Investigating the Influence of Perceived Uncertainty on Protection Motivation: An Experimental Study

IS users and organizations must take necessary measures to adequately cope with security threats. Considering the importance and prevalence of these issues and challenges, IS security research has extensively investigated a variety of factors that influence IS users’ security intentions/behaviors. In this regard, protection-motivated behaviors are primarily based on individuals’ personal cognitive evaluations and vigilance. In reality, however, many users reach security hygiene decisions through various non-rational and non-protection-motivated processes. Such users may not necessarily rely on their own cognitive appraisals and information processing, but proceed to make decisions without careful cognitive assessments of security threats and coping responses. One promising lens for assessing these behaviors that may not be informed by rational and personal assessments of threats and responses is Herd Theory, which describes the phenomenon in which individual decisions are often influenced by other users’ decisions about their behaviors. Drawing on this theory, this study seeks to answer the following research questions by using an experimental design:. In uncertain circumstances, are individuals more likely to cope with security threats by following the herd

Can Secure Behaviors Be Contagious? A Two-Stage Investigation of the Influence of Herd Behavior on Security Decisions

IT users often make information security-related decisions in complex and multidimensional environments, which could lead to phenomena like behavioral anomalies. For instance, under uncertain circumstances, users may discount their own limited information about a security technology and make their adoption decisions based on what the majority of users’ decisions are in this regard. In this context, imitation can become a legitimate and rational strategy for making security-related decisions. Current behavioral security theories generally assume that users possess sufficient information about security technologies before making security-related decisions. This theory assumption limits our understanding of how security decisions are made in various real-world circumstances. Our research is focused on security behaviors under uncertain circumstances. We investigate how providing popularity information can trigger herd behavior and can subsequently influence security behaviors. We also provide insights into security-related decisions that are influenced by herd mentality and investigate whether they persist over time. Additionally, we conceptualize and operationalize two constructs that can be used in future research to better examine post-adoption security behaviors. The findings of this multistage experiment show that in uncertain circumstances, when users are aware of the widespread use of a certain security technology, they develop a significantly higher intention to engage in protection-motivated behaviors. Furthermore, the results show that at the post-adoption stage, users rely more heavily on their own information about their continuous use of security technologies and put less emphasis on herd-related factors

Continuance Intention on Using Mobile Banking Applications: A Replication Study of Information Systems Continuance Model

One of the most significant factors to the survival of many service-based firms such as banks and insurance companies is customers’ continuous use of their IT services. The focus of this paper is on replicating IS Continuance Model (Bhattacherjee, 2001) in the mobile banking context. We collected data by surveying 256 college students who were users of mobile banking applications of multiple banks in the U.S. The hypotheses were also tested using Structural Equation Modeling technique (SEM), with AMOS version 23. All five hypotheses of the model were supported, with 67% explained variance for the “continuance intention,” as the dependent variable. Our findings show that the IS Continuance Model, which was originally tested by surveying the users of web-based banking services of one bank, is supported in a modern related context and is generalizable to the mobile banking applications users

Detecting Deception in Computer Mediated Communication: Understanding the Role of Popularity Information and Media

With wide-spread adoption of technology in our private and business communications, people seldom make decisions in isolation. How does exposure to observation of others’ decisions affect our own judgement, especially in the context of deception detection in computer-mediated communication? We investigate this question through the theoretical prism of herd behavior. We review the literature on herd behavior and deception detection in computer-mediated communication and investigate how popularity information influences deception detection accuracy and how media differences moderate this relationship (Figure 1). We propose an experimental research design where we manipulate popularity information and measure participants’ responses to full audio-visual and text only stimuli. The findings from our study can have important implications for both research and practice

Nudging Toward the Herd: Understanding the Multidimensional Role of Perceived Uncertainty

Understanding how herd behavior phenomenon occurs IS context is important because it influences many choice decisions, is the main reason for some adoption decision anomalies, and explains the reasons behind the rapid rise or collapse of various technology fads. Perceived uncertainty is a key factor that triggers herd mentality (i.e. through imitation) and despite its influential role, the IS literature has not adequately conceptualized and operationalized this broad concept. This research aims to contribute to the literature by decomposing perceived uncertainty to its dimensions and analyzing the influence of each dimension on triggering individuals’ herd mentality

The Human-Information-Processor Model View of e-Government

Without a universally accepted definition of what e-Government really is, e-Government research has focused on Government e-services; which are but a peripheral part of e-Government. ICT use in provision of Government e-services and the attendant issues are not unique to e-Government; rather, they are part of any other deployment of information systems and technologies. _x000D_ This treatise is a two-level conceptual discussion in which, first, a proposed approach to defining e-Government using the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model is proposed. And second, a representation of e-Government using the Human Information Processor Model is demonstrated. The cognitive mapping of Government functions onto the Human Information Processor model presents new lenses through which a holistic view of e-Government emerges - with the potential of providing a shared cognitive focal view for e-Government research._x000D

Unpleasant Updates: Discussing Negative Project Performance with Executives

Project managers often have early indications that a project is performing poorly and potentially headed for failure. In such cases, reporting these warnings could prompt executives to provide essential support to mitigate and even prevent problems. However, project managers are frequently reluctant to share such information with executives. This research-in-progress aims to develop a model establishing antecedents that drive accurate status reporting between project managers and executives as well as identifying moderating variables impacting such reporting. The theory of planned behavior and information systems (IS) whistleblowing theory provide the theoretical lenses facilitating the identification of probable antecedents to such reporting intentions. A theoretical model including propositions has been developed

Extrinsic Fluorescent Dyes as Tools for Protein Characterization

Noncovalent, extrinsic fluorescent dyes are applied in various fields of protein analysis, e.g. to characterize folding intermediates, measure surface hydrophobicity, and detect aggregation or fibrillation. The main underlying mechanisms, which explain the fluorescence properties of many extrinsic dyes, are solvent relaxation processes and (twisted) intramolecular charge transfer reactions, which are affected by the environment and by interactions of the dyes with proteins. In recent time, the use of extrinsic fluorescent dyes such as ANS, Bis-ANS, Nile Red, Thioflavin T and others has increased, because of their versatility, sensitivity and suitability for high-throughput screening. The intention of this review is to give an overview of available extrinsic dyes, explain their spectral properties, and show illustrative examples of their various applications in protein characterization

Continuous Secure Behavior from Process Memory Model Perspective

Research has investigated the role of numerous influences on individual information security behaviors, including protection motivation, deterrence, and various dispositional and environmental factors. One major research stream has looked at threat and coping appraisals by IT users. However, users’ beliefs, attitudes, appraisals, and intentions are not static, and there has been little attention to how these factors interact over time. When users (directly or vicariously) experience a security threat, they tend to engage in improved security hygiene, but often only for a limited time. We explore the cognitive factors that determine the continuous secure behavior of IT users, drawing on theoretical lenses of the Process Model of Memory, prior experience effects, and the underlying mechanisms of post-adoption behavior, including feedback, sequential updating mechanism, habit, and reason-based action. Ultimately, we seek to answer the following research question: What factors determine the IT users’ security hygiene behaviors over time

Investigating the influence of herd behavior on protection motivation: A multi-stage experiment

IT users often make security-related decisions in complex and multidimensional environments. Over-reliance on current behavioral security theories (e.g. Protection Motivation Theory) that do not account for such circumstances can seriously limit researchers’ ability to comprehend such decision making. In this regard, herd behavior theory explains that when individuals make decisions in uncertain circumstances, they may observe what other people are doing, discount their own limited information and imitate others (also known as social learning). Explaining protection motivation behavior from a different theoretical perspective (i.e. herd behavior) is one of the primary contributions of this study. Investigating whether protection motivation behaviors influenced by herd mentality can impact continuous secure behavior, as a very important and understudied information security phenomenon, is the other contribution of this study. In other words, examining whether security behaviors can be influenced by herd-related factors in uncertain circumstances, as well as whether such behaviors persist over time, is central to this study. The findings of this research show that in uncertain circumstances and when there is awareness about the widespread use of a certain security technology, users develop a significantly higher protection motivation. Furthermore, the results show that at the postoption stage, users tend to heavily rely on their own information and disregard the herd-related factors