Dr. Sean Valentine study accepted for publication in the Journal of Business & Society

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Sean Valentine, Chair and Professor of The Middleton School of Entrepreneurship & Management, for his study accepted for publication in Business & Society!

Title: “The Influence of Ethical Beliefs and Attitudes, Norms, and Prior Outcomes on Cybersecurity Investment Decisions”

Journal: Business & Society (JQL Level 4)

Authors: Gary Fleischman (Texas Tech University), Sean Valentine (University of North Dakota),  Mary Curtis (University of North Texas), and Partha Mohapatra (California State University-Sacramento)

Abstract: Recent data breaches underscore the importance of organizational cybersecurity. However, the high costs of such security can force CFOs to make difficult financial and ethical tradeoffs that have both business and societal implications. We employ a 2×2 randomized experiment that varies both an observed scenario CFO’s investment decision (invest/not invest in security) and organizational outcomes (positive/negative) to investigate these tradeoffs. Participant managers assess the observed CFO’s investment behavior and indicate their own intentions to invest. Results indicate that when the observed scenario CFO invests in security, managers primarily follow their peers when making investment decisions. However, when the observed CFO does not invest in security, managers make their own decisions by engaging in more in-depth reasoning that includes assessment of the seriousness of consequences, as well as the ethical and societal considerations. Moderated mediation findings further deconstruct and corroborate these relationships.