Credibility and trust of information privacy at the workplace in Slovakia. The use of intuition
Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
ISSN: 1477-996X
Article publication date: 19 May 2023
Issue publication date: 4 July 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Employees may feel overwhelmed with information privacy choices and have difficulties understanding what they are committing to in the digital workplace. This paper aims to analyze the role of different thinking styles for effort reduction, such as the use of intuition, when employees make decisions about the credibility and trustworthiness of workplace information privacy issues in Slovakia. While the General Data Protection Regulation sets precise requirements for valid consent, organizations are classified as data controllers and are subject to credibility judgments by their employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 230 employees in Slovakia using a survey questionnaire. Quantitative analysis using SPSS was conducted to describe employees thinking preferences when judging the credibility of information privacy in their organizations.
Findings
The survey participants revealed their perceived credibility and trust in personal data protection and thinking preferences. Unconscious thinking is the type of effort reduction often reported by participants, who perceive high credibility and trust in personal data protection. This study can help managers and data controllers in small- and medium-sized enterprises in reflecting about the way in which people use different thinking processes for decision-making about information privacy in their organizations.
Research limitations/implications
This study set out to explore how decision-making processes at the workplace relate to credibility of data practices. Focusing on the use of different types of intuition, the authors explored whether the preference for a specific decision-making style can explain the perceived credibility of data practices. The part of the workforce in the sample did not have a strict predisposition to use either intuitive or rational thinking.
Practical implications
The contribution provides scholars with an overview of the field of intuition, a field that is likely to grow given the challenges of digitalization for organizations, such as shitstorms, cyberattacks and whistleblowing.
Originality/value
The most well-known concepts from intuition research, e.g. the dual process theory, and practice are tested simultaneously, therewith contributing to the applied literature on domain-specific preferences for intuition and deliberation in decision-making.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This data used in this manuscript was collected through a non-interventional study, i.e. a survey. Data Protection Commissioner Prof Dr. Klages, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences (Germany), represents the Commission for Research Ethics at Ostfalia University and has checked and approved all actions.
The first and third authors received funding from the European Fund for Regional Development (Grant ZW6-85024044) to carry out this research. The second author was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under Contract No. APVV-20-0335.
All authors declare that they have no financial and/or business interests in a company that may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed paper.
Citation
Svenson, F., Ballová Mikušková, E. and Launer, M.A. (2023), "Credibility and trust of information privacy at the workplace in Slovakia. The use of intuition", Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 302-321. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-02-2022-0011
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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