To retain the new blood, firms must also maintain a professional management style, and not refer important decisions to the family matriarch or patriarch, though this is still done with stunning frequency even among established Asian firms. In Asia, laws generally favor business over consumer interests so that, with few exceptions, buyer protection has been weak. This bias must be righted. Customers, despite facing a world of choices in cyberspace, will only shop online when they are assured of de facto protection. The West has seen Internet consumer commerce growing at a phenomenal rate precisely because of its strong buyer-protection laws.
Industry also has a big part to play in furthering the development of the Internet.
This role does not entail forming cartels, collusion, or anti-competitive practices. Industry needs to be involved instead in self-regulation because that is the only form of regulation that can be permanently effectual in cyberspace. These industrial players should cooperate with legality, for the benefit of both buyers and sellers. While a number of associations dealing with the promotion or the regulation of cyberspace have been set up in Asia, they tend to lack autonomy, being merely chapters of American associations. In contrast, Singapore and Hong Kong are neck to neck in the race for the dubious distinction of being the freest economy of the world.