Choice defaults and social consensus effects on online information sharing: The moderating role of regulatory focus

Abstract Multidisciplinary research has demonstrated that privacy related decisions are context dependent. While numerous articles have explored the effects of privacy notices and disclosures, there is a dearth of research that seeks to understand the impact of choice defaults (i.e., options that the chooser will obtain if doing nothing) on information sharing. This article attempts to bridge this gap and explores how opt-in vs. opt-out choice defaults influence intentions to share personal information online and how regulatory focus moderates these effects. Because people are influenced by their peers’ beliefs and actions, the model also accounts for possible moderating effects of social norms. To test these relationships, we conducted three web-based experiments. Findings based on logistic regression analysis demonstrate that consumers with a prevention orientation, but not those with a promotion orientation, show a lower propensity to share in the opt-out condition (i.e., “do not disclose”) than in the no default and the opt-in (i.e., “disclose”) conditions. Moreover, this interaction effect is obtained in the presence of low to moderate consensus information, but it disappears in the presence of moderately high to very high consensus. These findings can better inform businesses that collect consumer information as well as policy makers.