A Study of the Effect of Privacy Assurance Mechanisms on Self-disclosure in Social Networking Sites from the View of Protection Motivation Theory

Along with recent advancement of web technologies, social networking sites (SNSs) affect people’s life styles by enabling them to perform different activities which are not easy to do before. Predominant uses of SNSs allow users to quickly access and easily share personal information. In turn, users’ information privacy issues become important challenge. Drawing upon Protection Motivation Theory, this research investigates the effect of privacy assurance mechanisms (i.e., privacy assurance statements and privacy customization) on privacy concern and disclosure behavior. The results show that privacy assurance statements significantly influence SNS users’ privacy concern by affecting users’ assessment of threat susceptibility and effectiveness of assurance mechanisms; privacy customization features significantly influence users’ self-efficacy and perceived effectiveness of assurance mechanisms; SNS users’ privacy concern results form a risk calculus process in which users assess the threat and available coping mechanisms; and the effect of privacy concern on self-disclosure mediates by users’ protection motivation

A Study of the Effect of Privacy Assurance Mechanisms on Self-disclosure in Social Networking Sites from the View of Protection Motivation Theory

Because of the predominant and rampant of social networking sites (SNSs), users’ information privacy issue becomes an important challenge not only for SNS users but also for the SNS service providers and governing organizations. This study’s objectives are: (1) to study how assurance mechanisms affect SNS users’ self-disclosure intention by applying protection motivation theory (PMT), and (2) to empirically test the perceived privacy concern as part of the PMT in order to predict self-disclosure on SNS. There are a number of expected contributions for this study. First, this study applies PMT in order to understand how assurance mechanisms applied by SNSs affect users to disclose their personal information. Second, we introduce the customizing privacy as an assurance mechanism which has not been studied in previous literature. Finally, we consider fear component of PMT which has not been studied by previous researchers who applied PMT in this context

Conceptualization of Relational Assurance Mechanisms - A Literature Review on Relational Assurance Mechanisms, Their Antecedents and Effects

Assurance mechanisms are an important element of relational governance and frequently used in information systems (IS) research; still missing in this field, however, is a coherent and interrelated structure to organize available knowledge. In this study, we provide a first step towards development of a conceptualization framework of relational assurance mechanisms to enable their further investigation. From our analysis of existing literature, we discover two gaps in assurance research: (1) a fragmentation of assurance research and (2) a lack of conceptual consensus on relational assurance mechanisms. We provide a theoretical framework consisting of a conceptualization of identified relational assurance mechanisms, their antecedents and effects as a means of advancing theory in this area. Several possibilities for future research are discussed

Behind the Curtains of Privacy Calculus on Social Networking Sites: The Study of Germany and the USA

As social networking sites (SNSs) become increasingly global, the issues of cultural differences in participation patterns become acute. However, current research offers only limited insights into the role of culture behind SNS usage. Aiming to fill this gap, this study adopts a ‘privacy calculus’ perspective to study the differences between German and American SNS users. Results of structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis reveal distinct variability in the cognitive patterns of American and German subjects. We contribute to the theory by rejecting the universal nature of privacy-calculus processes. From a practical standpoint, our results signal that SNS providers cannot rely on the “proven” means in ensuring user participation when crossing geographic boundaries. When financial means are limited, SNS providers should direct their investments into enhancing platform enjoyment and granting users with more control and, paradoxically, lobbying for more legalistic safeguards of user privacy

Examining the Formation of Individual\u27s Privacy Concerns: Toward an Integrative View

Numerous public opinion polls reveal that individuals are quite concerned about threats to their information privacy. However, the current understanding of privacy that emerges is fragmented and usually discipline-dependent. A systematic understanding of individuals’ privacy concerns is of increasing importance as information technologies increasingly expand the ability for organizations to store, process, and exploit personal data. Drawing on information boundary theory, we developed an integrative model suggesting that privacy concerns form because of an individual’s disposition to privacy or situational cues that enable one person to assess the consequences of information disclosure. Furthermore, a cognitive process, comprising perceived privacy risk, privacy control and privacy intrusion is proposed to shape an individual’s privacy concerns toward a specific Web site’s privacy practices. We empirically tested the research model through a survey (n=823) that was administered to users of four different types of web sites: 1) electronic commerce sites, 2) social networking sites, 3) financial sites, and 4) healthcare sites. The study reported here is novel to the extent that existing empirical research has not examined this complex set of privacy issues. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and suggestions for future research along the directions of this study are provided

EXPLORING THREAT-SPECIFIC PRIVACY ASSURANCES IN THE CONTEXT OF CONNECTED VEHICLE APPLICATIONS

Connected vehicles enable a wide range of use cases, often facilitated by smartphone apps and involving extensive processing of driving-related data. Since information about actual driving behavior or even daily routines can be derived from this data, the question of privacy arises. We explore the impact of privacy assurances on driving data sharing concerns. Specifically, we consider two data-intensive cases: usage-based insurance and traffic hazard warning apps. We conducted two experimental comparisons to investigate whether and how privacy-related perceptions about vehicle data sharing can be altered by different types of text-based privacy assurances on fictional app store pages. Our results are largely inconclusive, and we did not find clear evidence that text-based privacy guarantees can significantly alter privacy concerns and download intentions. Our results suggest that general and threat-specific privacy assurance statements likely yield no or only negligible benefits for providers of connected vehicle apps regarding user perceptions

Social Network Privacy Models

Privacy is a vital research field for social network (SN) sites (SNS), such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, where both the number of users and the number of SN applications are sharply growing. Recently, there has been an exponential increase in user-generated text content, mainly in terms of posts, tweets, reviews, and messages on SN. This increase in textual information introduces many problems related to privacy. Privacy is susceptible to personal behavior due to the shared online data structure of SNS. Therefore, this study will conduct a systematic literature review to identify and discuss the main privacy issues associated with SN, existing privacy models and the limitations and gaps in current research into SN privacy

Digital Health Innovation: Exploring Adoption of COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing Apps

With the outbreak of COVID-19, contact tracing is becoming a used intervention to control the spread of this highly infectious disease. This article explores an individual's intention to adopt COVID-19 digital contact tracing (DCT) apps. A conceptual framework developed for this article combines the procedural fairness theory, dual calculus theory, protection motivation theory, theory of planned behavior, and Hofstede's cultural dimension theory. The study adopts a quantitative approach collecting data from 714 respondents using a random sampling technique. The proposed model is tested using structural equation modeling. Empirical results found that the perceived effectiveness of privacy policy negatively influenced privacy concerns, whereas perceived vulnerability had a positive influence. Expected personal and community-related outcomes of sharing information positively influenced attitudes toward DCT apps, while privacy concerns had a negative effect. The intention to adopt DCT apps were positively influenced by attitude, subjective norms, and privacy self-efficacy. This article is the first to empirically test the adoption of DCT apps of the COVID-19 pandemic and contributes both theoretically and practically toward understanding factors influencing its widespread adoption

Empirical Studies on Online Information Privacy Concerns: Literature Review and an Integrative Framework

In the e-commerce environment, individuals’ concerns for online information privacy play critical roles in determining their intention to use the Internet to provide personal information for services and transactions. Understanding this relationship has important implications for e-commerce. Despite much research in this area, an overarching picture of the relationship between information privacy concerns and the antecedent and consequence factors is yet to be drawn. Based on a review on empirical studies in this area, this research summarizes the conceptualizations of privacy concerns and the antecedents and consequences. An integrative framework is developed to illustrate the relationships between the factors. In this framework, a person’s concern for information privacy regarding a specific e-commerce website is distinguished from his/her concern for information privacy regarding the general e-commerce environment. These two forms of privacy concerns have distinct impacts on a person’s online behavior. Their relationships with multiple antecedent and consequence factors are analyzed

Will Security and Privacy Updates Affect Users’ Privacy Choices of Mobile Apps

There is a growing emphasis among users on safeguarding personal privacy and authorization for applications. To address this, Security and Privacy Updates (SPU) are employed to bolster app security, alleviate user apprehensions regarding security, and encourage users to share data and permissions with greater confidence. Based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), we propose that SPU, an IT technology itself, has a dual effect on users’ privacy choices, security threat susceptibility and security response efficacy are the two key mediators to explain this phenomenon, and that this influencing process will be moderated by user’s privacy trade-off. We will investigate this process through a set of online experiments