Start Date
12-13-2015
Description
One key challenge in information privacy research is measuring personal privacy. In the information privacy literature, concern for privacy is often used as a proxy measure for privacy itself. Studies have shown that individuals’ stated privacy concerns do not necessarily match up to their actual behaviors. In this study, we develop a new experimental economics approach for valuing and measuring privacy in monetary terms. A composite function consisting of individuals’ identity, demographic and private information is developed for our valuation model. We propose a methodology, based on the generalized second-price (GSP) auction mechanism, to elicit consumers’ valuation of their personal information. We have conducted an experiment using the GSP auction to acquire personal data, which are used to estimate the valuation model. The results of our study offer interesting insights, which help explain some theoretical observations found in prior studies and, more importantly, provide interesting ideas for privacy research design.
Recommended Citation
Li, Xiao-Bai; Liu, Xiaoping; and Motiwalla, Luvai, "Valuation of Personal Information" (2015). ICIS 2015 Proceedings. 1.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2015/proceedings/BreakoutIdeas/1
Valuation of Personal Information
One key challenge in information privacy research is measuring personal privacy. In the information privacy literature, concern for privacy is often used as a proxy measure for privacy itself. Studies have shown that individuals’ stated privacy concerns do not necessarily match up to their actual behaviors. In this study, we develop a new experimental economics approach for valuing and measuring privacy in monetary terms. A composite function consisting of individuals’ identity, demographic and private information is developed for our valuation model. We propose a methodology, based on the generalized second-price (GSP) auction mechanism, to elicit consumers’ valuation of their personal information. We have conducted an experiment using the GSP auction to acquire personal data, which are used to estimate the valuation model. The results of our study offer interesting insights, which help explain some theoretical observations found in prior studies and, more importantly, provide interesting ideas for privacy research design.