A Replication Study of User Motivation in Protecting Information Security using Protection Motivation Theory and Self Determination Theory

Securing one’s data and protecting important information from various security threats are essential tasks for all end users, whether they be home users or organizational users. The motivation for doing so, however, may be entirely different for these two user populations. In 2017, Menard et al. conducted a study of home end users’ behavioral intentions regarding the installation of password management software using Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), and an integrated SDT-PMT model. This methodological replication study replicated those model comparisons to test organizational users’ behavioral intentions. We surveyed more than 300 organizational users who did not have password management software installed on their devices. We found support to suggest that, while both home and organizational users are significantly motivated by PMT- and SDT-enabled appeals, organizational users are significantly more motivated than their home user counterparts to install password management software when exposed to SDT-embedded appeals. We believe this outcome is the result of the multi-faceted sense of accountability (to themselves, their coworkers, and their organization) that organizational users experience but home users do not. This methodological replication of Menard et al. (2017) provided an opportunity to expose this multi-faceted view of accountability among organizational users and offers a foundation for future research to delve more closely into the nature of accountability in this context