The Willingness to Disclose Personal Information to a Website : The Role of Website Personality, Context Sensitivity and Self-Congruity

Abstract

Nowadays, consumer data collection is crucial for companies; however, what determines the individual’s disposition to disclose data is not well investigated. This study analyses the willingness to disclose personal information to a website online and the variables that influence it. Some previous research developed a model that can describe what can impact willingness; however, several variables are not considered. In particular, this study introduces the impact of website personality, context sensitivity and self-congruity on the disclosure of personal information to a website. The study first considers the previous literature to clarify the existing findings, organize the information and outline the gap. Then 275 people are exposed to an experimental design 2x2. Four different stimuli are created, where the manipulated variables are context sensitivity, sensitive or not, and the website personality, genuine or enthusiastic. The participants filled out a questionnaire after being exposed to the stimulus. The data collected are then analysed to get new insights and test the hypotheses. The results show that a sensitive context and a genuine website increase the individual disposition to disclose personal information to a website online. Moreover, self-congruity increases the willingness to disclose personal information online when the website operates in a non-sensitive context. However, there is no interaction between the website personality and the context sensitivity, meaning that different contexts do not require certain websites, reinforcing the differentiating role of website personality.