EXPRESS: Customer Data Privacy Stewardship

Abstract

To address rising customer concerns about data privacy, some firms adopt strong privacy practices. However, such investments are costly, both financially and in terms of limiting the ability to leverage customer data, leading many firms to treat privacy primarily as a risk to be managed. The current research proposes a different perspective, in which data privacy is a strategic opportunity. Specifically, this article introduces the concept of customer data privacy stewardship : a customer-facing, strategic approach to responsible data privacy management. With three multimethod studies, the authors establish a positive relationship of privacy stewardship with performance at firm, brand, and customer levels. Critically, the strength of this beneficial relationship depends on customers’ perceptions of firms’ motives, such that data dependence weakens the relationship, but brand affinity strengthens it. The relationship also varies with perceptions of data risk; a history of data breaches strengthens the relationship, and strong industry-level protections weaken it. Customers’ perceptions of privacy benevolence and privacy concerns mediate the positive relationship between privacy stewardship and performance too. By moving beyond risk mitigation to emphasize strategic value creation, this conceptualization advances privacy research and offers actionable guidance for aligning privacy stewardship with public perceptions of firm motives and data risk.