Ghanaian Consumers’ Online Privacy Concerns: Causes and its Effects on E-Commerce Adoption

E. T.,Christiana Aggor,Kwasi Diawuo,Seth Djane

doi:10.14569/ijacsa.2017.081120

E. T., Christiana Aggor + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14569/ijacsa.2017.081120

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Abstract

Online privacy has gradually become a concern for internet users over the years as a result of the interconnection of customers devices with other devices supporting the internet technology. This research investigates and discusses the factors that influence the privacy concerns faced by online consumers of internet services and the possible outcomes of these privacy concerns on the African online market with Ghana being the primary focus. Results from this study indicated that only 10.1 percent of respondents felt that the internet was safe for purchase and payment transaction in Ghana. However, respondents were willing to shop online if e-Commerce was the only means of getting their products. Respondents also had a high sense of perceived vulnerability and their perceived vulnerability to unauthorized data collection and misuse of personal information could affect Ghanaian e-Commerce platform adoption. The perceived ability of users of e-Commerce platforms in Ghana to control data collection and its subsequent use by other third parties was also found to negatively impact customers willingness to wholly transact and share their personal information online. The perceived vulnerability was found to be affected by the high levels of internet illiteracy whiles the perceived ability to control the collection of information and use was influenced by both the internet literacy level as well as the level of social awareness of the Ghanaian internet consumer.

Highlights

Internet, which is defined as the linkage of networks, is used by a wide variety of people
Further studies which show the ever-increasing number of users world-wide of The Onion Router (TOR) has been presented in [9]. Events like these have led to many people who initially were not interested in online privacy concerns to question security practices of governments‟ branches that deal with the practice of looking into private lives of people by the use of the internet
It was assumed that the average Ghanaian did not care what kind of information they shared online, but from the results, it can be concluded that the new generation of Ghanaian internet users are aware of the dangers of the internet as supported by over 65% of respondents indicating their uncertainty of the safety of the internet (refer Fig. 5(a)) and as such their willingness to limit their information sharing (refer Fig. 5(b))

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Internet, which is defined as the linkage of networks, is used by a wide variety of people. Further studies which show the ever-increasing number of users world-wide of TOR has been presented in [9] Events like these have led to many people who initially were not interested in online privacy concerns to question security practices of governments‟ branches that deal with the practice of looking into private lives of people by the use of the internet. There are about 21 million educated people in Ghana and a survey conducted by researchers in [11] suggests that 51% of the people in Ghana use mobile phones This is to say that getting access to internet is not too expensive for the average Ghanaian. Research conducted from the user statistics of TOR, summarized, shows the increase in the average Ghanaian internet consumer privacy since 2013 [12]. The research seeks to study if there is any relationship between the privacy concern and their willingness to transact business online

Principles of Privacy Development

METHODOLOGY

RESULT

Findings

CONCLUSION