An empirical investigation to improve information sharing in online settings: a multi-target comparison

Internet merchants are compelled to collect personal information from customers in order to exploit ICT development potential in managing the relationships with them. However, lack of control on data provided and unethical behaviors that emerged in several scandals has led to many potential customers demonstrating growing concerns about disclosing personal information to companies. This chapter analyzes the interaction between two strategies that firms can use to alter potential customers' cost/benefit evaluation and increase information disclosure: the development of initial trust and compensation. The derived hypotheses are tested by means of three experimental studies, whose findings are compared across two different consumer target groups that potentially show different behaviors regarding digital technologies: students vs. working people.