Abstract
Internet merchants are compelled to collect personal information from customers in order to deliver goods and services effectively. However, the ease with which data can be acquired and disseminated across the Web has led to many potential customers demonstrating growing concerns about disclosing personal information. This chapter analyzes the interaction between two strategies that firms can use to alter potential customers' cost/benefit evaluation and increase information disclosure: the development of initial trust and compensation. The derived hypotheses are tested by means of two experimental studies, whose findings are compared across two different consumer target groups.