【公开学术报告】Mobile App Security, Privacy Policy, Installation, and Consumer Review:

Mobile App Security, Privacy Policy, Installation, and Consumer Review: 

The Determination and Differential Pre- and Post-Adoption Role of App Security Features

Guest Speaker:    Prof. John Jianjun Zhu (New Mexico State University)

Date & Time:       9:30-11:00 (Beijing Time), Mon. 10^th, Oct. 2022

Zoom Meeting:  880 6817 5733（Password: 946790）

Click Link:           https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88068175733

ABSTRACT

This research focuses on mobile app security based on technical adoption, signaling, and privacy theories. Two explorative studies investigate Android apps from Google Play on the determination and performance impact of app security features. Study 1 reveals the mutual determination among app security threat, installation, and consumer review. Study 2 expands our understanding of how developers’ privacy policy drives app security threats. Both studies reveal that apps with more security threats receive worse consumer reviews but gain more installations, the prominent phenomenon of privacy paradox that we further address. Study 3 of a vignette survey tests a conceptualized pre-adoption dual-route-mechanism. Specifically, the effect of app security threat on installation intention is effectuated simultaneously through a positive route due to the functionality signaling of app permissions and a negative path based on privacy concerns. Study 4 postulates a differential post-adoption single-route-mechanism for the security threat-consumer review relationship and tests with a recall survey. The negative privacy concern route remains salient as user experience precludes the positive effect of functionality signaling, the key driver of the boosted installation for risky apps. This research substantially advances mobile app and privacy literature and proffers managerial implications for app developers, marketers, consumers, and policymakers. 

Keywords: app security, privacy policy, privacy paradox, privacy concern, consumer review