Managing the gap between disruptive innovation and people's perceptions: the case of wearable devices

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between social benefits, perceived risk, privacy assurance mechanisms, and self-disclosure of wearable devices data. Self-disclosure of wearable was hypothesised to be positively affected only by social benefits and not by perceived privacy risks. The findings of this study suggest that people perceive wearable devices as a new mean to interact with their social groups and not as a potential threat to their medical information. As expected, privacy concerns do not significantly affect the self-disclosure, while privacy assurance mechanisms do significantly affect self-disclosure. In addition, younger people are more likely to share online their wearable device's data. Given the sensitive nature of wearable device data, potential issues and concerns are discussed.