Covid-19 has affected people’s lives due to the restrictions and recommendations. The Swedish public health authority urged the residents to abstain from being in indoor environments such as stores, therefore is the action seen as a misbehaviour. Meanwhile, city centres are dying, therefore are the consumers facing a difficult dilemma. The purpose of the present thesis was to investigate why consumers chose to shop in PRS during the pandemic and how the behaviour was justified. The thesis was written from a consumer's perspective and focuses on generation Z. The theoretical framework was based on hedonic and utilitarian motivations, which explains the consumers' motivation to shop in PRS while the Neutralization theory explains how the actions were justified. A qualitative study was used, and the empirical data was collected through a time- and event-contingent diary design. 17 participants were chosen through a convenience sample. A combination between three theories map out how consumers reasoning throughout the process. The findings showed that the pandemic had an impact on consumers behaviour and that both hedonic and utilitarian motivations affect consumer intentions to shop in PRS. The findings also showed that consumers frequently justified their action by referring to the fact that the restrictions and recommendations were followed. We also found a pattern on how different motivations are justified similarly.

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 on computer hacking has discussed the reasons for the behavior, for example: neutralization theory, differential association theory and containment theory. 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 collected from 351employees in Taiwan 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. Finally, we found that neutralization is the most important factor to take into account when organizations develop and implement security policies or education which can decrease employees¡¦ intentions to commit unauthorized computer access.

The prevalence of bribery in Ghana has increased significantly since the mid-2000s and has received considerable attention in both local and international media, as well as among empirical researchers. Although researchers have examined factors that influence the giving and acceptance of bribes in Ghana, limited theoretical research exists concerning the ways public officials in Ghana defend their corrupt behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine ways bribees in Ghana defend their illegal actions, using Sykes and Matza’s neutralization theory. Data were collected from telephone interviews with 11 Ghanaian public officials who have served sentences for bribery; their statements of defense were analyzed through qualitative content analysis to establish whether they used techniques of neutralization. The findings of this study indicate that public officials accused of accepting bribes apply all 5 techniques in Sykes and Matza’s neutralization theory to neutralize the guilt associated with their actions. The findings also indicate that participants believe that bribery has become part of the Ghanaian culture. Legislators, organizational leaders, and criminal justice administrators could use the findings of this study to enact appropriate laws to manage the issue of bribery in Ghana and to design effective and comprehensive ethics policies and programs to prevent its occurrence. Implications for positive social change include reducing the negative economic implications of bribery and improving trust in public officials.

Due to societal and economic costs caused by compulsive consumption behavior, specifically problem drinking and overeating, a search has been launched for a cognitive explanation for the ‘deviant’ behaviors and the motivations that cause these behaviors to continue. This dissertation attempted to develop a better understanding of continued compulsive consumption behavior by investigating consumers’ use of the techniques of neutralization theory. Based on methodological concerns in neutralization research, the development of reliable and valid measures of the five techniques of neutralization theory were described and used to examine their moderation of compulsive consumption behavior and its relationship with social norm commitment and guilt. The dissertation resulted in developing four reliable and valid neutralization technique scales. The results of the structural model suggested a negative relationship between social norms and compulsive consumption behavior and a multiple regression indicated a partial moderation of certain neutralization techniques of this relationship. This dissertation has provided a better understanding of the cognitive process surrounding a consumer’s compulsive consumption behavior, the techniques used to allow the behavior to continue, and marketing applications to entice consumers to stop the behavior.

Abstract Employee violations of IS security policies is recognized as a key concern for organizations. Although interest in IS security has risen in recent years, little empirical research has examined this problem. To address this research gap, this dissertation identifies deliberate IS security policy violations as a phenomenon unique from other forms of computer abuse. To better understand this phenomenon, three guidelines for researching deliberate IS security violations are proposed. An analysis of previous behavioral IS security literature shows that no existing study meets more than one of these guidelines. Using these guidelines as a basis, this dissertation examines IS security policy violations using three theoretical models drawn from the following perspectives: neutralization theory, rational choice theory, and protection motivation theory. Three field studies involving surveys of 1,423 professional respondents belonging to 7 organizations across 47 countries were performed for empirical testing of the models. The findings of these studies identify several factors that strongly predict intentions to violate IS security policies. These results significantly increase our understanding of why employees choose to violate IS security policies and provide empirically-grounded implications for how practitioners can improve employee IS security policy compliance.

Dumpen och 2forty2 är grupper som ägnar sig åt att bedriva en digital pedofiljakt och att exponera förövare på sina digitala plattformar. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur Dumpen och 2forty2 på sina hemsidor och Instagram-konton dels presenterar sig själva, dels på vilka grunder man berättigar sitt agerande. Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av datamaterial från Dumpens hemsida och 2forty2´s Instagram-konto har syftet undersökts. Fynden från innehållsanalysen har sedan presenterats och jämförts med tidigare forskning och för studien aktuella kriminologiska teorier. I resultaten går att urskönja hur grupperna uppkommit utifrån en misstro till rättsväsendet, omvärldens uppmärksamhet och egna upplevelser av sexuella övergrepp. Avslutningsvis presenteras en bild kring hur grupperna verkar, presenterar sig och bakomliggande orsaker, samt förslag på framtida forskning kring dessa typer av grupper.