The impact of disposition to privacy, website reputation and website familiarity on information privacy concerns

This study examines the impact of disposition to privacy, perceived reputation of a website, and personal familiarity with the website on a person's privacy concerns about the website. It also analyzes the key attributes of disposition to privacy and its antecedents. Using a survey, the study finds the direct impact of disposition to privacy, website reputation, and personal familiarity on website-specific privacy concerns. The impact of privacy experience on disposition to privacy is also confirmed. The moderating effects of website reputation and personal familiarity on disposition to privacy are not supported, suggesting that the three antecedents exert their impact on privacy concerns independently. The study extends the information privacy literature through the analysis of the roles of contextual factors (reputation and familiarity) in the relationship between disposition to privacy and website-specific privacy concerns. It also moves forward studies on individual disposition to privacy, calling for more attention to this critical concept. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.