The role of Self-Efficacy in effective strategies to promote secure behavior among employees in Tanzania’s public authorities: A case of Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA)

Abstract

The increasing reliance on information systems in public authorities in Tanzania has heightened the importance of ensuring secure behavior among employees to safeguard sensitive data and protect against potential threats. However, promoting secure behavior remains challenging for organizations, leading to vulnerabilities in their information systems. This study explored self-efficacy (SE) in effective strategies to promote secure employee behavior toward information systems in Tanzania's public authorities, using the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Dar es Salaam, as a case study. This study uses A Social Cognitive Theory as a guiding theory. Findings indicated that employees' performance of secure behavior is affected by the low level of SE since more employees seemed to have doubts about their confidence level in undertaking security-related tasks. The study recommends the improvement in the current security awareness programs that should find a way to focus on the SE of employees to improve their confidence in performing secure behavior and also on the development of clear security guidelines that are user-friendly to employees to make them understand what the importance of them adhering to security guidelines and policies and hence feel comfortable executing them. This study recommended more research on public and private organizations to add to the body of knowledge on improving strategies to promote secure employee behavior.