Table 3 Distinctions between compliance... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Distinctions between compliance and violation

Feature	Compliance (policy adherence)	Violation (policy breach)
Behavioral nature	Adherence: Execution of a mandated protocol. This includes commission (e.g. attending training, using MFA) and omission (e.g. refraining from prohibited websites)	Transgression: Breaking a rule (e.g. using unlicensed applications) or bypassing control (e.g. sharing passwords)
Motivation	Value-aligned	Risk-benefit driven, situational opportunity
Psychological focus	Promotional focus: Achieving a state of security alignment	Prevention focus: Avoiding a state of risk, detection, and subsequent punishment
Primary intent	Constructive: Driven by the desire to fulfill obligations, protect the organization, or maintain professional norms	Instrumental/Deviant: Driven by the desire to bypass obstacles, gain convenience, or achieve personal ends
Enforcement signal	Administrative: Typically, high visibility and easy to audit (high celerity)	Investigative: Often technical or hidden; harder to detect and prove (low celerity)
Examples in IS literature	Using encrypted drives, changing passwords regularly, performing software updates, attending required training, etc.	Unauthorized data downloading, use of shadow IT, visiting prohibited websites, etc.

Feature	Compliance (policy adherence)	Violation (policy breach)
Behavioral nature	Adherence: Execution of a mandated protocol. This includes commission (e.g. attending training, using MFA) and omission (e.g. refraining from prohibited websites)	Transgression: Breaking a rule (e.g. using unlicensed applications) or bypassing control (e.g. sharing passwords)
Motivation	Value-aligned	Risk-benefit driven, situational opportunity
Psychological focus	Promotional focus: Achieving a state of security alignment	Prevention focus: Avoiding a state of risk, detection, and subsequent punishment
Primary intent	Constructive: Driven by the desire to fulfill obligations, protect the organization, or maintain professional norms	Instrumental/Deviant: Driven by the desire to bypass obstacles, gain convenience, or achieve personal ends
Enforcement signal	Administrative: Typically, high visibility and easy to audit (high celerity)	Investigative: Often technical or hidden; harder to detect and prove (low celerity)
Examples in IS literature	Using encrypted drives, changing passwords regularly, performing software updates, attending required training, etc.	Unauthorized data downloading, use of shadow IT, visiting prohibited websites, etc.