A multi-level model of individual information privacy beliefs

Several types of individual information privacy beliefs have been studied in literature, but their distinctions, relationships, and behavioral impacts have yet been systematically analyzed, causing difficulties in comparing and consolidating results across literature. Based on a review on various types of privacy beliefs, this study develops a multi-level model to strengthen this concept. The model consists of three levels of privacy beliefs, including: disposition to privacy, representing a person’s fundamental beliefs and overall propensity to value privacy across contexts; online privacy concern, representing a person’s overall perception of privacy risks in the online environment; and website privacy concern, representing a person’s perception of privacy risks on a particular website. An empirical test reveals that disposition to privacy has a positive impact on both online privacy concern and website privacy concern, and website privacy concern is the only significant predictor of intentions to disclose information and transact on a website. The study helps to synthesize individual information privacy beliefs and assists in understanding their impacts on online behavior.