Privacy Management in Mobile Apps - The Way to Put Concerns Aside
(A2020-64208)

AUTHORS

Denis Weinecker, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen; Monika Schuhmacher, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen

KEYWORDS

Privacy Concerns; Mobile Apps; Communication Privacy Management

ABSTRACT

Privacy concerns are a powerful factor in the decision to use a mobile app. Hence, companies have to find effective measures to manage consumers´ privacy in apps. However, surrounding company- or app-related factors like app type, information type or branding can make the difference within privacy evaluations. Based on communication privacy management theory, we develop three experiments to explore how different privacy levels as well as different app-specific designs effectively reduce the formation of privacy concerns with mobile apps. First insights reveal that the level of information privacy influences the formation of consumers´ privacy concerns. The findings demonstrate that enhanced information ownership and control attenuate consumers´ potential concerns. Additionally, we show that the effect is more important when introducing a new app compared to an improved version of an existing app. The empirical insights highlight that companies need to consider the aspect of privacy for the successful adoption of apps.