Abstract

This article examines consumer support for the opt-out principle, which is the view that sellers should be allowed to contact prospective customers with offers as long as these customers are provided the opportunity of opting-out of further contact. Consumers with low or no support for opt-out take the opinion that a firm must first have their permission before contacting them. Using survey data, this article examines the moderating effects of consumer opt-out belief on the impact of three consumer anxiety related online banking evaluations. The results show that when consumers have a high opt-out belief, the effect of firm commitment to privacy on perceived value is reduced, the effect of trust in technology on perceived value is increased and the negative effect of information ambiguity of perceived value is attenuated. The findings on the moderating effect of consumer opt-out belief are consistent with the predictions of research on idiocentric/allocentric personality traits. Research and managerial implications are discussed.

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