Do incentives matter? An examination of on-line privacy concerns and willingness to provide personal and financial information

The growth of the Internet has allowed marketers to collect personal information from consumers with increased efficiency. However, that practice has led to concerns about privacy among World Wide Web users. The results of an experimental study showed that the participants were concerned about and unwilling to provide financial information, but saw no problem in disclosing personally identifiable information. The benefits of price discounts and personalized service were found to be non-effective means of gaining consumers' personal information. The respondents were also cynical when both benefits were offered concurrently. The study also suggested that materialistic consumers were more willing to provide personal information.