**1. Introduction**

Smart home technologies are marketed to enhance consumers' home life. The "smart home" can be defined as the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT, i.e., Internet-enabled, digital devices with sensors) and machine learning in domestic environments. The aim of smart home technologies is to provide enhanced entertainment services, easier management of the home, domestic chores, and protection from domestic risks. They can be found in devices such as smart speakers and hubs, lighting, sensors, door locks and cameras, central heating thermostats, and domestic appliances. The European market for smart home devices is expected to boom in the next 5 years [1], but amid such positive expectations, there looms the productivity paradox identified by scholars of social informatics—that technology alone, even good technology, is not sufficient to create social or economic value and strategies of computerization do not readily produce expected economic and social benefits in a vast number of cases [2].

Currently, businesses are actively promoting positive visions of what the smart home means for consumers (e.g., convenience, economy, and home security). However, at the same time, consumers are actively comparing their smart home experiences against these visions and some are coming up with different interpretations and meanings from those that business is promoting [3, 4]. Hence, if the expected growth of the smart home market is to be realized, it is important for smart home device manufacturers and service providers to understand consumer reactions and thereby reduce the chance that the technology may not be valuable or meaningful to consumers.

Previous studies have found that UK consumers are not convinced that they can trust the privacy and security of smart home technologies [3, 5]. Cannizzaro et al. [3] predicted that the potential for security incidents happening through smart home devices would be a significant obstacle to smart home adoption. They also showed that consumers are unconvinced that their privacy will not be at risk. Consumers' perceived risk of using the Eco-friendly smart home (ESHM) reduces their intention to adopt IT [6]. This means that there are issues with the acceptability of smart home technologies; hence, it is highly likely that privacy and security concerns will impact negatively on their future adoption [7]. Proof of robust cybersecurity and low risk of privacy breaches will be key in smart home technology companies persuading consumers to invest in their products. Businesses and policymakers need to work together in order to increase consumers' trust [3] and ensure consumers' safety and well-being while using these devices. However, the smart home business community is not likely to act speedily to address consumers' concerns without a strong regulatory incentive. However, other incentives for businesses, other than regulation, would clearly include the reputation of having products that do not violate users' privacy. At the same time, some argue that the rapid pace of IoT development militates against effective policy interventions [8]. The UK government has produced the Code of Practice for Consumer Internet of Things Security [9] with 13 voluntary recommendations, but debate is currently open as to whether to enforce some of these on the UK market [10].

When it comes to understanding the implications of issues, such as the privacy and security risks of smart home devices, it is important to consider the views of a full range of stakeholders [11]. In this article, we report the findings of our IoT industry stakeholder study, which was conducted as part of the Petras research programme, the UK's Research Hub for IoT1 . In addition to representing the voices of consumers, we sought to discover the opinions of industry stakeholders (such as small and large businesses), as well as NGOs (including community and IoT interest groups), to understand how these stakeholders influence the smart home development in the UK and respond to the challenges that have been reported. Our aim is to enrich our understanding of the socio-technical context in which the technology is being promoted. We argue that this can help businesses to harness the economic opportunities of the smart home, while increasing the technology's acceptability for consumers.

<sup>1</sup> https://petras-iot.org/.

*How Is the Internet of Things Industry Responding to the Cybersecurity Challenges of the Smart… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106012*
