Identifying Key Factors Affecting Information Disclosure Intention in Online Shopping

This study aims to provide a better picture of factors affecting personal information disclosure in online shopping. Online survey data from 212 online consumers of five largest Chinese online companies are used to test the proposed model. We conduct structural equation modeling with partial least squares to analyze the measurement and structural models. Our findings show that social influence and perceived effectiveness have significant and positive impacts on personal information disclosure. Information privacy concern has a significant and negative impact on personal information disclosure. However, no significant relationship is found between self-efficacy and personal information disclosure. We also find great differences in consumers’ behaviors when classifying consumers according to the type of online companies. Our research extends the Theory of Reasoned Action, Protection Motivation Theory, and prior research to discuss four antecedents of personal information disclosure intention. This study is an explorative one that better explains consumers’ decision-making behaviors in online shopping.