The correlation between productivity and the use of information security controls in small businesses

This exploratory research has two principle goals. This first goal was to formulate the problem of determining if a relationship exists between the use of specific information security controls and productivity in small businesses in the United States. To support this goal, the problem was researched in terms of its component issues to provide a basis for analysis using the appropriate research tools. The analysis would focus on investigating the impact on the productivity of small businesses due to the use of specific information security controls. The second goal was to provide recommendation for formulating a plan for future research, including applicable tools and techniques, to investigate the impact on the productivity of small businesses due to the use of specific information security controls for small businesses in the United States. Several hypotheses were generated which may be used in future studies.; The findings for this study included identifying several potential methods for conducting the research of determining if a relationship exists between information security controls and productivity in small businesses: experimental method, focus groups, the use of a survey instrument, and semantic modeling. The experimental method appeared to be the most appropriate design method for this purpose because it is the only method that can truly test hypotheses concerning cause-effect relationship. The experimental method also allows the researcher the ability to manipulate independent variables, have better control of variables, and replicate the study with different groups that shows effect of the independent variable. Several approaches for conducting the experimental research to isolate the variables are also included in this exploratory research.; Future research should include conducting a study to determine if a relationship exists between the use of specific INFOSEC policies, procedures, and technologies and productivity in small businesses within the United States. The overarching purpose of investigating the relationship between the use of INFOSEC controls and small business productivity is to assist small businesses in determining how they can best allocate their limited resources toward the information security problem most effectively. This is particularly important given the significance of small businesses to the economy of the United States.