Composition of the Top Management Team and Information Security Breaches

Given the multifaceted problems and complexities of information security, the manner in which top management teams make investment and management decisions regarding security technologies, policy initiatives, and employee education could have a significant impact on the likelihood of information security breaches in organizations. In the context of information security management, it is not clear from management literature regarding how the characteristics of the top management team are associated with the possibility of information security breaches. The results demonstrate that the average length and heterogeneity of tenure could increase the possibility of breaches. However, age heterogeneity and the size of the top management team are negatively related to such a possibility. In addition, the findings suggest a nonlinear association between average age and tenure and the possibility of security breaches. The authors conclude the chapter with theoretical and practical implications on the organizational and managerial aspects of information security management.