Information privacy, consumer alienation, and lurking behavior in social networking sites

This study investigates the relationships among information security awareness, concern for information privacy, consumer alienation, privacy risk belief, lurking, and self-concealment. It explores the mediation effects of concern for information privacy/consumer alienation between information security awareness and privacy risk belief as well as the mediation effect of lurking between privacy risk belief and self-concealment. The results confirm that information security awareness has significant and positive effects on concern for information privacy, consumer alienation, and privacy risk belief. Concerns for information privacy and consumer alienation have significant and positive effects on privacy risk belief. Privacy risk belief has a significant and positive effect on lurking and self-concealment. Lurking has a significant and positive effect on self-concealment. Concerns for information privacy and consumer alienation are mediators between information security awareness and privacy risk belief. In addition, perceived privacy empowerment is a moderator between privacy risk belief and lurking as well as between privacy risk belief and self-concealment.