What Drives Information Disclosure in Social Networking Sites: An Empirical Research Within the European Context

The launch of the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, rapid diffusion of social networking sites (SNS) across the globe, and continuing discussion of approaches such as Open Personal Data Stores to address the privacy concerns of individuals necessitate a broader and more in-depth understanding of information disclosure phenomenon using large-N comparisons. This study uses a research model based on a multi-theory framework and PLS-SEM method to test a series of postulations regarding the antecedents of information disclosure among SNS users within the context of the European Union and its cultural heritage regions. Specifically, this study seeks to understand how institutional trust, privacy calculus, perceived control, and users' information privacy concerns affect information disclosure. The study results reveal both converging and diverging patterns across the E.U.'s six cultural heritage regions. Given its rich multi-country sample and generalizable conclusions, this study addresses a gap in the information privacy literature.