The Effectiveness of Abstract Versus Concrete Fear Appeals in Information Security

Sebastian W. Schuetza, Paul Benjamin Lowryb*, Daniel A. Pientac & Jason Bennett Thatcherda Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, College of Business, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USAb Department of Business Information Technology, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USAc Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USAd Department of Management Information Systems, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USASebastian W. Schuetz is an Assistant Professor at Florida International University. He received his Ph.D. in Information systems from the City University of Hong Kong in 2017. His research interests relate to information security management and the societal implications of information technology. His work has appeared, among others, in the Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of the AIS, Information Systems Journal, and several international conferences.Paul Benjamin Lowry is the Suzanne Parker Thornhill Chair Professor and Eminent Scholar at the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. He is also the BIT Ph.D. program director. He received his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona. His research interests include organizational and behavioral security and privacy; online deviance, online harassment, and computer ethics; human-computer interaction, social media, and gamification; and business analytics, decision sciences, innovation, and supply chains. Dr. Lowry has published over 127 papers in the Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS), MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of the AIS (JAIS), Information System Journal (ISJ), European Journal of Information Systems, and others. He is a member of the Editorial Board of JMIS, a department editor of Decision Sciences, and senior editor of JAIS and ISJ.Daniel A. Pienta is an Assistant Professor at Baylor University. He received his Ph.D. in Information Systems from Clemson University. His research focuses on behavioral and technical cybersecurity. He has worked as the managing director of a cybersecurity and due diligence consulting firm, specialized in servicing some of the largest commercial lending institutions. He has extensive experience in penetration testing, information system design and development, and user experience. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology, Communications of the AIS, and the proceedings of several international conferences.Jason Bennett Thatcher holds the Milton F. Stauffer Professorship in the Department of Management Information Systems at the Fox School of Business of Temple University. Dr. Thatcher's research examines the influence of individual beliefs and characteristics on technology use, cybersecurity, and IT human resource management in organizations. His work appears in the Journal of Management Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of the AIS. He has served as President of the Association for Information Systems and Senior Editor at MIS Quarterly.