| dc.description.abstract | This Master's thesis investigates the impact of the 2016 Uber data breach on customers' risk perception, trust, and future purchase intention in São Paulo, Brazil. Initially covered up by Uber, the breach compromised the information of 57 million riders and 600,000 drivers worldwide. Although cyberattack events are increasingly common in the digitized world, few studies have explored how these events, particularly data breaches, affect risk perception and trust from a consumer perspective. In an attempt to bridge this knowledge gap, an online survey was conducted where 196 Uber users in São Paulo answered questions about their risk perception, trust, and future purchase intention in light of the 2016 Uber data breach. Findings indicate that most respondents did not perceive a significant risk increase in using the platform post-breach, although trust in Uber was affected, with 68% reporting decreased trust. Despite widespread concern for online data privacy and high levels of technical awareness among respondents, their future usage intentions were largely unaffected by the breach. This disparity is potentially influenced by cognitive dissonance and the complex dynamics of trust: even if the breach led to reduced trust in the platform, respondents might still retain enough trust to continue using it.
This study's theoretical framework is based on the extended valence framework by Kim et al. (2009), which postulates that customers' intentions to purchase from a company, which leads to actual purchasing, are influenced by the consumer's perceived benefit, perceived risk, and the general trust they have in the organization. Moreover, the psychometric paradigm, which proposes that the characteristics of the risk itself heavily influence risk perception, also guides this research. Furthermore, the roles of heuristics and biases in risk perception are considered, as these factors influence how individuals interpret and respond to risk information. The study aims to offer valuable insights into consumer responses to data breaches and hopes to increase transparency, strengthen policies, and bridge the gap between risk perception studies and cybersecurity events, ultimately giving organizations, society, and the public better tools to deal with these increasingly common occurrences. Findings can inform risk strategies and data protection policymaking, particularly within shared economy platforms. | |