Anthony D. Miyazaki
Executive Summary
The most common method of identifying and tracking online consumer activity involves the placement of small text files, or “cookies” as they are commonly called, on a consumer’s computer hard drive that are then offered back to the Web site during subsequent visits by the consumer. Many Web sites require cookies to operate effectively, for example, to store items in a virtual shopping cart for later payment or to navigate from one page to the next while making secure financial transactions. Although cookies in and of themselves do not constitute a violation of an online user’s privacy, there are several perspectives by which they can—namely, by their ability to track user information and behavior; their covertness; their use by third parties; their duration and ubiquity; and consumers’ lack of information regarding their usage, degree of threat, and control. The use of Internet cookies by visited Web sites and third-party firms has been criticized by consumer advocates, policy makers, and even marketers themselves as a potential threat to consumer privacy. However, surprisingly little research has examined how the interactive effects of the disclosure and practice of cookie use as a method of nonconsensual identification may influence online users’ feelings or behavior toward an online firm. The current research addresses this lack of research by presenting the results of three studies. Study 1, a longitudinal examination of the online environment between 2000 and 2007, finds that both cookie use and disclosure has increased, but covert use of cookies is still prevalent. Study 2 finds that though consumers have negative reactions to cookie use, such as lower trust and patronage intentions toward the culpable Web site, these negative reactions can be significantly reduced if the Web site discloses such usage beforehand. Study 3 shows that consumers’ online experience and desire for privacy act as additional moderators of reactions to cookie use. As a whole, the studies suggest that marketing managers should be clear and vigilant in their disclosure of cookie use in order to avoid decreases in consumer trust and intended patronage.
Biography
Anthony D. Miyazaki (PhD, University of South Carolina) is Knight Ridder Research Professor and Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research, which focuses primarily on pricing management and pricing perceptions, decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty, and online consumer privacy, has been published in Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among other outlets. He serves on the editorial review boards of Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and Journal of Business Research. Dr. Miyazaki has taught extensively in undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs at Florida International University (and previously at the University of Miami).
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol. 27, No. 1, Spring 2008
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