Sensing privacy: Extending consumer privacy research through a consumer culture theory approach

Abstract

Although a wealth of consumer research literature has examined privacy, the majority of this research has been conducted from a micro-economic or psychological perspective. This has led to a rather narrow view of consumer privacy, which ignores the larger socio-cultural forces at play. This paper suggests a shift in research perspective by adopting a consumer culture theory approach. This allows an in-depth look into the micro, meso and macro levels of analysis to explore privacy as a subjective, lived experience but also as a representation of cultural meanings that are further shaped by marketplace actors. The paper synthesizes how privacy has been conceptualized within consumer theory and advances three necessary shifts in research focus: from (1) prediction to experience, (2) causality to systems and (3) outcome to process. Specific theories or focus areas are explored within these shifts, which are then utilized to build a future research agenda.