Bad Employees: Examining Deviant Security Behaviors

ABSTRACT

Control balance theory (CBT) is a control-based theory of deviant behavior When imbalances in control between an individual and their environment exist, deviant behavior can occur. However, sufficient violation motivation and the facilitating conditions must exist. Past research has shown that technology itself often provides the means for deviant behavior among organizational employees. Presently, research on employee deviance using technology is underdeveloped in the field of Information Systems. Further, no work has been done to explore CBT in the context of Information Systems Security Policy violations, which are often a form of technology-facilitated deviant behavior. This study examines, for the first time, Tittle’s full set of proposed constructs, including fear, in the context of technology-based employee security deviance. This research uses CBT to demonstrate the importance of understanding the interplay between technology and employee deviance and the role of organizations in preventing it.

KEYWORDS:

• Control balance theory
• fear
• violation motivation
• employee deviance
• information systems security

Disclosure statement

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

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2023.2175336