Behind the scenes of privacy. A quantitative research study to examine the influence of fear appeals on protection motivation

Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Computer Science - Commercial Information Technology, grade: 1,3, , course: Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik, insb. Informationssysteme in Dienstleistungsbereichen, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the observable and recently emerging concerns of privacy online, such as possible information theft due to data leaks, and methods to motivate people conducting a more adequate behavior. The lack of existing academic literature and research on this phenomenon, is addressed by generating profound results regarding fear appeals and their impact on the intention for people to protect their data. An exploratory, quantitative study design is used, adopted from the protection motivation theory to primarily investigate the components of this model and the modifications of these by means of two groups, one experiencing fear appeals. A set of 25 questions was developed and surveyed within the scope of an online questionnaire. Analysis implied the existence of a positive relationship between fear appeals and protection intention valid. Furthermore, the results support the understanding of connections among the items prompted. The study contributes to the field of research by providing in- depth insights on the influence of fear appeals on the protection motivation. Based on these findings, the thesis concludes with theoretical as well as practical recommendations for future research.