Analysing the affect of Control, Accountability and Transparency on the Consumer Behaviour of Software as a Service (SaaS) to Prioritise Digital Sovereignty

Choice of cloud computing services are being re-evaluated amid concerns over control, accountability, and transparency. Growing reliance on cloud infrastructures for digital services is increasing the concerns over digital sovereignty. The lack of trust between consumers and Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) is pushing policymakers and organisations to develop solutions that incorporate Control, Accountability, and Transparency (CAT) mechanisms. While much has been discussed over the need for CAT measures in cloud computing, the consumer attitude towards these measures has received far less attention. In this paper, we outline an approach to systematically evaluate the influence of Control, Accountability and Transparency (CAT) mechanisms on consumer willingness to pay for Software as a Service (SaaS). We collect opinions of students from Dutch Universities using a survey measured on a 7-point Likert scale. Using this data, we test our hypotheses developed and grounded in theoretical foundations, with the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. We observe that despite the existing literature focusing on control, consumers actually place more value on transparency when it comes to their data in the cloud. Our results also indicate that while social norms have a minor impact, income levels do not significantly affect consumers' preference for digital sovereignty. Our findings indicate that cloud providers can distinguish their services from the traditional ones with offers that allow customers to pay for digital sovereignty feature, allowing them to capture market segments that are sensitive towards their digital footprints.