Purpose: Based on the cognition–affect–conation pattern, this study explores the factors that affect the intention to use facial recognition services (FRS). The study adopts the driving factor perspective to examine how network externalities influence FRS use intention through the mediating role of satisfaction and the barrier factor perspective to analyze how perceived privacy risk affects FRS use intention through the mediating role of privacy cynicism.Design/methodology/approach: The data collected from 478 Chinese FRS users are analyzed via partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).Findings: The study produces the following results. (1) FRS use intention is motivated directly by the positive affective factor of satisfaction and the negative affective factor of privacy cynicism. (2) Satisfaction is affected by cognitive factors related to network externalities. Perceived complementarity and perceived compatibility, two indirect network externalities, positively affect satisfaction, whereas perceived critical mass, a direct network externality, does not significantly affect satisfaction. In addition, perceived privacy risk generates privacy cynicism. (3) Resistance to change positively moderates the relationship between privacy cynicism and intention to use FRS.Originality/value: This study extends knowledge on people's use of FRS by exploring affect- and cognitive-based factors and finding that the affect-based factors (satisfaction and privacy cynicism) play fully mediating roles in the relationship between the cognitive-based factors and use intention. This study also expands the cognitive boundaries of FRS use by exploring the functional condition between affect-based factors and use intention, that is, the moderating role of resistance to use.

Purpose: Recently, the spread of malicious IT has been causing serious privacy threats to mobile device users, which hampers the efficient use of mobile devices for individual and business. To understand the privacy security assurance behavior of mobile device users, this study aims to develop a theoretical model based on technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT), to capture motivation factors in predicting mobile device user’s voluntary adoption of security defensive software. Design/methodology/approach: A survey is conducted to validate the proposed research model. A total of 284 valid survey data are collected and partial least square (PLS)-based structural equation modeling is used to test the model. Findings: Results highlight that both privacy concern and coping appraisal have a significant impact on the intention to adopt the security defensive software. Meanwhile, privacy security awareness is a crucial determinant to stimulate mobile device user’s threat and coping appraisal processes in the voluntary context. The results indicate that emotional-based coping appraisal of anticipated regret is also imperative to arouse personal intention to adopt the security tool. Practical implications: This result should be of interest to practitioners. Information security awareness training and education programs should be developed in a variety of forms to intensify personal security knowledge and skills. Besides, emotion-based warnings can be designed to arouse users’ protection behavior. Originality/value: This paper embeds TTAT theory within the mobile security context. The authors extent TTAT by taking anticipated regret into consideration to capture emotional-based coping appraisal, and information security awareness is employed as the antecedent factor. The extent offers a useful starting point for the further empirical study of emotion elements in the information security context.

This study presents an empirical investigation of employees’ extra-role behaviour in the information security context based on person – organisation fit theory. The perspective of fit evaluates the differences and similarities between information security policy makers and practitioners to provide employees with an approach to decide whether and how to participate in the implementation of extra security actions. We developed a research model and then conducted a survey and PLS-SEM analysis to test the corresponding hypothesis. The results illustrate that perceived demand – ability fit, perceived need – supply fit, and perceived value fit are effective in motivating security commitment. The empirical evidence shows that security commitment is a partial mediator between complementary fits (demand-ability fit and need-supply fit) and participation intention and is a full mediator between supplementary fit (value fit) and participation intention. In addition, apathy reduces motivation to engage in extra-role behaviour, while value fit and security commitment eliminate such apathy.

Purpose: The rapid development of the Internet in China has profoundly affected the country's charities, which many people support through online donations (e.g. providing financial help) and charity information forwarding (a new behavior of participating in online charities via social media). However, the development of online charities has been accompanied by many problems, such as donation fraud and fake charity information, which adversely affect social kindness. The purpose of this paper is to understand people's online donation and forwarding behaviors and to explore the mechanisms of such behaviors from the perspectives of cognitive-based trust and emotional-based empathic concern.Design/methodology/approach: This study developed a research model based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model. The researchers obtained 287 valid samples via a scenario-based experimental survey and conducted partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the model.Findings: The results indicated that (1) online donation intention is motivated by rational-based trust and emotional-based empathic concern; (2) online charity information forwarding is triggered only when trust is built, and there is no significant correlation between empathic concern and forwarding intention; and (3) content quality, initiator credibility, and platform reputation are three critical paths to promote trust; in addition, an individual's empathic concern can be motivated by the emotional appeal.Originality/value: This study highlights the different mechanisms of donation and forwarding behaviors and provided theoretical measures for motiving trust and empathic concern in the online context to promote people's participation in online charity.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that integrates moral disengagement (MD) and organizational ethical climate (OEC) to understand information security policy (ISP) violation behavior in the workplace. This study extends prior work by identifying the moderating mechanisms of the ethical culture of OECs in the relationship between employees’ MD and ISP violation behavior intention. Design/methodology/approach: By using scenario-based survey data from 433 employees in Chinese enterprises and by applying PLS-based structural equation modeling, the authors test a series of hypotheses. Findings: Our empirical results highlight that the concept of MD has a significant effect on employees’ intention to violate ISPs. The authors also find that the OEC has a moderating role in the relationship between MD and ISP violation intention: the moderating role of law-and-rule-oriented OEC is significantly negative, but instrumentalism-oriented OEC positively moderates this relationship. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on information security behavior by integrating two ethical theory frameworks MD and OECs into one theoretical model, and it calls attention to how ethical factors at the individual cognition level and organizational climate level work together to influence personal information security behavior. This study provides a new perspective of OEC from which to understand policy violation caused by moral self-regulation failure, and empirically explores its moderating role.