Confronting the Fear of Privacy Infringement: How Consumers Cope with Online Behavioral Advertising Through Multidimensional Persuasion Knowledge and the Extended-Extended Parallel Process Model

While the effects of online behavioral advertising (OBA) are well-studied, limited research has focused on how consumers process the fear feeling evoked by potential privacy invasions associated with OBA. This study integrates the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) and the extended-Extended Parallel Process Model (e-EPPM) to examine how consumers’ awareness of behavioral tracking of OBA influences their perceptions of threat and fear, as well as how they process these emotions through fear or danger control processes. Using data from an online survey (N = 543), the findings demonstrate that both conceptual and attitudinal persuasion knowledge of OBA amplifies perceived threat and fear, shaping consumers’ intentions to click OBA. Importantly, the level of self-efficacy determines whether consumers adopt a fear control process (defensive motivation) or a danger control process (protection motivation), which in turn influences their intention to click OBA. This study highlights the role of multidimensional persuasion knowledge in shaping consumers’ responses to the perceived privacy threats posed by OBA and underscores the moderating impact of self-efficacy in determining their coping response. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.