Investigating the Antecedents and Role of Usage Fatigue on Online Commerce Usage Decrease

Abstract

The internet has made the digital ecosystem a viable commerce destination, but has also made it a content and media dystopia. Illegal access to user information and the frequent data breaches have sparked interest in privacy protection behaviour. Privacy focused technologies have emerged to provide personalized privacy assurance. It is as if a digital civil war is underway, and the online commerce industry is the collateral damage. The study investigates the antecedents and influence of usage fatigue on online commerce usage decrease. Structural equation modelling is used to analyze responses from three higher education institutions in Cyprus. Five hundred eighty-seven responses are drawn and used for the analysis. User anonymity, perceived effectiveness of industry-self regulation, and privacy literacy are the main antecedents of usage fatigue. Usage fatigue positively influences online commerce usage decrease and is more apparent among with people higher perception of industry self-regulation, an indication of low effectiveness of industry self-regulation of online commerce in the region.