The Role of the Privacy Calculus and the Privacy Paradox in the Acceptance of Wearables for Health and Wellbeing
Outlet Title
AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
The Internet along with innovations in technology have inspired an industry focused on designing portable devices, known as wearables that can track users’ personal activities and wellbeing. While such technologies have many benefits, they also have risks (especially regarding information privacy and security). These concerns become even more pronounced with healthcare-related wearables. Consequently, users must consider the benefits given the risks (privacy calculus); however, users often opt for wearables despite their disclosure concerns (privacy paradox). In this study, we investigate the multidimensional role that privacy (and, in particular, the privacy calculus and the privacy paradox) plays in consumers’ intention to disclose their personal information, whether health status has a moderating effect on the relationship, and the influence of privacy on acceptance. To do so, we evaluated a research model that explicitly focused on the privacy calculus and the privacy paradox in the healthcare wearables acceptance domain. We used a survey-oriented approach to collect data from 225 users and examined relationships among privacy, health, and acceptance constructs. In that regard, our research confirmed significant evidence of the influence of the privacy calculus on disclosure and acceptance as well as evidence of the privacy paradox when considering health status. We found that consumers felt less inclined to disclose their personal information when the risks to privacy outweighed benefits; however, health status moderated this behavior such that people with worse health tipped the scale towards disclosure. This study expands our previous knowledge about healthcare wearables’ privacy/acceptance paradigm and, thus, the influences that affect healthcare wearables’ acceptance in the privacy context.
Recommended Citation
Jernejcic, Thomas and El-Gayar, Omar F., "The Role of the Privacy Calculus and the Privacy Paradox in the Acceptance of Wearables for Health and Wellbeing" (2022). Research & Publications. 407.
https://scholar.dsu.edu/bispapers/407