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Information and communication technology (ICT) adoption is nowadays regarded as an important program due to the fourth industrial revolution across the globe. In this study, we aimed to fill the literature gap by scrutinizing the role of social infrastructure in ICT adoption programs, which is still not much discussed. A perspective of regional innovation systems (RIS) was used because RIS key components resemble the concept of social infrastructure. We measured the implementation of the ICT adoption program in 19 cities in Indonesia by clustering them into two groups (strong and emerging innovators). To determine which social infrastructure indicators are most important in explaining the grouping, especially the strong one as the best practice, we additionally measured the F-test and t-test. The clustering results showed that cities in strong innovator clusters have homogeneously high performance in terms of the number of collaborations, local communities, and products that meet international standards. We suggest that such three indicators be taken into consideration in policymaking at the regional and national levels to improve the performance of the ICT adoption program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Best-Worst Method (BWM) is a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method that has recently been introduced. The original BWM assumes that decision-makers are always certain about their judgments even if, in reality, decision-makers often express uncertain preferences. To deal with uncertainty, we introduce a belief structure in the BWM, a concept involving the preference degree adopted via Dempster-Shafer theory. A new approach is proposed to allow BWM to cope with this kind of information, where the level of belief in preferences being expressed is taken into account. In addition, an inconsistency measurement and an uncertainty measurement are proposed for the belief-based BWM, providing the foundation for a reliability degree of the decision-makers, after which the belief-based BWM is extended to include a group of decision-makers. Based on their reliability degrees and the weights of the criteria obtained from the various individuals, the overall criteria weights can be aggregated accordingly. Finally, a case study on the assessment of the infrastructure project criteria system in Indonesia is provided to demonstrate the applicability and feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fountain of Love Credit Union (FLCU) is a rare example of a vibrant microfinance institution in Indonesia. Located at the heart of a hostile inter-ethnic society in the province of West Kalimantan, the FLCU invents unique types of social capital and financial organization that bolster its unparallel financial performance. In recognition of this achievement, the Indonesian government presented the FLCU with the 2005 Award for Small-Medium Corporate Excellence. Decades of inter-ethnic hostility inspired school teachers to establish the FLCU in 1987. They dreamt of creating a big microfinance institution and promoting the economic well-being of the Dayak ethnic group. The Dayak, one of Kalimantan's two largest ethnic groups, defines itself as disadvantaged. A sense of grievance evolving around these issues culminated in a series of ethnic conflicts. Today, after more than two decades of operations, the FLCU has not only won the trust of most Dayak people but also inspires other ethnic groups to establish microfinance institutions. This environment has allowed unique types of social capital and financial organization to flourish. The Fountain of Love Foundation (FLF), the parent organization of the FLCU, has set up a variety of social and economic organizations. They work in partnership with the FLCU in all aspects of its business, from recruiting, disciplining, and empowering clients to weaving organizational networks with other microfinance institutions. The latter plays a vital role in curbing the penetration of modern micro banking in the province. The FLF, therefore, has become an ethnic-based conglomerate in which the FLCU functions as one of its driving forces. However, the FLCU faces a number of hurdles. Almost all FLCU clients, in rural and urban areas, are of the Dayak ethnic group. From organizational and policy points of view, the legal status of the FLCU is vulnerable as its assets grow beyond the mandatory requirement of the current banking law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]