Investigating user disclosure of sensitive information: An extended ELM theory

This study examines the cognitive and decision-making processes that occur during and after the introduction of a security warning message. Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) posits that with each message, an individual undergoes the process of persuasion in two slightly different ways. We extend ELM in the privacy literature by including privacy concerns to evaluate how information privacy concerns influence attitude. We examined individuals' attitude changes in pre-and post-security warning messages and the likelihood of disclosure/non-disclosure. By using the concepts of high risk and low risk treatments, we discovered three theoretical opportunities that motivated this behavior. Individuals who used their central routes to process information spent more time in making decisions and were less likely to take risks. When exposed to the same treatment, individuals who saw the cues and then the literature opted against disclosure. This shows that their final decision was influenced by the central route processing system.