Daniela Wawra - Böcker

Data has become a key factor for the competitiveness of private and state actors alike. Personal data in particular fuels manifold corresponding data ecosystems – in many cases based on the disclosure decision of an individual. This volume presents the proceedings of the bidt "Vectors of Data Disclosure" conference held in Munich 2022. The contributions give comparative insights into the data disclosure process – combining perspectives of law, cultural studies, and business information systems. The authors thereby tackle the question in which way regulation and cultural settings shape (or do not shape) respective decisions in different parts of the world. The volume also includes interim results of the corresponding bidt research project – including in-depth reports covering the regulatory and cultural dimensions of data disclosure in eight different countries　/ regions worldwide, a business information systems model of the disclosure decision process, and empirical studies. The volume thereby lays the ground for interdisciplinary informed policy decisions and gives guidance to stakeholders.

The impact of cultural factors on perceptions of and attitudes toward privacy is often neglected in privacy studies. Yet, understanding these factors is crucial in our globalized world, where businesses, governments and researchers rely on data from different cultures. This book makes a contribution to closing this gap. It presents and discusses findings from a large, comparative cross-cultural study on professionals’ views of key data protection and information privacy issues, such as data autonomy, the data power of companies and governments, and the impact of data protection and information privacy regulations on companies, consumers, and the state. The book facilitates a better understanding of attitudes toward data protection and privacy across cultures by highlighting areas in which professionals around the world are (dis-)satisfied with data protection regulations and practices, and showing how culture-specific factors can help to explain differences in this area.