Cybersecurity awareness and organizational performance: unpacking the roles of threat appraisal and institutional communication

Purpose This study examines how information security awareness, perceived threat, perceived vulnerability and government social media participation are associated with cybersecurity awareness and organizational performance in Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises. Drawing on protection motivation theory, it explains how managers process internal security knowledge and external institutional information when developing cybersecurity awareness. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 408 managers and members of the board of directors of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The results show that information security awareness is positively associated with perceived threat but is not directly associated with perceived vulnerability, indicating that security knowledge and perceived organizational exposure are distinct managerial cognitive processes. Perceived threat is positively associated with both perceived vulnerability and cybersecurity awareness, and perceived vulnerability is likewise positively associated with cybersecurity awareness. Government social media participation is positively associated with perceived vulnerability, cybersecurity awareness and organizational performance. Cybersecurity awareness has the strongest direct relationship with organizational performance. Originality/value This study contributes to enterprise information management research by explaining how internal security knowledge and external institutional information are jointly associated with managerial cybersecurity awareness in SMEs. It provides evidence consistent with a theorized directional relationship linking perceived threat, perceived vulnerability and cybersecurity awareness, and highlights the organizational relevance of cybersecurity awareness through its association with organizational performance.