To date, there is still no agreed-upon definition of the term that entirely covers the issue of data ownership. The uncertainty and absence of clear regulations relating to data ownership
[64][32] mean that the question of data ownership (i.e., who should own the data) remains without a conclusive answer. Data ownership is considered to be “the possession of complete control over the data and its rights including, but not limited to access, creation, generation, modification, analysis, use, sell, or deletion of the data, in addition to the right to grant rights over the data to others”
[65][33]. Companies have leveraged the ability to collect, store, disseminate, and manipulate massive amounts of consumer information to remain competitive in a progressively knowledge-based society
[66][34]. The rising amount of data is undoubtedly provoking the issue of data ownership. However, there has been very little academic inquiry into consumer data ownership and management issues relating to the data that companies routinely collect for marketing-related purposes. The dearth of transparency regarding data collection introduces more complexity when trying to figure out what happens to consumers’ data—i.e., how it is stored, processed, or disseminated to other parties. This increasing tendency underscores the necessity to obtain control over the manipulation and accessibility of these data. Existing literature from a juridical perspective suggested that data ownership is predominantly associated with the privacy of the individual
[67][35]. According to Jagadish et al.
[68][36], privacy is one aspect of data ownership wherein the former, within the firm–consumers relationship reflects “the extent to which a consumer is aware of and can control the collection, storage, and use of personal information by a firm”
[69][37]. More specifically, the involvement of different entities who have authorized access to such data, often without prior consent from the data subject
[70][38], accrues more complexity to the concept of data ownership
[71][39].
According to Rogers’ theory of the adoption of innovation
[72][40], awareness is the first step in a five-step procedure for decision making, which includes awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption. In the first step, an individual is exposed to an idea or innovation but lacks information about that idea/innovation and is less likely to seek more information about the idea/innovation. People must first be aware of the ideas and determine whether they are worth adopting before proceeding further.