Information Privacy: Measuring Individuals’ Concerns About Organizational Practices1

Smith, H. Jeff; Milberg, Sandra J.; Burke, Sandra J.

doi:10.2307/249477

Cited by 2,266Privacy, Security, and Data ProtectionInformation and Cyber SecurityPrivacy-Preserving Technologies in Data

Information Privacy: Measuring Individuals’ Concerns About Organizational Practices1

Smith, H. Jeff, Milberg, Sandra J., Burke, Sandra J.·1996·MIS Quarterly

DOI 10.2307/249477

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Abstract

Information privacy has been called one of the most important ethical issues of the information age. Public opinion polls show rising levels of concern about privacy among Americans. Against this backdrop, research into issues associated with information privacy is increasing. Based on a number of preliminary studies, it has become apparent that organizational practices, individuals’ perceptions of these practices, and societal responses are inextricably linked in many ways. Theories regarding these relationships are slowly emerging. Unfortunately, researchers attempting to examine such relationships through confirmatory empirical approaches may be impeded by the lack of validated instruments for measuring individuals’ concerns about organizational information privacy practices. To enable future studies in the information privacy research stream, we developed and validated an instrument that identifies and measures the primary dimensions of individuals’ concerns about organizational information privacy practices. The development process included examinations of privacy literature; experience surveys and focus groups; and the use of expert judges. The result was a parsimonious 15-item instrument with four subscales tapping into dimensions of individuals’ concerns about organizational information privacy practices. The instrument was rigorously tested and validated across several heterogenous populations, providing a high degree of confidence in the scales’ validity, reliabilit…

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The first item of the surveillance concerns scale matches the conceptualization of perceived surveillance, while the other two items seem to measure concerns related to data collection more closely related to privacy concerns.
“Although the first item matches our conceptualization of perceived surveillance, the other two items seem to measure concerns related to data collection that might be more closely related to the concept of privacy concerns, which represents an individual's worries about organizational information privacy practices (Phelps et al., 2000;Smith et al., 1996), rather than an individual's perceptions of”
From The validation of the Perceived Surveillance Scale (2022) · cites this paper as Smith et al., 1996
Individuals' concerns about information privacy are influenced by their perceptions of an organization's practices in collecting, storing, and using personal data.
“Individuals' concerns about information privacy are influenced by their perceptions of an organization's practices in collecting, storing, using personal data (Smith et al., 1996).”
From Feeling Watched: A Phenomenological Exploration of Consumer Discomfort and Data Privacy Concerns in E-Commerce Personalized Email Marketing (2025) · cites this paper as Smith et al., 1996

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“Individuals' concerns about information privacy are influenced by their perceptions of an organization's practices in collecting, storing, using personal data (Smith et al., 1996).”

Authors: Smith, H. J., Milberg, S. J., & Burke, S. J.
Affiliations: Georgetown University (US)
ORCID: Smith, H. Jeff
Venue: MIS Quarterly
Publisher: MIS Quarterly
Published: 1996-06-01
Volume: 20
Issue: 2
Pages: 167-196
ISSN: 0276-7783 (ISSN-L)
2162-9730
DOI: 10.2307/249477
OpenAlex: W1545190392
Cited by: 2,266
References: 9
Citations by year: 2026: 103 · 2025: 91 · 2024: 92 · 2023: 134 · 2022: 132 · 2021: 153 · 2020: 136 · 2019: 125 · 2018: 126 · 2017: 119 · 2016: 120 · 2015: 119 · 2014: 123 · 2013: 87 · 2012: 93
FWCI: 13.30
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: MIS Quarterly (publishedVersion)
Journal of the Association for Information Systems (submittedVersion)
Funders: Georgetown University
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information and Cyber Security
Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Privacy-Preserving Technologies in Data
Keywords: data privacy, privacy concerns, scale development, instrument validation, individual perception, information ethics

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Information Privacy: Measuring Individuals’ Concerns About Organizational Practices1

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