Permission Marketing and Privacy Concerns - Why Do Customers (Not) Grant Permissions?

•A framework on cost and benefit drivers of permissions is proposed.•Monetary incentives and lotteries do not reveal any effect.•Customers grant permission for relevant and entertaining content under their control.•Registration cost, privacy concerns and intrusiveness lead to fewer permissions.•Entertaining and relevant content attenuates negative effects of privacy concerns.

Little is known about the influence of motivators that drive consumers to grant permission to be contacted via personalized communication. In this study, a framework is developed to investigate the effect of select drivers of consumers granting permission to receive personalized messages. The authors distinguish between drivers related to benefit and cost to the consumers. They identify the influence of perceived personal relevance, entertainment, and consumer information control as well as monetary incentives and lottery participation as benefit-related factors. Cost-related factors entail the registration process, privacy concerns, and perceived intrusiveness. The authors find that, except for monetary incentives and lottery participation, the identified drivers significantly influence consumers' decision to grant permission. The strong negative influence of privacy concerns on the probability of granting permission can be lessened by two benefit-related factors, namely message content with entertainment value or personal relevance for the consumer. The study helps to improve firm measures aimed at getting more permissions - granted by customers for interactive campaigns.