Participate in IMC2’s Research Seminar on February 23, in a “Lunch and Learn” format !
You will first attend a presentation by Professor Stéphane Gagnon, followed by a Q&A session.
The seminar will be conducted in French.
*Our research seminars are held in person only, as they are designed to foster meaningful exchanges among students, faculty members, and industry professionals. For this seminar, our speaker will be at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
- Attend the seminar in person at the Université du Québec en Outaouais
- Attend the seminar in person at HEC Montréal
Networking
This seminar is a great opportunity to connect with professionals from both industry and academia in a friendly and dynamic setting. A complimentary meal will be served to participants.
Seminar Title and Abstract
Measuring Organizational Vulnerability to Disinformation and Misinformation Campaigns:
The Mediating Effect of Attacks and Mitigation Measures on the Effectiveness and Alignment of Organizational Development and Business Strategies
Disinformation and misinformation campaigns can target organizations across various sectors, particularly through reputational attacks (identity theft, false information, social media posts, fake reviews, etc.) and other forms of cyberattacks. Beyond reputational damage, the disruptions experienced by an organization may create misalignment between organizational development efforts and business strategies. Even an agile organization that effectively develops its capabilities may be forced by disinformation and misinformation campaigns to adopt a defensive posture, thereby undermining the benefits of previously undertaken development efforts.
This intuitive interpretation, grounded in a dynamic capabilities perspective, is tested using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method to assess the mediating effect of disinformation and misinformation attacks, as well as the range of mitigation measures that organizations may implement. Data from Statistics Canada, collected in the third quarter of 2023 through the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions (CSBC), were used. The dataset includes 15,224 respondents from across Canada. Only six questions, with multiple dichotomous responses, were used as explanatory variables, resulting in valid conditional reliability and significant path coefficients.
The results show that mediation effects are substantial, yet complementary to the direct effects of organizational development efforts on business strategies. Mitigation strategies addressing disinformation and misinformation attacks have a stronger mediating effect than the attacks themselves, highlighting the importance of rapid response to prevent broader strategic disruptions beyond reputational harm. Business leaders must therefore detect attacks, seize mitigation opportunities, and reconfigure internal and external resources to maintain effectiveness and alignment between organizational development and business strategies.