Toward multilevel research on private information disclosure: A systematic review and future agenda

Abstract

Through a systematic literature review, we unravel current theorizing on private information disclosure (PID). We note that existing models of PID have mainly taken an individual-level perspective. In line with current understanding of privacy management, we posit that PID should be more systematically understood as a multilevel phenomenon, for two reasons. First, the disclosed information sometimes concerns multiple stakeholders beyond oneself. Second, disclosing private information can often be affected by hierarchically structured (nested) humans within social units. To this end, we propose a multilevel theoretical framework together with future recommendations, aimed at inspiring future multilevel PID research.