Customer Privacy Concerns and Privacy Protective Responses

Abstract

Companies are increasingly collecting and using data on their current and potential customers to improve their CRM, sales, and service effectiveness. At the same time, they are faced with a growing reluctance of customers to disclose their personal information or to allow tracking of their behaviors because of privacy concerns. This chapter discusses the concept of customer privacy concerns and the respective implications for successful CRM practices. After introducing trends and underlying drivers of customer privacy concerns, this chapter sheds more light on the different governmental regulations concerning privacy in a cross-country comparison. Sections 14.4–14.6 continue with presenting the underlying psychological processes and respective customer responses which are summarized in a comprehensive conceptual framework. At the end of this chapter, implications for a responsible privacy handling related to CRM are drawn.