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1 – 10 of over 25000
Article
Publication date: 11 January 2022

Geeta Marmat

This paper aims to empirically explore the influence of website aesthetic attributes (classical and expressive) on customer brand engagement (CBE) intention.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to empirically explore the influence of website aesthetic attributes (classical and expressive) on customer brand engagement (CBE) intention.

Design/methodology/approach

This research develops a framework and a few research hypothesis based on available literature on the concept of aesthetics, aesthetic attribute of websites and CBE, as well as other reliable resources, relevant theories, wherever required and tested it on the data collected from 400 respondents of the Y generation (Gen Y) of India by means of structural equations modelling using SPSS AMOS 21.

Findings

The findings indicate that expressive aesthetics of the brand Web pages of the beauty products is positively associated with drawing attention. Expressive aesthetics and classical aesthetics together explained 16% of the variance in attention. This indicates that aesthetic attributes indeed play a role in drawing the attention of the customer. However, mere attention is not sufficient to form the behavioural intention in the customer to engage with that particular brand unless the customer does get fully absorbed with aesthetic attributes of the brand Web pages.

Research limitations/implications

The outcome of this research is based on the view of only 400 Gen Y individuals from the city of Indore in India. This limits its generalizability across India and other country context. This study makes important contribution to brand website aesthetic and CBE literature by empirically investigating the concept of brand website aesthetics as important in interactive marketing approach to initiate CBE intention formation. It further argues that cognitive engagement is the first and foremost engagement dimension and underscores aesthetic attributes as important in forming the customer first perception based on which subsequent CBE behavioural intention develops.

Originality/value

This research adds novel insight in the relationship of the brand website aesthetic attributes and CBE by studying the impact of the aesthetic attribute of brand Web pages on the two cognitive elements, namely, attention and absorption and further its effect on brand behavioural intention taking as sample of Gen Y of India.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 72 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Seonjeong (Ally) Lee

This study aims to investigate the relationships among sensory, emotional and cognitive attributes on a hotel’s website, customers’ telepresence, their attitudes toward the…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the relationships among sensory, emotional and cognitive attributes on a hotel’s website, customers’ telepresence, their attitudes toward the hotel’s website, brand attitudes and their behavioral intentions, based on telepresence and parasocial interaction theories as theoretical backgrounds.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional, online, self-administered survey was conducted to examine the proposed framework from previous hotel guests in the USA, who booked the hotel via its website within the previous 12 months.

Findings

Results identified sensory and emotional attributes influenced customers’ telepresence; however, cognitive attributes did not affect telepresence on the hotel’s website. Telepresence then influenced customers’ attitudes toward the hotel’s website and their behavioral intentions. Both attitudes toward the hotel’s website and brand attitudes influenced customers’ behavioral intentions.

Originality/value

This study was the first study to propose the telepresence model in the hotel website context, investigating antecedents and outcomes of the telepresence.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Michael Pascoe, Owen Wright and Hume Winzar

The purpose of this paper is to review and extend previous work involving branding and website performance and aesthetics by applying a best-worst scaling (BWS) approach…

1290

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review and extend previous work involving branding and website performance and aesthetics by applying a best-worst scaling (BWS) approach. Respondents were tasked with choosing the best and worst from 16-brand attribute statements representing website communications and aesthetics, a more effective understanding of consumer segmentation is revealed between the offline facility to the online retail experience.

Design/methodology/approach

A research design utilising BWS was deployed to provide an alternate perspective of consumer choice in an omni-channel retail environment.

Findings

Findings indicate a bifurcated audience with one-half reliant on communication and the other half on aesthetics is most important in the online environment when generating a positive relationship towards the retail brand.

Research limitations/implications

This study was conducted within a single retail format category (sportswear and apparel) so future studies need to estimate cross-category implications. The authors also suggest online experimental designs for consumers to compare traditional retail brand images. Finally as this study utilised Australian responses only the authors suggest cross-cultural comparisons to better understand the universal nature of website functionality and its link with traditional retail formats.

Practical implications

Retail executives will find the results from this study useful in two ways. To ensure consistency of brand image across channels managers must communicate efficiently and effectively. Brand managers must mediate between customer segments with some preferring clear concise website communications and others well established aesthetics.

Originality/value

This study adopts a BWS approach to better understand consumer choices in an online/offline branding environment.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2010

Ruby Roy Dholakia and Miao Zhao

The purpose of this paper is to identify website characteristics that affect customer evaluations and satisfaction with online stores at two interaction points – when the order is…

13114

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify website characteristics that affect customer evaluations and satisfaction with online stores at two interaction points – when the order is placed and after the order has been fulfilled.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data collected by bizrate.com, data collected from customers of thousands of online stores, the analysis focuses on the changes in the relationships between website characteristics and customer ratings. Data for two‐time periods, 15 months apart, are used to determine the stability in the observed relationships.

Findings

Order fulfillment variables, particularly on‐time delivery, dominate the effects on overall customer evaluations and satisfaction. The statistical significance of other online store attributes, however, changes as differences are observed between 2003 and 2004.

Research limitations/implications

The online environment is dynamic and the paper captures some of the changes in the relationships between website attributes and customer satisfaction. This requires continuous monitoring of the online environment. Since the paper relies on secondary data collected by bizrate.com, the research is limited by specific website attributes and measures of customer satisfaction adopted by a commercial enterprise.

Practical implications

Online retailers must be strategic about fulfillment variables. When online stores compete with each other, it is easier to copy certain attributes like “shipping options” than other attributes such as “on‐time delivery.” This suggests that the most creative, interactive, and vivid online site will not compensate for weak fulfillment and customer support capabilities.

Originality/value

No other paper has looked at these data, collected from real customers making purchases at actual merchant sites, over two time periods. The results provide insights regarding stability of findings.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 38 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2018

Jean-Eric Pelet, Benoît Lecat, Jashim Khan, Sharyn Rundle-Thiele, Linda W. Lee, Debbie Ellis, Marianne McGarry Wolf, Androniki Kavoura, Vicky Katsoni and Anne Lena Wegmann

This paper aims to examine the relationship between feelings toward buying wine on mobile phones and m-commerce website loyalty by examining the mediating role of sales promotion…

1932

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between feelings toward buying wine on mobile phones and m-commerce website loyalty by examining the mediating role of sales promotion and the moderating role of service attributes of the m-commerce websites in influencing the mediation.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 3,318 completed surveys were collected. Drawing on a large non-probability criterion-based purposive sample across six countries (France, Germany, Greece, South Africa, USA and Canada), mediation analysis was performed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

Results show that sales promotion mediates the relationship between feelings toward buying wine on mobile phones and m-commerce website loyalty. Moderated mediation reveals that the indirect pathways (sales promotion) through which feelings toward buying wine over mobile exert its effect on m-commerce website loyalty are dependent on the value of service (wine delivery) attributes of the website. The results demonstrate that sales promotion and service are of paramount importance to wineries and wine marketers.

Research limitations/implications

Wine producers and retailers should consider the use of sales promotion to enhance sales and loyalty to m-commerce websites.

Practical implications

Wine producers and retailers should consider use sales promotion (such as SMS or push notifications) to enhance sales and influence consumer feelings and hence their loyalty.

Originality/value

Wine m-commerce studies are limited, especially with an international perspective comparing six different countries: three from the old world (France, Germany and Greece) and three from the new world (North America with USA and Canada; and South Africa). Altogether, these six countries represent around 40 per cent of the world’s wine consumption.

Details

International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1062

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2021

Phil Longstreet, Stoney Brooks, Mauricio Featherman and Eleanor Loiacono

The purpose of this paper is to determine which design and operational attributes of e-commerce websites consumers use to assess website quality. Cue utilization theory is used to…

2273

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine which design and operational attributes of e-commerce websites consumers use to assess website quality. Cue utilization theory is used to examine the explanatory power, robustness and relevance of the WebQual model. Results indicate which WebQual dimensions are the most relevant and salient to website users. These dimensions are categorized by their perceived and confidence values. A second study is conducted about how website users evaluate and utilize the WebQual dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey methodology was utilized to provide insight into the nomological validity of the WebQual model by examining it through a cue utilization lens.

Findings

The first study categorizes the WebQual dimensions on their ability to provide a diagnostic measure of website quality, and consumer confidence in their ability to use these cues when judging the website's overall quality. The second study presents results of each dimension in relation to the quality evaluation of an actual e-commerce website. Additional analysis also revealed gender differences in cue utilization.

Originality/value

This study provided insight into WebQual-based research and identified original differences in cue utilization across genders. Results suggest that it may be beneficial for brand managers to focus on a subset of quality dimensions, rather than assume that consumers are comfortable using all website attributes to formulate quality judgments. These, results contribute to multiple literatures by providing a model that developers can utilize to focus on the deterministic characteristics of overall website quality. Further, the cue utilization perspective provides additional avenues for fruitful further research into consumer decision-making in the e-commerce context.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2020

Jamid Ul Islam, Shadma Shahid, Aaleya Rasool, Zillur Rahman, Imran Khan and Raouf Ahmad Rather

This paper aims to investigate how banking websites can activate customer engagement (CE) to consequently enhance customer trust and retention.

4065

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how banking websites can activate customer engagement (CE) to consequently enhance customer trust and retention.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an online survey, data were collected from 598 customers of various (public and private) banks in India. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Findings

Results reveal that the key website attributes viz. website interactivity, website aesthetics, customization, ease of use and telepresence positively affect CE. The results also delineate positive associations between CE, customer trust and customer retention.

Research limitations/implications

This paper unravels that by strategically focusing on the relational dynamics of CE, banks can build trust and retain their most valuable stakeholders – the customers, thereby addressing the crucial strategic concerns of banking firms.

Originality/value

This research is the first to explore the effects of key website attributes on CE in the banking context. The undertaking of this study in an emerging economy adds further insight into CE literature by generalizing the applicability of CE studies across geographic contexts.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 38 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 March 2021

Christophe Bèzes

This research studies what full channel integration means for customers, how channels should be combined so that this integration is perceived by customers and whether a retailer…

Abstract

Purpose

This research studies what full channel integration means for customers, how channels should be combined so that this integration is perceived by customers and whether a retailer under study can act on the same channel attributes regardless of the type of customer.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design uses an online survey of a full sample of 1,015 multichannel buyers, extracted from the behavioral databases of a French specialized retailer. This full sample is segmented into four sub-samples. The data are treated with backward multiple linear regressions.

Findings

Based on research in marketing and psychology, this study conceptually demonstrates that integrated interactions perceived by consumers are the outcome of a judgment of congruence that seek to build relationships between them in order to combine them better. Testing three hypotheses, the empirical study shows that channel integration is a psychological process: cumulative (individuals incorporate the information provided by the different channels rather than comparing them), selective (customers never take into account all the attributes of the channels) and subjective (the channel image attributes taken into account differ in number and quality from one type of customer to another).

Originality/value

Contrary to what the literature assumes, without ever demonstrating it, full integration does not imply that the retailer in question homogenizes or even matches up all the attributes of its channels. The retailer is thus able to act on attributes that promote this integration, while being relatively free to cultivate the incongruence of other attributes more likely to smoothly guide customers to a particular channel – in other words, a path midway between cross-channel and omnichannel.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 49 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 December 2020

Karol Król

At the turn of 2018 and 2019, a certain era in the history of Polish Internet came to an end. Most of the websites of rural tourism facilities hosted on free servers no longer…

Abstract

Purpose

At the turn of 2018 and 2019, a certain era in the history of Polish Internet came to an end. Most of the websites of rural tourism facilities hosted on free servers no longer exist; however, the very phenomenon has significantly distinguished itself in the promotion of rural tourism in Poland. The paper presents archaic websites or rural tourism facilities in Poland as digital cultural heritage assets. Its purpose is to propose attributes potentially indicative of content or phenomenon being part of digital cultural heritage.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 211 websites of rural tourism facilities in Poland, hosted on free servers, were analysed. The study investigated digital artefacts, i.e. only the websites that no longer exist but whose archival copies are found at the Internet Archive (IA).

Findings

The structure of most websites of rural tourism facilities was based on tables. None of the websites were responsive. The graphics of 132 websites (65%) were never changed, with the oldest recorded copies dating back to 2001 and the newest ones to 2018. On many websites, components that are relatively rarely found these days were noted, e.g. “marquee”-type “floating” objects or online surveys.

Originality/value

The phenomenon of using free-of-charge hosting services by rural tourism facilities in Poland in the years 2004–2012 is part of the history of Polish Internet and an example of digital cultural heritage. Archaic websites of rural tourism facilities in Poland are digital artefacts but not all of them have cultural values. In total, three groups of attributes are proposed that can be important for determining whether a website, content or phenomenon can be considered digital cultural heritage assets.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Monireh Gharibe Niazi and Masumeh Karbala Aghaei Kamran

As a result of the so-called information explosion, it is very important for researchers, faculty members and students to access scientific and research information, which…

Abstract

Purpose

As a result of the so-called information explosion, it is very important for researchers, faculty members and students to access scientific and research information, which highlights the importance of designing university websites. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate Iranian state university websites using the Web quality evaluation method (WebQEM).

Design/methodology/approach

The research method was a combination of a descriptive survey and Delphi technique. The research population included 100 Iranian state university websites. Data collection was done using the checklists prepared by WebQEM. Descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and analysis statistics (Spearman rank-difference correlation coefficient) were used for data analysis.

Findings

The results indicated that Iranian state university websites met the four main criteria considered in WebQEM; reliability (mean = 0.67), efficiency (mean = 0.66) and functionality (mean = 0.62) were in a “good” condition, and usability was in a “middle” condition (mean = 0.59). Also, the findings showed that 60 per cent of the websites were in a good condition and 37 per cent were in a middle condition. In conclusion, Iranian state university websites were found to be in a “good” condition (mean = 0.63). Also, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad was ranked in the first place (score = 0.822). The hypothesis that there was a very weak correlation between Iranian state university ranking and Iranian state university websites ranking was confirmed (with the correlation of 0.22).

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the development of user interface of academic websites. This paper fills a part of the gap in terms of an urgent need for research on how university websites can be standardized. If university websites have significant and necessary standard factors (i.e. ISO 9126-1), students may succeed in academic information retrieval. Using the results of this research can help university website designers to fix weaknesses for active participation in these websites.

Originality/value

This study has evaluated Iranian state university websites using WebQEM.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

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