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The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of cloud service users’ privacy concerns, which are anticipated to considerably hinder cloud service market growth. The researchers have explored privacy concerns from dimensions that were identified as relevant in the cloud context.

Content analysis was used to identify privacy problems that were most often raised in previous cloud research. Multidimensional developmental theory (MDT) was used to build a conceptual model of cloud privacy concerns. Literature review was made to identify the privacy-related constructs used to measure privacy concerns in previous cloud research.

The paper provides systematization of recent cloud privacy research, proposal of a conceptual model of cloud privacy concerns, identification of measuring instruments that were used to measure privacy concerns in previous cloud research and identification of categories of problems that need to be addressed in future cloud research.

This paper has identified the categories of privacy problems and dimensions that have not yet been measured in the cloud context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Their simultaneous examination could clarify the effects of different dimensions on the privacy concerns of cloud users. The conceptual model of cloud privacy concerns will allow cloud service providers to focus on key cloud problems affecting users’ privacy concerns and use the most appropriate privacy protection communication and preservation approaches.

To effectively develop privacy policies and practices for cloud computing, organizations need to define a set of guiding privacy objectives that can be applied across their organization. It is argued that it is important to understand individuals’ privacy values with respect to cloud computing to define cloud privacy objectives.

For the purpose of this study, the authors adopted Keeney’s (1994) value-focused thinking approach to identify privacy objectives with respect to cloud computing.

The results of this study identified the following six fundamental cloud privacy objectives: to increase trust with cloud provider, to maximize identity management controls, to maximize responsibility of information stewardship, to maximize individual’s understanding of cloud service functionality, to maximize protection of rights to privacy, and to maintain the integrity of data.

One limitation is generalizability of the cloud privacy objectives, and the second is research bias. As this study focused on cloud privacy, the authors felt that the research participants’ increased knowledge of technology usage, including that of cloud technology, was a benefit that outweighed risks associated with not having a random selection of the general population. The newness and unique qualities of privacy issues in cloud computing are better fitted to a qualitative study where issues can emerge naturally through a holistic approach opposed to trying to force fit an existing set of variables or constructs into the context of privacy and cloud computing.

The findings of this research study can be used to assist management in the process of formulating a cloud privacy policy, develop cloud privacy evaluation criteria as well as assist auditors in developing their privacy audit work plans.

Currently, there is little to no guidance in the literature or in practice as to what organizations need to do to ensure they protect their stakeholders privacy in a cloud computing environment. This study works at closing this knowledge gap by identifying cloud privacy objectives.

This study aims to argue that user’s continued use behavior is contingent upon two perceptions (i.e. the app and the provider). This study examines the moderating effects of user’s perceptions of apps and providers on the effects of security and privacy concerns and investigate whether assurance mechanisms decrease such concerns.

This study conducts a scenario-based survey with 694 mobile cloud computing (MCC) app users to understand their perceptions and behaviors.

This study finds that while perceived value of data transfer to the cloud moderates the effects of security and privacy concerns on continued use behavior, trust only moderates the effect of privacy concerns. This study also finds that perceived effectiveness of security and privacy intervention impacts privacy concerns but does not decrease security concerns.

Prior mobile app studies mainly focused on mobile apps and did not investigate the perceptions of app providers along with app features in the same study. Furthermore, International Organization for Standardization 27018 certification and privacy policy notification are the interventions that exhibit data assurance mechanisms. However, it is unknown whether these interventions are able to decrease users’ security and privacy concerns after using MCC apps.

In this research, the authors focus on mobile cloud computing (MCC) collaboration apps that are multiplatform and send the users’ data to the cloud. Despite their benefits, MCC collaboration apps raise privacy concerns, as the users’ information is sent to the cloud where users lack direct control. This study aims to investigate why users disclose information to MCC apps despite privacy concerns and examine the effect of security and assurance mechanisms (i.e. privacy policies and ISO/IEC 27018 certification) on users’ perceptions and information disclosure. Based on three surveys conducted in 2016 (n = 515), 2017 (n = 505) and 2018 (n = 543), this study finds mixed results regarding the relationships among security, assurance mechanisms, utilitarian benefits and information disclosure.

This study conducted three scenario-based surveys in the USA in 2016 (n = 515), 2017 (n = 505) and 2018 (n = 543).

This study finds mixed results of relationships among security, assurance mechanisms, utilitarian benefit and information disclosure.

With proliferation of MCC apps, the investigation of how users make privacy decision to disclose personal information to these apps is sparse. This study, for the first time, investigates whether the signals of assurance mechanism decrease users’ privacy concerns. This study also examines the interplay between security and privacy within information disclosure behavior. Finally, this study was conducted in 3 years to enhance the generalizability and robustness of findings.

The purpose of this paper is to extend PriS (privacy safeguard), a privacy requirements engineering method for eliciting and modelling privacy requirements during system design, with the addition of privacy-aware cloud-based concepts to assist analysts to reason and model about privacy in cloud environments.

An analysis of previous findings on the file of cloud privacy based on previous work has been conducted and a set of privacy-related concepts that need to be considered during privacy analysis for cloud-based systems have been revealed. These concepts were used for extending the conceptual model of PriS.

The main finding of the paper is the design of a new, novel conceptual model that assists analysts and designers in reasoning about privacy in cloud environments. A new template using the JSON (Javascript notation object) format has been introduced for better expressing the privacy requirements along with the related concepts presented through the conceptual model, thus letting the developers to better understand the findings during the design stage and better guide them to the implementation of the respective solution.

The design of a cloud-based process that will guide analysts in detail for eliciting and modelling the identified privacy-related requirements is the limitation and in parallel the next step of the specific work presented here.

The conceptual model has been applied on a real case scenario regarding its efficiency on capturing and mapping all necessary concepts for assisting analysts proceed with the design of the privacy-aware system. The results were positive, all concepts were easy to use and totally understandable from the design team and the stakeholders and the use of the JSON template received very positive comments, especially from the developer’s team.

The paper presents a novel conceptual model for reasoning about privacy requirements in the cloud. The applicability of the proposed model has also been tested on a real case study.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of privacy concerns and consumer innovativeness towards consumer's adoption of a technological innovation in the form of cloud computing technology.

A cross-cultural comparison between consumers in the USA and China is made through a study of consumers intending to adopt cloud computing services. A review of the technology innovation adoption literature forms the basis of the research propositions, which are based on the extant literature and focused on the innovative adoption behaviour of consumers. A comparative approach is taken to analyse the differences between US and Chinese consumers intending to adopt cloud computing services.

Findings suggest that there are more similarities than differences between US and Chinese consumers adopting cloud computing services. The survey suggests that the performance expectancy, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use can help predict intention to adopt cloud computing services in both the USA and China, but consumer innovativeness is a better indicator in the USA than in China for consumers adopting technological innovations.

This paper is important for cloud service technology marketers by indicating how social influencers can influence consumer's usage of cloud computing by affecting their social network of friends and family. In addition, insight into how consumers adopt cloud computing by focusing on privacy concerns of personal information being shared can help future technology innovations enter the marketplace at a faster rate.

This paper fills the gap in the current technology marketing and innovation literature on how consumers adopt technological innovations and highlights the importance of increasing the perceptions of performance expectation of service innovations.

The aim of this paper is to focus on consumer’s perceptions of ethical and innovative aspects of cloud computing services. Cloud computing is a technological innovation that more consumers are adopting because of its mobility and accessibility in storing data. While there has been an increased awareness of cloud computing by consumers, there is limited research about the factors influencing consumers to purchase cloud services.

This study uses the technology acceptance model and the social cognitive theory as the theoretical frameworks to understand how perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, ethical self-efficacy, innovation self-efficacy, performance expectancy and privacy impact purchase intention of cloud computing services. Research hypotheses are developed from the literature and tested by a survey questionnaire in India and the USA.

The results of the analysis suggest that consumers in India and the USA are affected by similar factors when deciding to purchase cloud computing services, but differ in expectations about performance.

This study utilizes Indian and US consumers to compare purchase intentions of technological innovations showing that there are more similarities than differences towards ethical and consumer innovativeness in both countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the different factors affecting purchase intention of cloud computing services in Turkey and the USA.

A research framework is developed based on social cognitive theory and the technology acceptance model. A survey questionnaire is used based on student responses in Turkey and the USA to see if there are any differences toward purchase intentions.

A majority of the research hypotheses are supported in both the Turkish and USA sample indicating that there are similarities in perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, consumer innovation and performance expectancy toward cloud computing.

The findings of this research have implications for technology companies and marketers operating in North America, Europe and Asia.

As few studies exist on the differences between purchase intention of technological innovations in the USA and Turkey, this paper contributes to a better understanding of whether cultural differences or consumer attitudes effect adoption of emerging technologies including cloud computing services.

This paper focusses on the emerging technological innovation of cloud computing services by examining antecedent environmental factors influencing purchase intention. In total, two different country samples are utilized to gain a better international perspective of the reasons why consumers purchase technological innovations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the market readiness to adopt the Cloud as the future ERP platform, by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) decision support methodology.

Interviewing is conducted on the convenient sample, of enterprises from various industries. The interview is conducted through expert telephone interview and self-administered questionnaire. Results are then used as a basis for forming the weight factors necessary for the AHP decision model. Data are analyzed and synthesized using AHP and Expert Choice.

Results demonstrate a huge interest for TCO reduction, but also a concern for data privacy and availability. Large enterprises want their data on local servers, while smaller companies tend to act as “first adopters”, mainly because of the cost benefits that Cloud offers. Finally, vendors see the hybrid solutions as the most suitable approach for the overall market, at least while current Cloud obstacles exist.

This research does not aim to answer the question what is the best solution for a particular industry. Instead, it assumes the general approach, which answers the question what would in general be the adequate solution for the SME and how much are SMEs ready to adopt the ERP in the Cloud. A further research is necessary to validate these results in practice. That research should be industry specific, i.e. narrowed to one industry only. Then, it would be possible to answer the question what is the best solution for high-tech SMEs.

This paper summarizes Cloud pros and cons useful for decision makers to establish a starting point for IT reorganization. Additionally, AHP results provide some indications of the market's perception regarding Cloud and ERP, while vendors' statements about ERP-Cloud solutions provide an interesting glimpse of the ERP market in the next few years.

Market demands constant flexibility and cost effectiveness, forcing companies to adapt faster than ever. Therefore, there is a significant risk for first adopters and their business if they adopt an inadequate solution. This paper offers a high-level overview of the SME's market understanding and willingness to adopt ERP in the Cloud idea, and it demonstrates how the AHP decision support methodology can be used to assess the readiness of enterprises to adopt the Cloud-ERP solution.

The next phase of hardware technology development is focused on alternative ways to manage and store consumers’ personal content. However, even consumers who have adopted Cloud-based services have demonstrated a reluctance to move all of their personal content into the Cloud and continue to resist giving up local hard drives. This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of local hard drives and the Cloud that lead to simultaneous use.

This paper uses content analysis of online comments and ten depth interviews with simultaneous users of local hard drives and the Cloud.

Three factors influence the resistance to giving up local hard drives. Simultaneous users utilize local hard drives as a redundancy system and as a way to ensure the permanence of their digital content. They are unsure of the Cloud’s ability to support their content creation, management and storage activities (task-technology fit).

Study findings are based on qualitative methods and thus the results cannot be considered conclusive.

The authors speculate that it is unlikely that Cloud-only will fully replace hard drives until these factors are understood and addressed by information technology developers. Cloud service providers may not be aware of how little that users understand the Cloud. In contrast to their certainty and confidence in local hard drives, simultaneous users are confused as to what the Cloud is and how it functions. This uncertainty exacerbates their risk perception and need for control.

This is the first study exploring simultaneous use of local hard drives and the Cloud with a view to understanding this behaviour in terms of the relative advantage of the incumbent technology over the new technology.