The Ethical Dilemmas of Recommender Systems on e-commerce Websites : A Qualitative Study on Zalando's Website

Abstract

Consumer data is widely used throughout the entire online web and since it involves the use of personal data and information, it can be seen as unethical in many ways. From a privacy perspective, personalization can be unethical, as it includes the collection and use of personal data. The use of personalization in e-commerce can also be unethical, as it utilizes nudging and thus influences the consumers’ decision-making process. Consumer data is used for personalization to effectivize the purchase process for the consumers. This can be done e.g., in the form of recommender systems, which use the collected consumer data and with the help of artificial intelligence recommend suitable products for the consumers. This thesis studies the ethical dilemmas of recommender systems in the context of e-commerce through the impressions of Gen Z consumers. The aim of the study is to provide perspective on consumer impressions on ethical dilemmas of recommender systems, to help retailers understand how to serve their customers better in the means of customer-centricity. The study is of qualitative nature, and it has been conducted in form of semi-structured interviews with a total of 9 consumers. Additionally, a conceptual framework was created from relevant literature. The results of this thesis indicate that more consideration should be given into the transparency of data privacy. Moreover, the results implied that to increase the consumers’ trust on the website, retailers must acknowledge the present ethical dilemmas and act towards a more ethical shopping experience. Additionally, the study presents a clear need for emphasis on the importance of sustainability in e-commerce. By acknowledging the issues of transparency and the negative feelings they might create for the consumers, steps can be taken to increase the consumers’ sense of control to make conscious purchase decisions.