Privacy Self-efficacy Research Articles

Does online privacy self-efficacy help promote e-participation for rights protection?

This paper focuses on the relationship between internet users’ online privacy self-efficacy and e-participation behaviour, which merits in-depth study but remains underexplored in the literature. Drawing upon a representative sample of Chinese citizens, this paper finds that online privacy self-efficacy is positively associated with e-participation for rights protection. Instrumental variable (IV) estimation and the propensity score matching (PSM) method are used to address concerns about endogeneity problems and self-selection bias. We also find that individuals’ perceptions of internet empowerment positively influence the relationship between online privacy self-efficacy and e-participation frequency. This paper proposes that the government further optimizes the online environment and improves internet users’ knowledge and skills related to online privacy protection to strengthen citizens’ orderly online participation.

Research on the Antecedents of Data Privacy Concern Toward Intelligent Connected Vehicles

Depending on Internet of Vehicle (IoV) and on-board units in 5 G, intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) gradually become the digital infrastructure and data hub to provide personalized in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), which naturally collect, use, and share the data related to users’ bio-informatics, travel patterns, and usage habits. The privacy concern (PC) will be generated when using those data services. In this article, we construct the structural equation model (SEM) to study the influencing factors of users’ PC and self-disclosure behavior (SD) regarding to ICV data services from the personality traits (PTs) perspective. A total of 481 valid questionnaires from 700 IVI users was collected. Results show that extraversion (EXT), conscientiousness (CNS), neuroticism (NEUR), privacy invasion experience (PIE), and privacy self-efficacy (PE) have significant impacts on PC. Besides, PC does not directly affect SD, but is indirectly affected by limiting profile visibility (LPV). Through revealing the relationship among PTs, PC and SD toward ICV data services, we aim to provide insights for vehicle data governance to facilitate the human-vehicle interaction.

Differences in access to privacy information can partly explain digital inequalities in privacy literacy and self-efficacy

ABSTRACT Users of digital technologies are still held legally responsible for managing their personal data. However, not all users have the same opportunities for privacy management as researchers find systematic sociodemographic differences in, for example, users’ privacy literacy and self-efficacy – two important predictors of privacy management. The present study argues that one reason for such digital inequalities is how easily people have access to privacy information in their everyday lives (e.g. through their profession or social contacts). Analysing data of a representative sample of German internet users (N = 3978) by means of a Bayesian structural equation model, we find that men and more educated persons report easier access to privacy information which, in turn, positively relates to both privacy literacy and self-efficacy. Older persons feel less confident about privacy protection while men and more highly educated persons have higher privacy literacy levels. In conclusion, the present study reveals that casual access to privacy information can be important in learning and being confident about privacy management, but it cannot fully explain digital inequalities in online privacy self-efficacy and literacy.

The role of privacy-related factors in consumer perceptions of smart advertising

PurposeAs a smart service, location-based advertising (LBA) integrates advanced technologies to deliver personalized messages based on a user’s real-time geographic location and needs. However, research has shown that privacy concerns threaten the diffusion of LBA. This research investigates how privacy-related factors (i.e. LBA type, privacy self-efficacy (PSE) and consumer generation) impact consumers’ value-in-use and their intention to use LBA.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed and examined an LBA value-in-use framework that integrates the role of LBA type, consumers’ PSE and consumer generation into the technology acceptance model (TAM). Data were collected through two experiments in the field with a total of 374 consumers. The proposed relationships were tested using PROCESS modeling.FindingsThe results reveal that pull (vs push) LBA causes higher value-in-use in terms of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, leading to greater usage intention. Further, the differences in the mediated relationship between pull- and push-LBA are larger among consumers of low PSE (vs high PSE) and Generation Z (vs other generations). The findings suggest that the consumer value-in-use brought about by LBA diminishes when using push-LBA for low PSE and Generation Z consumers.Originality/valueThis research is the first to integrate the privacy-related interactions of LBA type and consumer characteristics into TAM to develop a TAM-based LBA value-in-use framework. This study contributes to the literature on service value-in-use, smart services and LBA by clarifying the boundary conditions that determine the effectiveness of LBA in enhancing consumers’ value-in-use.

What reduces the privacy concerns of the customers towards the use of location-based advertising? An empirical investigation

ABSTRACT Location-based advertising (LBA) allows marketers to send personalised communications to customers in real-time based on their real-time location. However, customers must divulge their personal information in order to enjoy the benefits of LBA. This raises serious privacy concerns on the part of customers. Very few research studies have looked into the factors that might alleviate customers’ concerns about their privacy when utilising LBA. Therefore, this research attempts to address this research gap and examines the factors that might reduce the privacy concerns of customers towards using LBA. The research model for the study is developed using privacy calculus theory to predict the behavioural intention of the customers towards using LBA. The data of 383 respondents who have experience using LBA was evaluated using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings indicate that advertising value has a favourable influence and privacy concerns have an unfavourable influence on customers’ intentions to use LBA where advertising value plays a much more important role. Privacy self-efficacy and brand trust play an influential role in reducing privacy concerns. By contrast, privacy policy stimulates even more privacy concerns, thereby impacting the intention of the customers towards using LBA.

Understanding the antecedents of privacy fatigue in facial recognition-based m-Gov services: An empirical study from China

Facial recognition technology has been adopted for the better delivery of m-government services, but the ease and frequency with which users' personal information is being accessed and misused have inevitably increased. This has recently triggered a new phenomenon of privacy fatigue in e-governance, which makes people feel powerless to protect their privacy. A comprehensive understanding of users' privacy fatigue is important, since negative user perceptions may lead to disengagement and the distrust of the government. Drawing on the Person-Environment fit theory and user agency perspective, this study examines the antecedents of privacy fatigue, manifested as emotional exhaustion and cynicism. A large-scale telephone survey allowed data to be collected from 3, 436 users of facial recognition-based m-Gov services in China. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) results reveal that: (1) privacy fatigue indeed occurs among the users of facial recognition-based m-Gov services in China; (2) the perceptions of privacy control is the core antecedent of users' privacy fatigue, which influences two dimension—emotional exhaustion and cynicism—in different directions; (3) the effectiveness of both privacy self-efficacy and government legislation positively influences perceived privacy control, while the effect of the effectiveness of privacy policies on it is insignificant. This study contributes to the research by empirically testing the notion and antecedents of privacy fatigue in the context of facial recognition-based m-Gov services, and provides a mechanism analysis with an overarching theoretical framework. In addition, the findings may generate new research avenues related to privacy fatigue under an AI-enabled government.

Disentangling the relation among trust, efficacy and privacy management: a moderated mediation analysis of public support for government surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of political/cultural beliefs and situational perceptions on public support for government surveillance amidst COVID-19, using a representative survey conducted in Hong Kong. Our results indicate that situational responses (i.e. privacy trust and self-efficacy) balance against each other in mediating the effects of political/cultural beliefs (i.e. political trust, political efficacy, democratic-individualism) and situational perceptions (i.e. perceived cost and benefit of disclosure, perceived threat of COVID-19) on surveillance support. Both perceived benefit of disclosure and political trust positively affects surveillance support indirectly by promoting the contributing mediator privacy trust while suppressing the inhibiting mediator privacy self-efficacy. Perceived cost of disclosure shows no direct effect, but a positive indirect effect on surveillance support by suppressing privacy self-efficacy; perceived threat shows a positive direct effect while a negative indirect effect by suppressing privacy trust. Internal political efficacy shows a strong negative direct effect, but no indirect effect; and external political efficacy shows a negative indirect effect by promoting privacy self-efficacy. Alternative media use, as a proxy for democratic-individualism, mitigates situational perceptions’ effects on surveillance support, regardless of the directions. The findings advance our understanding of the formation process of public opinion on government surveillance.

The Relationship between Social Capital and Social Media Addiction: The Role of Privacy Self-Efficacy

The rise of social media raises important ethical issues regarding social media user behaviors. This study seeks to investigate the determinants of social media addiction by focusing on social capital and privacy self-efficacy. We argue that social capital has a mixed association with social media addiction by highlighting the difference between social capital bonding and social capital bridging. Notably, social media users differ in their usage purposes; as some build more bridges, others focus on bonding. Moreover, we posit that the relationship between social capital and social media addiction is moderated by social media user privacy self-efficacy. We collected the data using a survey approach and the data was analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The findings support our hypotheses. First, we found that social media users with high bridging experience lesser social media addiction. Those with high bonding have more social media addiction. Second, social media users' privacy self-efficacy moderates the relationship between social capital and social media addiction. This occurs by reinforcing the negative association between social capital bridging and social media addiction and the positive association between social capital bonding and social media addiction. Our findings provide important theoretical contributions and implications for practice.

Peer privacy protection motivation and action on social networking sites: Privacy self-efficacy and information security as moderators

The protection motivation theory was adopted in this study to explore the effects of severity and susceptibility of the perceived threat of peer disclosure on privacy protection actions on social networking sites. Severity and susceptibility of a perceived threat were second-order formative constructs, measured by three reflective components: privacy disclosure, informal sanction, and online flaming. A set of relational factors were introduced as the antecedents, including interdependence, network convergence, depth, predictability, and commitment, which may facilitate social networking site user perceptions of the potential risk of information disclosure, in turn evoking protection motivation in their peers. In addition, in this study, two coping appraisal factors, privacy self-efficacy and information security awareness, are also considered as moderators in the research model. 740 valid questionnaires were collected from social networking site users and tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling techniques. The results showed that interdependence and network convergence have a positive effect on severity and susceptibility, respectively, and predictability and commitment have positive effects on both the severity of and susceptibility to perceived threats. The severity of a perceived threat and susceptibility to a perceived threat positively affect privacy protection behavior. Therefore, SNS companies should design several interactive mechanisms to help SNS users build online relationships with each other in order to enhance their consciousness of information security. Also, these companies should also educate beginners who lack privacy self-efficacy about how serious security threats will be and should also help experienced users determine how likely such threats will be to drive them to take privacy protection measures.

VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL? AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF PRIVACY LITERACY AND PRIVACY SELF-EFFICACY ON THE DIMENSIONALITY OF PRIVACY

The goals of this study are two-fold. We extend established models linking attitudes related to privacy concerns and privacy protecting behavior (PPB) by (a) differentiating between horizontal (social) and vertical (institutional) orientations of PPB as capturing an aspect of privacy multidimensionality, and (b) introducing additional explanatory factors such as privacy literacy and privacy self-efficacy into the modeling of PPB. We survey a representative sample of 686 US social media users to test relationships between privacy concern, trust, privacy self-efficacy, privacy literacy, and vertical and horizontal PPB. We find privacy concerns contribute to horizontal and vertical PPB at different levels, reinforcing the dimensionality of privacy. We also find that privacy literacy and privacy self-efficacy are important factors in explaining dimensional privacy behaviors and moderate the established relationships between privacy concerns and PPB.

Communication privacy management for smart speaker use: Integrating the role of privacy self-efficacy and the multidimensional view

Smart speakers can transform interactions with users into retrievable data, posing new challenges to privacy management. Privacy management in smart speakers can be more complex than just making decisions about disclosure based on the risk–benefit analysis. Hence, this study attempts to integrate privacy self-efficacy and the multidimensional view of privacy management behaviors into the privacy calculus model and proposes an extended privacy calculus model for smart speaker usage. The study explicates three types of privacy management strategies in smart speaker usage: privacy disclosure, boundary linkage, and boundary control. A survey of smart speaker users ( N = 474) finds that perceived benefits are positively associated with privacy disclosure and boundary linkage, whereas perceived privacy risks are negatively related to these two strategies. Also, perceived privacy risks are positively related to boundary control. Finally, privacy self-efficacy promotes all three strategies while mitigating the impact of perceived privacy risks and boosting the impact of perceived benefits on privacy management.

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.

MAKING SENSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY: A FRAMING EXPERIMENT

As individuals trade information to access social media products and services, privacy has become increasingly valuable. Elite discourses have tended to frame privacy in terms of its vertical or institutional dimensions, but much less attention has been given to how users individually interpret and make sense of this complex notion. How do privacy sense-making processes intersect with privacy concerns and self-efficacy? What happens to these outcomes when an individual’s ideas about privacy collide with framing by an authoritative source? This project poses a 2x2 survey-based experiment with 628 subjects to explore these questions. We examine differences in privacy concerns and self-efficacy resulting from an individual’s own conceptualization of privacy, as well as from the presentation of similar and alternative framing of the concept. Preliminary results indicate that while individual conceptualizations show no differences in outcomes, higher levels of privacy self-efficacy result from the framing of privacy in horizontal terms and lower levels of privacy concern result when framing is consistent with the individual’s conceptualization. Strategic and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Increasing consumers’ intention to use location-based advertising

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the influence of advertising value and privacy concerns on consumers’ intention to use location-based advertising. It also explores if brand trust toward location-based advertising providers and consumers’ privacy self-efficacy reduce privacy concerns.Design/methodology/approachBased on the privacy calculus and expectancy theory, a conceptual model is developed and empirically tested through structural equation modeling using cross-sectional data of 1,121 actual smartphone users from Germany.FindingsAdvertising value positively and privacy concerns negatively affect consumers’ intention to use location-based advertising. As expected, brand trust and consumers’ privacy self-efficacy can reduce consumers’ privacy concerns.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research should test and validate the proposed framework in other cultures to gain insights into the culturally specific relevance of privacy concerns and their antecedents. The current study includes sociodemographics as potential moderators; additional studies could investigate other potential moderators (e.g. personality, values).Practical implicationsTo reduce consumers’ privacy concerns, location-based advertising providers should make their offers transparent and give consumers control, to increase their privacy self-efficacy. They also should work to strengthen their brand, monitor brand trust trends and avoid any trust-damaging behavior.Originality/valueThis study introduces brand trust toward location-based advertising providers and privacy self-efficacy as factors to reduce consumers’ privacy concerns. It also encompasses a broader, general sample of consumers, which increases the generalizability and practical relevance of the results and supports an initial investigation of sociodemographic factors as potential moderators in this context.

Revisiting the Privacy Paradox on Social Media With an Extended Privacy Calculus Model: The Effect of Privacy Concerns, Privacy Self-Efficacy, and Social Capital on Privacy Management

This study builds on the privacy calculus model to revisit the privacy paradox on social media. A two-wave panel data set from Hong Kong and a cross-sectional data set from the United States are used. This study extends the model by incorporating privacy self-efficacy as another privacy-related factor in addition to privacy concerns (i.e., costs) and examines how these factors interact with social capital (i.e., the expected benefit) in influencing different privacy management strategies, including limiting profile visibility, self-disclosure, and friending. This study proposed and found a two-step privacy management strategy in which privacy concerns and privacy self-efficacy prompt users to limit their profile visibility, which in turn enhances their self-disclosing and friending behaviors in both Hong Kong and the United States. Results from the moderated mediation analyses further demonstrate that social capital strengthens the positive–direct effect of privacy self-efficacy on self-disclosure in both places, and it can mitigate the direct effect of privacy concerns on restricting self-disclosure in Hong Kong (the conditional direct effects). Social capital also enhances the indirect effect of privacy self-efficacy on both self-disclosure and friending through limiting profile visibility in Hong Kong (the conditional indirect effects). Implications of the findings are discussed.

Anxiety about electronic data hacking

PurposeDespite concerns about digital privacy, little is known about emotional distress about data hacking and surveillance incidents. The purpose of this paper is to examine variables predicting anxiety about data hacking, and the role that such anxiety and other potentially important variables have in explaining the use of digital privacy protection behavior.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 305 participants from an online labor market were sampled who frequently use the internet, surveyed about recent anxiety (using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7)), anxiety about data hacking (GAD-7, in reference to data hacking), and issues of digital privacy: news exposure, perceived importance, self-efficacy, protection behavior, and previous hacking victimization.FindingsProfession (information technology-related) moderated the symptom structure for recent anxiety, but not data hacking anxiety. Using structural equation modeling, prior hacking victimization predicted anxiety about hacking. Digital privacy protection behavior was related to hacking anxiety and privacy self-efficacy. Data hacking anxiety mediated relations between hacking victimization and privacy protection. Privacy self-efficacy mediated relations between news exposure to hacking incidents and privacy protection.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include the self-report nature of the instruments, and use of a selective, non-random sample.Practical implicationsResults highlight knowledge, self-efficacy, and threat appraisal among IT managers in motivating better digital security practices.Originality/valueThis is the first study using a standardized instrument of anxiety to examine distress about hacking and predictors of digital privacy protection behavior.

An Extended Privacy Calculus Model for SNSs: Analyzing Self-Disclosure and Self-Withdrawal in a Representative U.S. Sample

The privacy calculus established that online self-disclosures are based on a cost-benefit tradeoff. For the context of SNSs, however, the privacy calculus still needs further support as most studies consist of small student samples and analyze self-disclosure only, excluding self-withdrawal e.g., the deletion of posts, which is essential in SNS contexts. Thus, this study used a U.S. representative sample to test the privacy calculus' generalizability and extend its theoretical framework by including both self-withdrawal behaviors and privacy self-efficacy. Results confirmed the extended privacy calculus model. Moreover, both privacy concerns and privacy self-efficacy positively predicted use of self-withdrawal. With regard to predicting self-disclosure in SNSs, benefits outweighed privacy concerns; regarding self-withdrawal, privacy concerns outweighed both privacy self-efficacy and benefits.

A Study of Factors that Affect the Right to be Forgotten and Self-Disclosure Intent in SNS

Background/Objectives: We wanted to find out the relationship between self-disclosure intent to disclose themselves online openly and the right to be forgotten that they want their information to be forgotten online. Methods/Statistical Analysis: In order to measure each variable of the research model, all items of the questionnaire were measured with fivepoint Likert scale. Questionnaire items were modified according to the environment called social network service from existing studies. Also, verification for the measurement model was carried out targeting a total of 115 responses used in the analysis. For measurement model verification, we used Partial Least Square, a structural equation approach and used SmartPLS 2.0. Findings: According to the study results, perceived privacy risk had a significant effect both on privacy protection awareness and privacy concern. Perceived privacy can be understood to affect acceptance of the right to be forgotten by a medium of privacy protection awareness and privacy concern because the path known for privacy protection awareness and privacy concern to affect acceptance of the right to be forgotten was also found to be significant. On the other hand, the hypothesis that privacy self-efficacy affects privacy protection awareness and the hypothesis that privacy concern and acceptance of the right to be forgotten have a significant effect on self-disclosure intent were rejected. In order to use SNS, some degree of personal information disclosure is inevitable. Therefore, feeling concerned about privacy or not does not have any effect on self-disclosure intent in SNS. Likewise, the relationship between acceptance of the right to be forgotten and self-disclosure intent also turned out not to be related each other. Application/Improvements: Protection Motivation Theory should be applied as the antecedent of privacy protection awareness or in-depth research on other privacy-related factors affecting self-disclosure intent in addition to self-presentation needs.

The impact of exposure to news about electronic government surveillance on concerns about government intrusion, privacy self-efficacy, and privacy protective behavior

Government electronic surveillance programs are an active topic in public debates, yet little is known about how awareness of government electronic surveillance programs affects technology users’ concerns, beliefs, and behaviors. This study examined the impact of exposure to news stories about government surveillance on users’ concerns about government intrusion, their privacy self-efficacy, and the strength of passwords they use to protect information. Findings were that the exposure to news about government surveillance increases the level of concerns about government intrusion and has a negative impact on privacy self-efficacy. Further, contrary to expectations, this exposure also leads to weaker passwords used to protect information. Possible explanations and implications of the findings are discussed.

Educating Students’ Privacy Decision Making through Information Ethics Curriculum

Increasingly sophisticated technologies nowadays have equipped powerful capabilities to obtain and exploit consumers’ information privacy on the Internet. The contemporary privacy protection techniques seem fail to guard information privacy. Besides of the technological protections, information ethics education is described as the ideal way to increase people’s consciousness. This study proposes a privacy decision making model which posits that attitudes toward privacy protection, privacy self-efficacy for protection, and privacy self-efficacy for non-acquisition are critical factors essential to behavioral intention. Further, a longitudinal model explores whether information ethics education plays a role in influencing students’ concepts of protecting information privacy. A survey of 111 senior-level undergraduate students in the department of Information Management was conducted to test the hypothesized model. The findings exhibit important insights: through information ethics education, students demonstrate significant model paths changes in the relationships of attitude, privacy self-efficacy for protection, and privacy self-efficacy for non-acquisition to intention. The implications to the ethics curriculum concerning information privacy are discussed.