Home > Lectures & Seminars > To Prevent or Promote? CEO Regulatory Focus and Corporate Information Security Awareness: The Moderating Role of Relative Performance

To Prevent or Promote? CEO Regulatory Focus and Corporate Information Security Awareness: The Moderating Role of Relative Performance

Thu, Jun 20, 2024

SPEAKER:Daniel Qi Chen (Baylor University, Randall W. and Sandra Ferguson Endowed Professor)

TIME/DATE:2024年6月24日 14:00

CLASSROOM:同济大厦A楼306教室

ABSTRACT

A fundamental question in cybersecurity research pertains to the factors that contribute to firms developing a higher level of information security awareness (ISA). However, this line of inquiry has yet to thoroughly explore why firms with certain types of CEOs exhibit greater awareness of security issues and/or are more proactive in preventing potential cyber threats. Drawing upon regulatory focus theory, we investigate how CEO regulatory focus, which captures the extent to which CEOs pursue their goals through promotion or prevention focus, shapes a firm’s level of ISA. Moreover, leveraging the behavioral theory of firms, we contend that the relationship between CEO regulatory focus and ISA is nuanced and contingent upon the firm’s performance relative to its aspiration level. Using panel data comprising 3,803 firm-year observations across S&P 500 firms, we demonstrate that CEO prevention focus is positively associated with ISA, while CEO promotion focus is negatively correlated with ISA. Furthermore, when firm performance exceeds its aspiration level, the positive (negative) impact of CEO prevention focus (CEO promotion focus) on firm ISA becomes more pronounced (diminishes). Conversely, when firm performance falls below the aspiration level, the negative (positive) impact of CEO promotion focus (CEO prevention focus) on ISA intensifies (weakens).

GUEST BIO

Daniel Chen is the Randall W. and Sandra Ferguson Endowed Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics of the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, USA.

Chen’s research addresses the overall question of how to effectively manage the investment and use of technological innovations. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in several leading management journals such as Information Systems Research, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Operations Management, MIS Quarterly, among others.

Chen has served on the editorial boards of several premier academic journals. Currently, he is a Senior Editor for Journal of the Association for Information Systems, an Associate Editor for Journal of Operations Management and Decision Sciences Journal.

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