Supervisor experience and cybersecurity response in aviation organizations using a two-wave exploratory design

Area of Science:

• Aviation psychology
• Cybersecurity management
• Organizational behavior

Background:

• The aviation sector's high digital dependency creates unique cybersecurity challenges.
• Human-centered operations amplify the impact of cyber incidents on aviation personnel.
• Understanding supervisory responses to employee cybersecurity incidents is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how aviation supervisors in Türkiye perceive and respond to employee cybersecurity incidents.
• To analyze the psychological dimensions of leadership under pressure during cyber events.
• To identify factors influencing supervisory stress and effectiveness in cybersecurity incident management.

Main Methods:

• A two-wave mixed-method design involving 300 aviation supervisors in Türkiye.
• Structured surveys and open-ended reflections on cybersecurity incidents.
• Thematic analysis, K-means cluster analysis, and multinomial logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Common incidents include phishing, password negligence, and unauthorized device use.
• Eight supervisory response strategies were identified, with three distinct psychological response profiles.
• Psychological distress and time pressure predicted unfavorable experiences; organizational support mitigated stress and improved effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Cybersecurity incidents are emotionally significant events for aviation supervisors.
• Supervisory responses are influenced by psychological distress, time pressure, and organizational support.
• Training for aviation supervisors should integrate emotional resilience and cyber preparedness.