The safety of IoT-enabled system in smart cities of India : do ethics matter?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of ethics and technology towards safety of internet of things (IoT)-enabled system in smart cities of India (SCI). Design/methodology/approach: The determinants that would impact on securing IoT-enabled system in SCI have been identified by the studies of literature. Some hypothesis has been formulated. A conceptual model has been developed. Hypotheses and conceptual models have been tested by a statistical approach through survey works considering the feedbacks of 331 usable respondents. The results have been discussed followed by explaining the implications of this study. A comprehensive conclusion has been provided at the end. Findings: The validated results show that the trust factor has insignificant impacts on the system and technology use, as well as on the behavioural intention. The model provided could achieve 79% explanative power. Practical implications: For ensuring safety and security of IoT-enabled devices in SCI, the ethical sense of the stakeholders of SCI has considerable impact on securing safety of IoT-enabled devices in SCI. The practitioner should, as such, be sincere to motivate the stakeholders to ameliorate the ethical sense of the stakeholders for securing safety of IoT-enabled devices in SCI. Originality/value: A few studies in the areas of Indian smart cities, IoT and related ethical issues have been conducted. In that sense, this approach is deemed to be a novel attempt.