Introduction. The relevance of the article is determined by the fact that in the conditions of the global crisis and the globalization of markets, the importance of optimal use of information as a key resource of the organization increases.
There are grounds for setting the task of optimizing the level of openness: the regulation of the ratio of open/secret information can affect the financial results of a commercial organization.
The hypothesis of the article is the statement that to improve the financial performance of a commercial organization, it is useful to determine the optimal level of information openness/secrecy of the activities of such an organization.
The purpose of the article is to improve the financial performance of a commercial organization.
To achieve this goal, the following tasks are solved:
- the concept of optimal information openness of a commercial organization is discussed;
- a methodology for solving the problem of optimizing the level of information openness/secrecy in the activities of a commercial organization is being formed;
- the influence of the level of information openness/secrecy on organizational behavior is investigated;
- describes the impact of secrecy on the financial result of the organization;
- quantitative indicators are proposed to assess the impact of the level of information openness/secrecy on the financial results of the organization.
The object of the article is the information openness of a commercial organization.
The subject of the article is the description and solution of the problem of optimizing the level of information openness /secrecy in the activities of a commercial organization.
An analysis of the literature on the topic of this article shows the following. The activities and document flow of organizations may include a regime of secrecy [1, p. 2; 2, p. 2]. The regime of secrecy in the field of information use may include information exchanges of organizations [3, p.1]. Note the existence of a sociological aspect in the information society in secrecy [4, p. 112-138; 5, p. 445-448]. Secrecy in the transmission of data is considered as one of the key conditions for the successful functioning of business and professional activity [6, p. 18-25; 7, p. 37-39; 8, p. 118-120]. At the beginning of the 21st century, methods for establishing the confidentiality (secrecy) of information are being developed [9, p. 423-427]. They develop methods for establishing the secrecy regime in a commercial organization [10, p. 8-10]. Secrecy and confidentiality are recognized as tools of organization management and organizational behavior [11, p. 149-153; 12]. The point of view is expressed that confidentiality can be an instrument of economic security of organizations [13, p. 194-207].
Method. As a result of the global crisis, the global economy is being restructured. Due to the continued concentration of capital, markets are increasingly becoming oligopolistic. A feature of oligopolistic markets is that competing organizations monitor each other’s information and pricing strategies. In this situation, it increases the role of information as one of the types of resources of the organization.
In this situation, the task of optimal information openness of the organization can be formulated: to find the optimal ratio of information openness/secrecy in the activities of a commercial organization. The following points indicate the existence of an optimal level of information openness/secrecy: 1) the absolute openness of an organization may create increased risks for such an organization in the course of competition; 2) absolute closeness will not allow expanding the market share; 3) this means that there is an optimal ratio between information openness and secrecy in the activities of a commercial organization, which gives the maximum value of the financial result of the activities of a commercial organization.
The policy of secrecy (secrecy and confidentiality, closeness) we agree to call the activity of restricting access to information of the organization, carried out by its owners and management. At the same time, the secrecy policy can also be called a system of measures aimed at regulating and limiting information flows in the external and internal environment of organizations. In the policy of secrecy, consensual and confrontational approaches can take place.
The consensus approach in the secrecy policy is to reach agreement by all interested parties on a system of measures aimed at limiting the dissemination of information about the organization.
The confrontational approach in the policy of secrecy is that the composition of the system of measures aimed at limiting information about the organization is formed as a result of the confrontation of interested parties and organizations.
The organization’s secrecy policy affects the organization’s economic security and financial performance. This is due to the fact that the level of information openness affects the degree of certainty of the conditions of the organization’s activities.
The economic security of the organization is understood as the state of protection of the organization from the negative impact of external and internal threats, destabilizing external and internal factors. This state of security is a necessary condition for achieving the realization of the main commercial interests of the organization [14, p. 11].
The lack of information about the organization reduces the own risks of a commercial organization that respects secrecy. At the same time, on the other hand, uncertainty and risk in the activities of competitors simultaneously increase.
In financial management, it is customary to control information flows. On the one hand, they seek to restrict and strictly control access to both internal and external information flows. This type of information can be considered confidential: data about the organization’s plans, resources, and partners. On the other hand, the managers of the organization itself strive to have all the available information about partners, intermediaries, competitors, markets, etc.
In general and financial management, the concepts of “trade secret” are used to restrict access to information.
The Civil Code of Russia (article 1465) defines the concept of production secret (know-how). The secret of production (know-how) is recognized as information of any nature (production, technical, economic, organizational and other). This is information about the results of intellectual activity in the scientific and technical field. This is information about how to carry out professional activities. In order for commercial information to be recognized as secret, the following conditions must be met: the information must have actual or potential commercial value, provided that it is unknown to third parties; third parties should not have free access to this information on a legal basis; the owner of such information takes reasonable measures to maintain its confidentiality, including by introducing a commercial secret regime.
In this case, the secret of production can not be recognized as information that: must be disclosed; information that the restriction of access to which is not allowed by law or other legal act.
Competitive relations and competitive behavior are one of the external sources of security breaches in organizations. The theoretical foundations of competitive relations were studied in the work of Michael Porter [12; 13, p. 194-207;15, p. 10]. Competition is considered as the driving force of management development. This also applies to the financial management of organizations. Let us agree to define competition as a struggle between a certain number of market entities (actors) in a number of directions. The areas of competition include: effective use of production factors; ensuring the income of organizations; improving the position of organizations in the market; the struggle for financial resources; the struggle of organizations for the best technological position, and more. Losing in competition leads to a decrease in the economic security of the organization.
Organizational behavior is the sequence of actions of the company during the time of its functioning. Organizational behavior should always be considered from several points of view: the process of forming an organizational culture; creating behavior stereotypes; the financial result of the company’s activities [16, p. 11; 17, p. 75-88]. Structurally, organizational behavior can be divided into external (competitive, informational, etc.) and internal (resource, personnel motivation, financial, etc.).
Information organizational behavior is the sequence of actions of the organization in the areas of external and internal communications. The structure of information organizational behavior can include: the actions of the organization to disseminate information about itself; the actions of the organization to ensure the secrecy of part of the information about the organization’s activities.
The disclosure of classified information about the activities of an organization creates risks in the activities of this organization. The risks of an organization directly affect the finances of organizations: the damage from risks is deducted from the income of firms. One of the risks may be the risk of excessive openness. This is the risk of disclosing secret information about the company’s activities. We can also talk about the risk of insufficient openness of the organization. Insufficient information openness of an organization can create the following effects: worsen the organization’s position in the capital market; reduce the awareness of buyers and dealers, and so on.
When analyzing the information risks of the company, you need to consider the following. When studying competition, it is customary to use the following concepts: comparative advantages; competitive advantages; competitive position; strategy; competitive cross-section; competitive forces.
The comparative advantages of a firm are determined by the fact that its production of goods is characterized by relative advantages or disadvantages. The comparative advantages of an organization can be explicit and hidden (secret, confidential). Producers, organizations from certain countries can benefit by concentrating their resources in areas where their comparative advantages are higher.
Competitive advantages can be explicit and hidden, secret. Competitive advantages include everything that allows an economic actor to achieve victory in the competition. Factors for achieving competitive advantages can be considered: better consumer properties and product quality; more efficient production; effective advertising and PR; better extensive sales system; after-sales service system for goods; possession of patents, etc.
The competitive position reflects the position of the firm in its industry. The competitive position of the company is determined based on the results of its activities. This position of the organization is characterized by all the competitive advantages and disadvantages compared to its competitors.
The concept of “competitive strategy” is considered as a synonym for the business strategy of the organization. Competitive strategy is a set of rules that must be followed by any business unit of the organization. The goal of the company’s competitive strategy is to achieve and maintain its competitiveness in the relevant industry [4; 11, p. 173].
The competitive cross-section includes an array of information about the subjects of competition. This information is selected and structured in such a way as to identify and conduct a comparative analysis of the factors that determine their competitive position of the company. The competitive cross-section allows you to compare: the structure of income; the cost of production of various divisions; cost effectiveness; the amount of advertising expenses; the work of the supply and sales system, etc.
The forces of competition are the factors that determine the competitive position. The forces of competition can be divided into: internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) groups of factors. In the information aspect, the forces of competition can be divided into: explicit and hidden (latent, secret, confidential).
The internal factors include the properties that make up the three levels of the product. The first level of the product includes the main benefit or service. The second level includes properties, quality, appearance, packaging, and brand name. The third level of the product includes: delivery and lending, installation, after-sales service, warranty. The fourth level of goods (services) includes factors of strategic and environmental impact. Competition in the saturated markets (buyer’s markets) of developed countries is conducted at the third and fourth levels of goods.
The external forces of competition include: the influence of buyers; the influence of suppliers; the number of existing competitors; the probability or threat of new competitors; the probability or threat of new substitute products.
The task of competitive behavior and strategy (according to Michael Porter) is to provide a market actor with certain competitive advantages. At the same time, the analysis of competition (position, forces of competition, etc.) acts as an important part of the preparation for the formulation of the strategy. The purpose of competition analysis is to assess what changes in strategy can be made by both the organization itself and its competitors. At the same time, Michael Porter examines the four diagnostic components of a competitive strategy (future goals; assumptions; current strategy, opportunities).
An organization can be competitive if it exceeds at least one of the key indicators of similar indicators of competing organizations (income, costs, liquidity, time, risks, etc.) included in the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of any firm.
The dominance of an organization over its competitors is expressed and manifested in the fact that a certain corporation has the best indicators for all of the above parameters of the effect of other organizations (income, costs, risks, liquidity and time).
Risk management can be proactive (preceding), real-time ongoing processes, and subsequent. Subsequent risk management is based on the analysis of past events and facts of economic and financial activities.
They believe that as a result of the crisis, there should be changes in the philosophy of management and business: more attention should be paid to risk management, including information risks. Based on the development of risk management at all levels of the hierarchy, the firm’s crisis management should become proactive.
Information risk management should be considered as an element of the general and financial management processes. Information risk management occupies an important place: in the control of business activities; management of information processes in business. At the same time, information risk management should take into account the specifics of organizations that are subjects of financial and economic activity in the period after the crisis.
The most effective is proactive management of information risks at the stage of designing operations and financial management systems in the organization. The project of information support of the company’s activities is an image of the future of the information support system and / or financial management of the organization. When creating an information openness project, an organization should always create (as part of an overall project) a project to manage the risks of excessive openness and/or the risk of violating secrecy, secrecy and confidentiality in the company’s activities.
It should be borne in mind that in market conditions, economic firms should pursue a policy of information openness. Information openness ensures the promotion of the company’s products and services in the markets. At the same time, excessive openness and/or violation of secrecy and confidentiality in the activities can create information risks (and related losses) and reduce the financial results of firms.
In the process of designing information support for the company’s management, all information about the organization can be presented in the form of a sum of: open information about the organization; secret information that is secret and confidential information in the organization’s activities.
Information risks of an organization include the risk of excessive openness of the firm and the risk of violation of secrecy and confidentiality.
The purpose of solving the problem of information risk management is to determine the optimal level of information risks. At the same time, the financial result of the company should be the maximum.
The goal of information risk management is the ideal state of the system for managing these risks in the future.
The goal of information risk management must have all the properties of the goal. It is known that the goals of information risk management should have the following properties: clarity; unambiguity; measurability; availability of resources; the goal should have a motivating character.
Information risk management policy can be called a set of social and economic ideas and the purposeful activity of firms caused by them. The company’s information risk management policy includes: information collection; analysis and assessment of these risks; development of measures to reduce the likelihood of their implementation; formation of measures to limit the adverse consequences (damage) from information risk.
The policy of risk management of excessive openness and / or violation of secrecy and confidentiality can also be called a set of measures aimed at reducing the level of risks or damages in the organization’s activities from this risk.
The most important factors determining the effectiveness of the secrecy policy (information risk management) should be recognized as its compliance with the objective needs of the development of the material and spiritual life of society and specific organizations. When forming such a policy, it is important to take into account the real competitive and risk conditions; correct analysis of the information policy of competitors; analysis of the economic opportunities of the state and the organization, etc. Based on this, the information risk management policy may contribute to improving the effectiveness or reducing the effectiveness of the organization’s information risk management.
The practice of information risk management finds its concrete practical reflection and implementation in the methodology, methods, methods and tools of such management. The methodology of information risk management (as part of the financial management of an organization) is a general theory of the method in managing these risks and evaluating its results.
The main principles of financial information disclosure by organizations are: reliability; availability; efficiency; completeness and regularity; a reasonable balance between the information openness of the organization (corporation) and respect for the secrecy and/or confidentiality of activities, commercial interests; compliance with the neutrality of information (no advantages in providing it).
In accordance with Russian legislation, information disclosure is understood as ensuring the information openness of an organization. The information openness of an organization is understood as: the availability of information to all interested parties; the independence of the availability of information from the purposes of obtaining this information; the availability of the procedure for obtaining information that guarantees its finding and receipt.
At the same time, according to the “Regulations on Accounting” of organizations in Russia No. 12/10 (p. 22,24,25,30,31) the organization discloses certain information in the notes to the financial statements. The Organization must also disclose information on reportable segments.
In general, information about an organization may be disclosed: at the reporting date; when developing a business plan; when issuing a prospectus; when publishing articles and reports; randomly in the context of unauthorized information leakage, including obtaining insider information or economic espionage.
The importance of information and the risk of unauthorized disclosure depends on the key concepts of financial management.
The concept in financial management is a way of defining: understanding the essence of financial management; a theoretical approach to the phenomena of financial management. In the financial management of organizations, the following concepts are known: cash flow; the time value of money; the compromise between risk and return; agency relations, and others.
The secrecy policy of an organization affects the effectiveness of the concepts and the overall financial management of the organization as a whole.
The financial manager in his practice almost always strives to have as much information as possible. Information is considered as: one of the sources of power in the organization; a way to reduce the uncertainty of financial decision-making conditions. However, when receiving information, it is important to observe: the norms of the law; social and moral restrictions; not to violate the ban on destabilizing markets and manipulating prices.
In addition to secrecy, such information events can increase the likelihood of incorrect financial decisions of competitors in the context of global competition:
1) on disinformation by spreading deliberately incorrect data. Such actions are carried out with the aim of: reducing the likelihood of disclosure of the true secret by competitors; distracting and irrational use of the efforts and resources of competitors to fight against a false secret. Often, firms use misinformation to cover up their true goals when developing financial management decisions.;
2) on imitation of financial secrecy, which is a demonstration of false signs of secrecy in its absence. The imitation of secrecy can be a means to force competitors to make more cautious financial decisions. At the same time, the ban on manipulating financial markets and prices acts as a restriction on such actions to disinform competitors.
The situational approach to information risk management in the financial management of an organization can be defined as a way of thinking about organizational problems and their solution. The purpose of the situational approach is to link specific information techniques and concepts to certain specific circumstances of the activity in order to use them more effectively.
We will describe the financial consequences of the situation of unauthorized disclosure of information in the context of global competition for the activities of the organization. For this purpose, the following situational financial characteristics of the risk of disclosure of information in the context of global competition can be proposed.
Surprise can be described as the probability of a situation where competitors are unable or unprepared in time for immediate adequate response measures. Suddenness is associated with the fact that in order to implement the response measures, competitors need to collect, process, analyze information, make a decision, concentrate the resources necessary for the response measures, and implement the necessary measures. In the process of concentrating the necessary financial resources, it may be necessary to withdraw some assets (or resources) from circulation, for example, money, in order to acquire others, for example, the necessary goods, etc. This requires a certain amount of time and financial resources.
Even more significant is the financial impact of surprise when it comes to creating new samples of goods or financial instruments. In this case, due to secrecy, competitive advantages can be maintained for a long period of time. The time period for maintaining competitive advantages will be equal to the sum of: the duration of the development cycle of the corresponding product( financial instrument); the duration of the stage of bringing them to the market. This is the period of time from the moment of sudden introduction of a new product to the market to the moment of creation and introduction of a similar product to the market by competitors. The time interval of the period of surprise for competitors (surprise in competition) can be estimated: in the field of aviation – from 5 to 10 years; in the field of automotive industry it can be several years; in the field of consumer electronics it can be a period of about a year, etc. [11, p. 173].
The company’s work in the market of pure competition is characterized by the following: a large number of sellers and buyers; the fact that none of the market participants can influence the price level. In this case, the value of secrecy (secrecy and confidentiality) may decrease.
When working in the oligopolistic market of high-tech goods, surprise has a special behavioral and financial significance. This is determined by the fact that a small number of organizations operate in such markets. These firms react quickly to the actions of their competitors. At the same time, the cost of time and money for the development of a new product from such companies is large. The organization’s need to respond quickly to incoming monetary requirements requires the organization to create appropriate reserve funds.
Thus, the greater the surprise associated with an organization’s use of secrecy, the longer the period of time and/or the amount of money (financial resources) that the organization’s competitors will need to take adequate response measures.
We introduce the concept of the surprise effect as an absolute volume indicator of the amount of money (financial resources) needed to fend off unexpected, secret activities of competitors. If the magnitude of the financial effect of surprise exceeds the amount of reserve funds and other assets of the organization, then its insolvency and bankruptcy may occur.
The period of surprise is an absolute or relative indicator that indicates by what calendar period or what proportion of the stage or cycle of development, market cycle or product life cycle, the stage of the transaction, the organization (corporation) that has applied surprise is ahead of its competitors. The period of surprise is also related to the level of liquidity of competitors ‘ reserve assets and the time that competitors will need for the subsequent acquisition of physical assets necessary for the elimination of the situation of surprise (components, materials, product refinement, production of advertising materials, etc.) with the proceeds of the proceeds [11, p. 173].
It is known that the liquidity of an asset is the ability of this asset to be transformed into cash. The degree of liquidity of an asset is determined by the duration of the time period during which this transformation of the asset (at prices close to market prices) in money can be made.
In order to increase the validity of the decision on whether the information is public or should be recognized as a secret (trade secret), a firm can be recommended to conduct an analysis of the benefits and risks associated with the publication of such information. This analysis can be performed in Table 1.
Table 1 Analysis of the benefits and risks of publishing information.
№ п/п |
Benefits and risks of information/ content of information | Benefits of publishing information | Risks of publishing information | Decision on publication |
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
| 1 | Financial information | Description of the benefits of publishing | Description of the publication risk | Decision on publication |
| 2 | Marketing information | Description of the benefits of publishing | Description of the publication risk | Decision on publication |
| 3 | Technological information | Description of the benefits of publishing | Description of the publication risk | Decision on publication |
| 4 | patents | Description of the benefits of publishing | Description of the publication risk | Decision on publication |
| 5 | Personnel information | Description of the benefits of publishing | Description of the publication risk | Decision on publication |
Source: developed by the author
Discussion. The cost-effectiveness of measures for disinformation or imitation of secrecy in the context of global competition can be calculated by multiplying the probability of success in disinformation (imitation of secrecy) multiplied by the amount of resources spent by competitors in vain, as well as the period of time during which disinformation or imitation of secrecy will act, reducing or blocking the activities of competitors [12, pp. 118-120].
Of great theoretical and practical interest may be the study of the use of secrecy in the systems of motivation of personnel of organizations [18, p. 95-100]. This is due to the fact that some organizations use secrecy in matters of paying the staff of organizations to minimize conflicts between employees. However, this violates the basic principle of effective motivation systems. This principle is that the provision on the motivation of the staff should be known, communicated to the staff before the start of the activity. The second key principle of motivation systems is that the motivation system in the cancers of John Stacy Adams ‘ theory of justice should be recognized as fair. The lack of information about the motivation of other employees does not allow the staff to judge the fairness of the motivation system. This can create uncertainty in the behavior of staff, reduce the effectiveness of motivation systems and reduce the level of loyalty of the organization’s staff.
This article presents the arguments in favor of solving the problem of optimizing the information openness of the organization. At the same time, the authors ‘studies presented in the works [8,p.118-120; 12; 13, p. 194-207 ] were further developed. The results of this article show that secrecy (secrecy and confidentiality) have an impact on the financial result, economic security of the organization. This gives reason to believe that secrecy (secrecy and confidentiality) can be considered not only as a legal category, but also as a category of economic theory.
When solving the problem of optimal information openness of the organization, the criterion may be the requirement to maximize the financial results of the organization.
When forming an organization’s privacy policy, the following tasks can be set::
- minimizing the costs of measures to ensure the secrecy (preservation of secrecy) of information about the organization, provided that the probability of disclosure of classified information is not more than a specified value;
- optimization (minimization) of the amount of expenses of the organization to ensure the preservation of secrecy (secrecy and confidentiality) and losses from excessive information openness of the organization;
- with a given budget of expenses for ensuring the secrecy regime, the task of forming a set of measures that ensure a minimum of disclosure of secret information of the organization, etc., can be set.
Conclusion. The article substantiates the feasibility of setting the problem of optimizing the level of information openness/secrecy of commercial organizations. The factors of influence of information openness on the competitiveness of the organization are investigated. The article develops the methodological foundations of the organization’s secrecy policy, analyzes the impact of secrecy (secrecy and confidentiality) on the economic security of the company. The information organizational behavior of the company is considered. Quantitative indicators are proposed to assess the impact of secrecy on the financial results of the organization. The influence of secrecy on the motivation system of the organization’s personnel is discussed. The article shows that secrecy can be considered not only as a legal category, but also as an economic category.
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