Understanding Vietnamese Attitudes Toward Online Data Privacy And Personal Information Sharing - The Case Applied To People Living In Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Studying privacy concerns is essential in today's digital era. It helps protect individuals' rights and enhance trust in online platforms. By understanding privacy concerns, businesses and policymakers can develop effective strategies, establish transparent data practices, and ensure the security of personal data. Therefore, this paper objective is to investigate factors affecting people’s willingness to share personal information online in Ho Chi Minh City. This thesis utilizes the privacy calculus theory as its theoretical framework and conducts a literature review on factors including Internet general privacy concerns, trust in the website, sensitivity to the requested information, perceived risks and perceived benefits. The study employed a quantitative approach and collected data through an online survey using convenience sampling. The sample included 219 valid respondents out of 241 individuals residing in Ho Chi Minh City, aged above 18 years old. Most of the respondents are students and have a monthly income below 10 million VND. This thesis employed structural equation modeling (SEM), revealing that seven out of the eight hypotheses are supported. The findings indicated that perceived benefits have the most positive influence on people's willingness to share personal information online, while Internet general privacy concerns have the most negative effect. However, the study rejects the relationship between sensitivity to the requested information and trust in the website. The findings imply that individuals are more inclined to share their data when they perceive tangible benefits or advantages associated with doing so. Businesses and policymakers can draw several implications from these findings.