Given a sample data breach notification letter, two economic theories that relate back to the letter would be the classical economic theory and information asymmetry. A principle behind the classical theory is self-regulation. This letter shows an example of an effort to retain customers and maintain, or self-regulate, the company’s reputation. Information asymmetry is a theory that refers to situations where one party in an economic transaction has more or better information than the other party. This letter clearly indicates that the company initially was informed of the data breach and had information about it for a span of time before consumers did.

            Two social science theories that can be related back to the letter would be the social contract theory and the Situational Crisis Communication Theory. The social contract theory is a philosophy theory that states that people form communities to increase their own security and safety and protect mutual interests. In this case, the company has an expectation to address and correct the breach in order to maintain trust between the consumer and the company. The Situational Crisis Communication Theory is a communications theory that details response strategies that companies and organizations can use to handle a crisis, which in this case is a data breach.  In this letter, the company is using the rebuilding strategy outlined by this theory, and aims to rebuild relationships with stakeholders and consumers.