What is Fear

Information security is important for organizations as well as individuals from the perspective of protection from data breaches, identity theft, malware and infections, hacking etc. This article presents the framework of Protection Motivation Theory and its constructs, and then reviews the past IS Literature on information systems security, from a protection motivation perspective. Specifically this article tries to explain how individuals perceive a fear appeal in an information systems security threat, and how the protection motivation framework of fear, threat perceptions of severity and vulnerability, impact the coping intentions of individuals to protect themselves from information systems security threats. This article further discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of protection motivation theory as it applies to information systems security.