Abstract




Among the stream of research on privacy, the study of information privacy concern and its factors has been a frequently examined topic. However, empirical research has produced disparate findings in terms of their significance and magnitude. To identify the reason behind such conflicting results, we employ meta-analysis to synthesize empirical findings from 172 studies (N=64,978) involving information privacy concern and its antecedents, consequences, and moderators. Results indicate that information privacy concern exhibits a significant relationship with selected antecedents (e.g., gender, perceived privacy control, privacy seals, and privacy statements) and consequences (e.g., trust, perceived risk, purchase intentions, and disclosure intentions). Even so, additional analyses demonstrated that theoretical characteristics (e.g., culture) and methodological characteristics (e.g. survey instrument) moderated certain information privacy concern relationships. These additional analyses indicate that the relationships between information privacy concern and its respective antecedents and consequences are simultaneously more idiosyncratic, complex, and subtle than previously envisioned. Finally, results for meta-analytic path analysis showed that trust and perceived risk mediates the relationship between information privacy concern and behavioral intentions.