Yong Wan Park (Ph.D, Barun ICT Research Center, Yonsei Univ.)

Dr. Yong Wan Park (Barun ICT Research Center, Yonsei Univ.) presented his research concerning the drone privacy issue at the first A sia-based Theory + Practice in Marketing (TPM) Conference held at the Yonsei School of Business in Seoul, Korea on June 24, 2016.

Drones have built-in digital cameras and flying- or hovering capabilities; therefore, drone owners can record or take photos easily from high altitudes, which is impossible with typical digital cameras. However, as a result, many people are concerned about their privacy, which might be an obstacle for the growing drone market.

Dr. Park suggested that consumers’ privacy concern about drones could be reduced with category cues and background images on ads. According to the study, a drone can be perceived as a combination of a digital camera and a remote-controlled aircraft; therefore, by framing a drone as another variation of an R.C. aircraft rather than a digital camera, consumers’ concerns can be relatively decreased. In addition, when the background image on the ad was a city view rather tan a landscape view, consumers’ privacy concerns dramatically increased. These results indicate that companies who produce drones should be careful to choose the elements in their ads. Conversely, policy makers and NGOs, who are concerned about the drone privacy issue, could use these findings to stimulate consumers’ privacy concerns about drones.privacy

* The TPM conference was started at Columbia Business School by academics who strived for not only rigorous research but also learning that would have direct relevance for practitioners. Since 2011, annual TPM conferences have been held at top business schools (e.g., Harvard Business School, London Business School, and the Kellogg School of Management) in the US.

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The theme of TPM Asia, hosted by the Korean Marketing Association and the Yonsei School of Business, was “Creative Contents, Information Communication Technology, and Marketing,” and a variety of academis papers covering creativity, culture contents, online marketing, Brand, consumer behavior, and marketing strategy were presented in 16 sessions.