Traci J. Hess

Involvement and Decision-Making Performance with a Decision Aid: The Influence of Social Multimedia, Gender, and Playfulness

This research explores how multimedia vividness and the use of computer-based social cues can influence involvement with technology and decision-making outcomes. An experiment is conducted that examines the effect that increased levels of vividness (text, voice, and animation) and decision aid personality have on decision-making involvement. In addition, the influence of two individual differences, gender and computer playfulness, on decision aid involvement are investigated. The cost-benefit framework of decision making and related research on consumer information processing provide the theoretical foundation for the study and suggest how increased involvement may influence decision making. Several decision-making outcomes are measured, including decision effort, decision quality, satisfaction with the decision aid, and understanding of the decision aid. Findings indicate that personality similarity (between the user and the decision aid) and computer playfulness result in increased involvement with the decision aid. In addition, women report higher levels of involvement with the decision aid. Increased levels of multimedia vividness are found to have a contradictory effect, with animation actually reducing involvement with the decision aid. The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical contributions and practical interface design implications.

Reliability generalization of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intentions

A reliability generalization study (a meta-analysis of reliability coefficients) was conducted on three widely studied information systems constructs from the technology acceptance model (TAM): perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intentions. This form of meta-analysis summarizes the reliability coefficients of the scores on a specified scale across studies and identifies the study characteristics that influence the reliability of these scores. Reliability is a critical issue in conducting empirical research as the reliability of the scores on well-established scales can vary with study characteristics, attenuating effect sizes. In conducting this study, an extensive literature search was conducted, with 380 articles reviewed and coded to perform reliability generalization. Study characteristics, including technology, sample, and measurement characteristics, for these articles were recorded along with effect size data for the relationships among these variables. After controlling for number of items, sample size, and sampling error, differences in reliability coefficients were found with several study characteristics for the three technology acceptance constructs. The reliability coefficients of PEOU and PU were lower in hedonic contexts than in utilitarian contexts, and were higher when the originally validated scales were used as compared to when other items were substituted. Only 27 percent of the studies that provided the measurement items used the original PEOU items, while 39 percent used the original PU items. Scales that were administered in English had higher reliability coefficients for PU and BI, with a marginal effect for PEOU. Reliability differences were also found for other study characteristics, including reliability type, subject experience, and gender composition. While average reliability coefficients were high, the results show that, on average, relationships among these constructs are attenuated by 12 percent with maximum attenuation in the range of 35 to 43 percent. Implications for technology acceptance research are discussed and suggestions for addressing variation in reliability coefficients across studies are provided.

Metadata as a knowledge management tool: supporting intelligent agent and end user access to spatial data

Many factors have led to explosive growth in the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology to support managerial decision making. Despite their power, utility, and popularity, however, GIS require a significant amount of specialized knowledge for effective use. This paper describes a GIS-based decision support system (DSS) design approach that embeds much of this knowledge in well-structured metadata and presents it to the decision maker through an appropriate interface or software agents, thereby decreasing system learning costs and improving effectiveness. The metadata design from a spatial decision support system (SDSS) is presented along with illustrations showing how the design addresses specific knowledge management (KM) problems. The paper then discusses how the knowledge management design approach can be generalized to other SDSS, to DSS in general, and to data warehouses.

Culture and acceptance of global web sites: a cross-country study of the effects of national cultural values on acceptance of a personal web portal

E-businesses have experienced the challenges of developing global web sites that serve consumers with different national cultures. Researchers have studied the influence that national cultural values have on technology-related beliefs and behaviors, and have noted the need for further research on cultural issues. This study investigates the influence of national cultural values on acceptance of a personal web portal by users in China and the United States. Subjects from these two countries evaluated country-specific versions of a personal web portal designed to support the gathering of news, blogs, and other shared information and to provide communication features. The five national cultural dimensions of power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and time orientation were measured at the individual level to enable assessment of the influence from each cultural dimension on technology beliefs and adoption intentions. A research model integrating both moderating and direct effects of cultural values was proposed. Individualism and time orientation were found to influence perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness directly. No moderating cultural effects were significant. The results stress the importance of including the cultural value of time orientation in studies of technology acceptance and measuring cultural values at the individual level. Our findings suggest that e-businesses should continue to focus on the cultural congruency of global web sites and consider how personalization features may assist in pursuit of this congruency.

Predicting user trust in information systems: a comparison of competing trust models

The concept of trust has emerged in the MIS field, with a focus on interpersonal or inter-organizational trust in the contexts of e-commerce and virtual teams. The inclusion of the trust concept within IS acceptance models provides further evidence that MIS researchers recognize the relevance of IS trust. While simple trust constructs have been incorporated into existing IS models, and trust models have been developed to address e-commerce issues, a comprehensive model of trust formation for a new information system has not been published. The goal of this research is to advance IS trust research by investigating the trust formation process with new IS. In this paper, two initial trust formation models, applicable to information systems, are reviewed and compared at both the conceptual and empirical levels. The first model was proposed by McKnight, Choudhury and Kacmar in an e-commerce context in 2002. The second model is based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and was developed to predict peoples trust in national identification (NID) systems. Based upon the conceptual comparison, the TRA/TPB-based trust model appears to be more powerful at predicting user trust in IS. An experimental study has been designed to compare these two models in the same context, predicting peoples trust in NID systems. This empirical comparison provides more insights for understanding user trust towards IS.

Understanding Decision-Making in Data Warehousing and Related Decision Support Systems: An Explanatory Study of a Customer Relationship Management Application

Many businesses have made or are making significant investments in data warehouses that reportedly support a myriad of decision support systems DSS. Due to the newness of data warehousing and related DSS DW-DSS, the nature of the decision support provided to DW-DSS users and the related impact on decision performance have not been investigated in an applied setting. An explanatory case study was undertaken at a financial services organization that implemented a particular type of DW-DSS, a Customer Relationship Management CRM system. The DSS-decision performance model has provided some theoretical guidance for this exploration. The case study results show that the decision-making support provided by these systems is limited and that an extended version of the DSS-decision performance model may better describe the factors that influence individual decision-making performance.

Using attitude and social influence to develop an extended trust model for information systems

This research extends an initial trust model proposed and empirically tested by McKnight, Choudhury, and Kacmar (2002) in an e-commerce context. This trust model is extended by the addition of two key constructs: trusting attitude and subjective norm. These added constructs improve the theoretical foundation of this model by more closely aligning it with the theory of reasoned action. The extended trust model is applied to the context of information systems, specifically a national identity system. Survey data collected in an experimental setting were used to test and compare the extended trust model against the initial trust model. Empirical results indicate that the additional constructs of trusting attitude and subjective norm explain significantly more variance in initial trusting intentions.

An Alternative Lens for Understanding Technology Acceptance: An Equity Comparison Perspective

Many studies of technology acceptance have noted that new technology can have far-reaching effects, dramatically changing the environment (e.g., work, home, school) in which we use the technology. The current research considers an equity comparison perspective on technology acceptance and usage in the context of online discussion tools based on the equity implementation model (EIM). The EIM applies equity theory to assess user net outcomes related to adopting new technology in comparison to the net outcomes of other technology stakeholders. Facilitating conditions with the new technology are investigated as a moderating factor on intentions and usage. Equity theory and social comparisons provide an alternative lens for understanding technology acceptance that may capture broader issues related to the changes resulting from new technology. This research describes what we believe to be a first effort to operationalize social comparisons of equity in the context of technology acceptance. A survey instrument measuring social comparisons of net outcomes is developed, and a longitudinal, empirical study is conducted in the context of online discussion forums. The research model is also investigated within a nomological network of technology acceptance constructs. The results indicate that the model provides explanatory power comparable to existing models of technology acceptance and that outcome comparisons provide unique insight beyond known determinants of intentions and usage.

Online Business Reporting: A Signaling Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT: The reporting of business information on websites, hereafter referred to as electronic business reporting (e-BR), continues to gain widespread acceptance as the Internet provides an inexpensive channel for delivering timely financial and nonfinancial information to investors. The online environment facilitates both the delivery of traditional text-based reporting content and the use of enhanced multimedia for displaying nonfinancial content, including elements such as images, presentations, video, and social media features. Signaling theory and research on trust was applied to develop a signaling research model and investigate how the reporting of nonfinancial content in e-BR can serve as a signal, specifically with nonprofessional investors. An experimental study was conducted in which the quality of e-BR and company performance was varied to investigate how e-BR influences perceptions of investment quality and intentions. The findings suggest that the nonfinancial content in e-BR influences pe...

Understanding how metadata and explanations can better support data warehousing and related decision support systems: an exploratory case study

Many businesses have made or are making significant investments in data warehouses (DWs) and marts that are designed to support a myriad of decision support systems (DSSs). Due to the newness of DWs and related DSSs, the nature of the decision support provided to DSS users and the importance of meta-data and explanations within that support have not been documented. An exploratory case study has been undertaken at two organizations that are using DWs to support a particular type of DW-DSS - customer relationship management (CRM) systems. CRM systems were selected as a representative DW-DSS due to the large number of system users and the various types of DSS tools that these systems typically encompass. The DSS decision performance model suggested by P. Todd and I. Benbasat (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999) has been employed as a framework for this exploration. Constructs from S. Gregor and I. Benbasats (1999) meta-analysis of explanation use were used to guide the investigation of the explanations.