Volitional Cybersecurity
Authors:   , Shojaifar Alireza 
Published: September 2023

This dissertation introduces the “Volitional Cybersecurity” (VCS) theory as a systematic
way to think about adoption and manage long-term adherence to cybersecurity approaches. The validation of VCS has been performed in small- and medium-sized enterprises or businesses (SMEs/SMBs) context. The focus on volitional activities promotes theoretical viewpoints. Also, it aids in demystifying the aspects of cybersecurity behaviour in heterogeneous contexts that have neither been systematically elaborated in prior studies nor embedded in cybersecurity solutions.

Abundant literature demonstrates a lack of adoption of manifold cybersecurity remediations. It is still not adequately clear how to select and compose cybersecurity approaches into solutions for meeting the needs of many diverse cybersecurity-adopting organisations. Moreover, the studied theories in this context mainly originated from disciplines other than information systems and cybersecurity. The constructs were developed based on data, for instance, in psychology or criminology, that seem not to fit properly for the cybersecurity context. Consequently, discovering new methods and theories that can be of help in active and volitional forms of cybersecurity behaviour in diverse contexts may be conducive to a better quality of cybersecurity engagement. This leads to the main research question of this dissertation:
How can we support volitional forms of behaviour with a self-paced tool to increase the
quality of cybersecurity engagement?

The main contribution of this dissertation is the VCS theory. VCS is a cybersecurity-focused theory structured around the core concept of volitional cybersecurity behaviour. It suggests that a context can be classified based on the cybersecurity competence of target groups and their distinct requirements. This classification diminishes the complexity of the context and is predictive of improvement needs for each class. Further, the theory explicates that supporting three factors: A) personalisation, B) cybersecurity competence, and C) connectedness to cybersecurity expertise affect the adoption of cybersecurity measures and better quality of cybersecurity engagement across all classes of the context. Therefore, approaches that ignore the personalisation of cybersecurity solutions, the cybersecurity competence of target groups, and the connectedness of recipients to cybersecurity expertise may lead to poorer acceptance of the value or utility of solutions. Subsequently, it can cause a lack of motivation for adopting cybersecurity solutions and adherence to best practices.

VCS generates various implications. It has implications for cybersecurity research in
heterogeneous contexts to transcend the common cybersecurity compliance approaches.
Building on VCS, researchers could develop interventions looking for volitional cybersecurity behaviour change. Also, it provides knowledge that can be useful in the design of self-paced cybersecurity tools. VCS explains why the new self-paced cybersecurity tool needs specific features. The findings of this dissertation have been subsequently applied to the follow-up project design. Further, it has implications for practitioners and service providers to reach out to the potential end-users of their solutions.