Examination of cyber aggression by adult consumers: ethical framework and drivers
Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
ISSN: 1477-996X
Article publication date: 20 December 2019
Issue publication date: 23 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The widespread use of information and communication technologies enables consumers to obtain and share information whenever they feel the urge. With the advent of review websites and forums, companies and business owners may find themselves victims of consumer cyber aggression, which can hurt a company badly. This study aims to explore why consumers would engage in cyber aggression against companies, and to that end, it examines consumers’ ethical orientation and other possible drivers of cyber aggression.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine how ethical orientation affects consumers’ intention to engage in cyber aggression, a scenario-based 2 × 2 (deontological: moral/immoral × teleological: good result/bad result) between-subject experimental design is used. Moreover, 26 possible drivers in related literature are identified and included in a questionnaire administered to 226 college students.
Findings
The results show that adult consumers’ deontological and teleological evaluations significantly affect their ethical judgment about engaging in cyber aggression, which further impacts their intention to perpetrate an act of cyber aggression. Moreover, the study identifies six factors contributing to cyber aggression engagement as follows: personal aggressiveness, ease of perpetration, internet negativity, personal gains, helping the company and recreation.
Originality/value
Cyber aggression is generally viewed as interpersonal violence among adolescents. This study views cyber aggression from a different perspective and it is one of the few studies to look at adult consumers’ motivations to engage in cyber aggression against companies. The findings of this study can help firms understand why their customers attack them online, and understanding that will enable businesses to formulate more effective responses to attacks.
Keywords
Citation
Han, M. and Vasquez, A.Z. (2020), "Examination of cyber aggression by adult consumers: ethical framework and drivers", Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 305-319. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-09-2019-0106
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited