IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ininma/v46y2019icp142-150.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internet users’ perceptions of information sensitivity – insights from Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Schomakers, Eva-Maria
  • Lidynia, Chantal
  • Müllmann, Dirk
  • Ziefle, Martina

Abstract

With the ever-increasing collection of user data, online privacy becomes an urgent matter for users and research across borders. The perception of information sensitivity is central to privacy attitudes and behaviors in different usage contexts. In an online questionnaire, n = 592 German internet users evaluated how sensitive they perceive 40 different data types. The German sensitivity evaluations revealed in this study are compared to results from the US and Brazil (Markos et al., 2017), in order to understand the cultural impact on evaluations. Additionally, we analyze how attitudes and demographic characteristics of the German sample influence the perception of sensitivity on an individual level. Some distinct differences in sensitivity perception between Germany, Brazil, and the US can be observed, but the rank orders of sensitivity of data types is very similar between the countries, indicating that there is a consensus on what constitutes sensitivity across nations. On an individual level, disposition to value privacy, risk propensity, and education level influence the perception of sensitivity. The findings contribute to an understanding of how to design information and communication strategies to inform internet users how to manage their data carefully.

Suggested Citation

  • Schomakers, Eva-Maria & Lidynia, Chantal & Müllmann, Dirk & Ziefle, Martina, 2019. "Internet users’ perceptions of information sensitivity – insights from Germany," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 142-150.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:46:y:2019:i:c:p:142-150
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.11.018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401218307692
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.11.018?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hossain, Mohammad Alamgir & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2014. "What improves citizens’ privacy perceptions toward RFID technology? A cross-country investigation using mixed method approach," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 711-719.
    2. Wang, Tien & Duong, Trong Danh & Chen, Charlie C., 2016. "Intention to disclose personal information via mobile applications: A privacy calculus perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 531-542.
    3. Kawaljeet Kaur Kapoor & Kuttimani Tamilmani & Nripendra P. Rana & Pushp Patil & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Sridhar Nerur, 2018. "Advances in Social Media Research: Past, Present and Future," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 531-558, June.
    4. Hanna Krasnova & Natasha Veltri & Oliver Günther, 2012. "Self-disclosure and Privacy Calculus on Social Networking Sites: The Role of Culture," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 4(3), pages 127-135, June.
    5. Tamara Dinev & Paul Hart, 2006. "An Extended Privacy Calculus Model for E-Commerce Transactions," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 61-80, March.
    6. Caroline Lancelot Miltgen & Dominique Peyrat-Guillard, 2014. "Cultural and generational influences on privacy concerns: a qualitative study in seven european countries," Post-Print hal-01116067, HAL.
    7. Rohm, Andrew J. & Milne, George R., 2004. "Just what the doctor ordered: The role of information sensitivity and trust in reducing medical information privacy concern," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(9), pages 1000-1011, September.
    8. Kirs, Peeter & Bagchi, Kallol, 2012. "The impact of trust and changes in trust: A national comparison of individual adoptions of information and communication technologies and related phenomenon," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 431-441.
    9. Shiau, Wen-Lung & Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Yang, Han Suan, 2017. "Co-citation and cluster analyses of extant literature on social networks," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 390-399.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meng Wang & Yalin Qin & Jiaojiao Liu & Weidong Li, 2023. "Identifying personal physiological data risks to the Internet of Everything: the case of facial data breach risks," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Weiyin Hong & Frank K. Y. Chan & James Y. L. Thong, 2021. "Drivers and Inhibitors of Internet Privacy Concern: A Multidimensional Development Theory Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 539-564, January.
    3. Caroline Lancelot Miltgen & H. Jeff Smith, 2019. "Falsifying and withholding: exploring individuals’ contextual privacy-related decision-making," Post-Print hal-02156671, HAL.
    4. Grace Fox & Tabitha L. James, 2021. "Toward an Understanding of the Antecedents to Health Information Privacy Concern: A Mixed Methods Study," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 1537-1562, December.
    5. Hoon S. Choi & Darrell Carpenter & Myung S. Ko, 2022. "Risk Taking Behaviors Using Public Wi-Fi™," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 965-982, June.
    6. Grace Fox & Lisa van der Werff & Pierangelo Rosati & Patricia Takako Endo & Theo Lynn, 2022. "Examining the determinants of acceptance and use of mobile contact tracing applications in Brazil: An extended privacy calculus perspective," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(7), pages 944-967, July.
    7. Acharya, Abhilash & Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Pereira, Vijay & Singh, Poonam, 2018. "Big data, knowledge co-creation and decision making in fashion industry," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 90-101.
    8. Renata Benigna Gonçalves & Júlio César Bastos Figueiredo, 2022. "Effects of perceived risks and benefits in the formation of the consumption privacy paradox: a study of the use of wearables in people practicing physical activities," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1485-1499, September.
    9. Saito, Taiga & Takahashi, Akihiko & Koide, Noriaki & Ichifuji, Yu, 2019. "Application of online booking data to hotel revenue management," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 37-53.
    10. Hoon S. Cha & Jong Hyun Wi & Chanhi Park & Taeha Kim, 2021. "Sustainability Calculus in Adopting Smart Speakers—Personalized Services and Privacy Risks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Ying, Shiyi & Huang, Youlin & Qian, Lixian & Song, Jinzhu, 2023. "Privacy paradox for location tracking in mobile social networking apps: The perspectives of behavioral reasoning and regulatory focus," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    12. Cao, Xiongfei & Yu, Lingling, 2019. "Exploring the influence of excessive social media use at work: A three-dimension usage perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 83-92.
    13. Wang, Xuequn & Lin, Xiaolin & Spencer, Marilyn K., 2019. "Exploring the effects of extrinsic motivation on consumer behaviors in social commerce: Revealing consumers’ perceptions of social commerce benefits," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 163-175.
    14. Jacopo Arpetti & Marco Delmastro, 2021. "The privacy paradox: a challenge to decision theory?," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 48(4), pages 505-525, December.
    15. Shugang Li & Kexin Peng & Boyi Zhu & Ziyi Li & Beiyan Zhang & Hui Chen & Ruoxuan Li, 2023. "Research on Users’ Privacy-Sharing Intentions in the Health Data Tracking System Providing Personalized Services and Public Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-21, November.
    16. Grosso, Monica & Castaldo, Sandro & Li, Hua (Ariel) & Larivière, Bart, 2020. "What Information Do Shoppers Share? The Effect of Personnel-, Retailer-, and Country-Trust on Willingness to Share Information," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 524-547.
    17. Eva-Maria Schomakers & Chantal Lidynia & Martina Ziefle, 2020. "All of me? Users’ preferences for privacy-preserving data markets and the importance of anonymity," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(3), pages 649-665, September.
    18. Eunji Lee & Jin-young Kim & Junchul Kim & Chulmo Koo, 2023. "Information Privacy Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Focusing on the Restaurant Context," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 1829-1845, October.
    19. Azaizah, Nadeem & Reychav, Iris & Raban, Daphne R. & Simon, Tomer & McHaney, Roger, 2018. "Impact of ESN implementation on communication and knowledge-sharing in a multi-national organization," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 284-294.
    20. Okazaki, Shintaro & Eisend, Martin & Plangger, Kirk & de Ruyter, Ko & Grewal, Dhruv, 2020. "Understanding the Strategic Consequences of Customer Privacy Concerns: A Meta-Analytic Review," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 458-473.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:46:y:2019:i:c:p:142-150. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-information-management .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.