Examining the role of stress and information security policy design in information security compliance behaviour: An experimental study of in-task behaviour

摘要

Based on the transactional theory of stress, the study sets out to explore the relationship between occupational stress, information security policy (ISP) designs, and security behaviour. Results from an in-basket experiment reveal that stress elicited by time constraints leads to ISP non-compliance behaviour in the workplace. In addition, the results of the study show that punishment can buffer the effect of perceived stress on ISP non-compliance. While existing research on stress and ISP compliance focus on stress induced by security requirements, our study extends these findings by providing insights how stressful work environments and ISP designs shape ISP compliance behaviour.