Media Effects Research Lab - Research Archive
Do we trust crowd or system?
Student Researcher(s)
Jinyoung Kim ( Candidate);
Andrew J. Gambino ( Candidate);
Xiaoye Zhou (Masters Candidate);
Faculty Supervisor
Introduction
When people go online and search for information, how do personalization of the content and bandwagon cues impact their perception? This study designs a 2 (personalization: present vs. absent) x 2 (bandwagon: high vs. low) between-subject online experiment (N=267) that examines the effect of interface cues in web sites on users' perceptions in the context of restaurant recommendation web site. Results showed the significant main and interaction effects of personalization cues and bandwagon cues on web sites on users’ perceptions, especially their attitudes toward the individual restaurant, intentions to visit the restaurant, positive attitudes toward the web site, and intentions to revisit and recommend the web site. Based on such significant findings, theoretical and practical implications for future research on the effect of interface cues on user’ perceptions are provided.
Research Questions/Hypotheses
H1a: Higher levels of personalization cue will lead to more positive perceptions of the individual restaurants.
H1b: Higher levels of personalization cue will lead to greater behavioral intentions toward the individual restaurants.
H2a: Higher levels of personalization cue will lead to more positive attitudes toward the web site.
H2b: Higher levels of personalization cue will lead to greater behavioral intention toward the web site.
H3a: Higher levels of bandwagon cue will lead to more positive attitudes toward the restaurant.
H3b: Higher levels of bandwagon cue will lead to greater behavioral intention toward the restaurant.
H4a: Higher levels of bandwagon cue will lead to more positive attitudes toward the web site.
H4b: Higher levels of bandwagon cue will lead to greater behavioral intention toward the web site.
RQ1: Will there be any interaction effects between personalization of web site content and bandwagon cues on users’ attitudes toward the restaurant?
RQ2: Will there be any interaction effects between personalization of web site content and bandwagon cues on behavioral intentions toward the restaurant?
RQ3: Will there be any interaction effects between personalization of web site content and bandwagon cues on attitudes toward the web site?
RQ4: Will there be any interaction effects between personalization of web site content and bandwagon cues on behavioral intentions toward the web site?
RQ5: Will personalization cues indirectly influence behavioral intentions toward the web site through multiple mediators of perceived relevance and attitudes toward the web site?
Method
A 2 (personalization: present vs. absent)x 2(bandwagon cues: high vs. low) between-subject online experiment was designed. The experiment had two sessions: one session included the pre-questionnaire that asked users' personal preferences of foods so that web site could provide the results that are tailored to users (personalization condition) and the other session did not have the pre-questionnaire (non-personalization condition), instead participants received the randomized content that are not matched with users' personal preferences. Participants (N=267) were asked to answer questions concerning their perception of a mock-up restaurant recommendation web site named Foodies.com, which approximates existing restaurant review web sites (e.g., Yelp.com, Urbanspoon.com) that provide personalized choices of restaurants based on users’ preferences (e.g., types of cuisines, budget, location).
Results
The findings showed the significant support for personalization of web site content that leads to higher attitudes and intentions toward the individual restaurant, as well as intentions to use the web site as a whole. Higher bandwagon cues had a positive effect on attitudes and intentions towards the individual restaurant and attitudes and intentions to use the web site. There was one two-way interaction found, for intentions to visit the restaurant, the bandwagon cues showed the larger impact when people received the non-personalized content. There was no support for all other hypothesized interactions. We also found the serial multiple mediation effect that showed the significant indirect effect of the personalized web site content on users’ behavioral intentions toward the web site through both mediators of perceived relevance and attitudes toward the web site in serial manner.
Conclusion
The results of this study add to the growing body of literature regarding the effects of interface cues. This study showed rather large effects, particularly for bandwagon cues, that support models that incorporate heuristic information processing approaches. Consistent with our predictions, bandwagon cues were found to have a positive effect on attitudes and intentions. Further, personalization had a positive effect as well. A significant interaction effect was found on behavioral intentions towards the restaurant with the personalization cue moderating the bandwagon effect. Moreover, findings of this study suggest important practical implications for both business owners and web site designers. Since customers rely more on bandwagon cues rather than personalization cues, restaurant owners should focus their efforts on improving the quality of overall services to customers who visit their restaurants so that their store can ultimately receive better ratings and positive reviews. For web site developers and designers, out results suggest that they should provide easy decisions for users, rather than drowning them in too much information.
For more details regarding the study contact
Dr. S. Shyam Sundar by e-mail at sss12@psu.edu or by telephone at (814) 865-2173