Online Social Networks: Why We Disclose

Authors

Hanna Krasnova, Institute of Information Systems, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, GermanyFollow
Sarah Spiekermann, Institute for Management Information Systems, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria
Ksenia Koroleva, Institute of Information Systems, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Thomas Hildebrand, European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, Germany

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

On online social networks such as Facebook, massive self-disclosure by users has attracted the attention of Industry players and policymakers worldwide. Despite the Impressive scope of this phenomenon, very little Is understood about what motivates users to disclose personal Information. Integrating focus group results Into a theoretical privacy calculus framework, we develop and empirically test a Structural Equation Model of self-disclosure with 259 subjects. We find that users are primarily motivated to disclose Information because of the convenience of maintaining and developing relationships and platform enjoyment. Countervailing these benefits, privacy risks represent a critical barrier to information disclosure. However, users’ perception of risk can be mitigated by their trust in the network provider and availability of control options. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for network providers.

DOI

10.1057/jit.2010.6

Recommended Citation

Krasnova, Hanna; Spiekermann, Sarah; Koroleva, Ksenia; and Hildebrand, Thomas (2010) "Online Social Networks: Why We Disclose," Journal of Information Technology: Vol. 25: Iss. 2, Article 2.
DOI: 10.1057/jit.2010.6
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jit/vol25/iss2/2