User Attitude Towards Instant Messaging: The Effect of Espoused National Cultural Values on Awareness and Privacy

Abstract

This paper investigates how user perceptions of privacy and awareness mediate the relationship between espoused national cultural values and attitude towards using Instant Messaging (IM). We present a conceptual model to explain the relationships between (1) espoused national cultural values and user perceptions of privacy and (2) espoused national cultural values and user perceptions of awareness, and (3) how these user perceptions affect attitude towards using IM. Hypotheses were tested using an online survey instrument and data analysis was performed using Structural Equation Modeling. We found that users' attitude towards using IM was positively affected by their perceptions of personal privacy and awareness, which were in turn positively impacted by the espoused cultural value dimensions of uncertainty avoidance.

KEYWORDS:

• Instant Messaging (IM)
• Espoused National Cultural Values
• Awareness
• Information Privacy
• Personal Privacy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jinwei Cao

Jinwei Cao is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems (MIS) at the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. She received her Ph.D. in MIS from the University of Arizona. Her research interests include cross cultural issues in IS, human-computer. interaction, and technology supported learning. She has published in Journal of Management Information Systems, MIS Quarterly Executive, International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction, and Journal for STEM Education.

Andrea Everard

Andrea Everard is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems (MIS) at the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. She received her Ph.D. in MIS from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests are human-computer interaction, and cross cultural issues in IS. Journals in which her work appears include Journal of Management Information Systems, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Global Information Technology Management and Information Systems Journal.