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Information Security Behavior and Information Security Policy Compliance: A Systematic Literature Review for Identifying the Transformation Process from Noncompliance to Compliance

Ali, Rao Faizan, Dominic, P. D. D., Ali, Syed Emad Azhar, Rehman, Mobashar, Sohail, Abid (2021) Information Security Behavior and Information Security Policy Compliance: A Systematic Literature Review for Identifying the Transformation Process from Noncompliance to Compliance. Applied Sciences, 11 (8). Article Number 3383. ISSN 2076-3417. (doi:10.3390/app11083383) (KAR id:107334)

Abstract

A grave concern to an organization’s information security is employees’ behavior when they do not value information security policy compliance (ISPC). Most ISPC studies evaluate compliance and noncompliance behaviors separately. However, the literature lacks a comprehensive understanding of the factors that transform the employees’ behavior from noncompliance to compliance. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR), highlighting the studies done concerning information security behavior (ISB) towards ISPC in multiple settings: research frameworks, research designs, and research methodologies over the last decade. We found that ISPC research focused more on compliance behaviors than noncompliance behaviors. Value conflicts, security-related stress, and neutralization, among many other factors, provided significant evidence towards noncompliance. At the same time, internal/external and protection motivations proved positively significant towards compliance behaviors. Employees perceive internal and external motivations from their social circle, management behaviors, and organizational culture to adopt security-aware behaviors. Deterrence techniques, management behaviors, culture, and information security awareness play a vital role in transforming employees’ noncompliance into compliance behaviors. This SLR’s motivation is to synthesize the literature on ISPC and ISB, identifying the behavioral transformation process from noncompliance to compliance. This SLR contributes to information system security literature by providing a behavior transformation process model based on the existing ISPC literature.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.3390/app11083383
Uncontrolled keywords: information security behavior; information security policy compliance; systematic literature review (SLR); process management; compliance; noncompliance; transformation process
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 76 Software, computer programming,
Institutional Unit: Schools > School of Computing
Former Institutional Unit:
Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Computing
Depositing User: Faizan Ali
Date Deposited: 31 Jan 2025 16:34 UTC
Last Modified: 22 Jul 2025 09:21 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/107334 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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