How perceptions of justice affect security attitudes: suggestions for practitioners and researchers

Abstract

Purpose

Surveillance is seen as an important tool to prevent security breaches and may improve prosecutorial ability, but employees may engage in subtitle counterproductive behaviors in protest. This poses significant risks and costs to employers. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the results of a previous field study of the influences from justice perceptions as mitigation and prescribe some methods for addressing the issues that are raised.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from protection motivation theory, the psychological contract, and the systems of organizational justice, a threat control model about surveillance attitudes is field‐tested in a randomized design.

Findings

Trust and perceptions of justice mediated attitudes about surveillance practices; and threat severity and efficacy of surveillance in maintaining security moderated attitudes about corporate surveillance are founded.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates the theoretical linkages between surveillance practices and employee counterproductive behaviors. Grounded in these findings, an explanation for how security managers might balance the simultaneous demands for security while maintaining an effective workforce is presented.

Citation

Workman, M. (2009), "How perceptions of justice affect security attitudes: suggestions for practitioners and researchers", Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 341-353. https://doi.org/10.1108/09685220910993999