Privacy, Trust, and Disclosure: Exploring Barriers to Electronic Commerce

This study proposes and tests a model of online information disclosure to commercial Web sites, which is an important component of e-commerce. Based on social exchange theory and research on self-disclosure in interpersonal contexts, the model emphasizes the role of trust and past online behavior in the disclosure of personal information to a commercial Web site created for this study. Data collected to test the model confirmed all predicted paths. A second aim of this exploratory research was to examine the nature and quality of online disclosure. Data show differences in online information disclosure depending on the characteristics of Internet users and the type of information requested from commercial Web sites.

[1]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Consumer Trust in an Internet Store: A Cross-Cultural Validation , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[2]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An Integrative Model Of Organizational Trust , 1995 .

[3]  Miriam J. Metzger,et al.  Public Opinion and Policy Initiatives for Online Privacy Protection , 2003 .

[4]  M. Culnan,et al.  Information Privacy Concerns, Procedural Fairness, and Impersonal Trust: An Empirical Investigation , 1999 .

[5]  Fred Cohen.  Internet Fraud: Mythical Online Scams , 2003 .

[6]  Z. Rubin.  Disclosing oneself to a stranger: Reciprocity and its limits , 1975 .

[7]  A. Rao,et al.  No Pain, No Gain: A Critical Review of the Literature on Signaling Unobservable Product Quality , 2000 .

[8]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Consumer trust in an Internet store , 2000, Inf. Technol. Manag..

[9]  Michael E. Roloff.  Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach , 1982 .

[10]  V. Derlega,et al.  Privacy and self-disclosure in social relationships. , 1977 .

[11]  R. Bharat Rao,et al.  Browsers or Buyers in Cyberspace? An Investigation of Factors Influencing Electronic Exchange , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[12]  O. Shenkar,et al.  Reputation, Image, Prestige, and Goodwill: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Organizational Standing , 1997 .

[13]  Samer Faraj,et al.  The Role of Intermediaries in the Development of Trust on the WWW: The Use and Prominence of Trusted Third Parties and Privacy Statements , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[14]  Hal G. Gueutal,et al.  A Field Experiment Comparing Information-Privacy Values, Beliefs, and Attitudes Across Several Types of Organizations , 1983 .

[15]  C. Fombrun,et al.  What's in a Name? Reputation Building and Corporate Strategy , 1990 .

[16]  N. L. Chervany,et al.  Initial Trust Formation in New Organizational Relationships , 1998 .

[17]  J. Steel,et al.  Interpersonal Correlates of Trust and Self-Disclosure , 1991 .

[18]  K. Sheehan,et al.  Flaming, Complaining, Abstaining: How Online Users Respond to Privacy Concerns , 1999 .

[19]  S. Jourard.  The Transparent Self , 1964 .

[20]  Barton A. Weitz,et al.  Determinants of Continuity in Conventional Industrial Channel Dyads , 1989 .

[21]  P. Cozby.  Self-disclosure: a literature review. , 1973, Psychological bulletin.

[22]  J Quittner,et al.  Invasion of privacy. , 1997, Time.

[23]  Norman J. Medoff,et al.  The World Wide Web: A Mass Communication Perspective , 1999 .

[24]  B. J. Fogg,et al.  Persuasive technology: using computers to change what we think and do , 2002, UBIQ.

[25]  Charles J. Fombrun,et al.  Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image , 1996 .

[26]  Norman L. Chervany,et al.  Conceptualizing trust: a typology and e-commerce customer relationships model , 2001, Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[27]  S. Jourard,et al.  Some factors in self-disclosure. , 1958, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[28]  Dennis J. Frailey.  Licensing software engineers , 1999, CACM.

[29]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[30]  E. Berscheid,et al.  Privacy: A hidden variable in experimental social psychology. , 1977 .

[31]  Lorrie Faith Cranor,et al.  Internet privacy , 1999, CACM.

[32]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[33]  J. Boyd.  The Rhetorical Construction of Trust Online , 2003 .

[34]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[35]  B. J. Fogg,et al.  Credibility and computing technology , 1999, CACM.

[36]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  An Examination of the Nature of Trust in Buyer–Seller Relationships: , 1997 .

[37]  Donna L. Hoffman,et al.  Building consumer trust online , 1999, CACM.

[38]  MARK GRIFFITHS,et al.  Excessive Internet Use: Implications for Sexual Behavior , 2000, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[39]  B. Fogg.  The ethics of persuasive technology , 2003 .

[40]  R. East,et al.  Investment decisions and the theory of planned behaviour , 1993 .

[41]  D. O’Keefe.  Persuasion , 1990, The Handbook of Communication Skills.

[42]  Lawrence R. Wheeless,et al.  THE MEASUREMENT OF TRUST AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SELF‐DISCLOSURE , 1977 .

[43]  Shankar Ganesan.  Determinants of Long-Term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships , 1994 .

[44]  Jennings Bryant,et al.  Human Communication Theory and Research , 1992 .

[45]  Eunsang Yoon,et al.  The effects of information and company reputation on intentions to buy a business service , 1993 .

[46]  Marsha Ann Tate,et al.  Web Wisdom: How To Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web , 1999 .

[47]  Janet Morahan-Martin,et al.  The Gender Gap in Internet Use: Why Men Use the Internet More Than Women - A Literature Review , 1998, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[48]  D. McCormick,et al.  Searching for Sexually Explicit Materials on the Internet: An Exploratory Study of College Students' Behavior and Attitudes , 2001, Archives of sexual behavior.

[49]  I. Ajzen.  The theory of planned behavior , 1991 .