Examining the antecedents of employee unauthorized computer access

Unauthorized computer access by employees is the most common hacking behavior in every company. Hence, it is necessary to first understand why an employee engages to commit it and then find effective methods of prevention to reduce the crime rate. Many studies were used neutralization theory, differential association theory and containment theory on computer hacking have discussed the reasons for the behavior. However, those theories and perspectives were adopted independently in past research. In this study, we combine those perspectives and create an integrated model to explain the employee's intention to commit unauthorized computer access. Data for this study were primarily collected via an Internet survey. Data collected from 352 employees confirmed our hypotheses and were tested against the research model. The results support the theoretical model in explaining how neutralization theory and containment theory may affect an employee's intention to commit unauthorized computer access. Discussions and implications for academics and practitioners are provided.