Empirically assessing the continued applicability of the IUIPC construct

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to revisit the internet users’ information privacy concerns (IUIPC) construct, a research model, and hypotheses based on Malhotra et al. (2004) to assess the continued applicability of this construct. The relationship among privacy concerns, trusting beliefs, and risk beliefs continues to be unclear. Empirical evidence about the impact of privacy concerns on behavior is mixed.

Design/methodology/approach

A paper-based questionnaire was distributed and collected from 63 part-time graduate students of a private university in the mid-Atlantic USA. These respondents have an average of six years of full-time professional work experience and the vast majority (88.9 percent) has over seven years of experience on the internet. Questionnaire items measured the constructs of the IUIPC instrument. All measurement scales were validated using factor analysis, Cronbach's α, and reliability analysis. For hypothesis testing, multiple regression analysis was used.

Findings

The results partially support those of Malhotra et al. (2004). Consistent are the findings that the higher the trust a consumer holds for an online company, the less likely that consumer is to view providing personal information as risky. Also consistent is that the higher the trust a consumer holds for an online company, the more likely is that consumer to intend to provide personal information online. Finally, the greater risk a consumer has for providing personal information, the less willing that consumer is to reveal such information online. However, the results did not support a negative relationship between the IUIPC construct and consumer trust in an online company or a positive relationship between IUIPC and consumer risk in providing personal information to an online company. The paper concludes that the IUIPC is not the valid scale to employ in measuring information privacy concerns.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the findings is the use of a small convenience sample, limiting the insights into interrelationships between various dimensions of privacy concerns and the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

The results may provide guidance to online retailers in addressing the dimensions of privacy concerns related to trusting beliefs and risk beliefs.

Originality/value

IUIPC were measured using the IUIPC instrument. This responds to Malhotra et al.'s (2004) call to use the IUIPC scale and the associated research framework to further investigate consumer privacy concerns and the suggestion by Belanger and Crossler (2011) that more studies should explore this scale. Further, both Westin (1967), and Smith et al. (1996) recognize that privacy attitudes and concerns may change over time, providing motivation to revisit IUIPC.

Citation

C. Sipior, J., T. Ward, B. and Connolly, R. (2013), "Empirically assessing the continued applicability of the IUIPC construct", Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 661-678. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2013-0043