A Field Experiment Comparing Information-Privacy Values, Beliefs, and Attitudes Across Several Types of Organizations

South Bend, IndianaThe present study examined (a) the effect of organizational type (a manipulatedvariable) on individuals' information-privacy values, beliefs, attitudes, and be-havioral intentions and (b) relationships between the same measured variablesSix organizational types were used (1 e., employers, insurance companies, lawenforcement agencies, credit grantors, lending institutions, and the Internal Rev-enue Service). Data on the dependent variables were obtained through the useof structured interviews involving 193 randomly selected residents of a mid-western state Multivanate and univanate analyses revealed (a) significant dif-ferences among the organizational types on information-privacy values, beliefs,and attitudes, and (b) significant correlations between these and other measuredvanables The implications of these findings for organizational and societal policymaking concerning the treatment of information about individuals are discussed