Perceived Privacy Protection Research Articles

Enhancing Employee Assistance Programs for Stress Management in Thailand: Employees’ Perspectives

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are commonly used to manage stress and well-being in organizations in Thailand; however, their utilization rates remain low among employees. This study investigates the factors that influence employees’ utilization of an EAP, focusing on the moderating roles of perceived privacy protection and perceived trust, using the Health Belief Model (HBM). Data were collected by surveying 434 employees from organizations providing EAPs in Thailand. Structural Equation Modelling was employed to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The findings indicated that employees’ intention to use EAPs was significantly influenced by perceived benefits, cues to action, and privacy protection, whereas self-efficacy had a negative effect. Moreover, perceived privacy protection can strengthen the relationship between self-efficacy and EAP utilization, while it weakens the relationship between cues to action and perceived barriers. Perceived trust further enhances the impact of perceived severity and self-efficacy on EAP utilization. The practical implications for organizations are also discussed.

Determinants of Intention to Use of Hospital Information Systems among Healthcare Professionals

Health information systems (HISs) are instrumental in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of hospital operations, from managing patient data to enhancing decision-making processes. This study, which holds significant implications for the healthcare industry, aimed to identify the factors that influence users’ intentions to use HISs. The research involved interviews with healthcare professionals licensed to use the HIS of a public hospital. The survey, conducted in 2020, received 113 responses. Statistical methods of descriptive analysis, correlation, and multiple linear regression were used. Two models were examined. The first model investigated the relationship between the dependent variable of the intention to use an HIS and the independent variables of perceived time savings and perceived privacy protection. The second model explored the impact of age and education as control variables in the connection between the intention to use an HIS and time savings and privacy protection. A significant moderate positive correlation was found between the intention to use an HIS and perceived time savings, while a significant weak positive correlation was detected between the intention to use an HIS and education. Regression analysis in the first model revealed a significant connection between the intention to use an HIS and perceived time savings. However, the perceived privacy protection variable did not show a significant relationship with the dependent variable. The second model showed statistical significance in the relationship between the intention to use an HIS and education, but not with the second control variable, age. It can be concluded that education strengthens the positive impact of perceived time savings on the intention to use a health information system (HIS), a finding that has immediate and practical implications for healthcare professionals and researchers in the field of health information systems and healthcare management, underlining the importance of this research in advancing the understanding and adoption of HISs in healthcare settings.

Investors’ willingness to use robo-advisors: Extrapolating influencing factors based on the fiduciary duty of investment advisors

Robo-advisors are increasingly seen as a solution for the growing demand for timely and actionable financial advice. However, systematic barriers to their deployment and use persist. Understanding the factors that influence investors' willingness to consult with robo-advisors is key to their wide-scale adoption. This research aims to isolate the factors influencing the willingness to adopt robo-advisors by investment advisory services. We focus on three adoption drivers: (1) performance of robo-advisors, (2) human-computer interaction, and (3) the reputation of software suppliers. Results indicate that ‘performance efficacy’, ‘perceived ease of use’, ‘customer education’, and ‘corporate reputation’ positively influence the perceived value, leading to higher adoption intention. Additionally, ‘performance efficacy’, ‘perceived privacy protection’ and ‘corporate reputation’ positively contributes to the building of trust, which in turn leads to higher adoption intention and asset allocation ratio. We found that low-experience investors were “value-driven”, while highly experienced investors were “trust-driven” when it came to adoption intent. The research highlights the potential of artificial intelligence-based applications for user behavior research and suggests design considerations for robo-advisor developers to influence positive adoption in financial advisory services.

Understanding consumers’ intentions to use QR code menus in the post-COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study aims to examine the factors influencing consumers’ intentions to use QR code menus in the post-COVID-19 pandemic using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and rational choice theory as the theoretical foundations.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey method, 200 data are collected from consumers who had used QR code menus in the past. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data.FindingsOur findings show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, habit and perceived privacy protection have a significant positive influence on intentions. However, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and perceived privacy risk do not have a significant influence on intentions.Originality/valueThis study further extends the work of previous studies by using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model, with additional two new predictors, namely perceived privacy protection and perceived privacy risk, to understand consumers’ intentions to use QR code menus.

Predicting m-health acceptance from the perspective of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

Addressing the growing popularity of mobile health (m-Health) technology in the health industry, the current study examined consumers’ intention and behaviour related to the usage of digital applications based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). In particular, this study quantitatively assessed the moderating role of perceived product value and mediating role of intention to use m-Health application among Indonesians. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from conveniently selected respondents through an online survey, which involved 2068 Telegram users in Indonesia. All data were subjected to the analysis of partial least square- structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The obtained results demonstrated the moderating effect of perceived product value on the relationship between intention to use m-Health application (m-health app) and actual usage of m-Health app and the mediating effects of intention to use m-Health app on the relationships of perceived critical mass, perceived usefulness, perceived convenience, perceived technology accuracy, and perceived privacy protection on actual usage of m-Health app. However, the intention to use m-Health app did not mediate the influence of health consciousness and health motivation on the actual usage of m-Health app. Overall, this study’s findings on the significance of intention to use m-Health app and perceived product value based on the UTAUT framework serve as insightful guideline to expand the usage of m-Health app among consumers.

User’s Continuance Intentions of Digital Payment Based on Expectation-Confirmation Method and Trust

Since the Covid-19 pandemic entered Indonesia in 2020, people have started to switch from cash/traditional payments to digital payments with aim to reduce direct physical contact. Digital payment that currently booming is Qris payment method, which offer convenience and speed in transactions. This study aims to look at user continuance intention on using digital payments using the Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM) approach. In this volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) era, this study adapt the concept of trust in technology adoption. Based on the literature study that has been collected, researchers obtain several variables that can influence user intentions to continue using digital payments, including: confirmation, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, information quality, perceived privacy protection and security, trust, and continuance intention.

The Roles of Trust and Its Antecedent Variables in Healthcare Consumers' Acceptance of Online Medical Consultation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.

Online medical consultation (OMC) is generating considerable interest among researchers and practitioners due to the mandatory quarantine measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. However, the acceptance rate of OMC has declined over time. This paper aims to empirically investigate OMC acceptance using a proposed research model by integrating the technology acceptance model (TAM) with trust and its antecedent variables. A quantitative self-administered cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 260 healthcare consumers. A partial least squares structural equation modeling method was used to examine the data. Results revealed that healthcare consumers' behavioral intention was influenced by attitudes, while perceived usefulness and trust significantly influenced behavioral intention through attitude as a mediator. In addition, perceived risk, perceived privacy protection, network externalities, cognitive reputation, and interactivity directly influenced trust. Overall, the research model explained 50% of the variance in attitude and 71% of the variance in behavioral intention. The study's findings should provide useful insights into making effective design, development, and implementation decisions for OMC services.

The Role UX Design Attributes Play in the Perceived Persuasiveness of Contact Tracing Apps

Contact tracing apps (CTAs) were deployed worldwide in 2020 to combat COVID-19. Due to their low uptake, a growing amount of empirical research is being conducted to understand the factors that drive their adoption. For CTAs to be adopted, users must, first and foremost, find them persuasive. However, there is little research to understand the role user experience (UX) plays in their perceived persuasiveness. Consequently, we conducted an online study on Amazon Mechanical Turk among Canadian and American residents (n = 446) to investigate the most important UX design attributes associated with the perceived persuasiveness of CTAs. The study was based on two app designs (control and persuasive), each of which comprises three use cases: no exposure, exposure, and diagnosis report interfaces. One interface (screenshot) was randomly presented to a participant to view and provide their responses on the perceived UX design attributes and perceived persuasiveness of the interface. In the overall model, we found that perceived usefulness is the most important and consistent UX design attribute that influences perceived persuasiveness (β = 0.29, p < 0.001), followed by perceived trustworthiness (β = 0.24, p < 0.001) and perceived privacy protection (β = 0.16, p < 0.05). Respectively, the three predictors were consistently significant in two-thirds, half, and one-third of the 12 submodels based on app design, adoption status, and country of residence. The relationships regarding the persuasive designs are more likely to be significant, with the variance of the target construct explained by the predictors ranging from 71% to 89% compared with 54% to 69% for the control designs. The three significant attributes will help designers know which UX design attributes to focus on when designing CTAs for future epidemics. More importantly, in predictive modeling, if their ratings are known, they hold potential in predicting new users’ responsiveness to multiple persuasive strategies/messages featured in behavior-change support systems.

Exploring the antecedents of trust in electronic word-of-mouth platform: The perspective on gratification and positive emotion.

Frequent human-media interaction via the electronic word-of-mouth (e-wom) platform, trust is acknowledged as an ongoing challenge. This study aimed to understand users' trust in the e-wom platform based on uses and gratifications theory and stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm. Utilitarian gratification (perceived information quality and perceived privacy protection) was regarded as stimulus, social gratification (sense of social belonging and sense of self-esteem) and positive emotion as organism, and platform trust as response. Data was acquired from 268 users in China using a questionnaire survey, and the PLS-SEM was used to further analyze the results. The results indicated that there is a hierarchy relationship between types of gratifications. That is, utilitarian gratification is a premise of social gratification. Moreover, sense of self-esteem and positive emotion have a mediating effect between perceived information quality and platform trust. Sense of social belonging and positive emotion have a mediating effect between perceived privacy protection and platform trust. This study not only broadened trust between human and media, but also purposed a hierarchy relationship of different types of gratifications in e-wom platform.

Privacy at risk? Understanding the perceived privacy protection of health code apps in China

As a key constituent of China's approach to fighting COVID-19, Health Code apps (HCAs) not only serve the pandemic control imperatives but also exercise the agency of digital surveillance. As such, HCAs pave a new avenue for ongoing discussions on contact tracing solutions and privacy amid the global pandemic. This article attends to the perceived privacy protection among HCA users via the lens of the contextual integrity theory. Drawing on an online survey of adult HCA users in Wuhan and Hangzhou (N = 1551), we find users’ perceived convenience, attention towards privacy policy, trust in government, and acceptance of government purposes regarding HCA data management are significant contributors to users’ perceived privacy protection in using the apps. By contrast, users’ frequency of mobile privacy protection behaviors has limited influence, and their degrees of perceived protection do not vary by sociodemographic status. These findings shed new light on China's distinctive approach to pandemic control with respect to the state's expansion of big data-driven surveillance capacity. Also, the findings foreground the heuristic value of contextual integrity theory to examine controversial digital surveillance in non-Western contexts. Put tougher, our findings contribute to the thriving scholarly conversations around digital privacy and surveillance in China, as well as contact tracing solutions and privacy amid the global pandemic.

The effects of extrinsic reward that affect a user’s continuous intention to use a fitness application

ABSTRACT Fitness application service providers are offering rewards, such as points to users as incentives for service use. However, it is questionable whether this reward offering is an effective measure for persuading consumers to use fitness applications continuously. This study examines how reward affects continued use of fitness applications. An online survey was conducted on 268 people who actually used the fitness application. Respondents were divided into two groups at random, an extrinsic reward group and a non-extrinsic reward group, to check the effects of the rewards. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Factors influencing a user’s continuous intention to use fitness applications will vary depending on whether rewards are provided. For the extrinsic reward group, perceived enjoyment and perceived privacy protection were significant variables to continue use of a fitness application. However, for the non-extrinsic reward group, monetary value was a significant variable. For continuous use of a fitness application, if rewards are provided, it is necessary to emphasize intrinsic factors such as fun rather than extrinsic factors such as savings and cost. On the other hand, without rewards, it is necessary to highlight extrinsic factors rather than intrinsic factors.

What Factors Affect a User's Intention to Use Fitness Applications? The Moderating Effect of Health Status: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ObjectiveFitness applications are becoming a tool for users who want to exercise and diet. This study examines what factors affect users’ intention to use fitness applications and how they depend on users’ health status.MethodsAn online survey was conducted on 428 potential fitness application users from South Korea. For this study, the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) was applied, and structural equation models were used for the data analysis.ResultsThe results showed that for potential fitness application users, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, and perceived privacy protection were significant variables; however, social influence was insignificant. Factors influencing users’ intention to use fitness applications will vary depending on health status.ConclusionThis study provides the following implications for health researchers, fitness application designers, and marketers. When trying to use fitness application, values such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, and perceived privacy protection should be emphasized. In particular, for users with chronic diseases, the performance expectancy of fitness apps is more critical than any other factor.

Is health consciousness and perceived privacy protection critical to use wearable health devices? Extending the model of goal-directed behavior

PurposeThe present study is an attempt to extend the Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) to consider health consciousness and perceived privacy protection as two critical factors to predict desire and intention by individuals to adopt and use wearable health devices (WHDs).Design/methodology/approachBased on the literature review hypotheses were framed and tested using data collected through a questionnaire survey. A total of 418 self-reported complete responses were considered to analyze the hypotheses proposed in the study. Structural equation modeling, effects analysis and model comparison (MGB and extended MGB) were performed to understand the predictability of the suggested model.FindingsThe results of the study corroborate that along with MGB, health consciousness and perceived privacy protection also induces the intention of users toward using WHDs. Health-consciousness is found to have a positive and significant direct and indirect impact on intention to use WHDs. Further, the model comparison exhibits that the proposed extended MGB is a better predictor of intention to use WHDs.Practical implicationsApart from the conventional framework of MGB, health consciousness and perceived privacy protection promote desire and intention to use WHDs. This research provides a framework for marketers to promote health consciousness among consumers by motivating them to adopt WHDs. Further, privacy protection features should be showcased in order to induce trust in consumers which in turn will trigger their intention to use WHDs to lead a healthy lifestyle.Originality/valueThe current study incorporates health consciousness and perceived privacy protection in MGB to fit into the context of healthcare intention study, which enhances the predictability of intention behavior of consumers and adds to the existing body of MGB and healthcare literature.

Examining the Trust-Based Consumer Decision-Making Model for Online Purchases in Pakistan

This paper empirically examines the trust-based consumer decision-making model in the context of a collectivist country (i.e., Pakistan). The target population of the study was the general retail consumers recruited through online survey. A total of 396 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling in Smart PLS. The study reports average variance extracted, composite reliability, Cronbach alpha, and path coefficients. The results confirm that trust and benefits are positively associated with purchase intention while perceived risk is negatively associated with consumer trust. The study also reports some unique findings like information quality is found positively associated with both trust and perceived risk. Also perceived privacy protection is found negatively associated with trust and positively with risk. The study lays down a foundation for subsequent studies to further explore the phenomena. The study is the first of its kind that has examined this model in Pakistan and proposes some useful theoretical, practical, and policy-making implications.

Customer Relationships, Privacy, and Security in Social Commerce

ABSTRACT Social commerce is a new development in e-commerce and social networks. Consumers belonging to various social communities of interest often rely on information generated by these communities to make online purchase decisions. This empirical research study explores the relational and security aspects of social commerce. It looks at technology-enabled customer relationship quality, privacy, and security protection as determinants of social commerce decisions. The results show that the web experience and online convenience delivered through the social commerce provider website positively influence the perceived customer relationship quality as a driver of social commerce purchase and sharing behavior. Additionally, the study finds that while perceived security protection is still a significant influencer of social commerce decisions, perceived privacy protection is no longer a primary customer concern.

How and When Personalized Advertising Leads to Brand Attitude, Click, and WOM Intention

We study the effect of perceived personalization in advertising on social networking sites (SNSs) on consumer brand responses. In study 1 (N = 202), we test a parallel mediation via perceived personal relevance and intrusiveness on brand attitude (Ab) and click intention (CI). Perceived personalization improves Ab and CI by increasing the perceived personal relevance and, unexpectedly, by decreasing the perceived intrusiveness of the ad. Study 2 (N = 264) extends the processing mechanism of personalized advertising by additionally including the mediating effects of self-brand connection and reactance toward the ad. Perceived personalization has a positive indirect effect on self-brand connection via perceived personal relevance, but not via perceived intrusiveness. Self-brand connection, in turn, has a positive effect on consumers’ responses. Contrary to expectations, reactance does not significantly affect brand responses. Study 2 also examines the moderating role of perceived privacy protection by the SNS. Higher levels of perceived privacy protection by the SNS do not strengthen the indirect effects of perceived personalization.

Continuance usage intention and its antecedents on using OVO e-wallet application in Denpasar

This study aims to explain the effect of information quality, perceived privacy protection, perceived security protection on trust, and its effect on continuance intention to use OVO in Denpasar. This research was conducted in Denpasar, using 139 respondents. This study uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis techniques with the Partial Least Square approach. This study shows that information quality has a positive and significant effect on trust. Perceived privacy protection has a positive and significant effect on trust and continuance usage intention. Perceived security protection has a positive and significant effect on trust and continuance usage intention. Also, this study also shows that trust has a positive and significant effect on continuance usage intention. Information quality was found that have no significant effect on the continuance usage intention.

User Preferences for Privacy Protection Methods in Mobile Health Apps: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background:Mobile health (mHealth) apps have the potential to facilitate convenient health care delivery and self-management of health. However, many users have concerns about their privacy when they use mHealth apps. Different apps provide different solutions for protecting users' privacy.Objective:The purpose of this study was to determine user preferences among the several privacy protection methods used in current mHealth apps and the reasons behind their preferences.Methods:Five privacy protection methods currently used in mHealth apps were presented to a group of study participants who had mild or moderate depression and expressed concerns about privacy of information when they used mental health apps. After a demonstration of the methods, study participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire and indicate their perceived privacy protection level (PPPL) of each method, their preference rating for each method, and the privacy protection methods they had used in the past. A brief interview was then conducted to collect study participants' comments on these methods and elicit the reasons for their preference ratings. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the statistical significance of differences in participants' preference ratings and in the PPPLs obtained for the five methods. Study participants' comments on the privacy protection methods and suggestions were noted and summarized.Results:Forty (40) study participants were selected from a large candidate pool using the IRB approved selection criteria. All study participants viewed the app demonstration and understood the five privacy protection methods properly, which was indicated by their correct sorting of the PPPL of the five methods in their answers to the questionnaire. All study participants specified their preferences with respect to these methods and provided the rationale behind their selections on the questionnaire and during the brief interview. The results indicate that the users preferred privacy protection methods with customizable modules in multi-purpose apps because of their convenience and strong privacy protection, where the customization can be done either in the app or via a Web portal.Conclusions:This study identified user preferred privacy protection methods. These identified privacy protection methods may be used in many types of apps that perform sensitive health information management to better protect users' privacy and encourage more users to adopt these mHealth apps.

Do information and service quality affect perceived privacy protection, satisfaction, and loyalty? Evidence from a Chinese O2O-based mobile shopping application

As the mobile application market rapidly expands, the mobile shopping market is also expected to follow suit. Further, a new form of online-to-offline (O2O) services available in mobile shopping applications, which helps users instantly search for what they want online, try them in the offline stores nearby, and pay online, is becoming increasingly popular. Thus, our study investigates the effects of O2O-based mobile shopping application (MSA)’s information and service quality on the user’s perceived privacy protection, satisfaction, and loyalty. In this study, we collected 1063 questionnaire responses, out of which 969 were used to estimate the structural paths using PLS-SEM (partial least-square structural equation model) for the hypothesis test. Our empirical findings are drawn from Chinese respondents who use Chinese leading MSAs, such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent. We confirm that qualified information and services of O2O MSAs positively affect both perceived privacy protection and customer satisfaction, which finally lead to customer loyalty through the lens of the information systems success model. Further, we present effective practical implications for business strategy and application characteristics suitable for users in the O2O-based mobile shopping industry.

A discussion of the two different aspects of privacy protection in indirect questioning designs

The motivation behind considering the use of indirect questioning designs is their possible positive effect on the respondents’ willingness to cooperate. Whereas the privacy protection objectively offered by these methods has a direct effect on the estimator’s efficiency, it is the subjectively perceived protection which affects the respondents’ willingness to cooperate. For the discussion of these different aspects of privacy protection, a family of randomized response techniques enabling the tailoring of the design’s privacy protection to the respondents is presented as representative of indirect questioning designs. Measures are suggested that formalize how the objectively offered and subjectively perceived privacy protection may differ. Different features of randomized response questioning designs, influencing the perceived privacy protection, are discussed particularly for the “crosswise model” in order to avoid underestimations of the true levels of privacy protection, which would be counter-productive with regard to the respondents’ cooperation propensity.