![Sample our Economics, Finance,Business & Industry journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5931/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Economics-Finance-Business-Industry.jpg"})
Abstract
Deterrence theory is one of the most widely applied theories in information systems (IS) security research, particularly within behavioral IS security studies. Based on the rational choice view of human behavior, the theory predicts that illicit behavior can be controlled by the threat of sanctions that are certain, severe, and swift. IS scholars have used deterrence theory to predict user behaviors that are either supportive or disruptive of IS security, and other IS security-related outcome variables. A review of this literature suggests an uneven and often contradictory picture regarding the influence of sanctions and deterrence theory in general in the IS security context. In this paper, we set out to make sense of the discrepant findings in the IS deterrence literature by drawing upon the more mature body of deterrence literature that spans multiple disciplines. In doing so, we speculate that a set of contingency variables and methodological and theoretical issues can shed light on the inconsistent findings and inform future research in this area. The review and analysis presented in this paper facilitates a deeper understanding of deterrence theory in the IS security domain, which can assist in cumulative theory-building efforts and advance security management strategies rooted in deterrence principles.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1057/ejis.2011.23) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on European Journal of Information Systems website (http://www.palgrave.com/ejis)
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1057/ejis.2011.23) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on European Journal of Information Systems website (http://www.palgrave.com/ejis)
Additional information
Notes on contributors
John D'Arcy
John D’Arcy is an assistant professor in the Department of Management at the University of Notre Dame. He received his Ph.D. from Temple University. His research areas include information assurance and security. His research has been published in journals such as Information Systems Research, Communications of the ACM, and Decision Support Systems.
Tejaswini Herath
Tejaswini Herath is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Business at Brock University. She received her Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo. Her research interests include information security and privacy and economics of information security. Her research has been published in journals such as Journal of Management Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, and Decision Support Systems.