The impact of privacy violations on subsequent consumer preferences for anthropomorphized products

In the mobile Internet era, the widespread use of portable devices seamlessly connects consumer decision-making scenarios, potentially leading to the spillover of the impact of privacy violations into subsequent consumption decisions. Results from five experiments demonstrate that those consumers who experience a privacy violation (vs. a non-privacy violation) exhibit a lower purchase intention and preference for anthropomorphized (vs. non-anthropomorphized) products due to the symbolic meaning of “social others” embedded within the product and messages. Perceptual boundary invasion and social avoidance tendency are sequential mediators in this process. Yet, the negative effect diminishes when a product is anthropomorphized as a family member (vs. anthropomorphized with a general social role). The findings provide valuable managerial insight into comprehending and mitigating the spillover effects of privacy violations in anthropomorphized product design and online encounters.