Insiders' Protection of Organizational Information Assets: Development of a Systematics-Based Taxonomy and Theory of Diversity for Protection-Motivated Behaviors

Phase I. Discovering the new construct’s domain space (i.e., the relevant associated behaviors within the environment encompassed by the proposed construct) (determine the key behaviors that best represent a construct, from the perspective of the theory-based literature, experts, and target participants for whom the construct is being defined) Step 1a. Behavioral elicitation through literature review Researchers who propose new constructs must consider previous work that has examined similar or related ideas. Because new constructs likely have some conceptual overlap with others, researchers should examine earlier contributions for similarities/differences. A thorough review of IS security literature— academicand practitioner-based—was conducted. At this stage, we excluded intentions to engage in protective behavior because insiders’ actual activities are the foundation of PMBs. Step 1b. Behavioral elicitation through qualitative analysis of target subjects of the construct Previous literature alone is insufficient in determining the behaviors, objects, or concepts that comprise a new construct’s domain space. Researchers should also obtain information from experts with topical knowledge. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 information-security professionals and 22 “traditional” insiders. This mix of respondents limits the potential for an “elite bias.”