Am I Hired as a Firefighter? Exploring the Role Ambiguity and Board's Engagements on Job Stress and Perceived Organizational Support of CISOs

The role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in an organization is critical as they play a huge part to ensure business continuity and defend against the evolving threat landscape. Their role cannot be downplayed, especially in a context where new demands are imposed on organizations to defend their organizational boundaries against any cyber threats. As such, the job role is continuing to mature and the boundary of their role and responsibilities within the organization is challenging to define. Sometimes, there is a lack of clarity on the CISO's responsibilities. While studies look at managers' job stress, there is a dearth of research in the cybersecurity domain on role ambiguity's impact on job stress among cybersecurity professionals and how board engagement impacts perceived organizational support. Bridging this gap, this research uses primary data that has been collected from 24 CISOs from varied UK business sectors through semi-structured interviews to explain which factors are pivotal while looking at perceived organizational support and job stress. Our study sheds light on how role ambiguity contributes to job stress while perceived organisational support seen as better engagement of the board through cyber communication mitigates job stress. When these factors are understood, organisations can have better support mechanisms that will ensure that CISOs are well equipped to take on the cyber challenges while ensuring the organization's digital assets are protected.