Sharing Personal Health Information: Personalization versus Privacy

Personal health information (PHI) is increasingly becoming a critical component of personalized healthcare. However, investment in PHI capabilities may be severely undermined if consumers are unwilling to share PHI. While consumers are concerned about potential compromise of PHI, they also value the personalization benefits of PHI use. In light of the limited understanding of this tension, this research develops a parsimonious model to predict consumer’s willingness to share PHI as a result of the tradeoff between concern for privacy and value for personalization. Grounded on theoretical positions of Information Boundary Theory, we examine the mechanism through which privacy concern and personalization influence willingness to share PHI. Results of the study suggests that the attitude towards sharing PHI is shaped by two competing forces of privacy concerns and value for personalization. Insights from the study can be used to craft future healthcare implementation policies.