SECURITY AWARENESS AND INNOVATIVENESS IN COMMERCIAL BANKS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between security awareness and innovativeness in Commercial Banks in Rivers State. The study was anchored on information security Theory. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The accessible population of the study consisted of Three Hundred and Forty-Eight (348) office managers of Twenty-Four (24) commercial bank’s headquarters operating in Rivers State. The sample size of the study was One Hundred and Eighty-Six (186) respondents of twenty-four (24) commercial banks in Rivers State. The above sample size was obtained using the Tao Yamene Sampling Formula. In order to address the differences in the distribution of the population across the firms, Bowley’s 1960 Population Proportionate Allocation Formula was applied. Thus, the study adopted the random sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection after ascertaining its reliability through the employment of Test-retest Method. In line with the sample size, a total of One Hundred and Eighty-Six (186) copies of the validated questionnaire were distributed to the targeted audience through the help of two research assistants. The researchers were able to retrieve One Hundred and Fifty (150) copies of the entire validated questionnaire distributed. Arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used for the research question analyses, while the test of hypotheses was done using Spearman Rank Order Correlation with the aid of SPSS Version 25.0. Findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between security awareness and innovativeness in Commercial Banks in Rivers State. The study concluded that security correlates with innovativeness in Commercial Banks in Rivers State. When information assets are safeguarded, office managers are better positioned to coordinate resources, maintain accuracy in records, and supervise staff without the distraction of security breaches or data loss. The study recommended amongst others that management of Commercial banks should ensure robust access control mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication, role-based access permissions, and audit trails should be implemented to improve the accuracy, security, and reliability of records management.