The effects of cyber regulations and security policies on organizational outcomes: a knowledge management perspective

ABSTRACT

Knowledge management (KM) has emerged as an operational and strategic organisational tool. However, the influence of recent cyber regulations (CR) and security policies (SP) on the usefulness of KM, are absent from the literature. This study focuses on the intersection of knowledge management and knowledge fortification. The study employs survey data from a sample of firms and utilises partial least squares (PLS) with extensive post hoc analyses, to examine the influence of CR and SP on KM core processes (acquisition, sharing, and utilisation) and subsequently on the operational effectiveness and strategic performance of firms. Contrary to prior research, we found that external knowledge sharing negatively affected performance. These findings support our assertion that KM processes are tied to contingencies that change the relationship between KM outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Knowledge management
• knowledge acquisition
• knowledge sharing
• knowledge utilisation
• cyber regulations
• security policies
• effectiveness
• performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. As common in the literature, we use the abbreviations KMA to demote both Knowledge Management Acquisition and Knowledge Acquisition as they are often used interchangeably. The same applies for KMS and KMU.

2. https://www.ffiec.gov/exam/infobase/documents/02-con-501b_gramm_leach_bliley_act-991112.pdf

3. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/basel_accord.asp

4. https://www.eugdpr.org/

5. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB375

6. For example, iRobot is set to sell digital maps of customers’ home to retails (e.g., furniture stores, home stores). https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/24/roomba-irobot-sell-digital-maps-home/

7. It is prudent to note that “market value” is commonly used as a general surrogate for organisational financial well-being and should not be confused with organisational performance as defined in this study.

8. https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/facebooks-security-privacy-overhaul-comes-at-price-a-11255

9. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB375