ESSEC METALAB

RESEARCH

A CONSTRUAL LEVEL THEORY APPROACH TO PRIVACY PROTECTION: THE CONJOINT IMPACT OF BENEFITS AND RISKS OF INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

[ARTICLE] This research explores how companies can balance transparency about the benefits and risks of data disclosure, finding that strategic communication can lead consumers to share more personal data than their privacy preferences would normally allow.

by Raphaëlle Butori (ESSEC Business School), Caroline Lancelot Miltgen

To stand out from the competition, companies collect massive amounts of personal information, which they use to create memorable and personalized customer experiences. At the same time, they face increasing regulatory pressures to inform these customers of the way their personal data are collected and used. To reach acceptable levels of transparency in marketplace interactions, companies thus now need to communicate both the benefits and the risks associated with the disclosure of personal information. An explicit mention of these risks, however, may exert a negative impact on the amount of personal information that consumers agree to disclose. Using a construal-level theoretical lens, this research explores how companies can address this transparency trade-off and tests communication strategies they can use to overcome it. Findings show that companies’ framings of the benefits and risks of sharing information affect disclosures, leading consumers to share more personal data than their privacy preferences would suggest.

[Please read the research paper here]

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