The indirect effect of culture on privacy concerns in E-commerce: A cross-country study

In this study, we attempt to examine the indirect and moderating effects of culture on privacy concerns at the national level by comparing key determinants of privacy concerns and their effects between the culturally different two countries. We select the U.S. and South Korea (hereafter S. Korea) as a test bed because these two countries are significantly different in Hofstede's cultural scores. We designate the United States as Type I culture with "small power distance-strong individualistic-strong masculinity-weak uncertainty avoidance" characteristics to contrast with Type II culture countries (S. Korea) with "large power distance-weak individualistic (collectivistic)-weak masculinity (feminine)-strong uncertainty avoidance" characteristics, consistent with previous studies.