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Consumers' Rules of Engagement in Online Information Exchanges

  1. AMIT PODDAR1,
  2. JILL MOSTELLER2,
  3. PAM SCHOLDER ELLEN3

Article first published online: 18 SEP 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2009.01147.x

Issue

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Special Issue: Privacy Literacy- How Consumers Understand and Protect Their Privacy

Volume 43, Issue 3, pages 419–448, Fall 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

PODDAR, A., MOSTELLER, J. and ELLEN, P. S. (2009), Consumers' Rules of Engagement in Online Information Exchanges. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 43: 419–448. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2009.01147.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Amit Poddar (amit.poddar@gcsu.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing in the J. Whitney College of Business, Georgia College and State University.

  2. 2

    Jill Mosteller (jillm@sba.pdx.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration, Portland State University.

  3. 3

    Pam Scholder Ellen (pellen@gsu.edu) is an associate professor of marketing in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 18 SEP 2009
  2. Article first published online: 18 SEP 2009

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This research reveals three perceptual themes or “rules of engagement” used by consumers when personal information is requested in online exchanges. The themes—the criticality of the exchange, felt invasion, and fair play—underlie the choice of responses from compliance to blatant falsification of information to company requests. Identified from consumers' in-depth interviews, these themes, along with the range and variations of response behaviors, reveal that consumers' motivations vary from very simple rules to more customized rules. Our findings may help firms understand consumers' interpretation of online informational requests better and identify factors that influence how consumers respond.

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