well as a spectrum of new opportunities.

Multimedia University is one example of an institution that has taken the plunge and
exhibit leadership by introducing cyberpreneurship as a compulsory subject for all of
its students irrespective of their majoring. This experience however has brought to
light challenges that had to be tackled when trying to implement a cyberpreneurship
syllabus. It was found that in order to deliver cyberpreneurship education, a sound
syllabus must at least address the technology dimension as technology is the primary
differentiating factor between cyberpreneurship and entrepreneurship courses.
Secondly, the course needs to study the implications of the cyberpreneurship value
matrix on the cyber business model; and finally, the course needs to address the legal
and ethical challenges that face the cyberpreneur.

Technological Issues

Cyberpreneurship is a new field in entrepreneurial education (Norhashim et al. 2006).

One of the key differentiating factors for cyberpreneurship education is the
technological dimension. Cyberpreneurship by definition alludes to the closely
intertwining of technology (ICT) in all aspects of entrepreneurship and thus, requires
the delivery of cyberpreneurship education to provide a higher level of appreciation
as well as understanding of the technological dimension.

The technological dimension encompasses both infrastructural and infostructural

needs for conducting enterprising activities in e-commerce and electronic business
modes.

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Cyberpreneurship education should also impart, on top of the technological

understanding, the awareness of technological developments and their impacts on
cyberpreneurs. ICT is characterized by short lifecycles and rapid development. These
often have significant impacts on cyberpreneurs; examples include mobile technology
that enabled mobile commerce, multimedia technology that enhances online
marketing, and many more. Thus, cyberpreneurs need to have the discipline of
conducting technology monitoring and forecasting to ensure that they can guarantee
the sustainability as well as growth of their businesses.

A cyberpreneur needs to tackle technological issues right from the beginning or even
before they start their businesses. For example, when developing a business plan,
cyberpreneurs may decide whether some functions, such as the website, are to be
done in-house or outsourced. Nevertheless, even when a cyberpreneur decides to
outsource, he/she needs to know and understand what solutions are exactly needed.

Another key aspect of the technological dimension is the networking technology. It is

crucial for cyberpreneurs to understand the networking technology that enables them
to connect with the target markets and conduct a variety of business transactions. In
order to navigate the networking technologies, cyberpreneurs also need to be aware of
the various communication protocols that help to ensure communication over the
internet occurs smoothly and efficiently. The awareness of the networking and
communication aspects also underlines another key issue – security.

Right from the beginning, cyberpreneurs will be using information systems. The
online transactions and the internet in general also lend itself extremely well for the
creation of databases. Cyberpreneurs should have an understanding of information
systems and the advantages as well as benefits of having databases. There are times
when the information systems and databases become central to a business’s
competitive advantage as well as the sources for alternative revenue streams. In short,
the educator must know not only the managerial and business aspects of an online
business but also the technological aspects of the various technologies, especially its
impact on the business aspects such as managing practices, cost, productivity and
profitability.

Business Model Issues

Rayport & Sviokla (1996) illustrate the differences between the physical value chain
and the virtual value chain. This brings to the fore the fact that ICT and the internet
also have implications on the general principles and methods of identifying
opportunities. The cyber (internet) markets require entrepreneurs to change from
linear to non-linear thinking.

Friedman (2006) concurs by asserting that the internet allows small businesses to act
big and the big businesses to act small either by adding bells and whistles for little
added costs for the former and enabling personalized customer service for the latter.

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Understanding the differences between these two chains has implications for the
opportunity identification as well as the structuring of a new venture.

Yip (2004) illustrates two cases where the technologies available require reevaluating
the impact on business model fundamentals such as cost and revenue relationships.
This is a major difference that must be understood by cyberpreneurship educators.
The challenge here is that the educators need to impart the understanding that the
cyberpreneurial business model demands the ability to configure ICT skills and
knowledge as well as entrepreneurial skills towards creating a successful organisation
in cyberspace.

Legal and Ethical Issues

The relationships between business, government and society are complex. Multiple
theoretical approaches are used to understand and manage the relationships.
Economics, politics, sociology and management disciplines are but some of the
viewpoints from which legal and ethical issues can be debated and policies
formulated. Cyberpreneurship suffers from being very new and in itself not very well
understood, much less attempted to be understood in the legal and ethical aspects and
the ways in which it should be handled. This section will attempt to illustrate the
legal and ethical challenges facing cyberpreneurs in terms of [1] compliance [2]
contractual obligations and [3] community.

Compliance

Steiner & Steiner (2003) list ten reasons for government regulation over the private
sector which they assert comprise flaws in the market as well as social, political and
other reasons. They are (i) natural monopolies (ii) natural resources regulation (iii)
destructive competition (iv) externalities (v) inadequate information (vi) socially
desirable goods and services (vii) protecting individual rights and privacy (viii)
resolution of national and global problems (ix) regulation to benefit special groups
and (x) conservation of resources. The government sets out rules and regulations not
just through the highest court or governing body but also through specialised
agencies. Government agencies are created with the authority to not only set up the
rules and regulations but also be the enforcing arm. More often than not, a business
must deal with not just one but multiple agencies depending on the business they are
in. At times, there may even be rulings from different agencies that could be in direct
conflict with one another.

In most businesses, the idea of a regulation being obsolete dawns slowly whereas, the
cyber industry have yet to achieve a maturity where innovations are no longer a daily
if not a minute-by-minute phenomenon. How then do cyberpreneurs prepare
themselves so as to not suffer from an unexpected backlash from an unforeseen
regulation?

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Contractual Obligations

Every business generates revenue by providing a service or a good. In the case of a

cyberpreneur, the service or the good is not always a straightforward and tangible
thing. The essence of a free market implies that every party participates willingly and
knowingly. Hiller & Cohen (2002) delve into the intricacies of contracting online.

Contract laws are designed to protect each party’s interests clearly delineating each
party’s rights and responsibilities including remedies for breach of contract. Several
major issues arise in electronic transmitted transactions. There is difficulty in
translating traditional contract principles to internet based agreements. Concepts like
authentication, legal capacity and warranties can be difficult to enforce.

The issues above are but a few legal issues that a cyberpreneur must think about when
dealing with business partners be they suppliers or customers.

Community

Consumer and children protection, equity and the digital divide, online gambling,
pornography and piracy are on the agenda of every connected country. In the physical
economy, delivery of goods and services are often subject to border controls. These
borders allow governments not only to exert taxes and levies but also protect their
markets and people. Contraband exists in the cyberspace just as they do in the
physical domain but are much harder to detect and control. Policing is just as much a
concern in the cyberworld as it is in the physical world.

Privacy is a very important issue when it comes to the internet. Coupled with the
ubiquity of mobile personal communication devices, no one is safe from having their
privacy violated and published online or worse, being subjected to identity theft.
However, personal information is becoming a commodity and there is a market for it.

Information that is collected from the internet is just one side of the picture, a business
must also be aware of the consequences of publishing information on the net. Just as
in real life, defamatory or information that could be dangerous (e.g. health advice)
must be handled with care. A certain level of self-censorship is important not only for
ethical reasons but also for managing legal risks. Hinduja (2004) notes the lack of
social control in an online setting and narrates some developments on the
constitutional and legal front responding to the need for a citizen’s privacy concerns.
He further emphasises the need to constrain the unethical and infringing behaviours
of corporations and organisations online.

Conclusion

Cyberpreneurship defined as entrepreneurs in e-commerce businesses raises unique

issues within the realm of entrepreneurial research. Entrepreneurship courses
focusing on brick and mortar businesses are argued to be inadequate to prepare

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students interested in embarking on an e-commerce business. E-commerce courses on

the other hand focuses on the structuring and implementation of e-commerce
businesses but disregard the pre startup process. A cyberpreneurship course can fill
this gap. The content of the course should incorporate the following issues:

[1] Understanding who cyberpreneurs are and what they do.

[2] Reevaluating brick and mortar ideas such as economies of scale and scope, the
creation and management of assets and the marketing process.
[3] Appreciating the technological infrastructure and infostructure dimensions.
[4] Examining new customer relationships that would suggest new revenue models
as well as digitized products and services.
[5] Exploring market research for cyberspace.
[6] Looking at how borders can be created in the so-called ‘borderless world’.
[7] Re-thinking resources acquisition and management.
[8] Understanding local government policies and regulations as well as international
cyberlaws.
[9] Having an exposure to business ethics in cyberspace.

Information and communication technologies are central to an internet business’

competitive advantage. In preparing the ‘professional cyberpreneur’, the educator
must know not only the technical aspects of the various technologies but their impacts
on the business aspects such as cost, productivity and profitability. A major challenge
for cyberpreneurship educators is that although there are many case studies that have
been done on internet businesses, the knowledge has not yet saturated to the point of
being condensable into theories and formulas.

In essence, the technological and business aspects of cyberpreneurship education can

be built on the existing knowledge of ICT and business theories. However, what
remains a gap that is difficult to bridge are the legal and ethical aspects as this is the
‘soft’ part of being a cyberpreneur.

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