Abstract
The present study considers factors that motivate users of social networks to publish different types of privacy-related information to friends or even the public. In contrast to prior research, we do not limit our research scope to an individual's decision-making process (i.e., the formation of behavioral intentions) but also include actual behavior as observed among a group of real Facebook users. Our objective is to test to what extent existing theory is not only capable of explaining self-disclosure decisions but also to predict subsequent behavior. We test our model using a combination of structural equation modeling and logistic regression with questionnaire data and data collected from the Facebook platform. Our results indicate that the way self-disclosure was operationalized in prior research shows low predictive power, especially when compared to predictions based on simple questions regarding an individual's sensitivity to the disclosure of personal information.
Recommended Citation
Buckel, Thomas and Thiesse, Frédéric, "Predicting The Disclosure of Personal Information on Social Networks: An Empirical Investigation" (2013). Wirtschaftsinformatik Proceedings 2013. 101.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/wi2013/101