Dearden, Alexandra Cameron2024-06-192024-06-192023Dearden, Alexandra Cameron . (2023). Privacy concerns about data-usage for South African retail loyalty programs [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WiureDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38692A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (marketing) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Business science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023Data usage has arisen as a growing topic for researchers and practitioners in South Africa. This is particularly true for Loyalty Programs, where increased personalisation and consumer data usage are being used to fuel business decisions. However, the consumer perspective on data- related privacy concerns provides room to be explored, alongside the investigation of culture, trust, personalisation and the privacy paradox. In this investigation into privacy concerns, the relevance of culture comes into place for its influence on such South African privacy related behaviour and perceptions. This study, therefore, explores privacy concerns and data usage in retail Loyalty programs, to better understand South African consumers' perceptions of data privacy, and their intention to engage with the program. This was done through a multi- theoretical analysis, utilizing the Privacy Calculus Theory (PCT), the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and the Customer Relationship Management Theory (CRM). This study achieved its objectives through a quantitative research method utilising surveys distributed online. South African consumers above the age for 18 were used as the sample for the research for data collection, of which a non-probability sampling technique was used, and a total of 277 valid questionnaires were collected. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was utiliseutilised to analyse the data through partial least squares regression (Smart-PLS) to evaluate the relationship between the constructs. Here, the results indicated that privacy concerns exist and are positively influenced by Awareness, Data Breach and Attitude. Furthermore, these concerns were negatively influenced by Intention, Trust, and Culture; and, therefore, a privacy paradox was not confirmed. Furthermore, Personalisation was shown to have no bearing on Privacy Concerns. However, Personalisation had a negative relationship with Attitude, while Trust had a positive one. Perceived Risk was also found to have a negative relationship with Intention. Moreover, this study revealed the existence and South African consumer perspective of privacy concerns and provides benefits for marketers and scholars in the retail industry, such as fueling trust through the recognition of consumer privacy.en© 2023 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Privacy ConcernSouth AfricaLoyalty ProgramsPrivacy Calculus TheoryTheory of planned behaviourCustomer Relationship ManagementPrivacy ParadoxHofstede’s dimensionsUCTDSDG-17: Partnerships for the goalsDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg