Privacy concerns and disclosure of biometric and behavioral data for travel

Abstract

In light of mounting privacy concerns over the increasing collection and use of biometric and behavioral information for travel facilitation, this study examines travelers’ online privacy concerns (TOPC) and its impact on willingness to share data with travel providers. A proposed theoretical model explaining antecedents and outcomes of TOPC related to biometric and behavioral data sharing was tested using structural equation modeling with data collected from 685 travelers. The results extend the Antecedents – Privacy Concerns – Outcomes (APCO) framework by identifying a set of salient individual factors that shape TOPC. The findings provide empirical evidence confirming the context dependence of privacy preferences, showing that although travelers are concerned over their information privacy they are still willing to share their behavioral data; while in the case of biometric information, the disclosure decision is dependent upon expected benefits rather than privacy concerns. This study offers insights into privacy behavior of online consumers in the travel context and constitutes one of the few focusing on the social aspects of biometric authentication.