Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

DOI 10.1007/s10796-017-9802-y

Analysis of Factors that Influence Customers’ Willingness

to Leave Big Data Digital Footprints on Social Media: A
Systematic Review of Literature
Syed Sardar Muhammad 1 & Bidit Lal Dey 2 & Vishanth Weerakkody 3

Published online: 15 October 2017

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017

Abstract Big data has been discussed extensively in existing paper advances the scholarship of technology adoption and
scholarly works but scant consideration is given to customers’ use and provides useful direction for future empirical research
willingness to generate and leave big data digital footprints on for both academics and practitioners.
social media, especially in the light of the profusely debated
issue of privacy and security. The current paper endeavours to Keywords Big data digital footprint . Social media . Privacy
address this gap in the literature by developing a conceptual and security . Technology . Personal behaviour . Social
framework. In doing so, this paper conducts a systematic re- influence
view of extant literature from 2002 to 2017 to identify and
analyse the underlying factors that influence customers’ will-
ingness to leave digital footprints on social media. The find- 1 Introduction
ings of this review reveal that personal behaviour (intrinsic
psychological dispositions), technological factors (relative ad- Big data digital footprints are digital DNA that customers
vantage and convenience), social influence (social interaction, generate and leave on digital platforms when they interact
social ties and social support) and privacy and security (risk, with and use various media channels, including social media.
control and trust) are the key factors that influence customers’ The ever-increasing use of and interaction with social media
willingness to generate and leave big data digital footprints on has intensified researchers’ and practitioners’ interest in cus-
social media. The conceptual framework presented in this tomers’ social media led digital footprints (Rauniar et al. 2013;
Tuton and Solomon 2015). However, research on customers’
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT2), perceptions of and attitude towards generating big social data
which takes into account various aspects of customers’ use of technology digital footprints is still in its infancy.
to offer deep insights into the dynamics and kinetics of customers’ Digital footprints are described as social data created by
willingness to deposit digital DNA on social media
customers when they interact with media channels. Such dig-
ital footprints are not just identities but also memories, mo-
* Syed Sardar Muhammad
syed.muhammad@law.ac.uk ments and behaviour. Social media providers who collect
these huge digital chronicles can determine how and why
Bidit Lal Dey users behave and purchase on digital platforms (Fish 2009).
bidit.dey@brunel.ac.uk Social media use has grown exponentially and has become an
Vishanth Weerakkody integral part of consumer life. With the advent of Web 2.0,
v.weerakkoddy@bradford.ac.uk digital footprint generation has increased significantly. It is
estimated that 44 times more data generation would take
1
University of Law Business School, London, 14 Store Street, place, from 2009 to 44 zettabytes of data by 2020 (CSC
London WC1E 7DE, UK 2017). In addition, the exponential growth of mobile telepho-
2
Brunel University London, London, UK ny (Sharma 2017), cloud computing and 4G networks have
3
Bradford School of Management, University of Bradford, created many more social media touchpoints. As a result, cus-
Bradford, UK tomers are found to be connected to smart devices
560 Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

(smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, Cortana, Siri and Alexa Charlesworth 2014; Hajli 2014; Hsu and Wu 2011; Akar and
etc.) 24/7, generating and leaving behind huge digital trails for Topçu 2011; Hau and Kim 2011), there is paucity of research
service providers. Furthermore, user-generated content on so- that identifies and analyses the factors that influence customers’
cial media will be the main channel for the enrichment of intention to generate and leave big data digital footprints on
information base for public administrative bodies and com- social media. Hence, further investigation will not only contrib-
mercial firms (Baur 2017). ute to big data and social media literature, but also advance
Tuton and Solomon (2015) divided the use of social media privacy and security scholarship. Our study addresses this re-
into four zones based on different social media channels and search gap by identifying and analysing the factors that deter-
vehicles: i.e. social community interaction, social commerce, mine customers’ willingness to generate and leave digital
social publishing and social entertainment. Customers create DNAs on social media and how privacy and security deter or
their digital DNA on channels in each of these zones by shar- facilitate digital footprint generation on social media.
ing comments, photos, videos, blogs, bookmarks, reviews, Moreover, the current literature provides the theoretical
ratings and social shopping, linking with government applica- framework on customers use and adoption of social media
tions etc. (Malhotra et al. 2012; Rosenberger et al. 2017). (Hsu and Wu 2011; Lin and Anol 2008; Lu et al. 2010;
These digital trails exhibit their interests, social and cultural Venkatesh et al. 2012), for instance, Technology
identities, and occupational and geographical attachments, Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Reasoned Action
which are essentially required by firms (Charlesworth 2014; (TRA), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Uses and
Michael et al. 2014). Moreover, these digital traces help firms Gratifications (U&G) and the Unified Theory of
to analyse customers’ sentiments and contents by using ad- Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT1 and
vanced analytics to gain deeper insight into their behaviour UTAUT2) etc. are widely cited theories and frameworks
and develop their profiles (Charlesworth 2014; DWork and for assessing customers’ use of social media. These theo-
Mulligan 2013). ries take into account factors that influence users’ accep-
Customers use social media excessively, but they may or tance and use of social media such as usefulness, relative
may not be aware of the digital footprints that they leave for advantage, ease of use, innovation, social and compatibil-
companies such as Google, Yahoo, Amazon and Facebook. ity issues (Al-Gahtani et al. 2007; Davis 1989; Davis
The services of social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and et al. 1989; Hsu and Wu 2011; Lin and Anol 2008; Lu
Instagram etc.) have redefined the ways in which business et al. 2010; Venkatesh et al. 2003; Venkatesh et al. 2012).
value can be generated, as these providers and tech giants However they do not fully capture the dynamics and ki-
use personal data to track customers and their behaviour netics of customers’ willingness to generate and leave big
through invasive and ubiquitous crawling. They use algo- data digital footprints on social media and provide limited
rithms to generate powerful insight through data connections, scope for generalisation. Furthermore, they do not address
inferences and data interpretations (DWork and Mulligan how privacy and security affect customers’ willingness to
2013). Furthermore, as the competition amongst firms is in- generate digital footprint on social media. The current pa-
creasing to seek innovative capabilities to mine digital trails per aims to develop appropriate conceptual scaffoldings
and gain a competitive edge over rivals. Hence, the manage- for customers’ willingness to generate and leave big data
rial implications for big data digital footprints are immense, as digital footprints on social media by critically examining
they can create value and promote development (Pulse 2012). and synthesising the above mentioned theories and con-
On the other hand, the pervasive use of digital footprints cepts that have been extensively cited and applied in in-
has raised privacy and security concerns amongst social media formation systems, management and marketing literature.
users. This area is of huge interest for individuals, public and Therefore, we feel there is a need for a conceptual paper to
governments as to where to draw the line for privacy and develop a theoretical framework through a rigorous and sys-
security of unauthorised access to individual digital footprints. tematic review of existing academic literature (Cropanzano
This has even led many countries to initiate measures to pro- 2009). A conceptual paper will offer theoretical impetus for
tect individual privacy and security as social media platforms future scholarly works and a theoretical framework for empir-
and web technologies have become more pervasive and vul- ical investigation. Hence, the current paper aims to present a
nerable to abuse and exploitation. Recently in the USA, pri- conceptual framework that defines the nascent and potential
vacy advocates allege that large Internet service providers can inter-relationships amongst various constructs.
potentially encroach to consumers’ privacy as they have ac- The paper is structured as follows: The first section
cess to large volume of personal data (Waters and Bond 2017). describes the methodology of the study. The next sec-
Even everyday objects, connected to the Internet, are tion delineates the findings and analysis. The final sec-
collecting personal digital footprints (Kuchler 2017). tion discusses the results and their theoretical and prac-
Although consumers’ engagement with social media has tical implications, along with limitations and future re-
received significant research attention (Al-Jabri et al. 2015; search direction.
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576 561

2 Methodology of the systematic review process. A classification framework, shown in Fig. 1,

was developed based on the key emerging factors from
In order to study customers’ willingness to generate and leave the systematic review along with their sub-factors.
digital footprints on social media, a desk-based study was These four key emerging themes were found to be the
carried out based on the approach of Ngai et al. (2009) and leading factors determining customers’ use of social me-
Ngai and Wat (2002) as follows. dia and their digital footprint generation. As a result,
based on these four key factors, 58 articles were select-
2.1 Classification process ed from the initial sample of 506 articles, although this
selection was not exhaustive.
The following steps were carried out in the systematic review.
2.1.1 Data reporting
1. Database search
2. First classification A six-column table (Table 1) was designed to report data cap-
3. Verification of first classification tured from the final 58 articles. It was used to examine the
4. Final verification constructs used by the previous studies to determine cus-
tomers’ use and willingness to generate and leave big data
The literature around the use of social media and big digital footprints on social media. The following table delin-
data digital footprint was found in a number of different eates the details of constructs identified in each study, along
journals belonging to a wide range of disciplinary ori- with the choice of theories, research approach, design and
gins. The following online journal databases were used findings respectively.
to identify published peer reviewed articles: EBSCO
Host, Emerald, IEEE/IET, Brunel Electronic Library,
ProQuest, Sage, Science Direct and Scopus. 3 Findings and analysis
The following criteria were used to screen and clas-
sify the articles. Only peer reviewed articles were cho- The systematic review of scholarly works led to the develop-
sen to represent advanced research output as suggested ment of the above classification framework (Fig. 1) and iden-
by Ngai et al. (2009). Articles that have main themes tification of the key factors. These factors were found to be the
around the use of social media, big data digital foot- leading determinants of the use of social media and cus-
print, customers’ digital footprint, factors influencing tomers’ digital footprint generation. Further analyses of each
the use of social media were chosen. In order to carry of the factor along with some sub-factors are provided below.
out a thorough desk based systematic review, the fol-
lowing appropriate search terms were identified after
3.1 Personal behaviour
detailed discussions amongst the authors based on the
literature review, following Nill and Schibrowsky
Personal behaviour consists of personal intrinsic and extrinsic
(2007). Furthermore, they were searched individually
motivation (sub-factors of personal behaviour are listed in
through the search algorithm on the chosen databases.
They were rephrased and cross checked to ensure arti-
cles fall into the area of the research as the extent lit-
erature suggests. BCustomers’ digital footprint on social
media^, BWhy customers leave digital footprint on so-
cial media^, BBig data digital footprint of customers on
social media^, BCustomers’ use of social media^, BWhy
customers generate digital footprint on social media^.
Based on the chosen approach, only peer-reviewed jour-
nal articles were selected. The period from January
2002 to May 2017 was selected considering the topical-
ity of the issue.
The literature review resulted initially in the identifi-
cation of 506 articles. The full text of each article was
reviewed by the first and second authors, confirmed
through discussion and verified by the third author.
Feedback from two other independent academics was
collected to ensure the validity and reliability of the Fig. 1 Classification framework
Table 1 Summary of Systematic Review of Previous Scholarly Works
562

No Reference Theory Constructs Research approach Research finding

and design

1 Whiting and Uses and Gratifications Entertainment, relaxation, Qualitative, interviews Uses and gratifications theory has specific relevance and
Williams (UandG) convenience, information therefore should have prominence in social media
(2013) seeking, social interaction marketing.
2 Idemudia et al. Technology Acceptance Ease of use, usefulness, satisfaction, Quantitative and a survey Ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction of social media have
(2016) Model (TAM), Diffusion relative advantage, compatibility, a positive and significant influence on social media
of Innovation information quality, and risk continuance usage.
3 Ngai et al. Technology Acceptance Personality traits, role of technology, Qualitative, critical Social media applications are supported by social media
(2015) Model (TAM), Theory social capital and gratification literature review and a technologies and tools.
of Reasoned Action case study
(TRA), Theory of
Planned Behaviour
(TPB) and UandG
4 Gamboa and X Trust, customer satisfaction, perceived Quantitative and a survey Facebook enhances relations that increase customer loyalty
Gonçalves value, and commitment through trust, commitment, perceived value and customer
(2014) satisfaction.
5 Akar and Topçu X Use, attitude, fear, knowledge, monitoring, Quantitative and a survey Consumer behaviour in the virtual world is affected by
(2011) foresight, security and privacy factors of security and privacy.
6 Cao et al. Social capital theory Trust, Knowledge integration, Experience, Quantitative and a survey Social media have the potential to facilitate the formation of
(2015) shared language employees’ social capital indicated by social networking,
trust and shared language.
7 De Valck et al. Theories of interpersonal Interaction, social ties, need recognition Quantitative and a survey Consumer decision-making process is affected by
(2009) influence, reference (netnography) interaction, social ties, need recognition and post-purchase
group influence, word evaluation.
of mouth
8 Hajli (2014) TAM Trust, perceived usefulness Quantitative and a survey Social interactions on social media enhance consumers’ trust,
affecting buying intention and perceived usefulness.
9 Pentina et al. X Trust, perceived personality and patronage Quantitative and a survey Trust in social media brands has a positive relationship with
(2013) intention (visit websites, purchase and patronage intention.
recommend to others)
10 Hsiao et al. X Perceived ability, perceived critical mass, Quantitative and a survey Perceived ability, critical mass, benevolence, integrity and
(2010) perceived benevolence and trust trust are important antecedents of trust in product
recommendation on social networking sites.
11 Hau and Kim TPB and ERG Intrinsic motivation, shared goals, social Quantitative and a survey Shared goals and shared trust motivate in sharing knowledge
(2011) trust, extrinsic motivation and social ties on social media.
12 Hussain (2012) X Learning, networking, events, enjoying, Quantitative and a survey Social media is used for educational and academic purposes
killing time, friending, getting information to connect and collaborate with the virtual educational
community.
13 Hudson and X Consumer decision journey (consider, evaluate, Multi-method approach Instead of the traditional purchase funnel process, customers
Hudson buy and enjoy, advocate and bond) and a case study research products at the evaluation and post-purchase
(2013) methodology stages and enter into an open relationship with the brand
on social media.
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576
Table 1 (continued)

No Reference Theory Constructs Research approach Research finding

and design

14 Milewicz and X Perceived social media Quantitative and a survey Perceived social media usefulness and ease of use influence
Saxby usefulness, ease of use, customer satisfaction and social media usage intention.
(2013) satisfaction, perceived
social pressure, usage
intention
15 Hsu and Wu UTAUT, EDM and Flow Social influence, performance Quantitative and a survey Continuance usage of Facebook is determined by social
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

(2011) expectancy, flow experience, influence, performance expectancy, flow experience, effort
effort expectancy and satisfaction expectancy and satisfaction.
16 Pereira et al. X Trust, contests and promotions, Quantitative and a survey Content affinity, fun, alert to bad experiences, incentives,
(2014) experience with the brand, follow (multi-method data help for friends and recognition are
friends collection) the motivators to share brand content on Facebook.
17 Ali (2011) Social networks and Obligations, sacrifice, and motivations Qualitative and interviews Social media generate social support for consumers and
social capital obligations, sacrifice, and motivations influence the level
of support they receive from social networks.
18 Chen and Social Capital Theory trust, reciprocity, identification and Quantitative and a survey Self-disclosure enables member interactions, service
Sharma self-Disclosure customizations, and digital content generation.
(2013)
19 Wu et al. Theory of relationship Shared values, privacy policy, Quantitative and a survey Shared values, satisfaction with previous interaction and
(2010) marketing satisfaction, trusting belief, benevolence, website privacy policy enhance users’ trust.
integrity, commitment and stickiness
20 Lu et al. (2010) X Knowledge, characteristics, institution and Quantitative and a survey Trust propensity, perceived similarity, and structural
personality-based trust, integrity, assurance in members of virtual community and trust in
benevolence, ability members’ integrity and benevolence affect purchase
intention.
21 Liang et al. TRA and TPB Social support, relationship quality, Quantitative and a survey Social support (emotional and informational) and
(2011) website quality relationship quality (trust, commitment and satisfaction)
influence users’ intention on social networking sites.
22 Wang et al. Consumer socialisation and peer Tie strength, identification and
(2012) communication communication with peers
Quantitative Peer communication at peer group
and a survey level, individual tie strength and
group identification positively affect
purchase intention and product
attitude on social media.
23 Hsu et al. Social Cognitive Theory Economy, information and identification Quantitative and a survey Self-efficacy and outcome expectation for personal
(2007) based trusts, knowledge sharing, influences and multidimensional trust support knowledge
self-efficacy, personal outcome expectation sharing in virtual communities.
and community related outcome expectation
24 Park and Kim X Experiential and functional benefits, Mixed method: Perceived utilitarian benefits and experiential
(2014) quality and perceived relationship netnography and a benefits of social networking brand’s website
investment survey affect customers’ relationship with the brand.
25 Flow theory and TAM Quantitative and a survey
563
Table 1 (continued)
564

No Reference Theory Constructs Research approach Research finding

and design

Domina et al. Novelty seeking, independent judgement Perceived enjoyment and control influence buying intention
(2012) making, control, enjoyment and to shop in the virtual world and independent judgement
ease of use making has a positive impact on perceived control, ease of
use and enjoyment.
26 Chen et al. Social networks and social capital Openness to change (self-direction, Quantitative and a survey Universalism, benevolence, self enhancement, conservation,
(2014) stimulation), self-transcendence openness to change and hedonism affect users’ motivation
(benevolence), conservation for the use of social media.
(security and conformity tradition),
self-enhancement (power and achievement)
27 Yulihasri et al. TAM, TRA and TPB Compatibility, privacy, security, self-efficacy, Quantitative and a survey In addition to ease of use and usefulness, students’ attitude to
(2011) ease of use, usefulness, normative beliefs online shopping is influenced by compatibility, privacy,
security and self-efficacy.
28 Diffley et al. X Communication and relationship Qualitative and a focus Friends, communication and empowering or giving control
(2011) maintenance, group to consumers has a positive effect on their attitude.
strong and weak ties
29 Pillai and TAM Perceived playfulness, usefulness and ease Quantitative and a survey Perceived enjoyment has a significant impact on hedonic
Mukherjee of use and attitude needs and perceived usefulness in utilitarian benefits of
(2011) websites.
30 Leung et al. Integrating the attitude- Experience, attitude, brand cognition Quantitative and a survey Social media experiences influence customers’ attitude
(2015) toward-the-ad (Aad) towards social media sites and in turn influence their
model attitude toward the brand.
31 Kennedy et al. X Fairness, contextual integrity, social justice Qualitative and a focus Beyond privacy and surveillance, the users identified a
(2015) and well-being group concern for fairness contextual integrity in practice and as
a broader concern about social justice and well-being.
32 Ghosh et al. eWOM Perceived product knowledge, source Qualitative literature Perceived risk mediates the relationship of WOM and brand
(2014) credibility, involvement level, perceived risk, review and a attitude, and brand attitude mediates the relationship
brand conceptual model between purchase intention and perceived risk
attitude, intention
33 Kim et al. Customer value theory Functional (price utility, functional quality) Quantitative and a survey Emotional and social dimension has a more significant effect
(2011) (Functional, emotional, social) emotional (aesthetics, playfulness), social on purchase intention in the sale of digital items to social
(social self-image expression, social networking community than functional values.
relationship support)
34 Zhang et al. SOR Perceived interactivity, personalization and Quantitative and a survey Intention is influenced by social presence, social support and
(2014) sociability, social support, presence and flow flow.
35 Zolkepli and UandG Need category, personal (enjoyment and Mixed method: focus Three types of need category –personal (enjoyment and
Kamarulza- entertainment), social (social interaction and group (in-depth entertainment), social (social interaction and influence)
man (2015) influence) and tension release interview) and a survey and tension release
(playfulness, companionship and (playfulness, companionship and
belongingness), innovation (compatibility, belongingness) – drive social media
observability and relative advantage). adoption. These needs are in turn driven
by social media innovation (compatibility, observability
and relative advantage).
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Table 1 (continued)

No Reference Theory Constructs Research approach Research finding

and design

36 Jansen et al. eWOM Brand Knowledge (brand awareness, Collected tweets on Web communications and social networking
(2009) brand image), brand relationship Twitter services influence consumers’ brand
(brand satisfaction and trust) brand perception and purchasing decisions.
attachment
37 Bharati et al. Organisational innovation Normative pressure, coercive pressure Quantitative and a survey Institutional pressures have no direct effect
(2014) and institutional theory and absorptive capacity on social media assimilation.
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

38 Chow and Shi Customer value theory Functional value (information quality, Quantitative and a survey Multidimensional customer values enhance companies’ use
(2015) product related learning, economic of brand pages’ satisfaction
benefit), social value (interactivity, on SNS.
collaboration, social presence),
emotional value (entertainment,
arousal)
39 Foster et al. X Information seeking, socialisation Quantitative and a survey Users can be segmented heterogeneously based
(2011) and content creation on their need for information seeking,
socialisation and content creation.
40 Al-Jabri et al. UandG Self-presentation, social interaction, Quantitative and a survey Freedom of expression, social interaction and enjoyment
(2015) freedom of expression, enjoyment, influence the usage of Twitter.
gender and user experience, education
and income
41 Ellison et al. Social Capital Types of social capital Quantitative and a survey Strong association between the use of social
(2007) networking sites and the three types of social
capital, namely bridging, bonding and maintaining,
along with psychological well-being, self-esteem and
satisfaction with life.
42 Grace et al. Stimuli Organism Response, Perceived psychological features Quantitative and a survey Perceived psychological features of Facebook as self-image
(2015) Cognitive-affective system (self-image control risk, interaction control risk, interaction and usage volition determine
theory of personality and usage volition) context relevant psychological dispositions to predict
Facebook usage and non-usage behaviour.
43 Krasonikolakis Virtual Worlds (VWs), Virtual Security and privacy and core store Mixed method: survey Consumer behaviour in the virtual world
et al. (2014) reality retailing (VRR) features and in-depth interviews (Second Life) was affected by two key factors
of security and privacy and core store features
44 Chang and Social capital Language of users, altruism, reciprocity Quantitative and a survey Shared language of users, altruism, reciprocity
Chuang and identification, reputation, trust and identification enhance knowledge sharing behaviour
(2011) and social interaction on social media.
45 Chen et al. Commitment theory Effective commitment (emotional Mixed method: Delphi Effective commitment and continuance
(2014). attachment), continuance commitment method and a survey commitment are good predictors of active behaviour on
(cost of switching too high) and normative social media.
commitment
46 Gironda and TRA, TPB and Decomposed Relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, Quantitative and a survey Relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, normative
Korgaonkar theory of planned behaviour attitude and intention, subjective norms and influences as antecedents of attitude
(2014) (DTPB) behaviour control and intention of consumer behaviour on social media
along with subjective norms and behaviour control.
565
Table 1 (continued)
566

No Reference Theory Constructs Research approach Research finding

and design

47 Chiang (2013) TPB, TAM, TRA, UandG, Complexity, relative advantage, compatibility, Quantitative and a survey Continuous usage of social media varied with different
Innovation diffusion theory informativeness, social interactivity, innovation diffusion stages and attitude affects usage
playfulness, attitude, intention intention
48 Dennis et al. TRA, TAM Emotional state, consumer traits, interactivity, Qualitative, literature Attitude drives e-consumer behaviour to actual purchase.
(2009) social factors, image and situational factors review Emotional state, consumer traits, interactivity, social
(convenience, variety) influence attitude and factors, image and situational factors influence attitude and
trust trust, leading to intention and actual purchase.
49 Dalla Pozza X Perceived utility, knowledge, social motivation, Qualitative, Facebook users have social motivation and Twitter users are
(2014) past experience, situational moderators, semi-structured inter- driven by utilitarian motivation
customer moderators (personality, views
demographics), service quality
50 Campbell et al. X Psychological, socio-demographic and eco- Mixed method: focus Consumers’ engagement with social media is
(2014). nomic covariates group and a survey based on psychological, socio-demographic
and economic covariates.
51 Cheung et al. Social exchange and privacy Cost mitigating factors (trust in members and Quantitative and a survey Perceived benefits and social influence have
(2015). calculus theories service provider, perceived control), strong effect on self-disclosure on social media.
perceived
cost (perceived privacy risk), perceived
benefits (convenience, new relationship
building, self-presentation, enjoyment, social
influence)
52 Presi et al. X Altruism and self-enhancement, vengeance, Quantitative and a survey Social media customers who have altruistic and
(2014). venting self-enhancement motivators have a positive attitude to-
wards a firm’s response but customers motivated by ven-
geance have a negative
attitude towards a firm’s response.
53 Lambiotte and X Psychological traits (neuroticism, extroversion) Qualitative, literature How big data digital footprints like Facebook profiles and
Kosinski review mobile device logs could be used to identify personalities
(2014) and predict individuals’ psychological traits from their
digital footprint.
54 Mathwick X Behaviour loyalty, effort, enjoyment, Quantitative and a survey Social media consumers are socialisers, lurkers, transaction
(2002) entertainment, escapism community members and personal connectors based on
their behaviour and relational norms.
55 Burgess et al. X Trustworthiness Quantitative and a survey There are differences in the level of trust for
(2011) online travel information from different sources, greater
trust is placed in online travel comments when they are on
a specific travel website than when they are on social
networking sites.
56 Rishika et al. X Share experience, voice opinions, Mixed method: Webpage Customers’ participation is high when firms have
(2013) gain benefits and satisfaction. on SNS (Facebook) to high media efforts and social media give
connect with customers customers the opportunity to share experience, voice
and a survey opinions, and gain benefits and satisfaction.
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Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576 567

Quantitative, randomized Social media customers react positively when web platforms
Fig. 2). It has been found that the use of social media is

Quantitative and a survey Perceived anonymity and perceived intrusiveness affect

mostly influenced by intrinsic motivation such as intrin-
sic perceived functional and emotional benefits; self-en-
hancement, self-esteem and ego (Diffley et al. 2011;

and individuals utilise misrepresentation and

Hau and Kim 2011). Users are driven by their perceived
intrinsic experiential benefits, sensory pleasure (hedonic
privacy concerns and social rewards, and emotional: Park and Kim 2014) and self-enhance-

self-disclosure to protect privacy.

ment, which satisfy their hedonic needs and extrinsic
benefits. Similar findings are noted by Whiting and
give control to their users.

Williams (2013), who report that users tend to engage

with social media to fulfil their intrinsic psychological
needs of entertainment, relaxation and expression of
Research finding

opinions. The extant literature suggests that psychologi-

cal intrinsic emotional factors of enjoyment, pleasure,
and self-enhancement affect social media user behaviour
(Al-Jabri et al. 2015; Campbell et al. 2014; Chen et al.
2014; Grace et al. 2015; Kim et al. 2011; Pereira et al.
2014).
field experiment
Research approach

Enjoyment comprises pleasure and flow (optimal psy-

chological experience) and pleasure in the form of play-
fulness, fun and an intrinsic acceptance of social media
and design

(Hsu and Wu 2011; Kim et al. 2011; Wu and Chang

2005; Zolkepli and Kamarulzaman 2015). Self-
enhancement consists of self-esteem (self-status and im-
trade-off (Privacy concerns, Social rewards),
richness, Perceived intrusiveness), Privacy

age), which enables users to gratify their outcome ex-

(Perceived anonymity of self, Perceived

pectations of personal influences on social media. High

anonymity of others, Perceived media

(Self-disclosure, Misrepresentation)

self-enhancers have high self-esteem, due to which they

Aspects of hyperpersonal framework

overwhelmingly update and present their self-image/sta-

Privacy-protective behaviour

tus on social media and attract attention (Chen et al.

2014; Hennig-Thurau et al. 2004; Hepper et al. 2011;
Hsu et al. 2007; Presi et al. 2014).
As such, it is found that users’ engagement with social
Privacy control

media is based primarily on personal intrinsic motivational

factors that affect their behaviour in the use of social media.
Constructs

The B×^ mark is used where there are no theories applied in the study

3.2 Technology

Technological factors are found to comprise performance ex-

pectancy (usefulness, utility), ease of use and relative advan-
tage of the use of social media. Technological sub-factors are
Hyperpersonal Framework

given in Fig. 3. Performance expectancy is found to comprise

and Privacy Calculus

perceived usefulness and utility of technology, which influ-

ences users’ behavioural intentions. Similarly, ease of use in-
cludes convenience of the use of technology and relative ad-
vantage involves the innovative compatibility of social media
Theory

over other technologies (Al-Gahtani et al. 2007; Lin and Anol

2008; Venkatesh et al. 2003) and the prevailing adoption of
X

technology (Carter and Weerakkody 2008). It can be

Table 1 (continued)

57 Tucker (2014)

summarised that perceived usefulness, ease of use, relative

58 Jiang et al.
No Reference

(2013).

advantage and innovation significantly influence social media

users’ behavioural intentions (Chiang 2013; Hajli 2014;
Milewicz and Saxby 2013; Pillai and Mukherjee 2011;
Zhang et al. 2014). Hence, technological factors which
568 Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

Fig. 2 Personal behaviour

Personal
Behaviour

constitute social media usefulness, ease of use and compati- et al. 2016; Gironda and Korgaonkar 2014; Lu et al. 2010;
bility, influence the intention to use of social media (Idemudia Wang et al. 2012; Zolkepli and Kamarulzaman 2015).

Fig. 3 Technology

Technology

Ulity and usefulness

(communicaon, informaonal
and recreaonal)

De Valck et al. (2009); Idemudia

et al. (2016); Milewicz and Saxby
(2013); Hajli (2014); Zhang et al.
(2014); Zolkepli and
Kamarulzaman (2015)
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576 569

3.3 Social factors enhance interpersonal utility (Ellison et al. 2007; Grieve
et al. 2013; Whiting and Williams 2013), as it is human nature
Social factors include social interaction, social ties and social to socialise and interact with others (Dyson 1998).
support (Bharati et al. 2014; Chiasson and Lovato 2001; Similarly, social support includes willingness to help others
Grace et al. 2015; Talukder and Quazi 2011; Venkatesh et al. and share anything that would assist others on social media
2003). These factors drive social interaction, which is a desire (Liang et al. 2011; Zhang et al. 2014). It is a social aspect of
to connect, collaborate and communicate with others on social exchange to share information with others (Ali 2011; Crocker
media (Chang and Chuang 2011; De Valck et al. 2009; and Canevello 2008) and also a major social value for social
Hussain 2012; Trivedi et al. 2016). Social Sub-factors are media users from other community members that use and
given in Fig. 4. interact with social media (Obst and Stafurik 2010). As such,
Social interaction can be described as the desire to commu- it can be summarised from the above findings that social fac-
nicate, interact with others and build relationships on social tors (social interaction, social ties and social support) enhance
media (Al-Jabri et al. 2015; Ko et al. 2005). Similarly, social the use of social media (Dalla Pozza 2014; Foster et al. 2011;
media are perceived to enhance social interaction, connect Gironda and Korgaonkar 2014; Hsiao et al. 2010; Hsu and Wu
people almost anywhere, give control over interaction and 2011).
maintain social relations with others (family, friends etc.). It
is a platform to release anxiety and depression, and to increase
companionship and interpersonal utility, as suggested by the 3.4 Privacy and security
extant literature (Ellison et al. 2007; Grieve et al. 2013;
Oldmeadow et al. 2013; Park et al. 2009; Whiting and Privacy and Security are found to comprise perceived risk,
Williams 2013). Moreover, it is found that customers’ plea- control and trust. Privacy involves users’ willingness to share
surable experience and peer pressure enhance social interac- information online and the ability to control and choose to
tion on social media (Grace et al. 2015; Junglas et al. 2013). divulge personal information, whereas security relates to pro-
Social ties denote building and maintaining relationships tection against the threat from the unauthorised access to per-
with other social media users (Rishika et al. 2013; Wang et al. sonal information on social media (Belanger et al. 2002;
2012). They are psychological goals of users to develop and Eastlick et al. 2006). Moreover, privacy also includes individ-
maintain social relations with others, release anxiety and uals’ location, communication and information privacy

Fig. 4 Social factors

Social

Social (values, beliefs, capital, support,

dependence, interacon, relaonal
norms, collaboraon, cooperaon,
socialisaon, commitment), perceived
sociability, shared goals and social trust

Chang and Chuang (2011); Dalla Pozza (2014); De Valck et al.

(2009); Ellison et al. (2007); Foster et al. (2011); Gironda and
Korgaonkar (2014); Hsu and Wu (2011); Liang et al. (2011); Rishika
et al. (2013); Wu et al., (2010)
570 Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

Fig. 5 Privacy and security

Privacy and
Security

(accumulation, treating and sharing information: Dinev et al. 4 Theoretical foundation

2013). Sub-factors of privacy and security are given in Fig. 5.
Privacy is described as users’ perceived sense of risk A diverse theoretical constructs have been used and applied in
regarding information about oneself and security is per- the existing literature to conceptualise the above issue. TAM,
ceived as protection against the threat from unauthorised TRA, TPB and U and G theories have been most frequently
access to information about someone (Boyd 2008; Lee used in examining customers’ use and adoption of social me-
et al. 2013). By joining and interacting with social me- dia applications. More information has been provided in the
dia, users create their profiles, connect and share inter- Table-1.
ests and personal information with others, which may
potentially lead to personal privacy and security risks
(Cheung et al. 2015; Tan et al. 2012).
Likewise, in existing literature trust has also emerged as 5 Research approaches
one of the leading factors for privacy and security, and
comprises users’ confidence in the ability of a service Positivist methods involving quantitative approaches and sta-
provider to protect and monitor their personal information tistical testing appear to be more popular and common com-
or reduce their uncertainty about the use of the service, as pared to interpretivist approach and/or qualitative methods.
they also pay considerable heed to providers’ (vendor and Quantitative research being a dominant method in this schol-
social media) integrity and benevolence (Cao et al. 2015; arship has used closed ended surveys. For model testing and
Cheung et al. 2015; Cheung and Lee 2006; Krasnova data analysis, Structural Equation Modelling using AMOS
et al. 2010). Trust is also noted to have a key relevance and LISREL is a popular tool. For qualitative research, focus
to social media users’ perceived risk and it is developed groups and semi-structured interviews were found to be the
through quality and source credibility (Burgess et al. 2011; most widely used methods. Table 2 shows that 43 of the 58
Chen and Sharma 2013; Gamboa and Gonçalves 2014; studies chose quantitative approaches, whereas 10 studies
Pentina et al. 2013; Shin 2010; Zhou et al. 2016). From used qualitative approaches and only 5 studies chose mixed
the above discussion, it is found that privacy and security methods respectively.
can affect the use of social media and digital footprint Table 3 shows the distribution of journals, the number of
generation. articles from each journal and the percentage breakdown.
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576 571

Table 2 Methodological distribution Table 3 Source distribution

Research Approach Number of studies Percentage (%) Journal Number of Percentage

articles (%)
Quantitative 43 74.14%
Qualitative 10 17.24% Information Systems Frontiers 5 9%
Mixed 5 8.62% European Journal of Marketing 5 9%
Information & Management 4 7%
Computers in Human Behaviour 3 5%
6 Conceptual framework Business Horizons 2 3%
Decision Support Systems 2 3%
The current paper presents a conceptual framework (Fig. 6) Information Systems Research 2 3%
based on the relevant constructs for the antecedents of cus- Journal of Marketing Management 2 3%
tomers’ willingness to generate and leave big data digital foot- Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 2 3%
prints on social media. The model is based on the Unified Online Information Review 2 3%
Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT 2). Big Data & Society 1 2%
UTAUT 2 is used because it takes into account various aspects The International Journal of Research into 1 2%
of consumers’ use of technology, such as motivation, innova- New Media Technologies
tion, technology utilisation and social aspects, as highlighted Electronic Commerce Research & 1 2%
Applications
by the findings of this research. UTAUT 2 integrates elements
Industrial Management & Data Systems 1 2%
on the use of technology from UTAUT 1 with similar themes
International Journal of Electronic Commerce 1 2%
(Venkatesh et al. 2012; Dwivedi et al. 2017). Hence, the pro-
International Journal of Event and Festival 1 2%
posed conceptual framework is developed by expanding on Management
the UTAUT 2 model to examine the underlying factors that International Journal of Human-Computer 1 2%
lead customers to generate and leave big data digital footprints Studies
International Journal of Market Research 1 2%
on social media. The proposed framework has three anteced-
ents of customers’ behavioural intention (technological fac- International Journal of marketing studies 1 2%
tors, social influence and personal behaviour), with privacy International Journal of Virtual Communities 1 2%
and Social Networking
and security as moderator. From the findings delineated Internet Research 1 2%
above, privacy and security are hypothesised to have moder- Irish Journal of Management 1 2%
ating influence (facilitate or deter) on the relationship between Journal of Brand Management 1 2%
customers’ behavioural intention and its antecedents. Figure 6 Journal of Business Research 1 2%
presents the proposed framework and the following section Journal of Computer-Mediated 1 2%
explicates each component of the research model. Communication
Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 1 2%
6.1 Antecedent of customers’ behavioural intention Journal of Indian Business Research 1 2%
Journal of Interactive Marketing 1 2%
UTAUT 2 adopted from UTAUT 1 which unified the con- Journal of Internet Commerce 1 2%
structs for technology adoption in order to develop a more Journal of Management Information Systems 1 2%
holistic understanding. The model suggests performance ex- Journal of Marketing Research 1 2%
pectancy by combining similar themes such perceived useful- Journal of Service Management 1 2%
ness, utility and relative advantage. Likewise, perceived ease Journal of the American society for 1 2%
of use and complexity are brought within effort expectancy; information science and technology
Management and Labour Studies 1 2%
social norms, social factors and social image are combined for
Management Research Review 1 2%
social influence; perceived behavioural control and compati-
Social and Behavioral Sciences 1 2%
bility are termed as facilitating conditions. UTAUT2 extends
Proceedings of the IEEE 1 2%
the model by integrating enjoyment within hedonic motiva-
Qualitative Market Research: An 1 2%
tion, cost within price value and habit as determinants of cus- International Journal
tomers’ behavioural intention (Venkatesh et al. 2012). Some The Journal of Computer Information 1 2%
of the earlier works, such as Dwivedi et al. (2008) also Systems
ascertained some of these factors in their study of technology Total 58 100%
adoption, acceptance and diffusion indicating the validity of
the model. The current paper has taken a similar stance and
identified the following three antecedents of customers’
572 Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576

Relative Advantage

Convenience Technological Factors

Social Interaction

Social Ties
Behavioural (Un)willingness to generate digital
Social Influence
Intention footprint on social media
Social Support

Experiential & Sensory

Pleasure Personal Behaviour

Self-enhancement

Privacy & Security

Risk Control Trust

Fig. 6 Conceptual framework

behavioural intention in terms of their willingness to generate psychological needs (Liang et al. 2011; Zhang et al. 2014),
and leave digital footprints on social media. Details of each which result in big social data digital footprint generation on
factor are given below. These factors, as delineated above, social media.
affect customers’ digital footprint generation.
Personal behaviour This study reveals two key personal be-
Technological factors The systematic review of literature re- haviour factors of self-enhancement (self-efficacy and self-
veals that the technological factors in the form of usefulness, esteem) and perceived experiential and sensory pleasure ben-
ease of use (convenience) and relative advantage can influ- efits (hedonic and emotional; joy and enjoyment) that satisfy
ence customers’ interaction with social media and subsequent customers’ hedonic needs (Hau and Kim 2011; Park and Kim
generation of digital footprints. Moreover, relative advantage 2014). Hence the paper makes a key contribution to the cur-
comprises perceived technological innovation, which em- rent scholarship by highlighting the key personal behavioural
bodies convenience and compatibility, affecting customers’ factors that determine customers’ behavioural intention in
intention to use social media. Likewise, perceived usefulness generating big data digital footprints on social media.
was found to enhance job performance and to be instrumental
in achieving valued outcomes, as suggested by the extant lit-
Privacy and security This study reveals that privacy and
erature, such as Chen et al. (2009), Chiang (2013), Ho and Wu
security comprise of perceived risks, control and trust. It has
(2011), Lee et al. (2011) and Lin (2011). Hence, this study
found that customers’ self-perceived sense of risks in leaving
makes contribution by explicating the key technological fac-
personal information on social media and their sense of trust in
tors of convenience and relative advantage that have a major
social media providers (privacy) have a huge impact on their
influence on customers’ big data digital footprint generation.
use of social media and their digital footprint generation.
Equally, their perceived control and trust in service providers’
Social influence This study has found that social influence is ability and giving unauthorised access to others (security) af-
based on customers’ perceived psychological social pressure, fects their digital footprint generation on social media. This
comprising social interaction, social ties and social support. study, therefore, makes a contribution by revealing that cus-
This study contributes by unearthing the key social factors of tomers’ sense of privacy is enhanced when their perceived
social interaction, social ties and social support that sense of risk increase and their perceived information control
hypothesised and tested to have influence on customers’ and perceived trust in social media decrease, which
Inf Syst Front (2018) 20:559–576 573

accordingly facilitates or deters digital footprint generation on and other related interfaces. Businesses should realise that
social media. customers do not want to be chased; rather they would like
to be wooed. Not all customers would have same motivation
and/or similar level of desire to engage with social media.
7 Theoretical contributions Hence, the social media providers such as Facebook and
Instagram and the businesses who promote their products
First of all, this research advances the literature on the factors and services through these platforms and collect customer
that lead to customers’ willingness to generate and leave big information should be aware of the sensitivities and intricacies
data digital footprints on social media. In doing so, it has pertaining to customers’ privacy and security.
extracted and analysed the key antecedents influencing cus-
tomers’ behavioural intentions in the form of technological 8.1 Limitations and future research directions
factors, social influence and personal behaviour. It has also
developed a model which exhibits the apposite and significant There are some notable limitations of this study. Firstly, it has
association among factors, providing valuable insights in de- focused mainly on peer-reviewed academic articles; future
termining customers’ underlying behaviour in depositing big research could include monographs and industry reports.
data digital footprints on social media, which can have prac- Secondly, the articles were clustered around the chosen four
tical implications for managers and practitioners. dimensions; future research could combine and choose the
Furthermore, this study provides significant implications for articles which have common factors. Thirdly, this study in-
the role of privacy and security for service providers (social cludes some articles around online social commerce; future
media and vendors). Hence, the paper offers strong conceptual research could focus just on social media customers. Last
underpinning for assessing the dynamic and dichotomous na- but not the very least, the conceptual framework offers a more
ture of users’ social media engagement. While, the model is generic model for assessing customers’ willingness to leave
suggested for social media based interaction, the privacy and digital footprints. Future research could include cultural fac-
security issue can also be applied for other technological ap- tors to posit the model in specific socio-cultural contexts.
plications such as cloud computing and smartphones.

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effect of customers' social media participation on customer visit MBA from Bradford University School of Management, completed his
frequency and profitability: an empirical investigation. Information GDL (Law) from Middlesex University London and MSC in
Systems Research, 24(1), 108–127. Biochemistry from Balochistan University. He is also Six Sigma Black
Rosenberger, M., Lehrer, C., & Jung, R. (2017). Integrating data from Belt and Prince 2 (foundation) qualified. He has worked in higher educa-
user activities of social networks into public administrations. tion for the last 17 years. He is a member of Academy of Marketing,
Information Systems Frontiers, 19(2), 253–266. British Academy of Management, Chartered Management Institute and
Schroeder, R.(2014). BBig Data and the brave new world of social media Association of Masters of Business Administration. He has led and taught
research^, Big Data and Society, 1(2), 2053951714563194. at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the UK’s major academ-
Sharma, S. K. (2017). Integrating cognitive antecedents into TAM to ic institutions such as University of Law Business School, Greenwich
explain mobile banking behavioral intention: A SEM-neural net- School of Management London and University of Stirling London. He
work modeling. Information Systems Frontiers, 1–13. https://doi. has also been instrumental in Strategy, Marketing, International Business
org/10.1007/s10796-017-9775-x. and MIS courses. His professional experience includes head of studies
Shin, D. H. (2010). The effects of trust, security and privacy in social (postgraduate), academic lead (undergraduate), director and director of
networking: A security-based approach to understand the pattern of studies. An experienced head, director and principal lecturer in higher
adoption. Interacting with Computers, 22(5), 428–438. education sector, Syed thrives in positions of teaching and leadership.
Talukder, M., & Quazi, A. (2011). The impact of social influence on He cemented his reputation by leading a vast portfolio of undergraduate
individuals’ adoption of innovation. Journal of Organizational and postgraduate programmes.
Computing and Electronic Commerce, 21(2), 111–135.
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social networking web sites. Internet Research, 22(2), 211–233. His research interest revolves around the adoption and use of technologies
Trivedi, N., Asamoah, D. A., and Doran, D. (2016). Keep the conversa- particularly in emerging economies. He has also research extensively on
tions going: engagement-based customer segmentation on online consumer identity, acculturation and co-creation of value. He has been
social service platforms. Information Systems Frontiers, 1–19. actively involved in conducting a number of training programmes and
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-016-9719-x. consultancy projects. He is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Tucker, C. E. (2014). Social networks, personalized advertising, and pri- and also a member of the British Academy of Management, and
vacy controls. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(5), 546–562. Academy of Marketing. He has published in top marketing, management
Tuton, T. L. and Solomon, M. R. (2015) Social Media Marketing, 2nd and information systems journals. Bidit has co-edited a monograph and is
Edition, London: Sage Publication Ltd. currently guest editing a special issue of Technological Forecasting and
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User Social Change.
acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view.
Management Information Systems Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478. Vishanth Weerakkody joined the School of Management at University
Venkatesh, V., Thong, J. Y., and Xu, X. (2012). Consumer acceptance and of Bradford in March 2017 as Professor in Management Information
use of information technology: extending the unified theory of ac- Systems and Governance. He was previously a Professor of Digital
ceptance and use of technology. Governance at the Business School in Brunel University, London where
Wang, X., Yu, C., & Wei, Y. (2012). Social media peer communication he held several leadership roles. Prior to his academic career, Prof
and impacts on purchase intentions: a consumer socialization frame- Weerakkody worked in a number of multinational organisations, includ-
work. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(4), 198–208. ing IBM UK. He has a successful track record of Research and Enterprise
Waters, R. and Bond, S. (2017). US moves step closer to overturning broad- and has secured numerous research grants from funding bodies such as
band privacy regulations. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www. the European Commission (FP7 & H2020), Economic and Social
ft.com/content/fbb144fa-1411-11e7-80f4-13e067d5072c. Research Council, Qatar Foundation and UK Local Government. His
Whiting, A., & Williams, D. (2013). Why people use social media: a uses R&D expertise spans several disciplines including, management decision
and gratifications approach. Qualitative Market Research: An making, ICT evaluation, public administration, social Innovation and
International Journal, 16(4), 362–369. process transformation. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International
Wu, J. J., & Chang, Y. S. (2005). Towards understanding mem- Journal of Electronic Government Research and a Handling Editor for
bers’ interactivity, trust, and flow in online travel community. Information Systems Frontiers. He is a Chartered IT Professional and
Industrial Management and Data Systems, 105(7), 937–954. Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.