Concern for information privacy and online consumer purchasing

Although electronic commerce experts often cite privacy concerns as barriers to consumer electronic commerce, there is a lack of understanding about how these privacy concerns impact consumers' willingness to conduct transactions online. Therefore, the goal of this study is to extend previous models of e-commerce adoption by specifically assessing the impact that consumers' concerns for information privacy (CFIP) have on their willingness to engage in online transactions. To investigate this, we conducted surveys focusing on consumers' willingness to transact with a well-known and less well-known Web merchant. Results of the study indicate that concern for information privacy affects risk perceptions, trust, and willingness to transact for a well-known merchant, but not for a less well-known merchant. In addition, the results indicate that merchant familiarity does not moderate the relationship between CFIP and risk perceptions or CFIP and trust. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.