Effects of Privacy Regulatory Protection on Users’ Data Sharing in Mobile Apps

While data-driven digital technologies (e.g., mobile applications) have brought convenience to users, they have also raised data privacy concerns. Regulators have taken various actions that ensure user data privacy to balance the protection and exploitation of personal data. However, the effect of privacy regulatory protection in preparing mobile users for data sharing remains unclear. This research develops and empirically tests an integrative model of how mobile users adjust their intention to share personal data in response to privacy regulatory protection. The results indicate that privacy regulatory protection can increase users’ intention to share personal data through enhancing psychological ownership of data (i.e., entitlement effect) and decreasing privacy concerns (i.e., reassurance effect). Moreover, the entitlement effect can be attenuated as app control over data increases, while the reassurance effect can be accentuated as users’ privacy efficacy increases. This research provides new insights into the role of privacy regulatory protection in promoting user data sharing by highlighting the psychological mechanisms underlying users’ responses to such regulations. It provides implications for digital platforms seeking to balance the challenges of user data protection with the benefits of data-driven marketing.