Shall I Tell You Where I Live and Who I Am? Factors Influencing the Behavioral Intention to Disclose Personal Data for Online Government Transactions

The success of an online transaction with a government organization depends on citizen's willingness to share personal data relevant for the transaction. However, disclosing personal data online is oftentimes considered risky. It has been substantiated in a number of empirical studies that perceptions of the risks involved in sharing personal data in the virtual environment could hinder Internet users from engaging in online transactions that require the disclosure of personal data. Results of a large-scale online survey with 2,202 Dutch Internet users reveal that trust in government organizations is a very important determinant of personal data disclosure intention among users with and without e-government experience. Low perceptions of risks, high expectations of the benefits of e-government services, and strong beliefs in the adequacy of legal protection mechanisms could also positively influence users' intention to share personal data for e-government services. The negative relation between trust and risk perceptions is also established, as citizens' trust in government organizations could reduce perceptions of the risks involved in disclosing personal data online.     

Is online trust and trust in social institutions associated with online disclosure of identifiable information online?

This study investigated the association between trust in individuals, social institutions and online trust on the disclosure of personal identifiable information online. Using the Internet attributes approach that argues that some structural characteristics of the Internet such as lack of social cues and controllability are conducive to a disinhibitive behavior it was expected that face to face trust and online trust will not be associated. In addition, it was expected that from the three components of trust, online trust only will be associated with the disclosure of identifiable personal information online. A secondary analysis of the 2009 Pew and American Life of Internet users (n = 1698) survey was conducted. In contrast with the Internet attribute approach the effect of trust in individuals and institutions was indirectly associated with the disclosure of identifiable information online. Trust in individuals and institutions were found to be associated with online trust. However, online trust only, was found to be associated with the disclosure of personal identifiable information. While trust online encourages the disclosure of identifiable information, perception of privacy risks predicted refraining from posting identifiable information online. The results show a complex picture of the association of offline and online characteristics on online behavior.     

Do context and personality matter? Trust and privacy concerns in disclosing private information online

Research and business practice have already established the central role of trust in business, particularly in online interactions. Many online business exchanges require the disclosure of sensitive personal information on a regular basis. Simultaneously, customers are reluctant to disclose private information online due to concerns about privacy. Thus, trust plays a critical role in such disclosures. However, a number of factors could influence the extent of customers’ trust and their willingness to disclose their private information. In this study, we explore the critical roles of two sets of factors: the sensitivity of the context within which the private information is disclosed and the customer's personality. Our theory building is based on the contextualization of the theory of reasoned action (TRA-Privacy) and its synthesis with Prospect theory. Our theory argues that context sensitivity as a moderator and individuals’ salient attributes in terms of personality types and privacy concern are critical factors impacting trust and the willingness to disclose personal information. Our results indicate that context moderates the parameters and path structure of the trust model and that the influence of personality on privacy concern and trust depends on the nature of the context. Applying these “who” and “where” aspects of theory building, the study opens a new avenue of context-related research that can further increase the specificity and richness of trust and privacy research. The study also provides a new perspective in trust scholarship, therein requiring the examination of three inter-related components: trustee, trustor and the context of trust.     

The effect of online privacy policy on consumer privacy concern and trust

This study aims to investigate trust and privacy concerns related to the willingness to provide personal information online under the influence of cross-cultural effects. This study investigated the relationships among the content of online privacy statements, consumer trust, privacy concerns, and the moderating effect of different cultural backgrounds of the respondents. In specific, this study developed a proposed model based on Privacy–Trust–Behavioral Intention model. Further, a total of 500 participants participated in the survey, including 250 from Russia and 250 from Taiwan. The findings indicate a significant relationship between the content of privacy policies and privacy concern/trust; willingness to provide personal information and privacy concern/trust; privacy concern and trust. The cross-cultural effect on the relationships between the content of privacy policies and privacy concern/trust was also found significant.     

Building online trust through privacy practices

This study applies Mayer et al. [24] trust model to an Internet context. A model is presented linking privacy policy, through trustworthiness, to online trust, and then to customers’ loyalty and their willingness to provide truthful information. The model is tested using a sample of 269 responses. The findings suggest that consumers’ trust in a company is closely linked with the perception of the company’s respect for customer privacy. Trust in turn is linked to increased customer loyalty that can be manifested through increased purchases, openness to trying new products, and willingness to participate in programs that use additional personal information.     

Factors Affecting Web Disclosure Adoption in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are strategically using their own personal website to present themselves to the public and share information. Despite the potential benefits of enhanced public confidence and trust, reduced operating costs, improved donor decision making, and increased donations, many nonprofit organizations have resisted the adoption of web disclosure. Informed by the literature on information systems (IS) adoption and technological innovation, this study examines the primary factors that influence the adoption and resistance of web disclosure. Our sample consisted of 176 survey responses from an initial group of 3,323 U.S. NPOs. The statistical results indicate that attitude toward disclosure, compatibility of disclosure with current practices, and financial readiness have a positive influence on web disclosure adoption. The findings have implications for research and practice.     

The ‘Privacy Paradox’ in the Social Web: The Impact of Privacy Concerns,Individual Characteristics,and the Perceived Social Relevance on Different Forms of Self‐Disclosure

Given the diffusion of the Social Web and increased disclosure of personal information online, the ‘privacy paradox’ suggests that while Internet users are concerned about privacy, their behaviors do not mirror those concerns. This study investigates the potential influence of privacy concerns, psychological traits, attitudes to the Social Web and age on self‐disclosure. Using an online survey of a representative sample of German Internet users (n = 2, 739), the variety and quality of self‐disclosure as well as access were measured. The findings indicate that privacy concerns hardly impact self‐disclosure, but different variables moderate this relation. Perceived social relevance and the number of applications used proved important. Users' general willingness to disclose is most important when providing sensitive information.     

Role of social media community in strengthening trust and loyalty for a university

As the increasing internationalization of higher education creates competition among the universities, many institutions are making use of social media communities to attract and retain students. We surveyed 206 users of a university Facebook page to investigate how it may be related to their identification with the university community and the university brand. We further investigate how this identification is associated with the trust and loyalty to the institution and is likely to be linked to positive behaviors such as promoting the university to their peers as an active member of the university community. Our results show that the perceived strength of the Facebook community is related to the identification with the university community and the university brand which in turn are related to trust and loyalty. Higher loyalty is linked to citizenship behaviors such as increased contribution to the educational process labeled in-role behaviors and providing positive word of mouth about the university labeled extra-role behaviors. With the challenges of a diverse and global student body which is expected to continue increasing, universities can benefit from use of social media in developing identity, loyalty and trust.     

Understanding dynamics between initial trust and usage intentions of mobile banking

Mobile banking is an emerging application of mobile commerce that could become an additional revenue source to both banks and telecom service providers. It is a form of service convergence enabled by innovative technologies. Despite the alleged benefits of mobile banking, its acceptance has been short of industry expectations. One plausible explanation may be consumers' initial lack of trust in available services. The objective of our research is to reveal the mechanisms associated with the initial formation of people's trust in mobile banking and intention to use the service. For this, we attempt to understand the effect of four antecedent variables (structural assurances, relative benefits, personal propensity to trust and firm reputation) on shaping a person's initial trust in mobile banking and its usage intention. They represent four types of trust-inducing forces: institutional offering (structural assurances), cognition (perceived benefits), personality (personal propensity) and firm characteristics (firm reputation). We examine individual significance of the selected antecedents and also their comparative reliability in explaining the two exogenous variables. The technical basis of our empirical research is the innovative mobile banking solution that uses cellphones with a built-in smart chipset. The survey data are analyzed using structural equation modelling. The analysis showed that three variables (relative benefits, propensity to trust and structural assurances) had a significant effect on initial trust in mobile banking. Also, the perception of initial trust and relative benefits was vital in promoting personal intention to make use of related services. However, contrary to our expectation, the reputation as a firm characteristics variable failed to attract people to mobile banking.     

The role of disclosure of personal information in the evaluation of risk and trust in young peoples’ online interactions

This study examined the relationship between the evaluation of risk, trust and disclosure of personal information in young peoples’ online interactions. A series of 18 focus groups were conducted with young people aged 9–19 years old. The results suggested that the majority of young people have a high level of awareness of the risks and potential outcomes associated with their online behaviour. Participants perceived disclosure of personal information to be important for the development of online relationships, and discussed associated strategies for evaluating trust and verifying identity. The study suggests that the perceived benefits associated with the disclosure of personal information and interacting with ‘strangers’ online may outweigh the perceived risks associated with these behaviours as the result of the importance of peer relationships and the exploration of identity during adolescence. Identified age-related differences and similarities in relation to the themes are explored, and areas for future research discussed.     

Schmoozing and Smiting: Trust,Social Institutions,and Communication Patterns in an MMOG

This study examines how trust is related to online social institutions, self‐disclosure, mode of communication, and message privacy in a popular MMOG, Everquest II. The findings, based on survey and behavioral data from over 3,500 players, illustrate how MMOGs may support trust development. Trust was higher within closer social circles: trust was highest in teammates, followed by other players across the game, followed by others online. Self‐disclosure was positively related to trust of teammates and others in the game, while voice chat was only related to teammate trust. These findings indicate that social structures and communication processes contribute to trust development in MMOGs, supporting the claim that these online spaces provide social support that is unavailable in other societal realms.     

The influence of user affect in online information disclosure

Personal consumer data is the fuel for information driven programs that may differentiate a firm from its competitors and create strategic advantages. However, a tension exists between the user’s desire to protect personal information and the needs of online businesses for consumer data that drive customer relationship and business intelligence applications. This study explores the roles of positive and negative affect on users’ trust and privacy beliefs that relate to the online disclosure of personal information. A model is tested using the responses of 301 Internet users who visited one of two commercial websites. The results indicate that positive affect has a significant effect on users’ website trust and privacy beliefs that motivate online information disclosure and this effect is more pronounced for users with high Internet security concerns. The idea that positive mood-inducing website features can motivate user behavior has the potential to guide the development of websites for effective information disclosure and data collection.     

Trust,empathy, social identity,and contribution of knowledge within patient online communities

People are increasingly utilising patient online communities (POC) to seek useful health information and empathetic support. Success of POC is reliant upon the willingness of members to contribute useful information and knowledge. Few studies have examined the influence of interpersonal bonds between members on members’ contribution of information and knowledge within the context of POC. We investigated how trust, social identity, and empathy influence members’ willingness to contribute knowledge to POC. Results indicated that trust and social identity within POC positively influenced the development of empathy. Empathy in turn exerted a positive influence on willingness to contribute personal knowledge and experience. Social identity also directly influenced members’ willingness to contribute knowledge. The findings highlight the importance of trust, empathy, and a sense of group cohesiveness within online health settings in motivating members to contribute knowledge and support to other participants in POC.     

Reflections on privacy,identity and consent in on-line services

The paper gives an overview of the evolution of the laws protecting personal data privacy in the UK over the last 30 years. Against this background, the author considers: the compromises to personal data privacy brought about by the electronic age; individual motivations for using e-services and the balance of risks and benefits; the place of identity management in e-transactions; and, the ways that data guardianship can be improved by an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of those responsible for personal data in organisations, data handlers and individual citizens. The conclusions reached are that once personal data has been recorded electronically it persists and the divide between public and private space is blurred. Citizens should retain rights to personal data including the right to be asked for their consent before it is shared or linked for commercial or administrative purposes. This puts a particular duty on government to behave (and be perceived to behave) responsibly and transparently with regard to the collection, use and disposal of personal data so as to create trust and support democracy.     

Expert Sources in Warnings May Reduce the Extent of Identity Disclosure in Cyber Contexts

Identity theft is an increasing threat to individuals, institutions, and the economy. People are often not adequately cautious with the disclosure of their personal information in digital contexts and may make poor decisions to reveal private information. Warnings reduce unnecessary information exposure, but the effectiveness may depend on source credibility and expertise on influencing risk perceptions and attitudes. The warnings must be designed for users acting in a digital context. The current research was conducted to determine whether adding a trustworthy and expert source to a message that warned individuals not to disclose their personal information would impact decisions to disclose. First, a survey (pilot study) was conducted to identify the source considered the most trustworthy (among Google, FBI Cyber Division, and Department of Justice) and competent with respect to online security. Google received the highest ratings. In a later experiment, warnings with sources did reduce the extent of disclosure, with the FBI Cyber Division (not Google) being the most effective source. The results indicate that warnings need to be tested with respect to the actual target behavior (in this case, disclosure), rather than relying on individuals’ perceptions of trust, risk, or influence of a warning message when designing effective warnings.     

A self-protecting and self-healing framework for negotiating services and trust in autonomic communication systems

In a federation of heterogeneous nodes that organize themselves, the lack of a trusted third party does not allow establishing a priori trust relationships among strangers. Automated trust negotiation (TN) is a promising approach to establish sufficient trust among parties, allowing them to access sensitive data and services in open environments. Although the literature on TN is growing, two key issues have still to be addressed. The first one concerns a typical feature of real-life negotiations: we are usually willing to trade the disclosure of personal attributes in exchange for additional services and only in a particular order (according to our preferences). The second one concerns dependability. By their nature TN systems are used in unreliable contexts where it is important not only to protect negotiations against malicious attack (self-protection), but also against accidental failures (self-healing). In this paper we address these issues proposing a novel dependable negotiation framework where services, needed credentials, and behavioral constraints on the disclosure of privileges are bundled together.     

The role of privacy assurance mechanisms in building trust and the moderating role of privacy concern

Privacy policy statements and privacy assurance cues are among the most important website features that online providers use to increase individuals’ trust and willingness to disclose private information online. The focus of this study is a comprehensive examination of the process by which privacy assurance mechanisms influence trust and the moderating role of privacy concern in this process. We use the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to investigate the way different individuals perceive and process privacy assurance mechanisms. We argue that the trust-enhancing role of these mechanisms depends on the individual’s privacy concern. The results of this study articulate the process by which various privacy assurance mechanisms operate in enhancing an individual’s trust, and show that there are distinct behavioral differences between individuals with high- vs low-privacy concern when forming their trust to disclose private information. The paper sheds new light on the role of elaboration in the trust building process, and shows why privacy assurance mechanisms have different impacts depending on individuals’ privacy concerns.     

Weather, Information Security, and Markets

The most common examples of financial variables are traded assets such as stocks and bonds. Derivatives have greatly facilitated financial management, the most useful technique of which is hedging, a trading activity that aims to reduce exposure to risk. The weather derivatives market has similarities to both the potential evolution and pricing of information security derivatives. Financial markets and investors often consider a cyberattack on a corporation's information systems to be a serious management problem and thus a threat to overall corporate value. This perception intensifies if the attack also involves direct theft of personal client data. In such a scenario, companies not only lose customer trust, but they're also subject to costly legal actions, both from customers and government regulators. Information security derivatives can provide a solution. The first is related to investors and brand name: a company that uses appropriate financial instruments to hedge its risks is likely to have investor trust and confidence. Prediction markets could assist in determining security attacks and their related risks as well as preferences.     

Building a Pragmatic Semantic Web

Many real-world tasks require the acquisition and integration of information from a distributed set of heterogeneous sources. Hence, there's no shortage of opportunities for applications using Semantic Web (SW) technologies. The power of publishing and linking data in a way that machines can automatically interpret through ontologies is beginning to materialize. However, market penetration level is relatively low, and it's still no routine matter for an enterprise, organization, governmental agency, or business with large distributed databases to add them to the Web of linked and semantically enriched data. In part, they may suspect that they're expected to pioneer an approach in which quick wins are few. Moreover, cost and privacy issues arise when ever-increasing amounts of information are linked into the Web. A practical approach to adopting semantic Web technologies enables large organizations to share data while achieving clear private as well as public reuse benefits.     

Online News Production in Flanders: How Flemish Online Journalists Perceive and Explore the Internet''s Potential

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.