The disheartening condition o f consumers’ privacy online is a burning issue that is of great interest to the public, the hi-tech industry and the U.S. government. Pursuing several research objectives, this study attempted to understand the major forces operating behind the conflict over online privacy for improving its management as well as the management of other Internet conflicts.
The main objective of this research was to understand what aspects o f the online marketplace affect the approaches different Internet companies take regarding their customers’ personal privacy and, consequently, reveal the forces affecting the institutionalization (management) o f Internet conflicts in general. A broader research objective, a theoretical derivative o f the previous objective, was the development of the theory o f conflict institutionalization in respect to large-scale, technology-oriented conflicts.