The Social Acceptance of Collecting and Utilizing Personal Information in Smart Cities

Yuho Shimizu, Shin Osaki, Takaaki Hashimoto and Kaori Karasawa
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Yuho Shimizu: Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 1130033, Japan
Shin Osaki: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 1138656, Japan
Takaaki Hashimoto: Faculty of Sociology, Toyo University, Tokyo 1128606, Japan
Kaori Karasawa: Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 1130033, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-10

Abstract: In recent years, active efforts to implement smart cities have increased worldwide. In smart cities, a large amount of personal information is captured, and urban development is based on these data. In Japan, implementations of smart cities continue to gain momentum, but the issue of social acceptance has become apparent, as smart cities are not fully accepted by citizens because of concerns about data leaks and misuse of personal information. This study examines the social acceptance of collecting and utilizing personal information in smart cities in relation to a variety of factors such as trust and perceptions of risk, justice, benefit, and necessity. An online survey was conducted wherein participants ( N = 568) were presented with a vignette depicting an overview of a typical smart city. The results of structural equation modeling showed that perceived justice was positively related to trust and trust was negatively related to perceived risk and positively related to perceived benefit and necessity. Trust, perceived benefit, and perceived necessity were significantly related to social acceptance, with trust having the greatest relationship. The model obtained in this study contributes to practical efforts for the implementation of smart cities, and future directions are discussed.

Keywords: smart city; social acceptance; structural equation modeling; Japan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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