FBA SEMINAR SERIES

Big Brother and a Green Society: Information Privacy Concerns Promote Green Behavior

Prof. Boyoun (Grace) CHAE, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Date:         8 March 2023 (Wednesday)
Time:        3:00pm – 4:00pm
Venue:      Online via Zoom
Host:        Prof. Fangyuan CHEN, Associate Professor of Marketing
Zoom Link:  https://umac.zoom.us/j/94234072776

 

Abstract

Does the digitalization of society influence individuals’ sustainable behavior, and if so, how? Focusing on prevalent concerns about digital information privacy, this research explores its potential implications on people’s green consumption and recycling behavior. From scanning health codes for the government’s COVID-19 control to the installation of smart home devices, many situations threaten people’s digital information privacy. This research finds that circumstances under which information privacy concerns arise can unexpectedly encourage green behavior. When information privacy concerns were temporarily elevated, people were more likely to choose environmentally friendly products and to engage in recycling behavior. Notably, the enhanced green behaviors observed under privacy-concerning situations are deemed to be authentic—the impact of information privacy concern on green behavior was robust without the presence of others, and green behavior was even nonconforming to others. This research is the first to document downstream consequences of information privacy concern on green behavior.

Speaker

Prof. Boyoun (Grace) CHAE is the Assistant Professor in Marketing in Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She obtained her PhD in Marketing from Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia. Her research foci have been sensory marketing, consumer socialization and motivation. She published articles at leading marketing journals such as Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Consumer Psychology. Her article also appeared on the Harvard Business Review as a review article.

All are welcome!