A Comparative Study of Information Security Awareness in Higher Education Based on the Concept of Design Theorizing

The paper provides a comparative study exploring factors affecting information security awareness of end users, including information system decision makers, in the context of three higher education environments: the US, the UK, and the UAE. An interpretive case-study approach is employed for the UK and the UAE using multiple data gathering methods, while for the US research relies on secondary data drawn from a largescale survey. The concept of design theorizing is used to interpret and discuss the results. The research reveals a number of similarities between the three studied environments while identifying in the case of the UAE a number of key socio-cultural factors, including conscientiousness, cultural assumptions and beliefs, and social conditions affecting university end users behavior and attitude towards work, in general, and information security awareness, in particular. A model is proposed to initiate and promote IS security awareness in the studied environments.