Young Ha

Role of web site design quality in satisfaction and word of mouth generation

– The purpose of this paper is to examine a comprehensive model explaining how web site design influences consumers emotional and cognitive responses and contributes to satisfaction and word‐of‐mouth (WOM) communication in an online shopping context., – A total of 804 female college students completed an online survey after browsing one of two mock web sites developed to manipulate web site design quality., – Web site design quality showed positive direct effects on pleasure, arousal, and perceived information quality and indirect effects on satisfaction and WOM intention. Pleasant shopping experience increased positive perceptions and satisfaction. The results also showed that satisfaction mediated the relationship between emotional and cognitive responses and positive WOM intention., – Although an online survey was used to increase the reality of an online shopping experience, uncontrolled conditions may have influenced the results of the study. Further research needs to be conducted in a laboratory setting to control these factors., – The paper theoretically extends the applicability of the stimulus‐organism‐response paradigm to satisfaction and electronic WOM intention research and fills the gap in the current online shopping literature. The paper also offers valuable information to online retailers to maximize consumer satisfaction and generate positive WOM using web site design.

Online visual merchandising (VMD) of apparel web sites

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine visual merchandising (VMD) elements of apparel retail web sites, to describe the state of apparel online VMD and to develop a taxonomy of online VMD cues whose effects can be studied empirically.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 50 US and 50 Korean web sites were content analyzed in terms of environment, manner of presentation, and path finding.Findings – Results of the study revealed that many VMD features of offline stores have been implemented online. In addition, some VMD features of online apparel stores do not have a direct offline parallel. The taxonomy of VMD cues can be used by researchers to systematically study the effects of the cues following the SOR Model.Research limitations/implications – Because of the descriptive nature of the study important discussions about possible effects of various VMD elements on consumer behaviors cannot be addressed. Future research needs to investigate the effects of different VMD features introduced in ...

Effects of site design on consumer emotions: role of product involvement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of low task relevant cues presented on apparel web sites on consumer emotions (pleasure and arousal) that in turn influence consumer response behaviors (purchase intention and approach behavior) and examine the influence of product involvement as a moderator of the relationship between such cues and emotions.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 157 female students participated in an online experiment using mock web sites. The paper employed a 2×2 between‐subjects factorial design: low task relevant web cues (presence vs absence) and product involvement (low vs high).Findings – The results revealed that low task relevant web cues induce more pleasure and arousal for online browsers with low levels of clothing product involvement than for those with high levels of clothing product involvement. The results also showed that emotions mediated the relationship between low task relevant web cues and various consumer response behaviors.Research...

Determinants of mobile coupon service adoption: assessment of gender difference

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically examine a comprehensive model describing the effects of perceived characteristics of mobile coupon services on attitudes and the effects of personal innovativeness and subjective norm (SN) on behavioral intention (BI) to use such services. Gender differences in the process of mobile coupon service adoption were also investigated. Design/methodology/approach – The online survey was distributed to US adult consumers (age 19 and over) recruited through an online sampling service company. A total of 657 useable responses were obtained. Findings – The results showed that in general, compatibility and enjoyment are stronger determinants of attitudes toward mobile coupon adoption than ease of use and usefulness of mobile coupon services. Innovativeness and SN showed strong effects on BI to use mobile coupon services. Furthermore, the results demonstrated gender differences in the relative strength of perceived characteristics that affect attitudes...

The effect of perceptual fluency and enduring involvement on situational involvement in an online apparel shopping context

Purpose – Casual online shoppers without a strong intention to purchase items can easily leave web sites within seconds. However, there is little research examining how and why consumers are engaged momentarily when they are exposed to a target stimulus in a low involvement shopping situation. This online experiment study seeks to investigate the possibility of enhancing situational involvement with personal and stimulus factors, namely enduring involvement and perceived perceptual fluency, and to determine how enjoyment contributes to the relations among enduring involvement, perceptual fluency, cognitive effort, and situational involvement, in a low‐involvement online shopping context.Design/methodology/approach – An online experiment was conducted to test the conceptual model. Two mock web sites with different levels of perceptual fluency were developed to test effects of perceptual fluency on situational involvement, and participants completed an online survey after viewing one on the web site.Finding...

Who are the users of mobile coupons? A profile of US consumers

Purpose – Mobile coupons are a new form of marketing that is expected to grow in the near future. The purpose of this paper is to understand mobile coupon adoptions among US consumers. The study identifies adopter categories based on personal innovativeness and further investigates the characteristics that distinguish identified adopter categories.Design/methodology/approach – Based on innovation diffusion theory and technology acceptance model, consumers are clustered to adopter categories. The distinctiveness of adopter categories in terms of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, behavioral intention, and actual use of mobile coupons were investigated. Determinants of adoption decision were compared among adopter categories. A cluster analysis, Kruskal‐Wallis tests, and regression analyses were performed.Findings – An online survey of 611 US consumers confirmed the viability of consumer adopter categories. Perceived usefulness, attitudes and behavioral intentions were significantly diff...

Consumer Responses to Online Atmosphere: The Moderating Role of Atmospheric Responsiveness

Abstract Due to the nature of online shopping, online shoppers are mostly affected by visual cues shown on websites. Visual cues used in the site design and layout (Davis, Wang, & Lindridge, 2008) influence consumer emotions and image of the website. The use of a variety of colors and materials draws consumers’ attention and influences their browsing tendency and purchase intention in the store (Kerfoot, Davis, & Ward, 2003). Because apparel cannot be physically examined online, perceived risk has also become a major concern for online shoppers when purchasing apparel products in-home. If consumers are pleased by online atmospheric cues, they may evaluate online shopping more favorably and perceive less risk. Previous research showed that perceived risk is negatively related to patronage intention (Forsythe, Liu, Shannon, & Gardner, 2006) and actual purchase decision (Lin, 2008). Applying the Stimulus-Organism-Response paradigm, Eroglu, Machleit, and Davis (2001) develop a conceptual model that describes the function of various site stimuli in the online shopping environment. According to the model, online stimuli, such as colors and decorative images, can influence consumers’ affective and cognitive responses that in turn influence their behaviors (Eroglu et al., 2001). Affective response can be explained by consumers’ emotional or feeling states such as pleasure (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982; Lavidge & Steiner, 1961). Consumers who are pleased may evaluate websites more favorably than those who are not. Cognition describes consumers’ internal mental processes (Eroglu et al., 2001) – a belief system that can be measured by negative or positive perceptions and thoughts generated by consumers when they are exposed to stimuli (Holbrook & Batra, 1987; Yoo & Kim, 2005). In an online shopping situation, website ambient and design factors influence affective responses (Mummalaneni, 2005) and cognitive response such as perceived risk (Park, Lennon, & Stoel, 2005). Researchers conceptualize that individual’s affective and cognitive responses toward websites may differ as a function of personal differences in atmospheric responsiveness (Eroglu et al., 2001; Fiore & Kim, 2007). One empirical study finds that the site atmosphere influences pleasure for shoppers high in atmospheric responsiveness, but not for those low in atmospheric responsiveness (Eroglu, Machleit, & Davis, 2003). Although one study (Eroglu et al., 2003) examines the effect of atmospheric responsiveness in the relationship between site atmosphere and affective responses such as pleasure and arousal, no research has investigated the moderating role of atmospheric responsiveness in determining consumer cognitive responses in the online shopping context. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to 1) investigate the effects of website atmospheric cues on consumer pleasure and perceived risk that in turn affect consumer patronage intention and 2) examine the moderating effect of atmospheric responsiveness in the relationship between website atmospheric cues and both consumers’ affective and cognitive responses toward the website atmosphere. Two mock websites varied in relation to the presence of atmospheric cues: one website (presence of atmospheric cues) featured colored icons, a flashing brand logo, and a background with a logo pattern, while the other website (absence of atmospheric cues) had a static brand logo, text hyperlinks, and no background pattern. The two websites contained the same product information such as product views, available colors, fabric and style information, and other verbal descriptions. Each website consisted of an instruction page, a main page showing two pairs of trousers together, a product page for each of the two products, and a page with dependent measures. A random sample of 148 female students at a large Midwestern University participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups and instructed to browse and look around the website. After browsing the website, participants completed dependent measures. The results showed a significant effect for online atmospheric cues on pleasure and perceived risk. Respondents experienced more pleasure and perceived less risk while browsing the website with atmospheric cues as compared to respondents in the condition without atmospheric cues. In addition, results revealed the moderating effect of atmospheric responsiveness on the relationship between site atmospheric cues and shoppers’ pleasure and risk perception. Site atmospheric cues evoked greater pleasure and less perceived risk for respondents with high atmospheric responsiveness but not for respondents with low atmospheric responsiveness. This highlights the important role of atmospheric responsiveness in determining consumer cognitive responses in addition to affective responses in the online shopping context. In addition, the findings demonstrated that respondents who felt more pleased by and perceived less risk from the site environment were likely to have greater patronage intention. More importantly, pleasure and perceived risk mediated the relationship between site atmosphere and patronage intention. The effects of online stimuli on consumers’ behavioral intentions tend to be indirect via affective and cognitive responses toward the site rather than direct. Online retailers need to make online shopping less risky and subsequently help consumers make purchases online with more confidence. Online apparel retailers may need to redesign the websites considering differences in consumers’ personal characteristics. Website personalization based on consumer preferences may help to attract consumers with different levels of atmospheric responsiveness. Then, the website design format selected by each consumer can be a default option for all subsequent visits to the website. Even inexpensive site redesign can also influence consumer responses.

Is this mobile coupon worth my private information

Purpose – This study aims to investigate determinants of permission-granting intention of consumers based on transaction utility theory. The study also was designed to investigate the role of two individual characteristics, coupon proneness and fear of spamming as well as gender difference. Mobile coupons have quickly become an important marketing tactic. However, our understanding of mobile coupon usage is limited because previous studies of coupon usage do not examine key characteristics of new technology-based coupons. Therefore, research in this specific context is necessary. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was used and US adult consumers (N = 658) were recruited to empirically test the model. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – Results provided support for the proposed model. The data confirmed the evaluation process of a potential transaction using mobile coupons hypothesized based on transaction utility theory. Gender differences were tested using mu...