Exploring the Effectiveness of Compliance Management Mechanisms in Ensuring Information Security: Literature Review

Information security is a growing concern for organizations considering the increase in emerging threats. This realization prompts the need for information security risk management (ISRM), which has become critical in an enterprise compliance management setting. This review focuses on the analysis of recent literature on ISRM, targeting empirical studies in the last five years addressing compliance challenges and strategies. While doing this, this review aims to highlight key themes, methodologies, and implications relevant to organizations that seek to improve their compliance status regarding information security standards.

Summary of Empirical Studies

Article One: AlGhamdi et al. (2020)

This article is a review study researching the critical success factors and challenges in implementing information security governance with a view to improving policy compliance. It identifies elements that ensure robust security governance using Governance Theory. The keywords included management commitment, structured frameworks, and continuous monitoring. The results suggest that these factors improve security risk through the creation of a resilient governance framework that ensures compliance, thereby enhancing information security. It concludes that effective governance forms the basis of compliance with security. Therefore, organizations should provide clearly defined governance structures to achieve resilience and consistency in compliance with their security policy.

Article Two: Ali et al. (2021)

Ali et al.’s (2021) article focuses mainly on the behavioral changes needed for compliance with information security policy and systematically reviews those strategies that change employees from noncompliance to compliance. It focuses on targeted interventions such as training programs and reinforcement mechanisms by using Behavioral Theory to explain how these can change non-compliant behavior. The authors found that behavior modification approaches are fundamentally required for achieving security policy compliance. It concludes that organizations should focus on creating compliance mainly through behavioral transformation, training, and reinforcement.

Article Three: Balagopal and Mathew (2024)

Balagopal and Mathew (2024) examine factors leading to compliance and violation of information security policy by invoking the Theory of Planned Behavior. Key factors explored include employee awareness, personal attitude, and the emergence of organizational culture. The study concludes that the higher the awareness and positive attitude regarding security policies, the higher the compliance rate. Therefore, the authors reveal that employee-centered programs on awareness and attitude-shifting are important mechanisms in encouraging adherence to security policies. It recommends that investment in security training should be fostered to create a culture of compliance that will reduce the likelihood of intentional policy violation.

Article Four: Chen (2022)

Chen (2022) discussed organizational issues in information security compliance management and applied Management Theory. Among these, management-related barriers include the inability to enforce policy and resource constraints that affect compliance effectiveness. The findings stress that proactive management and an adequate allocation of resources are vital to effective compliance. The study concludes that, in addressing these challenges, organizations should lean more toward an effective compliance strategy. This practice ensures the success of management practices in meeting the required security goals.

Article Five: Chen et al. (2021)

Chen et al.’s (2021) paper examines inconsistent employee compliance. It bases its arguments on the Extended Parallel Process Model covering threat perception and self-efficacy. The results indicated that employees comply because of the perceived threat from security breach incidents. In addition, the authors explore the combination of fear-based messages with the efficacy-enhancing approach. This study recommends a mix of both fear and self-efficacy in policy communications as the best motivators of compliance.

Article Six: Gwebu et al. (2020)

Gwebu et al. (2020) explore how social factors influence policy noncompliance. They base their study on the influence of peer behaviors and organizational norms on compliance with security policy in a framework of Social Influence Theory. The study revealed that during testing, social factors, coworkers’ behaviors, and perceived organizational support played a key role in their decision to comply with or not adhere to security policies. This study concludes that better compliance can be achieved through social influence by developing a favorable social environment. These are recommendations such as creating an organizational culture that would ensure the adherence to security policy.

Article Seven: Hwang et al. (2021)

Hwang et al. (2021) examined the role of security awareness as a precursor to compliance behavior, applying Awareness Theory to understand how informed employees behave about security policies. Their study observes that increased security awareness is associated with higher compliance rates. Subsequently, the authors conclude and suggest that continuous awareness efforts are necessary to maintain compliance, enabling the employees to gain knowledge and encouraging proactive behavior.

Article Eight: Liu et al. (2020)

The paper looks into the effect of supervisor-subordinate relationships on compliance by adopting the Organizational Commitment Theory in order to analyze the effects that leadership factors have on information security compliance motivation. The results showed that positive relationships with immediate supervision led to higher motivation to comply because such employees feel supported in their intent to comply with security practices. Therefore, the authors opine that there would be increased compliance by building positive supervisor-subordinate relations.

Article Nine: Niemimaa (2024)

Niemimaa (2024) offers a framework that distinguishes between appropriate noncompliance and inappropriate compliance. In this study, the basic premise of the Rule Compliance Theory is used to argue that most compliance decisions are essentially situational in nature, so one-size-fits-all actions simply will not work. The results demonstrate that understanding context-specific behavior can help organizations develop complex policies that encourage appropriate rule-compliant behavior. Niemimaa (2024) thus recommends the utilization of flexible compliance frameworks that consider organizational contexts and employee roles in relation to differing contexts.

Article Ten: Zhu et al. (2023)

This paper explains how paternalistic leadership develops an organizational culture of compliance. This research utilized Paternalistic Leadership Theory to analyze the impact of leadership on employee actions. Results showed that paternalistic leaders who maintain a supportive and structured environment can successfully garner compliance from employees. Thus, the study concludes and recommends that an organization should consider the development of such leadership styles that show care, support, and enforcement in building up an environment of compliance.

Synthesis of Findings

A review of the ten empirical studies provides key insights into the relationship between ISRM and enterprise compliance. One of the common themes in the literature is the organizational culture, which helps facilitate a compliance culture. AlGhamdi et al. (2020) indicate that a security-oriented culture enhances compliance because organizations that regard security as one of their values show a greater compliance rating. For this reason, leadership plays an important role in developing such a culture, where their actions and commitment to security will be adopted throughout each level of the organization. Dhillon et al. (2020) agree with the review of the literature identified, which emphasizes that effective communication from a managerial stance on information security policies may influence the attitude of employees. Leaders will inspire a culture of compliance and build a culture of security as part of everyday operations.

Apart from culture, employee training and engagement are also recurring themes across the literature. AlGhamdi et al. (2020) illustrate that organizations that invest in continuous training programs not only increase the level of understanding of security policies among employees but also make them more capable of taking an active role in compliance processes. This empowerment is crucial because engaged employees view compliance as a shared responsibility rather than a duty. This is further supported by Benqdara’s (2023) study, which found that security awareness initiatives could reduce risks through improved compliance behavior from the staff.

Another important lesson learned from the literature is putting in place articulated compliance frameworks coupled with periodic audits. According to Chen (2022), these established frameworks would afford an effective way of managing information security risks and ensuring that compliances are directed toward meeting regulatory requirements. In that respect, Gwebu et al. (2020) are the biggest proponents when they point out that periodic auditing ensures compliance and locates the risks in security practices. When organizations combine proactive compliance measures with routine assessments, they maintain effective security measures that mitigate risks.

Lastly, the literature shows that concern for data privacy is a crucial part of compliance. Besides, the studies reveal how organizations that consider the issue of data privacy tend to create a good position for themselves to meet compliance obligations. Alraja (2023) indicates that a high level of concern for data privacy meets the legal requirements of compliance and helps gain consumers’ trust and loyalty, especially in data-sensitive environments. Organizations, therefore, need to make the integration of data privacy considerations into compliance management strategies. This is vital in this challenging and strict regulatory information security environment.

A combination of these studies highlights the common theme of how information security risk management impacts enterprise compliance. Organizational culture, employee engagement, structured frameworks, and data privacy interact to bring out a comprehensive approach to managing compliance. Such recognition and awareness of these factors by organizations could help build up better compliance with the reduction of information security risks.

Conclusion

This literature review explores the crucial role played by information security risk management in the issues of compliance faced by an organization. The analyses of empirical studies bring into light the determining factors of compliance. Some of the common factors identified include organizational culture, employee engagement, structured frameworks, and data privacy concerns. Since risks and threats keep emerging, the need arises to ensure more effective ISRM practices. Future studies should investigate new strategies to improve information security.

References

AlGhamdi, S., Win, K. T., & Vlahu-Gjorgievska, E. (2020). Information security governance challenges and critical success factors: Systematic review. Computers & Security, 99(102030), 102030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2020.102030.

Ali, R. F., Dominic, P. D. D., Ali, S. E. A., Rehman, M., & Sohail, A. (2021). Information security behavior and information security policy compliance: A systematic literature review for identifying the transformation process from noncompliance to compliance. Applied Sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 11(8), 3383. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083383.

Alraja, M. N., Butt, U. J., & Abbod, M. (2023). Information security policies compliance in a global setting: An employee’s perspective. Computers & Security, 129, 103208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2023.103208.

Balagopal, & Mathew, S. K. (2024). Exploring the factors influencing information security policy compliance and violations: A systematic literature review. Computers & Security, 147(104062), 104062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2024.104062.

Benqdara, S. (2023). Awareness and compliance of information security policy in organizations: Case from Libya. International Journal of Computer Applications. https://doi.org/10.5120/ijca2023922682.

Chen, Y. (2022). Information security management: compliance challenges and new directions. Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research, 24(4), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228053.2022.2148979.

Chen, Y., Galletta, D. F., Lowry, P. B., Luo, X., Moody, G. D., & Willison, R. (2021). Understanding inconsistent employee compliance with information security policies through the lens of the extended parallel process model. Information Systems Research, 32(3), 1043–1065. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2021.1014

Dhillon, G., Talib, Y. Y. A., & Picoto, W. N. (2020). The mediating role of psychological empowerment in information security compliance intentions. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 21(1), 152–174. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00595.

Gwebu, K. L., Wang, J., & Hu, M. Y. (2020). Information security policy noncompliance: An integrative social influence model. Information Systems Journal, 30(2), 220–269. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12257.

Hwang, I., Wakefield, R., Kim, S., & Kim, T. (2021). Security awareness: The first step in information security compliance behavior. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 61(4), 345–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2019.1650676.

Liu, C., Wang, N., & Liang, H. (2020). Motivating information security policy compliance: The critical role of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and organizational commitment. International Journal of Information Management, 54(102152), 102152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102152.

Niemimaa, M. (2024). Incorrect compliance and correct noncompliance with information security policies: A framework of rule-related information security behaviour. Computers & Security, 145(103986), 103986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2024.103986.

Zhu, J., Feng, G., Liang, H., & Tsui, K. (2023). How do paternalistic leaders motivate employees’ information security compliance? Building a climate and applying sanctions. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 24(3), 782–817. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00794

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Wk 4 Assignment instructions

To complete this assignment:

• Search the literature for scholarly and/or peer­-reviewed articles, and/or dissertations on your research topic/problem statement regarding enterprise compliance management with a focus on information security risk management.
• Locate ten current empirical studies (each must be under five years old) addressing your selected issue.
• Analyze and evaluate ten studies in the information security risk management literature.
• Describe what you learned, how it applies to your research topic/problem statement, and what applications apply to your topic.
• Summarize the methodology, research results, and provide an analysis of the empirical studies. Specifically you will summarize each article in your review according to the following criteria:
  • For scholarly research (peer­-reviewed) articles, identify the following:
    • Key words in title and abstract.
    • Theory referenced.
    • Purpose of research.
    • Results.
    • Conclusions.
    • Implications and recommendations.
  • For scholarly articles (no research conducted), identify the following:
    • Key words in title and abstract.
    • Theory referenced.
    • Purpose/objective of the article.
    • Summary of article accomplishments.
    • Scholarly or practitioner applications.
  • For general and practitioner literature, identify the following:
    • Common key words in title and abstract.
    • Purpose/objective of the article.
    • Summary of the article (results, applications, strategy, opportunities).
• Draw conclusions for the findings in your research.
• Review the Literature Review rubric prior to submitting the assignment to ensure your paper aligns with the guide.

Note: You may want to capture this information with a tool such as OneNote or RefWorks for later use in your dissertation. Use this assignment and course as a way to build up a reference list for your topic.

Writing Requirements

• Written communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Number of resources: At least 10 current scholarly or professional resources published within the past 5 years.
• Formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA guidelines for style and formatting.
• Structure: Include a title page and bibliography. Refer to the Developing an Annotated Bibliography PDF in Resources.
• Length: 5–7 double-spaced pages, excluding the title page and bibliography.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Visit Capella’s Writing Center on Campus for additional information on how to format a Literature Review or check out some of the links in Resources.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze research in controls and compliance management.
  • Analyze existing information security risk management literature.
• Competency 2: Evaluate the different approaches to controls and compliance management research.
  • Analyze ten scholarly, peer-reviewed, empirical research articles addressing an information security risk management problem.
  • Summarize the topic, methodology, and research results of each article addressing the information security risk management issue.
  • Draw conclusions for the findings in your research.
• Competency 3: Analyze the breadth and depth of topic areas in controls and compliance management research.
  • Incorporate relevant empirical research within the past five years.
• Competency 4: Exhibit proficiency in writing, critical thinking, and researching topic areas in controls and compliance management.
  • Demonstrate a writing style in which sentences are clear, concise, and direct.
  • Provide a well-supported analysis using appropriately formatted references.