Menno D.T. de Jong

Review: How shall I trust the faceless and the intangible? A literature review on the antecedents of online trust

Trust is generally assumed to be an important precondition for peoples adoption of electronic services. This paper provides an overview of the available research into the antecedents of trust in both commercial and non-commercial online transactions and services. A literature review was conducted covering empirical studies on peoples trust in and adoption of computer-mediated services. Results are described using a framework of three clusters of antecedents: customer/client-based, website-based, and company/organization-based antecedents. Results show that there are many possible antecedents of trust in electronic services. The majority of the research has been conducted in the context of e-commerce; only few studies are available in the domains of e-government and e-health. For many antecedents, some empirical support can be found, but the results are far from univocal. The research calls for more, and particularly more systematic, research attention for the antecedents of trust in electronic services. The review presented in this paper offers practitioners an overview of possibly relevant variables that may affect peoples trust in electronic services. It also gives a state-of-the-art overview of the empirical support for the relevance of these variables.

Retrospective vs. concurrent think-aloud protocols: testing the usability of an online library catalogue

Think-aloud protocols are a dominant method in usability testing. There is, however, only little empirical evidence on the actual validity of the method. This paper describes an experiment that compares concurrent and retrospective think-aloud protocols for a usability test of an online library catalogue. There were three points of comparison: usability problems detected, overall task performance, and participant experiences. Results show that concurrent and retrospective think-aloud protocols reveal comparable sets of usability problems, but that these problems come to light in different ways. In retrospective think-aloud protocols, more problems were detected by means of verbalisation, while in concurrent think-aloud protocols, more problems were detected by means of observation. Moreover, in the concurrent think-aloud protocols, the requirement to think aloud while working had a negative effect on the task performance. This raises questions about the reactivity of concurrent think-aloud protocols, especially in the case of high task complexity.Think-aloud protocols are a dominant method in usability testing. There is, however, only little empirical evidence on the actual validity of the method. This paper describes an experiment that compares concurrent and retrospective think-aloud protocols for a usability test of an online library catalogue. There were three points of comparison: usability problems detected, overall task performance, and participant experiences. Results show that concurrent and retrospective think-aloud protocols reveal comparable sets of usability problems, but that these problems come to light in different ways. In retrospective think-aloud protocols, more problems were detected by means of verbalisation, while in concurrent think-aloud protocols, more problems were detected by means of observation. Moreover, in the concurrent think-aloud protocols, the requirement to think aloud while working had a negative effect on the task performance. This raises questions about the reactivity of concurrent think-aloud protocols, especially in the case of high task complexity.

How corporate visual identity supports reputation

Purpose – Corporate visual identity (CVI) comprises all the symbols and graphical elements that express the essence of an organisation. Although it is by far the most visible and tangible asset in the armoury of tools used by the majority of organisations in their interaction with the outside world, the role of CVI is scarcely mentioned in studies on corporate reputation. Despite the growing interest in measuring reputation and brand values, little is known about the role of CVI. This article aims to explore the relationship between CVI and five general dimensions of reputation: visibility, distinctiveness, authenticity, transparency, and consistency.Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the relationship between corporate visual identity and reputation. In which ways and to what extent can CVI support a corporate reputation? This exposition of the relationship between reputation and CVI is based on the framework established by Fombrun and Van Riel and the reputation model they present, which c...

Projective techniques for brand image research: Two personification‐based methods explored

Purpose – Since it is hard for consumers to express their feelings and views regarding brand images, market researchers increasingly use projective and enabling techniques to collect rich and meaningful data. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and use of two methods of brand image research based on personification. Both methods were used to investigate the personality of four beer brands.Design/methodology/approach – The first method was based on mood boards: participants were asked to make collages of celebrity photographs representing the beer brands (n=16). The second method used a job‐sorting task: participants were asked to connect jobs with the beer brands (n=100). The results of both methods were related to a list of brand personality traits.Findings – Holistic interpretations of the mood boards and the jobs associated with the beer brands reveal highly similar results among the two methods, which strongly discriminate between the four beer brands. A translation of these findi...

The impact of organisational characteristics on corporate visual identity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model to investigate corporate visual identity (CVI) management from an organisational perspective. It is assumed that characteristics of the organisation and of the way a CVI is managed will affect consistency of CVI.Design/methodology/approach – The model was tested in a survey carried out among employees in 20 Dutch organisations. Structural equation modelling with AMOS was conducted to get insight into the various influences and relationships.Findings – CVI management characteristics – socialisation processes related to CVI, knowledge of CVI strategy, and CVI tools and support – have a strong impact on the consistency of CVI, and organisational characteristics affect the way CVI is managed. With the exception of the openness and dynamics of an organisation, no supporting evidence was found for a direct relationship between organisational characteristics and CVI consistency.Research limitations/implications – CVI has been measured by the judg...

Auditing information structures in organizations: A review of data collection techniques for network analysis

Network analysis is one of the current techniques for investigating organizational communication. Despite the amount of how-to literature about using network analysis to assess information flows and relationships in organizations, little is known about the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the underlying data collection techniques. This article reviews the methodological literature on methods that may be used for network analysis. For each technique, reliability and validity issues are discussed, as well as the applicability for organizational research questions.

Measurement of communication satisfaction. Evaluating the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire as a communication audit tool

Despite the number of publications about auditing organizational communication, scholars have paid little attention to the reliability and validity of individual audit techniques. This study examines the merits and restrictions of the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) by comparing CSQ results with results gathered with the critical incident technique. The authors used both instruments to assess the quality of internal communication within three organizations. They found that the two techniques converge and that the CSQ appears to have criterion-related validity. However, the CSQ fails to explicitly address issues of decision making, top-down and bottom-up communication, responsibilities, and the extent to which organizations keep rules and agreements. The authors conclude that the CSQ is an appropriate instrument for gaining overall insights into the way employees evaluate aspects of organizational communication but that the method is less suitable for diagnosing specific communication problems and formulating recommendations.

Horizontal and vertical communication as determinants of professional and organisational identification

This paper aims to present the results of a study into the relationship between horizontal and vertical communication and professional and organisational identification.

Managing corporate visual identity: exploring the differences between manufacturing and service, and profit-making and nonprofit organizations

Corporate Visual Identity (CVI) is a crucial part of the identity of any organization. Most research on managing corporate identity deals with the strategic development of corporate identity and the design and effects of specific elements of the CVI. This study focuses on an aspect of CVI management that has not received much attention—the problem of maintaining consistent use of the CVI in an organization. A comparison is made between manufacturing and service organizations, and between profit-making and nonprofit organizations. For these organization types, the perceived CVI consistency was investigated, as well as the organizational and CVI management characteristics and instruments affecting it. The research was conducted using questionnaires distributed among employees of 20 Dutch organizations. Most of the differences found were those between profit-making and nonprofit organizations. The results showed greater consistency in the CVI of profit-making organizations, in accordance with the amount of effort these organizations put into CVI management.

Measuring the quality of governmental websites in a controlled versus an online setting with the 'Website Evaluation Questionnaire'

The quality of governmental websites is often measured with questionnaires that ask users for their opinions on various aspects of the website. This article presents the Website Evaluation Questionnaire (WEQ), which was specifically designed for the evaluation of governmental websites. The multidimensional structure of the WEQ was tested in a controlled laboratory setting and in an online real-life setting. In two studies we analyzed the underlying factor structure, the stability and reliability of this structure, and the sensitivity of the WEQ to quality differences between websites. The WEQ proved to be a valid and reliable instrument with seven clearly distinct dimensions. In the online setting higher correlations were found between the seven dimensions than in the laboratory setting, and the WEQ was less sensitive to differences between websites. Two possible explanations for this result are the divergent activities of online users on the website and the less attentive way in which these users filled out the questionnaire. We advise to relate online survey evaluations more strongly to the actual behavior of website users, for example, by including server log data in the analysis.