This study examines how consumer privacy issues have been perceived over time and across cultures through the analysis of media coverage of the issue in England and the United States over the past 33 years. A major cross-cultural difference was that Americans have expressed more concern about interactional privacy issues (such as intrusions into individuals’ lives through the receipt of direct mail and telephone solicitations). While the British have been primarily concerned with informational privacy issues (such as the collection and exchange of information about individuals). Other differences in coverage over time and across cultures are also presented, and implications for direct marketers are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AltmanIrwinPrivacy Regulation: Culturally Universal or Culturally Specific?Journal of Social Issues33 0 197766–83
2.
BakerR.C.DickinsonRogerHollanderStanleyBig Brother 1994: Marketing Data and the IRSJournal of Public Policy and Marketing5 0 1986227–242
BurgoonJudee K.ParrottRoxanneLe PoireBeth A.KelleyADouglasL.WaltherJoseph B.PerryDeniseMaintaining and Restoring Privacy Through Communication in Different Types of RelationshipsJournal of Social and Personal Relationships6 0 1989131–158
5.
“Bush Signs Bill to Reduce Unwanted Calls” (1991), The New York Times, (December 22).
6.
CespedesFrank V.SmithH. JeffDatabase Marketing: New Rules for Policy and PracticeSloan Management Review34419937–22
7.
ChaikinAlan L.DerlegaValerian J.Variables Affecting the Appropriateness of Self-DisclosureJournal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology42 0 1974588–593
8.
CozbyPaul C.Self-Disclosure: A Literature ReviewPsychological Bulletin79 0 197373–91
9.
DerlegaValerian J.ChaikinAlan L.Norms Affecting Self-Disclosure in Men and WomenJournal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology44 0 1976376–380
10.
DerlegaValerian J.ChaikinAlan L.Privacy and Self-Disclosure in Social RelationshipsJournal of Social Issues33 0 1977102–115
11.
Direct Marketing AssociationStatistical Fact Book1992AuthorLocation, OO
12.
EderRichardBritons Worry About Losing Privacy—To Europe, Computers, Detectives, Press1973The New York TimesJuly 18
13.
“Editorials,” (1983), The Times[London] (February 12).
14.
“Firm Offers to Sell 3M Credit Records,” (1975), The Times [London] (January 29).
15.
FoxmanEllen R.KilcoynePaulInformation Technology, Marketing Practice and Consumer Privacy: Ethical IssuesJournal of Public Policy and Marketing12 0 1993106–119
16.
GoodwinCathyPrivacy: Recognition of a Consumer Right, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing10 0 1991149–166
17.
IrvingRonaldHow Sacred is the Right of Privacy?1973The TimesLondonOctober 20
18.
JonesJohn W.Assessing Privacy Invasiveness of Psychological Test Items: Job Relevant versus Clinical Measures of IntegrityJournal of Business and Psychology5 0 1991531–535
19.
JonesMary GardinerPrivacy: Significant Marketing Issue for the 1990sJournal of Public Policy and Marketing10 0 1991133–148
20.
KatzJames E.TassoneAnnette R.Public Opinion Trends: Privacy and Information TechnologyPublic Opinion Quarterly54 0 1990125–143
21.
LarsonJeffry H.BellNancy J.Need for Privacy and its Effect Upon Interpersonal Attraction and InteractionJournal of Social and Clinical Psychology6 0 19881–10
22.
LauferRobert S.WolfeMaxinePrivacy as a Concept and a Social Issue: A Multidimensional Developmental Theory, Journal of Social Issues33 0 197722–41
23.
LeonardJohnBooks of the Times: Perils of Technology (1)The New York Times1969June 10
24.
“Licensing of Databanks” (1972), The Times [London] (February 9).
25.
MargulisStephen T.Conceptions of Privacy: Current Status and Next StepsJournal of Social Issues33 0 19775–21
26.
MarkoffJohnIdeas and Trends: Remember Big Brother? Now He's a Company ManThe New York Times1991March 31
27.
MarshallNancy JeanChapmanAOrientations Toward Privacy: Environmental and Personality Components, unpublished doctoral dissertation1970BerkeleyUniversity of California
28.
MarshallNancy J.Dimensions of Privacy PreferenceMultivariate Behavioral Research9 0 1974255–271
29.
McCrohanKevin F.Information Technology, Privacy and the Public GoodJournal of Public Policy and Marketing8 0 1989265–278
30.
MilneGeorge R.GordonMary EllenDirect Mail Privacy-Efficiency Trade-offs within an Implied Social Contract FrameworkJournal of Public Policy and Marketing12 0 1993206–215
31.
Murphy, John (1984), “Outlaw Those Lists,” The Times [London] (May 23).
32.
Nowak GlenJ.PhelpsJosephUnderstanding Privacy ConcernsJournal of Direct Marketing64199228–39
33.
ParrottRoxanneBurgoonJudee K.BurgoonMichaelLePoireBeth A.Privacy Between Physicians and Patients: More Than a Matter of ConfidentialitySocial Science and Medicine29 0 19891381–1385
34.
PedersenDarhl M.Dimensions of PrivacyPerceptual and Motor Skills48 0 19791291–1297
35.
PedersenDarhl M.Correlates of Privacy RegulationPerceptual and Motor Skills66 0 1988595–601
36.
PedersenDarhl M.FrancesSheliaRegional Differences in Privacy PreferencesPsychological Reports66 0 1990731–736
37.
PetrisonLisa A.BlattbergRobert C.WangPaulDatabase Marketing: Past, Present and Future, Journal of Direct Marketing73199327–43
38.
Petrison, Lisa A., Wang, Paul, and Messick, David M. (1994), Issues Influencing the Perceived Acceptability of the Transfer of Consumer Information Between Businesses, unpublished paper, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
39.
PhelpsJosephGozenbachWilliamJohnsonEdwardPress Coverage and Public Perception of Direct Marketing and Consumer PrivacyJournal of Direct Marketing8219949–22
40.
Robertson, Nan (1966), “Data Center Held Peril to Privacy,” The New York Times (July 17).
41.
RosenbaumBernard L.Attitude Toward Invasion of Privacy in the Personnel Selection Process and Job Applicant Demographic and Personality CorrelatesJournal of Applied Psychology58 0 1973333–338
42.
ScheinVirginia E.Individual Privacy and Personnel Psychology: The Need for a Broader PerspectiveJournal of Social Issues33 0 1977154–167
43.
SchwartzBarryThe Social Psychology of PrivacyAmerican Journal of Sociology73 0 1968741–752
44.
ShapiroStanley J.Home as an Electronic Marketplace: The Consumer Protection and Public Policy IssuesJournal of Public Policy and Marketing5 0 1986212–226
45.
“State of the Union Address” (1974), The New York Times (January 31).
46.
StoneDianna L.KotchDebra A.Individuals’ Attitudes Toward Organizational Drug Testing Policies and PracticesJournal of Applied Psychology74 0 1989518–521
47.
TolchinskyPaul D.McCuddyMichael K.AdamsJeromeGansterDaniel C.WoodmanRichard W.FromkinHoward L.Employee Perceptions of Invasion of Privacy: A Field Simulation ExperimentJournal of Applied Psychology66 0 1981308–313
48.
WangPaulPetrisonLisa A.Direct Marketing Activities and Personal Privacy, Journal of Direct Marketing7119937–19
