Raquel Gurrea

The role played by perceived usability, satisfaction and consumer trust on website loyalty

We performed a study to determine the influence that perceived usability has on the users loyalty to websites that they visit. The results of the empirical analysis confirmed that the trust of the user increases when the user perceived that the system was usable and that there was a consequent increase in the degree of website loyalty. In the same way, greater usability was found to have a positive influence on user satisfaction, and this also generated greater website loyalty. Finally, it was found that user trust was partially dependent on the degree of consumer website satisfaction.

Perceived substitutability between digital and physical channels: the case of newspapers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the main motivations that influence readers to read newspapers, and, to analyse their influence on the level of perceived substitutability between digital and traditional channels in the newspaper business.Design/methodology/approach – First, qualitative studies were carried out which allowed reader motivations to be identified and the hypotheses to be established. Subsequently an online survey was applied to a representative sample of users. The scales were validated and refined, after which the hypotheses were tested by way of a structural equation model.Findings – Results confirm that readers motivated by aspects related mainly to differential attributes of the internet versus traditional channels perceive them both as information conduits and not as substitutive products. Meanwhile, motivations that could be satisfied through both channels positively affect the level of perceived substitutability between digital and traditional newspapers. Nevertheles...

Reading newspapers on the Internet: the influence of web sites' attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze key factors that could influence the choice of digital newspapers: usability of newspaper web sites, reputation, trust, privacy and familiarity.Design/methodology/approach – A survey on the Internet was applied. The scales were validated and refined, after which the hypotheses were tested by way of a structural equation model.Findings – The results support an intense effect of usability and familiarity with web sites on the choice of electronic newspaper. However, reputation, privacy and trust in the web sites do not influence significantly the final choice of digital dailies. This is due to the readers who do not perceive risk and costs derived by choosing mistakes or giving data, because the change of news supplier is really fast and easy.Research limitations/implications – The main aspects which justify digital newspaper reading should be considered by the management in order to develop its use. Also, newspaper firms should make efforts to improve the l...

The choice of digital newspapers: influence of reader goals and user experience

Purpose – To analyze press reader behavior in the digital medium: identify the main goals that lead readers to read the press and analyze their influence on the choice of digital newspapers. Moreover, the research analyses the moderator effect of user experience.Design/methodology/approach – First, qualitative studies were carried out which allow reader objectives to be identified and the hypotheses to be established. Subsequently a survey was applied to a representative sample of users. The scales were validated and refined, after which the hypotheses were tested by way of a structural equation model and a multi‐sample analysis.Findings – The goals based on the search for specific information and for updated news have a positive effect on reading newspapers on the Internet. In contrast, there is no significant effect when reading is for entertainment. This last relationship has been found to be moderated by the user experience variable.Research limitations/implications – The main aspects which justify di...

Consumer behavior in press sector : The influence of reasons for reading on the choice of digital channel

ABSTRACT The development of the Internet in recent years is affecting working of most businesses. One of the sectors most affected is journalism, which is becoming more and more important on the Web. This study analyzes the dual nature of computing mediums from the perspective of demand, contrasting the existence of differentiated reading behaviors between the digital and traditional medium. We also identify the motivations behind reading the press and analyze the relationship between these motivations and the choice of the digital press. Thus, the two mediums could be considered complementary products, since they satisfy just one need and it is the same for both, but at the same time are associated with different reasons and occasions of use.

Facilitating imaginations through online product presentation videos: effects on imagery fluency, product attitude and purchase intention

The use of imagination is a dominant strategy for consumers to form evaluations in the e-commerce environments. Online Product Presentation Videos (OPPVs) are vivid information that can facilitate consumers this task. Following the imagery fluency approach, we analyze the impact of OPPVs on consumers’ quality of product-related thoughts, ease of imagining, and responses toward the product. A series of studies combining experimental- and survey-based procedures shows that the presence and type of OPPV improves consumers’ cognitive responses and facilitates imagination about the product, which becomes a strong determinant of attitude and purchase intention. We also control for the OPPV’s trustworthiness to isolate the effects of the content characteristics of video. Moreover, we consider the moderating role of the consumer’s motivation to process information. The results demonstrate that high and low motivated consumers use their imagination differently. In addition, when OPPVs are featured by the brand, ease of imagining does not relate to purchase intention.

The Impact of Online Product Presentation on Consumers' Perceptions: An Experimental Analysis

The website design and specifically the visual aspects have been revealed as key factors for achieving a successfully e-service website. This research examines the effects of the visual product presentation on online users’ perceptions. We carried out an experiment to analyze the impact of the size, the quality and the movement of the product picture on the perceived usability, satisfaction and purchase intention of users. We also analyzed the moderating role of user experience and product familiarity. The results suggest the importance of visual aspects, emphasizing the quality of the picture as the most salient factor. This study also indicates that users’ satisfaction is influenced to a great extent by these attributes.

Analysing the Key Factors of Web Design: A Heuristic Evaluation

Due to the rapid growth of the electronic commerce and consequently the increase of the competence, a special interest among the specialized literature is arising focusing on the critical factors which could lead to the e-commerce success. In this sense, the web design has been revealed as a critical aspect in order to achieve positive outcomes of the users. Consequently, this research is focused on analyzing the importance of web design for the success of a virtual store. A heuristic evaluation has been developed in order to identify the good and bad design practices of three well-known websites. This method is particularly useful for our study, since the opinions from multidisciplinary experts give us a more complete understanding about what is the most important for the design of the websites. The results of the test, together with a review of the specialized literature, allowed us to offer some managerial implications and recommendations for designers in order to carry out a successful virtual store.

The influence of online product presentation videos on persuasion and purchase channel preference

A promotional video has a strong effect on consumers attitude toward the product.A demonstration video has a strong effect on purchase intention.A demonstration video produces attitudes more consistent with purchase intentions.Ease of imagining helps explain the effects of online product presentation videos.Need for touch moderates the impact of videos on the purchase channel preference. The lack of physical contact between products and consumer represents a key characteristic of online environments that can influence consumers purchase behavior. In an effort to offer a close experience with the product, websites usually present vivid information in order to convince consumers about the goodness of their products. Vivid information is likely to prompt different aspects of the purchase process, like reduced feelings of uncertainty or a higher need for physical information. The goal of this research is twofold: first, we analyze how the presence and type of vivid information, in the form of product presentation videos (PPVs), affects consumers attitudes and purchase intentions toward the product. Furthermore, we examine how the perceived ease of imagining the product evoked by vivid information mediates these effects. Second, we propose that individual differences, related to the consumers need of touching products, determine the impact of vivid information on the preferences toward the purchase channel (online or offline). The results of an experiment, which manipulated the presence and the style of PPVs, support the importance of vivid information in order to favor consumers attitudes and purchase intentions, as well as to influence the relative preference for the purchase channel. Additionally, message and consumer characteristics are found as important factors that affect these relationships.

The Impact of Recommendations on the Cross-Channel Shopping Behavior

Consumers can easily combine different channels to search for information and make purchases. Yet, the physical store is the preferred purchase channel. The cross-channel purchase process (i.e., in-store purchase influenced by online research) is the most extended behavior among online users (eMarketer 2014; Forrester Research 2014). The influence of online information on off-line purchases is expected to be especially significant due to the development of mobile technologies (Van Bruggen et al. 2010). In this way, one of the most beneficial innovations that new technologies have incorporated into the consumer’s shopping process is the access to other consumers’ opinions and evaluations anytime and anywhere (Hennig-Thurau et al. 2010). Despite the great body of research analyzing the effects of traditional word of mouth in conventional shopping environments, and of electronic word of mouth (e-wom) in e-commerce, there is a lack of research on how e-wom influences the consumer’s purchase behavior at the physical outlet. This research examines how external recommendations, coming from online users or the company, influence the cross-channel search experience and decision. Specifically, this research analyzes: (1) how online users’ recommendations help the consumer to improve their cross-channel shopping experience and (2) how consumer versus seller recommendations received during the physical interaction affect the initial impression of the product.