Idée / dominante : Les théories de l’échange social (SET) et de la pénétration sociale (SPT) ne suffisent pas à expliquer la propension des individus à livrer des informations personnelles les concernant sur les communautés en ligne (plus particulièrement MySpace et Facebook). Certains de ces comportements sont drivés par la culture. L’étude se concentre sur une comparaison entre les utilisateurs de tels sites en France et au Royaume-Uni.

Résumé : Pour les entreprises, les réseaux sociaux et autres communautés en ligne représentent une source idéale pour la recherche marketing (Kozinets 2002), mais sont également un moyen de palier à la réticence des individus à dévoiler des informations personnelles via le marketing traditionnel (Robertshaw & Marr 2006), un moyen de créer des interactions entre la marque et le client (Im et al. 2008) et un levier pour augmenter la demande (Miller et al. 2009). Pourquoi les internautes partagent/retiennent des informations sur les communautés online ? D’un point de vue utilitariste, l’intention des individus d’utiliser et de continuer à utiliser ces sites est basée sur l’utilité, et sur la facilité d’utilisation. Toutefois, le partage d’informations renvoie à des motivations beaucoup plus sociales, incluant certaines différences culturelles. Ainsi, les auteurs se sont basés sur la théorie de l’échange social (les individus s’engagent dans une relation lorsque le coût perçu est moins important que le bénéfice escompté – focus sur les relations), et sur la théorie de la pénétration sociale qui la complète (pour maximiser la relation, l’individu se dévoilé. La réciprocité en est le premier bénéfice, tandis que le coût est le risque que cela suppose – focus sur le partage d’informations). Les auteurs cherchent ainsi à utiliser les deux lois pour comprendre, ce qui impacte le « self-disclosure » (comprenant les notions de quantité (fréquence et durée), d’intention (contrôle sur les informations dévoilées), de profondeur (degré de sensibilité), d’honnêteté et de valence (valeur positive de l’information)), en regardant également les paramètres socio-culturels qui, selon eux, jouent un rôle prépondérant dans l’attitude des internautes, outre le calcul coûts/bénéfices. En termes de méthodologie, les auteurs ont fait le choix d’interroger 529 professionnels (263 en France / 266 en GB) utilisant au moins occasionnellement des communautés en ligne (choix délibéré de ne pas cibler des étudiants comme la plupart des études). L’âge moyen des participants était de 36 ans en GB, et de 33, 6 ans en France). Principaux résultats : l’influence sociale (degré d’influence des croyances, attitudes et comportements des autres personnes de son environnement (Deutsch & Gerard 1955)), la réciprocité, et la confiance en la communauté en ligne impactent positivement le « self-disclosure ». Le collectivisme social (intégration de l’individu de façon cohésive dans un groupe qui le protège en échange de sa fidélité) a également un ipact positif sur le « self-disclosure » Cette propension à diffuser des informations personnelles est cependant impactée négativement par les risques perçus pour la « privacy ». D’un point de vue plus « culturaliste », il est apparu que le modèle français était plus marqué par l’influence sociale suggérée par l ‘utilisation de communautés online, et que la réciprocité en était le premier facteur. Du côté anglais, ce sont les risques pour la « privacy » et la confiance en le site qui ont une influence pus grande. Cela suggère qu’il pourrait y avoir de grandes différences sur le type d’informations dévoilées.

Notes d’intérêt pour la recherche en cours : Détails de la SET et de la SPT, introduction du fait culturel poussant les internautes à échanger de façon différente, va plus loin de que le traditionnel calcul coûts/bénéfices pour expliquer les raisons poussant un individu à « se livrer » sur des sites internet. Ce qui n’a pas été abordé : Influence du sexe dans la disposition à livrer des informations personnelles sur les communautés en ligne. L’article se concentre sur les motivations sociales, il faudrait creuser ce qui touche au « design » de tels sites pour mesurer les notions de confiance, de fiabilité, mais aussi pour mesurer l’impact sur les informations dévoilées… En effet, d’après l’article, un design plus intrusif serait efficace pour inciter les individus à retirer des « couches de leur oignon » (cf. Altman & Taylor 1973)

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