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Online social networks: why we disclose

  • Research Article
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Journal of Information Technology

Abstract

On online social networks such as Facebook, massive self-disclosure by users has attracted the attention of industry players and policymakers worldwide. Despite the impressive scope of this phenomenon, very little is understood about what motivates users to disclose personal information. Integrating focus group results into a theoretical privacy calculus framework, we develop and empirically test a Structural Equation Model of self-disclosure with 259 subjects. We find that users are primarily motivated to disclose information because of the convenience of maintaining and developing relationships and platform enjoyment. Countervailing these benefits, privacy risks represent a critical barrier to information disclosure. However, users’ perception of risk can be mitigated by their trust in the network provider and availability of control options. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for network providers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Information Systems, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Hanna Krasnova & Ksenia Koroleva

  2. Institute for Management Information Systems, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria

    Sarah Spiekermann

  3. European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, Germany

    Thomas Hildebrand

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  1. Hanna Krasnova
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  2. Sarah Spiekermann
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  3. Ksenia Koroleva
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  4. Thomas Hildebrand
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Correspondence to Hanna Krasnova.

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Krasnova, H., Spiekermann, S., Koroleva, K. et al. Online social networks: why we disclose. J Inf Technol 25, 109–125 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2010.6

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