Privacy Concerns and Information Sharing: The Perspective of the U-Shaped Curve

Privacy concerns are a key predictor of information sharing, yet some critical issues remain unclear. Based on social capital theory, this study argues that the relationship between privacy concerns and information sharing is a U-shaped curve. Users with privacy concerns would not share their privat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chien-Lung Hsu, Yi-Chuan Liao, Ching-Wen Lee, Lin Kun Chan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.771278/full
Description
Summary:Privacy concerns are a key predictor of information sharing, yet some critical issues remain unclear. Based on social capital theory, this study argues that the relationship between privacy concerns and information sharing is a U-shaped curve. Users with privacy concerns would not share their private information; however, such users would eventually share their information as long as they trust the website and its members. Furthermore, this study provides a contingency perspective, suggesting that the curvilinear relationship between privacy concerns and information sharing varies with the system evaluation perception and personal motivation levels. The results show that at a high level of system evaluation, the relationship between privacy concerns squared and information sharing is non-significant. In contrast, at a low level of system evaluation, there is a U-shaped relationship between privacy concerns and information sharing. Regarding motivation, the results were congruent with our expectations.
ISSN:1664-1078