Determinants of cyberloafing: a comparative study of a public and private sector organization

Purpose Cyberloafing is the personal use of internet while at work. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors affecting cyberloafing between public and private sector organizations. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the multiple motivational factors with the help of a theoretical paradigm, renowned as theory of interpersonal behavior (TIB). Data were collected through questionnaire to investigate the different behavioral factors between the public and private sector organizations. PLS path modeling and PLS-MGA are used to access the results on SMARTPLS 2.0 software. Findings Results show that the three factors of habit, intention, and social influences taken from the TIB model are important and have a higher path coefficient in a public sector organization setting. The factors of affect, facilitating condition and perceived consequences from TIB are greater in a private sector organization and have a higher path coefficient. By contrast, in multiple group analysis, results show that some factors are more predictive of cyberloafing behavior in a public sector organization, whereas other factors are more predictive for a private sector organization. Practical implications The findings of the current research are beneficial for both organizations and contribute toward policy-making decisions. These results help the managers of public and private sector organizations to decide how to control cyberloafing behavior by focusing on the important factors that lead to it. Originality/value This study shows strong and significant differences between the two types of organizations in terms of path coefficient. This implies that cyberloafing factors have different impacts on different organizations. The study fills an important gap in comparing public and private sector organizations with respect to cyberloafing behavior and clarifying which factors are more effective in predicting cyberloafing behavior according to type of organization. The paper is of great value for both kinds of organizations that face cyberloafing behavior issues.