A Literature Review of Personalization Transparency and Control: Introducing the Transparency–Awareness–Control Framework

Claire M. Segijn, Joanna Strycharz, Amy Riegelman and Cody Hennesy
Additional contact information
Claire M. Segijn: Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, USA
Joanna Strycharz: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amy Riegelman: University Libraries, University of Minnesota, USA
Cody Hennesy: University Libraries, University of Minnesota, USA

Media and Communication, 2021, vol. 9, issue 4, 120-133

Abstract: Through various online activities, individuals produce large amounts of data that are collected by companies for the purpose of providing users with personalized communication. In the light of this mass collection of personal data, the transparency and control paradigm for personalized communication has led to increased attention from legislators and academics. However, in the scientific literature no clear definition of personalization transparency and control exists, which could lead to reliability and validity issues, impeding knowledge accumulation in academic research. In a literature review, we analyzed 31 articles and observed that: 1) no clear definitions of personalization transparency or control exist; 2) they are used interchangeably in the literature; 3) collection, processing, and sharing of data are the three objects of transparency and control; and 4) increased transparency does not automatically increase control because first awareness needs to be raised in the individual. Also, the relationship between awareness and control depends on the ability and the desire to control. This study contributes to the field of algorithmic communication by creating a common understanding of the transparency and control paradigm and thus improves validity of the results. Further, it progresses research on the issue by synthesizing existing studies on the topic, presenting the transparency–awareness–control framework, and formulating propositions to guide future research.

Keywords: awareness; computational advertising; consumer data; control; covert data collection; information disclosure; personalization; privacy; targeting; transparency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/4054 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:meanco:v9:y:2021:i:4:p:120-133

DOI: 10.17645/mac.v9i4.4054

Access Statistics for this article

Media and Communication is currently edited by Raquel Silva

More articles in Media and Communication from Cogitatio Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by António Vieira () and IT Department ().