BYOA and Security: Examining Perspective-Taking and Self-Determination

Bring your own applications (BYOA) in organizational networks introduces security risks. We examine whether individuals who BYOA at work are motivated to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect the organization’s security, a practice we describe as bring your own security (BYOS). The behaviors are examined through dual theoretical lenses (a) intrinsic motivation, capturing the personal satisfaction related to the use, and (b) perspective-taking, capturing the user’s ability to consider information security from the organization’s perspective. We analyzed survey data of 154 samples using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Our results demonstrate that while the intrinsic motivation path is instrumental in influencing MFA use, perspective-taking offers significant explanatory power to information security behaviors. This article extends the current knowledge of the impact of perspective-taking on voluntary security behavior, which makes a novel and significant contribution to cybersecurity research and practice.