Factors Influencing Unethical Behavior in Social Networks based on Theory of Planned Behavior
Subject Areas : Infomartion Technology
Hosein Jafarkarimi
1
,
Rokhsareh Mobarhan
2
1 - Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Damavand, Branch, Damavand, Iran
2 - Department of Computer and Information Technology, Danesh Alborz University
Keywords: Social networks, Theory of planned behavior, unethical behaviors, Ethic in Information Technology,
Abstract :
Factors Influencing Unethical Behavior in Social Networks based on Theory of Planned BehaviorAbstract The expanding use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) and their flexible functionalities allow individuals to use these sites in ethical and unethical ways. The objective of this study is to identify the influential factors that have an impact on individuals’ ethical decision-making process based on Theory of Planned Behavior. For this purpose, four different scenario-based questionnaires were designed to enable the survey to investigate factors affecting individuals’ behavior in different situation. With 660 returned questionnaires in hand, the collected data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results showed attitude to be the most influential factor, followed by perceived behavioral control and subjective. Finally, the role of different scenarios was studied and it is shown different effects on the relationships based on different scenarios.Keywords: Unethical Behaviors, Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Networks, Ethic in Information Technology
AFP. (2013). Bangladesh to snoop online in 'blasphemy' crackdown. Dawn.com. Retrieved 12/12/2013, from http://www.dawn.com/news/792573/bangladeshto-snoop-online-in-blasphemy-crackdown.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In Action control:From cognition to behavior. (pp. 11-39). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1969). The prediction of behavioral intentions in a choice situation. Journal of experimental social psychology, 5(4), 400-416.
Ajzen, I., & Madden, T. J. (1986). Prediction of goal-directed behavior: Attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of experimental social psychology, 22(5), 453-474.
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: A meta‐analytic review. British journal of social psychology, 40(4), 471-499.
Arvola, A., Vassallo, M., Dean, M., Lampila, P., Saba, A., Lähteenmäki, L., & Shepherd, R. (2008). Predicting intentions to purchase organic food: The role of affective and moral attitudes in the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Appetite, 50(2-3), 443-454.
BALCI, Ş., & Gölcü, A. (2013). Facebook Addiction among University Students in Turkey:" Selcuk University Example". Selçuk Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(34), 255-278.
Bandura, A. (2006). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. In F. Pajares, & T. C. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (1st ed., Vol. 5, pp. 307-337). USA: Information Age Publishing.
Banerjee, D., Cronan, T. P., & Jones, T. W. (1998). Modeling IT ethics: A study in situational ethics. Mis Quarterly, 31-60.
Beck, L., & Ajzen, I. (1991). Predicting dishonest actions using the theory of planned behavior. Journal of research in personality, 25(3), 285-301.
Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of computer‐mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.
Brown, V. R., & Vaughn, E. D. (2011). The writing on the (Facebook) wall: The use of social networking sites in hiring decisions. Journal of Business and psychology, 26(2), 219-225.
Chiang, F. K., Sun, C. S., Wuttke, H. D., & Rainer, K. (2009). Design and development of students’ attitudes questionnaire towards innovative information technology for learning. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1786-1791). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Clark, L. A., & Roberts, S. J. (2010). Employer’s use of social networking sites: A socially irresponsible practice. Journal of business ethics, 95(4), 507-525.
Cox, J. (2012). Information systems user security: A structured model of the knowing–doing gap. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1849-1858.
Davison, H. K., Maraist, C., & Bing, M. N. (2011). Friend or foe? The promise and pitfalls of using social networking sites for HR decisions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(2), 153-159.
Davoudi, R., Soltanifar, M., Farhangi, A. (2017). Designing a Model for the Role of Social Networks in the Creation of Youth Social Changes. Quarterly Journal of Information and communication Technology in Educational Sciences, 4(28), 81-110.
Debatin, B., Lovejoy, J. P., Horn, A. K., & Hughes, B. N. (2009). Facebook and online privacy: Attitudes, behaviors, and unintended consequences. Journal of computer-mediated communication, 15(1), 83-108.
Durndell, A., & Haag, Z. (2002). Computer self efficacy, computer anxiety, attitudes towards the Internet and reported experience with the Internet, by gender, in an East European sample. Computers in human behavior, 18(5), 521-535.
Edwards, J. (2014). Facebook Inc. actually has 2.2 billion users now—Roughly one third of the entire population of earth. Business Insider.
Ellis, T. S., & Griffith, D. (2000). The evaluation of IT ethical scenarios using a multidimensional scale. ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, 32(1), 75-85.
Faris, R., & Villeneuve, N. (2008). Measuring global Internet filtering. In R. Deibert, J. Palfrey, R. Rohozinski, J. Zittrain, & J. G. Stein (Eds.), Access denied: The practice and policy of global Internet filtering (pp. 5e28). USA: The MIT Press.
Farmer, A. D., Holt, C. B., Cook, M. J., & Hearing, S. D. (2009). Social networking sites: a novel portal for communication. Postgraduate medical journal, 85(1007), 455-459.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research (1st ed.). Addison-Wesley Pub (sd).
Godin, G., & Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behavior: a review of its applications to health-related behaviors. American journal of health promotion, 11(2), 87-98.
Guseh, J. S., Brendel, R. W., & Brendel, D. H. (2009). Medical professionalism in the age of online social networking. Journal of medical ethics, 35(9), 584-586.
Hair, J. F. J., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (1st ed.). SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Hull, G., Lipford, H. R., & Latulipe, C. (2011). Contextual gaps: privacy issues on Facebook. Ethics and information technology, 13(4), 289-302.
Ifinedo, P. (2012). Understanding information systems security policy compliance: An integration of the theory of planned behavior and the protection motivation theory. Computers & Security, 31(1), 83-95.
Jafarkarimi, H., Saadatdoost, R., Sim, A. T. H., & Hee, J. M. (2016). Behavioral intention in social networking sites ethical dilemmas: An extended model based on theory of planned behavior. Computers in human behavior, 62, 545-561.
Jones, K., Campbell, R., Gaffner, I., & Spencer, D. (2003). Method, system and apparatus for monitoring and controlling internet site content access. U.S. Patent Application No. 10/152,247.
Kadushin, C. (2005). Who benefits from network analysis: ethics of social network research. Social networks, 27(2), 139-153.
Kohlberg, L. (1975). The cognitive-developmental approach to moral education. The Phi Delta Kappan, 56(10), 670-677.
Krishnan, S., Lim, V. K., & Teo, T. S. (2010). How does personality matter? Investigating the impact of big-five personality traits on cyberloafing. In Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS).
Kwan, G. C. E., & Skoric, M. M. (2013). Facebook bullying: An extension of battles in school. Computers in human behavior, 29(1), 16-25.
Leonard, L. N., Cronan, T. P., & Kreie, J. (2004). What influences IT ethical behavior intentions—planned behavior, reasoned action, perceived importance, or individual characteristics?. Information & Management, 42(1), 143-158.
Light, B., & Mcgrath, K. (2010). Ethics and social networking sites: a disclosive analysis of facebook. Information Technology & People, 23(4), 290-311.
Madden, T. J., Ellen, P. S., & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of reasoned action. Personality and social psychology Bulletin, 18(1), 3-9.
Namlu, A. G., & Odabasi, H. F. (2007). Unethical computer using behavior scale: A study of reliability and validity on Turkish university students. Computers & Education, 48(2), 205-215.
Olson, J. M., & Zanna, M. P. (1993). Attitudes and attitude change. Annual review of psychology, 44(1), 117-154.
Paradice, D. B. (1990). Ethical attitudes of entry-level MIS personnel. Information & Management, 18(3), 143-151.
Peluchette, J., & Karl, K. (2009). Examining students’ intended image on Facebook:“What were they thinking?!”. Journal of education for business, 85(1), 30-37.
Reynolds, G. W. (2011). Ethics in information technology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA, USA: Cengage Learning..
Rothberg, S. (2008). Do employers really hire candidates from facebook and myspace? Furstperson/sprint does. Retrieved 13/8/2013, from https://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2008/04/03/do-employers-really-hire-candidatesfrom-facebook-and-myspace-furstperson-sprint-does/.
Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. R. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of consumer research, 15(3), 325-343.
Simon, H. A. (1955). A behavioral model of rational choice. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 69(1): 99-118
Sparks, P., Shepherd, R., Wieringa, N., & Zimmermanns, N. (1995). Perceived behavioural control, unrealistic optimism and dietary change: an exploratory study. Appetite, 24(3), 243-255.
Tarkiainen, A., & Sundqvist, S. (2005). Subjective norms, attitudes and intentions of Finnish consumers in buying organic food. British food journal, 107, 808-822.
Trafimow, D., & Finlay, K. A. (1996). The importance of subjective norms for a minority of people: Between subjects and within-subjects analyses. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 22(8), 820-828.
Trottier, D., & Lyon, D. (2012). Key features of social media surveillance. Internet and Surveillance: The Challenges of Web 2.0 and Social Media, 16, 89-105.
Vallerand, R. J. (1997). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS quarterly, 27, 425-478.
Whittaker, Z. (2012). Facebook hits 1 billion active user milestone. Retrieved 12/2/ 2014, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57525797-93/facebook-hits-1- billion-active-user-milestone/.
Zimmer, M. (2020). “But the data is already public”: on the ethics of research in Facebook. In The Ethics of Information Technologie, 12(4), 313-325.
_||_AFP. (2013). Bangladesh to snoop online in 'blasphemy' crackdown. Dawn.com. Retrieved 12/12/2013, from http://www.dawn.com/news/792573/bangladeshto-snoop-online-in-blasphemy-crackdown.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In Action control:From cognition to behavior. (pp. 11-39). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1969). The prediction of behavioral intentions in a choice situation. Journal of experimental social psychology, 5(4), 400-416.
Ajzen, I., & Madden, T. J. (1986). Prediction of goal-directed behavior: Attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of experimental social psychology, 22(5), 453-474.
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: A meta‐analytic review. British journal of social psychology, 40(4), 471-499.
Arvola, A., Vassallo, M., Dean, M., Lampila, P., Saba, A., Lähteenmäki, L., & Shepherd, R. (2008). Predicting intentions to purchase organic food: The role of affective and moral attitudes in the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Appetite, 50(2-3), 443-454.
BALCI, Ş., & Gölcü, A. (2013). Facebook Addiction among University Students in Turkey:" Selcuk University Example". Selçuk Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(34), 255-278.
Bandura, A. (2006). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. In F. Pajares, & T. C. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (1st ed., Vol. 5, pp. 307-337). USA: Information Age Publishing.
Banerjee, D., Cronan, T. P., & Jones, T. W. (1998). Modeling IT ethics: A study in situational ethics. Mis Quarterly, 31-60.
Beck, L., & Ajzen, I. (1991). Predicting dishonest actions using the theory of planned behavior. Journal of research in personality, 25(3), 285-301.
Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of computer‐mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.
Brown, V. R., & Vaughn, E. D. (2011). The writing on the (Facebook) wall: The use of social networking sites in hiring decisions. Journal of Business and psychology, 26(2), 219-225.
Chiang, F. K., Sun, C. S., Wuttke, H. D., & Rainer, K. (2009). Design and development of students’ attitudes questionnaire towards innovative information technology for learning. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1786-1791). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Clark, L. A., & Roberts, S. J. (2010). Employer’s use of social networking sites: A socially irresponsible practice. Journal of business ethics, 95(4), 507-525.
Cox, J. (2012). Information systems user security: A structured model of the knowing–doing gap. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1849-1858.
Davison, H. K., Maraist, C., & Bing, M. N. (2011). Friend or foe? The promise and pitfalls of using social networking sites for HR decisions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(2), 153-159.
Davoudi, R., Soltanifar, M., Farhangi, A. (2017). Designing a Model for the Role of Social Networks in the Creation of Youth Social Changes. Quarterly Journal of Information and communication Technology in Educational Sciences, 4(28), 81-110.
Debatin, B., Lovejoy, J. P., Horn, A. K., & Hughes, B. N. (2009). Facebook and online privacy: Attitudes, behaviors, and unintended consequences. Journal of computer-mediated communication, 15(1), 83-108.
Durndell, A., & Haag, Z. (2002). Computer self efficacy, computer anxiety, attitudes towards the Internet and reported experience with the Internet, by gender, in an East European sample. Computers in human behavior, 18(5), 521-535.
Edwards, J. (2014). Facebook Inc. actually has 2.2 billion users now—Roughly one third of the entire population of earth. Business Insider.
Ellis, T. S., & Griffith, D. (2000). The evaluation of IT ethical scenarios using a multidimensional scale. ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, 32(1), 75-85.
Faris, R., & Villeneuve, N. (2008). Measuring global Internet filtering. In R. Deibert, J. Palfrey, R. Rohozinski, J. Zittrain, & J. G. Stein (Eds.), Access denied: The practice and policy of global Internet filtering (pp. 5e28). USA: The MIT Press.
Farmer, A. D., Holt, C. B., Cook, M. J., & Hearing, S. D. (2009). Social networking sites: a novel portal for communication. Postgraduate medical journal, 85(1007), 455-459.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research (1st ed.). Addison-Wesley Pub (sd).
Godin, G., & Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behavior: a review of its applications to health-related behaviors. American journal of health promotion, 11(2), 87-98.
Guseh, J. S., Brendel, R. W., & Brendel, D. H. (2009). Medical professionalism in the age of online social networking. Journal of medical ethics, 35(9), 584-586.
Hair, J. F. J., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (1st ed.). SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Hull, G., Lipford, H. R., & Latulipe, C. (2011). Contextual gaps: privacy issues on Facebook. Ethics and information technology, 13(4), 289-302.
Ifinedo, P. (2012). Understanding information systems security policy compliance: An integration of the theory of planned behavior and the protection motivation theory. Computers & Security, 31(1), 83-95.
Jafarkarimi, H., Saadatdoost, R., Sim, A. T. H., & Hee, J. M. (2016). Behavioral intention in social networking sites ethical dilemmas: An extended model based on theory of planned behavior. Computers in human behavior, 62, 545-561.
Jones, K., Campbell, R., Gaffner, I., & Spencer, D. (2003). Method, system and apparatus for monitoring and controlling internet site content access. U.S. Patent Application No. 10/152,247.
Kadushin, C. (2005). Who benefits from network analysis: ethics of social network research. Social networks, 27(2), 139-153.
Kohlberg, L. (1975). The cognitive-developmental approach to moral education. The Phi Delta Kappan, 56(10), 670-677.
Krishnan, S., Lim, V. K., & Teo, T. S. (2010). How does personality matter? Investigating the impact of big-five personality traits on cyberloafing. In Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS).
Kwan, G. C. E., & Skoric, M. M. (2013). Facebook bullying: An extension of battles in school. Computers in human behavior, 29(1), 16-25.
Leonard, L. N., Cronan, T. P., & Kreie, J. (2004). What influences IT ethical behavior intentions—planned behavior, reasoned action, perceived importance, or individual characteristics?. Information & Management, 42(1), 143-158.
Light, B., & Mcgrath, K. (2010). Ethics and social networking sites: a disclosive analysis of facebook. Information Technology & People, 23(4), 290-311.
Madden, T. J., Ellen, P. S., & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of reasoned action. Personality and social psychology Bulletin, 18(1), 3-9.
Namlu, A. G., & Odabasi, H. F. (2007). Unethical computer using behavior scale: A study of reliability and validity on Turkish university students. Computers & Education, 48(2), 205-215.
Olson, J. M., & Zanna, M. P. (1993). Attitudes and attitude change. Annual review of psychology, 44(1), 117-154.
Paradice, D. B. (1990). Ethical attitudes of entry-level MIS personnel. Information & Management, 18(3), 143-151.
Peluchette, J., & Karl, K. (2009). Examining students’ intended image on Facebook:“What were they thinking?!”. Journal of education for business, 85(1), 30-37.
Reynolds, G. W. (2011). Ethics in information technology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA, USA: Cengage Learning..
Rothberg, S. (2008). Do employers really hire candidates from facebook and myspace? Furstperson/sprint does. Retrieved 13/8/2013, from https://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2008/04/03/do-employers-really-hire-candidatesfrom-facebook-and-myspace-furstperson-sprint-does/.
Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. R. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of consumer research, 15(3), 325-343.
Simon, H. A. (1955). A behavioral model of rational choice. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 69(1): 99-118
Sparks, P., Shepherd, R., Wieringa, N., & Zimmermanns, N. (1995). Perceived behavioural control, unrealistic optimism and dietary change: an exploratory study. Appetite, 24(3), 243-255.
Tarkiainen, A., & Sundqvist, S. (2005). Subjective norms, attitudes and intentions of Finnish consumers in buying organic food. British food journal, 107, 808-822.
Trafimow, D., & Finlay, K. A. (1996). The importance of subjective norms for a minority of people: Between subjects and within-subjects analyses. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 22(8), 820-828.
Trottier, D., & Lyon, D. (2012). Key features of social media surveillance. Internet and Surveillance: The Challenges of Web 2.0 and Social Media, 16, 89-105.
Vallerand, R. J. (1997). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS quarterly, 27, 425-478.
Whittaker, Z. (2012). Facebook hits 1 billion active user milestone. Retrieved 12/2/ 2014, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57525797-93/facebook-hits-1- billion-active-user-milestone/.
Zimmer, M. (2020). “But the data is already public”: on the ethics of research in Facebook. In The Ethics of Information Technologie, 12(4), 313-325.