“Fundamentalist, pragmatic, or unconcerned?”: an analysis of consumers’ willingness to disclose information online

IF 1.3 Q3 BUSINESS RAUSP Management Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-02 DOI:10.1108/rausp-06-2023-0099
Renata Monteiro Martins, Sofia Batista Ferraz, André Francisco Alcântara Fagundes
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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose an innovative model that integrates variables and examines the influence of internet usage expertise, perceived risk and attitude toward information control on privacy concerns (PC) and, consequently, in consumers’ willingness to disclose personal information online. The authors also propose to test the mediation role of trust between PCs and willingness to disclose information. Trust is not a predictor of PC but a causal mechanism – considering that the focus is to understand consumers’ attitudes and behavior regarding the virtual environment (not context-specific) (Martin, 2018).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed a survey questionnaire based on the constructs that compose the proposed model to collect data from 864 respondents. The survey questionnaire included the following scales: internet usage expertise from Ohanian (1990); perceived risk, attitude toward information control, trust and willingness to disclose personal information online from Malhotra et al. (2004); and PC from Castañeda and Montoro (2007). All items were measured on a Likert seven-point scale (1 = totally disagree; 7 = totally agree). To obtain Westin’s attitudinal categories toward privacy, respondents answered Westin’s three-item privacy index. For data analysis, the authors applied covariance-based structural equation modeling.

Findings

First, the proposed model explains the drivers of consumers’ disposition to provide personal information at a level that surpasses specific contexts (Martin, 2018), bringing the analysis to consumers’ level and considering their general perceptions toward data privacy. Second, the findings provide inputs to propose a better definition of Westin’s attitudinal categories toward privacy, which used to be defined only by individuals’ information privacy perception. Consumers’ perceptions about their abilities in using the internet, the risks, their beliefs toward information control and trust also help to delimitate and distinguish the fundamentalists, the pragmatics and the unconcerned.

Research limitations/implications

Some limitations weigh the theoretical and practical implications of this study. The sample size of pragmatic and unconcerned respondents was substantially smaller than that of fundamentalists. It might be explained by applying Westin’s self-report index to classify the groups according to their score regarding PCs. Most individuals affirm having a great concern for their data privacy but still provide online information for the benefit of personalization – known as the privacy paradox (Zeng et al., 2021). It leads to another limitation of this research, given the lack of measures that classify respondents by considering their actual behavior toward privacy.

Practical implications

PC emerges as an important predictor of consumer trust and willingness to disclose their data online, and trust also influences this disposition. Managers need to implement actions that effectively reduce consumers’ concerns about privacy and increase their trust in the company – e.g. adopting a clear and transparent policy on how the data collected is stored, treated, protected and used to benefit the consumer. Regarding the perception of risk, if managers convince consumers that the data collected on the internet is protected, they tend to be less concerned about privacy.

Social implications

The results suggest different aspects influencing the willingness to disclose personal information online, including different responses considering consumers’ PCs. Through their policies and legislation, the authors understand that governments must be attentive to this aspect, establishing regulations that protect consumers’ data in the virtual environment. In addition to regulatory policies, education campaigns can be carried out for both consumers and managers to raise the discussion about privacy and the availability of information in the online environment, demonstrating the importance of protecting personal data to benefit the government, consumers and organizations.

Originality/value

Although there is increasing research on consumers’ privacy, studies have not considered their attitudinal classifications – high, moderate and low concern – as moderators of willingness to disclose information online. Researchers have also increased attention to the antecedents of PCs and disclosure of information but overlooked possible mechanisms that explain the relationship between them.

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"原教旨主义者、实用主义者还是漠不关心者?":对消费者网上信息披露意愿的分析
目的 本研究旨在提出一个创新模型,该模型整合了各种变量,并考察了互联网使用专业知识、感知风险和信息控制态度对隐私关注(PC)的影响,以及由此对消费者在网上披露个人信息意愿的影响。作者还提议检验信任在个人隐私和信息披露意愿之间的中介作用。考虑到重点是了解消费者对虚拟环境的态度和行为(而非特定情境),信任不是个人电脑的预测因素,而是一种因果机制(Martin,2018)。设计/方法/方法作者根据所提议模型的构成要素编制了一份调查问卷,以收集 864 名受访者的数据。调查问卷包括以下量表:来自 Ohanian(1990 年)的互联网使用专业知识;来自 Malhotra 等人(2004 年)的感知风险、信息控制态度、信任和在线披露个人信息的意愿;以及来自 Castañeda 和 Montoro(2007 年)的个人电脑。所有项目均采用李克特七点量表进行测量(1 = 完全不同意;7 = 完全同意)。为获得 Westin 的隐私态度类别,受访者回答了 Westin 的三项目隐私指数。在数据分析中,作者采用了基于协方差的结构方程模型。研究结果首先,所提出的模型从超越具体情境的层面解释了消费者提供个人信息的倾向的驱动因素(Martin,2018),将分析带到了消费者层面,并考虑了他们对数据隐私的总体看法。其次,研究结果为更好地定义威斯汀的隐私态度类别提供了参考,过去隐私态度类别仅由个人的信息隐私感知来定义。消费者对自己使用互联网的能力、风险、对信息控制和信任的看法也有助于划分和区分原教旨主义者、实用主义者和不关心者。实用主义者和不关心问题的受访者的样本量远远小于原教旨主义者。这也许可以用韦斯廷的自我报告指数来解释,即根据个人电脑的得分来划分群体。大多数人都表示非常关注自己的数据隐私,但仍然会为了个性化的好处而提供在线信息--这就是所谓的隐私悖论(Zeng et al.)这也导致了本研究的另一个局限性,因为缺乏通过考虑受访者对隐私的实际行为对其进行分类的措施。管理者需要采取行动,有效减少消费者对隐私的担忧,增加他们对公司的信任--例如,采取清晰透明的政策,说明如何存储、处理、保护和使用收集到的数据,使消费者受益。在风险感知方面,如果管理者让消费者相信在互联网上收集的数据是受到保护的,那么他们对隐私的担忧就会减少。通过政策和立法,作者认识到政府必须关注这方面的问题,制定法规保护消费者在虚拟环境中的数据。除监管政策外,还可针对消费者和管理者开展教育活动,提高对网络环境中隐私和信息可用性的讨论,表明保护个人数据的重要性,使政府、消费者和组织都能从中受益。原创性/价值虽然有关消费者隐私的研究越来越多,但研究并未考虑将消费者的态度分类--高、中、低关注度--作为网上信息披露意愿的调节因素。研究人员也更加关注个人电脑和信息披露的前因,但却忽视了解释二者之间关系的可能机制。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
5.00%
发文量
22
审稿时长
30 weeks
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