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Consumer Willingness to Divulge Personal Information, Essay Example

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This article is a thesis on the costs of disclosing information among millennials and boomers on Facebook. The author focuses on how social media has become a modern tool for communication over the internet. Facebook sits right atop the pinnacle of social media sites, alongside Twitter and Skype. Not only has Facebook revolutionized communication, but it has also given rise to a new age of commerce and business ideas. Facebook has introduced a new era in communication and the end of privacy. What makes all this perfectly revolutionary is the fact that all these services are available to anyone with internet access.

Hackers have recently managed to hack into peoples Facebook accounts and view private and sensitive information that, in the wrong hands could be dangerous. If let’s say, kidnappers got a hold of someone’s Facebook account hey could easily find out the person’s city of residence, workplace and even friends and family. As much as Facebook is a revolutionary tool in communication and the business world, it carries a lot of potentially grave risks. The true cost of this free and radical application is one’s privacy, and it ought to be used with ample cautiousness. Facebook has introduced a new era in communication and the end of privacy.

The author maintains that nothing in this world has been ever genuinely free. The price the world pays for using Facebook and the likes is their privacy. The article focuses on the time between April 2012 and November 2013 when Facebook had been embroiled in numerous privacy issues in the EU region and the United States. For example, thousands of French users complained private messages dating back to 2007 were visible on their Facebook timelines, which is the start page of an individual’s account on the website. Before the introduction of the Facebook timeline in February, wall posts were visible on user’s profile pages, but could also be concealed from the public depending on each user’s privacy settings.

Assessment

This article is particularly useful in gaining an understanding on the risks entailed in consistently divulging information on social media, particularly Facebook. This information offers a unique view on the privacy issues encountered by Facebook users between 2012 and 2013. The main aim of this source is to provide a specific outlooks on Facebook (social media) from different generations, i.e. millennials and boomers. This article is reliable as it draw information from a wide range of sources and references. It analyzes both quantitative and qualitative research.

Application

Information from this article will be integral in highlighting the risks associated with divulging information on social media platforms, specifically Facebook. This formulates the counter-argument against the perceived safety of information online.

Hierman, Wannes, et al. “Predicting adolescents’ willingness to disclose personal information to a commercial website: Testing the applicability of a trust-based model.” Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 7.3 (2013). Internet Source.

This article looks at the factors that influence an adolescent’s tendency to divulge four types of personal information. Namely; identity information, contact information, geographical information and profile information. The authors postulate that three dimensions determine the tendency of an adolescent to divulge the four type of information to commercial websites, regardless of the sensitivity of the information. The authors use an integrative model of organizational trust to conceptualize the relationship between the three dimensions of trustworthiness, i.e. benevolence, integrity and ability. The authors found out that the level of trust that adolescent placed on a website directly influenced trustworthiness of the website. Their perception of risks associated with the website also influenced this decision. They further discovered that an individual’s propensity to trust significantly affects two aspects ;( 1) the three facets of trustworthiness, and (2) their willingness to divulge any or all of the four types of information.

Assessment

This article formulates the basis of the thesis, finding the factors that influence an individual’s willingness to divulge personal information. This article’s aim is to highlight the different factors and aspects that make up the foundation of the decision making process when divulging personal information. It provides the psychological aspects to an individual’s propensity to divulge sensitive information on commercial websites.

Application

This article will be employed in formulating the statistical foundation to the thesis. Information from this source will be used to validate or nullify the thesis.

This thesis looks into the factors that influence consumer intent to disclose their private information on e-commerce platforms. The study employed involved samples of online consumers from two countries, the United States and Estonia. The study also measured anxiety associated with disclosing personal information on e-commerce platforms. The study considers numerous elements in its research including; demographic variables, trust in institutions and the internet, the four classes of shopping benefits; (1) bargain benefits, (2) opportunity cost, (3) expected privacy benefits and (4) purchase benefits, and the Big Five Personality groups in psychology; (1) Openness, (2) neuroticism, (3) Conscientiousness, (4) extraversion and (5) agreeableness. The research found that Estonians trust in institutions and the internet and the perceived purchase benefits were the determining factors in consumer willingness to disclose information on e-commerce platforms.

Assessment

This paper is critical in providing an overview on the different factors that individual’s employs in determining the scope and depth of personal and private information they disclose on e-commerce platforms. It provides an overview on the different geographical, social and cultural aspects that influence an individual’s propensity to divulge personal information’s. The authors highlight 5 cultural dimensions that determine consumer WDPI; (1) power distance, (2) individualism, (3) Masculinity, (4) uncertainty avoidance, and (5) Long-term orientation.

Application

Provides the foundation on the argument on the cultural factors that play a role in determining an individual’s propensity to divulge personal information.

This article dwells on the cultural differences that cause a variance and difference in consumers’ willingness to disclose personal information (WDPI). The authors conduct an online study, mapping the disclosing behavior of consumers from the United States and India. The researchers found that American consumers are more willing to engage in passive protection activities online and Indians are more willing to divulge private information. The article also highlights the privacy concerns expressed by these two groups of consumers.

Assessment

This article is essential in determining the cultural aspects that influence consumer WDPI on ecommerce websites. The purpose of this article is to provide a statistical foundation to the argument that cultural aspects are vital component of determining consumer WDPI. However, the authors fail to employ a holistic approach towards analyzing the factors that influence consumer WDPI. This source is quite similar to the previous one as Stephen Robison’s thesis as it highlights the cultural aspects of consumer WDPI.

Application

This sources will be employed to reinforce the argument postulated by Stephen Robison; that cultural facets play an important role in consumer WDPI. It provides statistical information to back this theory and supplement information provided by Robison.

Olivero, Nadia and Peter Lunt. “Privacy versus willingness to disclose in e-commerce exchanges: The effect of risk awareness on the relative role of trust and control.” Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004): 243-262. Electronic Source. 30 March 2015. <http://www.psicologia.unimib.it/getFile.php/15724/SISTEMI1.pdf>.

The article highlights the fact the internet is increasingly becoming a data collection and mining tool. Information security has become a big issue in the business world. This is because in the information age, information has essentially become a currency. Governments and corporations mine information from the internet by requiring users to provide certain information about themselves. Social sites and search engines are especially mostly used to mine information and this amounts to the breach of privacy rights. This is largely because e-commerce is spontaneous, conversational and less controlled in nature. This allows for businesses develop e-commerce strategies that allow them to communicate directly with the customer. In the course of contact with clients, they request clients for information on preferences and tastes relative to their product and/or service. The authors critically analyze the effects of consumer awareness on the risks associated with the aspect of trust and control that is characteristic of information shared online.

Data mining is quite a lucrative venture for businesses and institutions as tis information provides a considerable edge in the market by allowing the concerned business develop and/or improve on their product and/or service according to the client’s (market’s) needs, desires and tastes. This trend is expected to grow with the data mining businesses expected to grow substantially over the next few years. One of the biggest companies in the industry, Acxiom, recorded sales of up to $1.1 billion in 2011. During the year, the company had offered diagnostic services on over 140 million households. The company basically traded on customer information with other affiliates and companies.

The telecommunication industry has been significantly transformed by data analytics. The industry is currently highly segmented as a result of extensive application of data analytics. Telecommunications can better understand the market and effectively segment it. This has led to the creation of highly personalized services for consumers. Even though data analytics has improved business performance, it has also infringed on consumer privacy rights. Telecommunications have access to confidential consumer information that can be used to analyze consumer behavior and profile each individual for advertisement purposes. This has attracted considerable discussion.

Assessment

The article is essential in analyzing the arising ethical issues based on information security of users of the internet. The main purpose of this article was to gain insight in the ethical issues that that currently plague online businesses. The article is reliable as it draw reference and information from numerous sources, providing statistical information to back its arguments. This source provides a different outlook from all other sources employed as it takes into consideration the importance of the role of trust and control, and how consumer perception of this affects their willingness to disclose private information.

Works Cited

Callegher, Jonathan. “The costs of bonding : negotiating personal information disclosure among millennials and boomers on Facebook.” Waterloo: University of Waterloo, 2013. Electronic Source. 30 March 2015. <https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/handle/10012/7835/Callegher_Jonathan.pdf?sequence=1>.

Gupta, Babita, Lakshmi S Iyer and Robert S Weisskirch. “Facilitating Global e-Commerce: A comparison of Consumers Willingness to Disclose Personal Information Online in the U.S. and in India.” Journal of Electric Commerce Research (2010): 41-52. Electronic Source. 30 March 2015. <http://central.colostate.edu/wp-content/Cimy_User_Extra_Fields/scrobi01/file/scr_cv.pdf>.

Robinson, Stephen C. “Consumer Intent to Disolse Personal Information in e-Commerce: A comparison of Estonia and The United States.” Fort Collins: Colorado State University, September 2014. Electronic Source. 30 March 2015. <http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/36515903/scr_dissertation-libre.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1427714447&Signature=9wVqDr4%2B2xeM6WNtVb2zglKXTJI%3D>.