Track and Treat - Usage of E-Mail Tracking for Newsletter Individualization

2018 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Bender, Benedict; Fabian, Benjamin; Haupt, Johannes; Lessmann, Stefan

Abstract: E-Mail tracking mechanisms gather information on individual recipients’ reading ... Expand

Abstract: E-Mail tracking mechanisms gather information on individual recipients’ reading behavior. Previous studies show that e-mail newsletters commonly include tracking elements. However, prior work does not examine the degree to which e-mail senders actually employ gathered user information. The paper closes this research gap by means of an experimental study to clarify the use of tracking-based information. To that end, twelve mail accounts are created, each of which subscribes to a pre-defined set of newsletters from companies based in Germany, the UK, and the USA. Systematically varying e-mail reading patterns across accounts, each account simulates a different type of user with individual reading behavior. Assuming senders to track e-mail reading habits, we expect changes in mailer behavior. The analysis confirms the prominence of tracking in that over 92% of the newsletter e-mails contain tracking images. For 13 out of 44 senders an adjustment of communication policy in response to user reading behavior is observed. Observed effects include sending newsletters at different times, adapting advertised products to match the users’ IT environment, increased or decreased mailing frequency, and mobile-specific adjustments. Regarding legal issues, not all companies that adapt the mail-sending behavior state the usage of such mechanisms in their privacy policy. Collapse

Topics: electronic mail marketing management Apple iPhone privacy electronic commerce

Methods: experiment two sample t-test with unequal variance parametric test ANOVA experimental design

Central Role of Moral Obligations in Determining Intentions to Engage in Digital Piracy

2018 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 3

Authors: Hashim, Matthew J.; Kannan, Karthik N.; Wegener, Duane T.

Abstract: Piracy is a significant source of concern facing software developers, music labe ... Expand

Abstract: Piracy is a significant source of concern facing software developers, music labels, and movie production companies, to name a few. Digital goods producers and government entities argue that there are victims of piracy, whereas pirates may perceive their actions to be victimless. Regarding implications of our research, we extend the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by theorizing that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control could influence perceptions of moral obligations as a consequence of the desire to rationalize unethical behavior. Unlike prior literature, we manipulate the rationalization of moral obligations due to the victimless view toward piracy and show how moral obligations become important determinants of piracy behavior. Accordingly, our demonstrated malleability of morals may be an important path through which individuals are able to continue past behaviors. We also conduct a second study to identify the effect of implementing an educational message from a fictitious software company to exogenously nudge the pirate and influence the impact of perceived moral obligations on intentions to pirate. Our results show that the introduction of an exogenous educational message is an effective piracy mitigation strategy. Collapse

Topics: criminality digital piracy price management IT investment information good

Methods: survey partial least squares regression descriptive statistic theory development theoretical contribution

Theories: expected utility theory theory of planned behavior cognitive dissonance theory