Disclosure decisions and the moderating effects of privacy feedback and choice

To address data concealment challenges, this study considers how perceived privacy and justice might drive users' information disclosure intentions. Two contextual factors (privacy feedback and choice) also might function as moderators in the proposed relationships. The model was tested using a controlled lab experiment featuring a new app dedicated to m-commerce where both privacy feedback and choice were manipulated. The results affirm a critical role of perceived justice in determining perceived privacy, which shapes disclosure intentions. Providing privacy feedback also enhances the positive effect of perceived justice on perceived privacy and the positive effect of trust propensity on disclosure intention, and alleviates the negative effect of privacy experience on perceived privacy. In addition, providing choices can help users make more conscious privacy decisions. Accordingly, this study contributes to extant literature by extending a single-context theory view and exploring moderating effects of both privacy feedback and choice on information disclosure decision processes. This research also establishes the real effect of feedback by differentiating people who choose (or not) to receive privacy feedback. In addition, this study is applying justice theory to design privacy feedback, through a theoretical link between feedback functions and three justice dimensions (i.e., procedural, informational, and interactional). Finally, we replicate previous findings from past privacy literature using a new setting and a new measure for privacy, further establishing confidence in those relationships. •Perceived justice and privacy explain disclosure intentions, with perceived privacy being the most important determinant.•Providing feedback enhances the positive effect of justice on perceived privacy and of trust propensity on disclosure.•Providing feedback alleviates the negative effect of past experience on perceived privacy, further enhancing disclosure.•Providing choice makes trust propensity affecting disclosure intentions indirectly through perceived justice.•With choice, the effect of privacy invasion experience on perceived privacy also becomes significantly negative.•Providing choice enhances users’ motivation to think deeply about privacy-related information and decision-making.