Shaken to the core : trust trajectories during aftermaths of adverse cyber events

Searle, Rosalind and Renaud, Karen and van der Werff, Lisa (2024) Shaken to the core : trust trajectories during aftermaths of adverse cyber events. Journal of Intellectual Capital. ISSN 1469-1930 (https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-02-2024-0038)

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Abstract

Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on pertinent theory and reports of empirical studies, we outline the basis of two alternative subsequent trajectories, drawing out the relationships between trust, vulnerability and emotion, both positive and negative, in the aftermath of an adverse cyber event. Purpose: Adverse cyber events, like death and taxes, have become inevitable. They are an increasingly common feature of organisational life. Their aftermaths are a critical and under-examined context and dynamic space within which to examine trust. In this paper, we address this deficit. Findings: We combine stage theory and social information processing theories to delineate the dynamics of trust processes and their multilevel trajectories during adverse cyber event aftermaths. We consider two response trajectories to chart the way vulnerability arises at different levels within these social systems to create self-reinforcing trust and distrust spirals. These ripple out to impact multiple levels of the organisation by either amplifying or relieving vulnerability. Research Implications: The way adverse cyber events aftermaths are managed have immediate and long-term consequences for organisational stakeholders. Actions impact resilience and ability to preserve the social fabric of the organisations. Subsequent trajectories can be `negative' or `positive'. The `negative' trajectory is characterised by efforts to identify and punish the employee whose actions facilitated the adverse events i.e. the `who'. Public scapegoating might follow thereby amplifying perceived vulnerability and reducing trust across the board. By contrast, the `positive' trajectory relieves perceived vulnerability by focusing on, and correcting, situational causatives. Here, the focus is on the `what' and `why' of the event.

ORCID iDs

Searle, Rosalind, Renaud, Karen ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7187-6531 and van der Werff, Lisa;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:90356
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    11 October 2024
    Published
    11 October 2024
    Published Online
    22 August 2024
    Accepted
    Subjects:
    Department:Faculty of Science > Computer and Information Sciences
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:26 Aug 2024 14:20
    Last modified:17 Oct 2024 00:37
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/90356
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