Privacy and The Information Age: A Longitudinal View

Abstract

ABSTRACT As information systems and data storage capacity become increasingly sophisticated, an important ethical question for organizations is can/will/should be done with the personal information that has been and can be collected? Individuals' privacy is certainly important, but so is less costly and more targeted business processes. As this conflict intensifies, consumers, managers and policy makers are left wondering: What privacy principles are important to guide organizations in self-regulation? For example, do consumers view the five rights originally stated in the European Data Protection Directive as important? Comprehensive? Is there a product discount point where consumers would forsake these principles? This project explored these questions using a survey of student consumers, first in 2006 and again in 2014. Results show that the consumers believe that not only are the five rights enumerated in the European Data Protection Directive appropriate, but they are also comprehensive. Consumers also would require a steep product discount to forsake these rights. These views have not changed significantly over time. Keywords: Privacy, Information Age, consumer, longitudinal INTRODUCTION The growth of Big Data, E-Business and online operations of organizations continues. With this growth comes the increasing ability of corporations to obtain personal data on consumers, track behavior during Web site visits, etc. (Anthony et al., 2015; Beardsley et al., 2014; Belanger & Crossler, 2011; Berinato, 2002; Dalton & Gallagher, 1999; Murphy, 2003). The potential value of this information is enormous, as organizations can cater their offerings to certain types of consumers, market to only consumers likely to purchase their products, etc. (Beardsley et al., 2014; Belanger & Crossler, 2011; Berinato, 2002; Murphy, 2003). However, this phenomenon has also intensified the concerns of consumers regarding their privacy (Abbasi et al., 2016; Anthony et al., 2015; Belanger & Crossler, 2011; Berinato, 2002; Bolton, 2015; Chen et al., 2012; Dalton & Gallagher, 1999; Murphy, 2003; Wu et al., 2014). This paper will explore the inevitable conflict these two forces present, and offer recommendations for organizational leaders and policy makers. BACKGROUND Only a short time ago, students needing to do a report on (or anything else) had one primary source: The print sources that could be found in the nearest library. Current students find themselves awash in data and information. Google Abe Lincoln and you are greeted with over 16 million results. We have moved from too little information to far too much. As we click around the Internet, transact with our credit cards, and carry out day-to-day activities, information is being captured constantly (Abbasi et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2014). The question for business organizations is to do with all of this data? How can organizations use the massive amounts of available data to increase their strategic position, make better decisions, target customers more precisely, etc.? Most organizations propose to use personal data which has been collected in aggregate or for efficiency-based (e.g., Auto-fill) purposes only (Berinato, 2002; Bolton, 2015; Dalton & Gallagher, 1999; Smith & Dinev, 2011; Tsai et al., 2011). In this context, an important question surrounds the perspective and concerns of many consumers: Why is privacy so important? What about the potential good of providing information to allow for database marketing, micro marketing, etc. (more relevant messages, more efficient markets, etc.)? Former US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Robert Pitofsky has said that the FTC so far has favored self-regulation on privacy issues (Bolton, 2015). That could change, however, if little progress is shown by commercial Web sites in establishing meaningful privacy policies on their sites (Bolton, 2015; Thibodeau, 1999; Smith & Dinev, 2011; Tsai et al. …