Reetika Gupta

A task-based model of perceived website complexity

In this study, we propose that perceived website complexity (PWC) is central to understanding how sophisticated features of a website (such as animation, audio, video, and rollover effects) affect a visitors experience at the site. Although previous research suggests that several elements of perceived complexity (e.g., amount of text, animation, graphics, range and consistency of web pages configuring a website, ease of navigating through it, and clarity of hyperlinks) affect important user outcomes, conflicting results yielded by previous research have created an important debate: does complexity enhance or inhibit user experience at a website. In this study, we draw on the task complexity literature to develop a broad and holistic model that examines the antecedents and consequences of PWC. Our results provide two important insights into the relationship between PWC and user outcomes. First, the positive relationship between objective complexity and PWC was moderated by user familiarity. Second, online task goals (goal-directed search and experiential browsing) moderated the relationship between PWC and user satisfaction. Specifically, the relationship between PWC and user satisfaction was negative for goal-directed users and inverted-U for experiential users. The implications of this finding for the practice of website design are discussed.

Managing motives and design to influence web site revisits

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better understand the relationship between web site design characteristics and revisit intention by examining the roles of satisfaction and consumer motives, thus providing managers with strategies that they can adopt to secure revisiting consumers at their web sites.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses survey method to collect data from 238 respondents and mediation hypotheses are tested with structural equation modelling using LISREL.Findings – The results indicate that for goal‐directed consumers web site content and customization play a more significant role in influencing their satisfaction and revisit intentions than convenience. However, for experiential consumers, content and convenience play a more significant role in satisfaction and revisit intentions than customization options at a web site.Research limitations/implications – One type of online business is used as a stimulus in this study. Future studies may include different types of web site...