Cyber insurance adoption in SMEs as a risk management tool in digitalization

Abstract

Small – medium sized enterprises (SMEs) create the backbone of the Turkish economy. Digitalization is a key advancement for SMEs in order to create efficiency and open up new opportunities for innovation. However, digitalization makes SMEs vulnerable to cyber threats by opening an outlet to other systems. The lack of awareness of cyber protection and the increasing advancements in cyberattacks puts SMEs at risk of data breaches which in turn causes damage to the company. Cyber insurance is considered a risk management tool for the coverage of costs in the event of an unexpected cyber incident. Even though the coverages are beneficial for the insured, the cyber insurance market is far from reaching its full potential. The study aims to find the factors of cyber insurance adoption for SMEs and the effects of cyber insurance on digitalization through cyber readiness, organizational security performance and information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption. The model created for the study was based on technology-organization-environment (TOE) context extended with individual context and the post adoption effects of cyber insurance. A quantitative survey aimed towards SMEs was conducted to test the model. Methods for increasing adoption of cyber insurance among SMEs were suggested based on the model outcomes.