Privacy paradox: Integrative literature review

The so-called privacy paradox refers to individuals’ desire for privacy, which is subordinated to their willingness to trade it for the benefits of consuming a product or service, leading to a paradoxical situation. Although multiple theories attempt to explain this phenomenon, there is a lack of studies that integrate, at the construct level, the different theoretical approaches used to understand the privacy paradox. This study proposes a comprehensive view based on a literature review of 34 studies involving 14 theories that support the investigation of the privacy paradox. The review integrates studies addressing (1) the theoretical foundations of the privacy paradox, (2) the factors influencing the privacy paradox, and (3) the behavioral consequences that lead to the privacy paradox. We present an integrated theoretical framework at the construct level, allowing researchers in this field to propose new models derived from combinations of different theoretical approaches.