Antecedents of Consumers’ Privacy Protection Behavior and Intention to Disclose Personal Information: Mediating Role of Personal Information Transparency

Abstract

Online platforms have exhibited several perceived and actual challenges to privacy. Using a complex research model, this study examines direct, mediating, and moderating effects on several privacy variables. It involved 335 respondents using systematic random sampling from online consumers and hypotheses testing using structural equation modeling. The antecedents of consumers’ intention to disclose personal information were confirmed for privacy vulnerability and privacy benefit. On the other hand, the antecedent of consumers’ privacy protection behavior in relation to privacy vulnerability was found to be statistically insignificant but confirming privacy benefits. As predicted, the mediating roles of privacy information transparency were proven empirically, and so were the moderating roles of privacy cynicism. This research addresses research gaps suggested by previous esteemed scholars and suggests several guidelines for practitioners. Finally, it outlined core research themes for future researchers.