The results provide beneficial insights into differences in user satisfaction with Web portals based on behavioral and demographic groups.
From this study, we find out that different levels of work experience resulted in different levels of user satisfaction with Web portals. Based on the matrices, we find out that the users with seven to 10 years work experience are most satisfied with Web portals, while users with more than 10 years work experience report least satisfaction with Web portals. We also find that users that use Web portals the least (30 to 60 minutes per week) are least satisfied with them.
The Web portal type has been the one factor that always results in differences in satisfaction, and users of vertical (or customer community) portals are always more satisfied than users of horizontal (or mega) portals. One of the reasons this may have happened is that vertical portals are sites people go to because they share a common interest with other members or users of the portal. This may provide a kind of attraction to this portal that no other types of portal can provide. The sense of community and affinity towards a vertical portal may be a reason for their users’ high satisfaction scores. Our findings have serious consequences for horizontal or mega portals such as Yahoo! Horizontal portals should devise ways in which members of their portal get a sense of community — a number of portals such as Yahoo! provide chat facilities and games to its members. This can attract users who share a common interest.
There are no significant gender differences in user satisfaction with Web portals. And age doesn’t seem to be an important factor to influence user satisfaction here, either. This supports more recent research in information systems.
Any research has its limitations and this one is no different. The use of students can raise concerns about external validity and generalizability of our findings. Moreover, measures used in this study were perceptual in nature; actual use of portals was not determined. Although we evaluated use of portals, we did not differentiate between work-related and recreational use of these applications or Web sites.
In conclusion, the findings of the present study contribute to a better understanding of user satisfaction with Web portals. It examines behavioral and demographic factors and their impact on user satisfaction with Web portals, which is relevant for both academic research and IT practitioners.