Kuanchin Chen

The impact of interactivity on business website visibility

To stay abreast of competition, business websites have to have more than a professional appearance; they need to attract and engage users. The literature indicates that adding dynamic and interactive features judiciously can increase web engagement; after all, who does not like to play? In so doing, cyber interactivity can be used as a strategic tool to improve the popularity of websites. The goal of this study is to examine interactivity dimensions and how they relate to the popularity of websites. This study compares a websites popularity as measured through link-backs or referrals. Twenty-five features that relate to cyber interactivity as prescribed by Ha and James were classified into five dimensions: playfulness, reciprocal communication, choice, connectedness and data collection. The analysis was carried across three sectors of business: manufacturing, service and retail. No significant differences of adopting interactivity features were found by the industry sector. The findings suggest that playfulness and reciprocal communication are the most salient predictors for site popularity. Implications and suggestions were drawn from the results.

Internet engagement process: A study correlating internet features to user experience

Abstract It is well established that attracting users to a commercial website is an essential prerequisite to e-commerce. However, research has also suggested that engaging them on the site, once they are there, is an important element of converting web surfers to buyers. This study investigates Internet experience and its effect on certain web features that could aid in making a website “sticky.” Features studied include searching, online shopping, online learning, chat rooms, and e-mailing. All of the features, with the exception of e-mail and chatting, demonstrated significant differences based on user experience. This implies that certain website features can be used to differentiate users in a predictive fashion.

Website Usability: A Re-Examination through the Lenses of ISO Standards

The original conceptualization of usability was ease of use, this was later expanded into a multi-dimensional construct in ISO standards and usability literature. Such an expansion is seen as an improvement, since cross-study comparison or benchmarking cannot objectively be done without a common set of usability components being defined. The current issue lies in how these components are operationalized, measured and validated. Although ISO standards ties usability to contextual situations, recent research has started to also recognize psychographic and demographic variations within the same context. The purpose of this study is to review web site usability as it relates to ISO standards (more specifically ISO 9126, ISO 9241 and ISO/IEC 25010) and existing usability studies. Implications for researchers and practitioners are provided.