Title:
Internet
Users’ Information Privacy Concerns: An Empirical Study
Abstract: The
increasing ability of online vendors to collect, store and distribute
information on consumers has been paralleled by an increase in
information privacy concerns among consumers and those who shape public
policy. This lack of confidence in information privacy has been
identified as a major factor impeding the potential and growth of
electronic commerce. It is therefore essential for the success of
business-to-consumer electronic commerce that online vendors understand
the information privacy concerns of their consumers and take action to
alleviate these concerns. This paper
describes a study that employed the IUIPC in order to investigate the
specific factors that influence Irish online consumers’ privacy
concerns, and examines the causal relationship between privacy concerns
and trust beliefs, risk perceptions, and behavioural intention to
impart with personal information. Moreover, as the IUIPC model
has previously been tested only in the United States, this test of the
model is the first of its type in Europe. Consequently, the
degree to which the model is culture independent and its potential for
use by other researchers interested in investigating online privacy
concerns is an issue that is also discussed in this paper. The findings
of
the research outlined in this paper will have implications on a number
of levels: First, the study results will provide online vendors with
insight into the key dimensions of privacy that are valued by Irish
online consumers. Second, it will show the degree to which
specific dimensions of online privacy act as antecedents of consumer
trust in online vendors and influence their intention to impart with
personal information. Third, it will indicate the applicability
of the IUIPC survey instrument in measuring information privacy
concerns in a European context. Finally, it will contribute to
the extant body of work on Internet users’ information privacy concerns
from an Information Systems perspective, providing a point of reference
for future cross-cultural comparisons. It is anticipated that
these contributions will assist practitioners, researchers, and those
involved in the shaping of public policy in developing an understanding
of the factors that contribute towards alleviating the privacy concerns
of online consumers and thus contribute towards the success of
electronic commerce.
Author: Regina
Connolly