Coping after a cyberattack and its effects on employee learning: an extension of the technology threat avoidance theory

Purpose During a cyberattack, employees may resort to different coping styles to handle the situation, such as problem-focused coping or emotion-focused coping. This study aims to provide a better understanding of how these coping styles influence the learning outcomes from a cyberattack, and how this can be used to increase cybersecurity awareness and to better prepare employees for future cyberattacks. Design/methodology/approach Using the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT), data from semi-structured in-depth interviews were analysed. The six informants had all experienced a severe cyberattack in their workplace, a large manufacturing company. Findings The results indicate that there is a link between employees’ prior cybersecurity awareness and their coping style during a cyberattack. The result also indicates the coping style influence the learning outcome, where those who resorted to a problem-focused coping style had higher learning outcome that those who resorted to emotion-focused coping. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies has investigated learning outcome based on coping styles during a cyberattack in light of the TTAT. The findings may be useful to better understand how employees learn from cyber threats, to increase awareness and to prepare for future cyber incidents.