Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Introduction

The Web can be conceived as a media for contents to
build and maintain individualised relationships with profitable customers through its proper usage.
In this e-CRM (electronic Customer Relationship Management)
context, the viewpoint must change from (1) a traditional perspective with a short-term focus to
(2) a long-term perspective with a (2.1) user-retention and (2.2) enduring-involvement focus based
on optimal experiences and greater expected Web use to avoid switching suppliers at virtually
comparably low direct and indirect costs. Marketers must be interested in users’ profitable
sessions at their Web sites being longer and more frequent to increase the degree to which a
customer (i.e., Web site user) voluntarily interacts with them. Therefore, it becomes important to
examine the human factors that (1) reduce time pressure as a cost for users and (2) influence the
acceptance and, in turn, length and frequency of Web site sessions (Sánchez-Franco and
Rodríguez-Bobada, 2004).

With the growing reliance on computerised systems and increasing speed of the introduction of
new Information Technologies (ITs) (e.g., Web), understanding the factors that promote acceptance
and effective utilization of Web technology continues to be a vital issue for researchers and
practitioners. Specifically, research in HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) tradition has long
asserted that the research of human factors (1) is a key to the successful design and
implementation of technological devices, and (2) should analyze extrinsic and intrinsic motives.
Thus, there is a need for a review and synthesis in order to progress toward a unified view of Web
acceptance and usage (Venkatesh et al., 2003).

Accordingly, it is important to consider the human beliefs and affects based on a Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) (i.e., ease of use and usefulness) and a flow model, respectively, to
understand: (1) attitude towards using the Web; (2) behavioural intention to use; and (3) Web
actual usage. On the one hand, the two beliefs based on TAM, perceived usefulness and ease of use,
are the most important human factors determining usage of computers or IS (Information System). On
the other hand, flow, defined as an optimal, intense and intrinsically enjoyable experience, has
been proposed as a useful framework (1) for studying the experience of individuals as they learn
and use the Web, (2) for identifying the factors that influence this experience, and (3) as a way
of defining the nature of compelling online experiences (Novak et al., 2000). In fact, creating compelling experiences in this distinctive
consumption environment depends on facilitating a state of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1990;
Hoffman and Novak, 1996b; Novak et al., 2000).

However, very little is theoretically and empirically known about users’ interactions with
Web-based technologies. Few studies actually focus directly on (1) Web acceptance and usage and its
antecedents and consequences adopting a user-centered perspective, and (2) the extrinsic and
intrinsic motives that affect Web usage. In this sense, Novak et al. (2000) suggest that among
marketing academics and Internet practitioners alike, there is a lack of genuine knowledge about
the factors that (1) make for effective interactions with online users and (2) make using the Web a
compelling user experience. More recently, Parasuraman and Zinkhan (2002) point out that there is a
considerable knowledge gap between the practice of online marketing and the availability of sound,
research-based insights and principles for guiding that practice.

In this situation of development, a theoretical model based on technology acceptance (TAM)
and a flow model (concerning an Information System), is proposed in this chapter to describe the
extrinsic and intrinsic motives for online users. Chan and Swatman (2000) stated that there is very
little literature which discusses the process of Internet-based marketing, so that researchers must
(1) start with the literature concerning more general IS implementation and (2) hope to develop a
body of theory, which is more explicitly focused on the area of Internet marketing (Eid and
Trueman, 2002). Our objective in this chapter is thus to evaluate the mediating role of main
intrinsic and extrinsic motives explaining users’ Web acceptance and affecting the Web usage (1) to
explain and (2) to improve the users’ experience of being and reacting in the Web, and, in turn,
(3) to run a profitable business.