This research examines how European citizens decide to disclose and protect their personal data and thereby reveals cultural and generational divides. Focus group discussions featured either young people, aged 15 to 24 years, or adults, between 25 and 70 years of age, and were conducted in seven EU member states. The results of a computer-aided text analysis with two complementary software packages suggest similarities and differences in participants' views and privacy concerns.Responsibility is relevant to personal data management, which represents a hotly contested issue. A geographical north-south divide appears for the importance of responsibility as opposed to trust.Moreover, people regard disclosure differently in the south (as a choice) and east (as forced) of Europe. Younger people express more positive attitudes toward data management, feel more responsible, and are more confident in their ability to prevent possible data misuse. Their lower privacy concerns and greater protective behaviours (i.e., a potential reversed privacy paradox) may help explain contradictory results in prior literature. These results offer significant and useful theoretical, managerial, and policy implications. 2011, p. 979). Despite some general agreement about the impact of culture on privacy, contradictory results call for more research too. To fill this gap, we focus on the privacy concerns of citizens from seven European countries and attempt to answer a second research question: How does culture influence privacy concerns and related behaviours, in particular for people from geographically proximate nations in Europe?In addition to culture, age dictates how people relate to IT, a phenomenon that influences their privacy concerns (e.g., Moscardelli & Divine, 2007). Young people who have grown up with the Internet tend to use social media more than older people, though this usage does not mean they are unconcerned about online privacy. Lenhart and Madden (2007) find that teenagers use various techniques to obscure their real location or personal details on social networking sites (SNS). New studies thus need to reframe the issue to determine the main privacy concerns of young people compared with those of older adults. We therefore investigate a third research question: How do people of different ages vary in their attitudes toward privacy and their subsequent behaviours?To answer these three questions, this study undertakes a qualitative assessment of Europeans' attitudes toward privacy, personal data disclosure, and protection using 14 focus groups across seven EU27 countries. Our work departs from most literature on privacy and its positivist paradigm, which provide controversial insights into how privacy concerns affect user behaviour (Krasnova et al., 2009).Research might suggest that people are reluctant to disclose personal information (Kelly & McKillop, 1996), yet in practice, many people voluntarily do so, particularly on blogs and online platforms.Existing quantitative research cannot explain these contradictions, n...

International audienceThe information systems (IS) literature has long emphasized the importance of user acceptance of computer-based IS. Evaluating the determinants of acceptance of information technology (IT) is vital to address the problem of underutilization and leverage the benefits of IT investments, especially for more radical technologies. This study examines individual acceptance of biometric identification techniques in a voluntary environment, measuring the intention to accept and further recommend the technology resulting from a carefully selected set of variables. Drawing on elements of technology acceptance model (TAM), diffusion of innovations (DOI) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) along with the trust-privacy research field, we propose an integrated approach that is both theoretically and empirically grounded. By testing some of the most relevant and well-tested elements from previous models along with new antecedents to biometric system adoption, this study produces results which are both sturdy and innovative. We first confirm the influence of renowned technology acceptance variables such as compatibility, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions on biometrics systems acceptance and further recommendation. Second, prior factors such as concern for privacy, trust in the technology, and innovativeness also prove to have an influence. Third, unless innovativeness, the most important drivers to explain biometrics acceptance and recommendation are not from the traditional adoption models (TAM, DOI, and UTAUT) but from the trust and privacy literature (trust in technology and perceived risk)

International audienceOver the past few decades, governments worldwide have grappled with their approaches to regulating issues associated with information privacy. However, research into individuals' perceptions of regulatory protections and the relationships between those perceptions and behavioral choices has been sparse. In this study, we develop and test a model that considers relationships between an antecedent variable (regulatory knowledge); a mediating structure that encompasses perceived privacy regulatory protection, trust, and privacy risk concerns; two outcome variables (protection behavior and regulatory preferences); and direct and moderating effects associated with perceived rewards. Using a sample of young UK consumers that we collected in cooperation with the European Commission, we find strong support for our overall model and for most of our hypotheses. We discuss implications for research, managerial practice, and regulation

International audienceMany innovative products can only fully deploy their value if they rely on consumers' personal information. This issue challenges the confidence that consumers have in new innovations, and revolutionizes marketing practices. Malhotra, Kim, and Agarwal's (2004) framework provides the theoretical basis for hypotheses on the consequences of privacy concerns. An empirical study in the context of four pervasive IT innovations involving various privacy issues helps to test these hypotheses. The findings consistently show that privacy concerns have an adverse effect on consumers' intention to accept IT innovation. However, trust and risk perceptions both mediate this relationship. By understanding the underlying mechanism, firms can alleviate the potential downsides of their products and increase the odds of their market success