Sustainability Calculus in Adopting Smart Speakers—Personalized Services and Privacy Risks

Hoon S. Cha, Jong Hyun Wi, Chanhi Park and Taeha Kim
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Hoon S. Cha: Department of Information and Decision Sciences, Perdue School of Business, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21804, USA
Jong Hyun Wi: College of Business and Economics, Chung-Ang University, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, Korea
Chanhi Park: College of Business and Economics, Chung-Ang University, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, Korea
Taeha Kim: College of Business and Economics, Chung-Ang University, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Despite the benefits of using smart speakers, serious privacy concerns have been raised, particularly due to their constantly listening microphones. Given the mixture of the advantages and risks deciding whether to use them is not an easy matter, casting a doubt about sustainable growth and development of smart speakers. Using a sample of 559 users in South Korea and the U.S., we empirically investigated the dilemma of users seeking to adopt smart speakers. The results revealed users’ perceived usefulness and enjoyment positively influenced the intention to adopt smart speakers. No direct effect of perceived ease of use was found but this effect was completely mediated by perceived usefulness and enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment was found to be twice as strong as perceived usefulness in determining the usage intention, confirming the hedonic aspect of smart speakers. Conversely, perceived privacy risks were shown to be a significant negative factor. This negative impact was significantly stronger in the U.S. than in South Korea. We could infer that the more mature the stage of acceptance of smart speakers, the greater the sensitivity of users to privacy risks. Lastly, in the South Korean sample, we found that the perceived usefulness could reduce the negative impact of perceived risks on the intention. to adopt smart speakers.

Keywords: smart speaker; personalization; privacy risk; sustainability calculus (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 (2)

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