Drivers of Active and Passive Information Sharing Behavior on the Internet: The Role of Internet Usage Patterns and User Demographics

Disclosure of personal information is a key prerequisite for e-commerce transactions and social media usage. Research on information systems largely investigated drivers of information disclosure behavior, especially information privacy concerns, but few studies differentiate between active information sharing and technical measures to control passive information sharing. This paper investigates different kinds of online information sharing behavior and analyzes the impact of demographic and Internet usage patterns on them. The results show that active sharing of socio-demographic information and control of passive information sharing by technical measures are the most frequently practiced types of online information sharing behavior. Internet usage intensity, Internet access by smart phone, and age largely influence active and passive information sharing behaviors whereas gender does not show a significant impact on online information sharing behavior.