Short run website evaluation: the effect of human aspects in images

Short Run Website Evaluation: The Effect of Human Aspects in Images ERASMUS UNIVERSITEIT ROTTERDAM Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen Coach: B. Dellaert Author: Wesley van der Hoop Student number: 296462 E-mail: [email protected] Thesis: Master Department: Marketing Management Date: Telephone: 06-47903230

"Unless the first impression is favourable, visitors will be out of your site before they even know that you might be offering more than your competitors" Gitte Lindgaard, Carleton University

The author declares that the text and work presented in this Master thesis is original and that no sources other than the ones that are mentioned in the text have been used in creating this Master thesis. The copyright of the Master thesis rests with the author. The author is responsible for its contents. ESE Erasmus University is only responsible for the educational coaching and beyond that cannot be held responsible for the content.

PREFACE

I went to the Erasmus University to become a Register Accountant, I will leave as a Marketeer. Along

the way I found my passion in marketing. Especially online marketing, branding and advertising

caught my attention. In online marketing I found my research subject, and hopefully, my job as well

in the near future.

Sometimes, when developing a website, it is hard to find the best ratio between design and

conversion. Where design is mostly based on graphics, a high rank on Google for instance, is mostly

based on text. A beautiful website is worth nothing, when it does not generate results. Website

evaluation models helps us getting these results, by winning trust, and evoke positive emotional

responses of the visitors, and will be more and more important when gaining new insights on the

subject. With this study, I created a model for the short run website evaluation.

I worked for almost a year on this study, and yet the subject keeps fascinating me, and it was a

pleasure to work on the subject. I would like to thank B. Delleart for his support and help, and the

inspiration for choosing this subject.

This thesis will be the closure of an important phase in my life, and I’m looking forward to the next

one. A phase in which I can bring theory into practice, and hopefully bring back practice to new

theories.

I hope you enjoy reading this thesis, and learn something more about the subject.

Wesley van der Hoop

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The goal of this thesis was to create a model for short run website evaluations, and trying to find

what aspect is effecting these short run website evaluations. In this case the human aspects in

images are tested, known to have a positive effect on trust on the long run. After an extensive

literature review, an experiment has been conducted on 91 respondents, showing three manipulated

websites for a short amount of time. The only difference between the websites was the main image,

containing the product, human/product, or solely human aspects.

After the respondents were exposed to the website, a questionnaire was filled in. Since the website

was shown for a very short period of time (3.41s), it was more about the feelings respondents had

towards the website, evoked by the first impression, than rational evaluations. Hence, the affective

process, known to be faster than the cognitive process, was more important for the short run

evaluation.

After the experiments, a Principal Component Analyse was conducted, and the constructs were

tested on internal reliability. In the end, the human aspects in the images seem to have no significant

effect on the short run. However, a short run website evaluation model could be created, and

showed us emotional appeal is even more important than was predicted, based on the theoretical

foundations. This model also showed us, there is positive effect of aesthetics on emotional appeal,

never been shown before in any website evaluation model. Next to emotional appeal, initial trust

seemed to significantly effect the short run website evaluation as well.

CONTENTS

Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 3

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 4

Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 4

Part I: Research problem & questions ................................................................................................... 8

1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 8

1.1 Problem definition ..................................................................................................................... 8

1.2 Contribution to existing literature ............................................................................................. 9

1.3 Thesis structure ....................................................................................................................... 10

Part II: Theoretical foundations ........................................................................................................... 11

2 Literature review ............................................................................................................................ 11

2.1 Short run impression of a website .......................................................................................... 11

2.2 Short run impression and images ............................................................................................ 12

2.3 Images and the human aspect ................................................................................................ 12

2.4 Website evaluation .................................................................................................................. 14

2.5 Short run website evaluation .................................................................................................. 17

2.5.1 The dimensions related to Usefulness ............................................................................. 17

2.5.2 The dimensions related to Ease of use ............................................................................. 18

2.5.3 Trust .................................................................................................................................. 18

2.5.4 Response time .................................................................................................................. 18

2.5.5 The dimensions related to Entertainment ....................................................................... 18

2.5.6 The dimensions determining the new model .................................................................. 20

2.6 Online Trust ............................................................................................................................. 20

2.7 Online Aesthetics ..................................................................................................................... 21

2.8 Online Emotions ...................................................................................................................... 23

Part III: Hypotheses & Theoretical framework .................................................................................... 27

3 Research method & Hypotheses .................................................................................................... 27

3.1 Images & Initial Trust ............................................................................................................... 27

3.2 Images & Aesthetics ................................................................................................................ 28

3.3 Images & Emotional appeal ..................................................................................................... 31

3.4 Aesthetics & Emotional appeal ............................................................................................... 32

3.5 Initial Trust & the short run evaluation website ..................................................................... 33

3.6 Aesthetics & the short run evaluation website ....................................................................... 34

3.7 Emotional appeal & the short run evaluation website ........................................................... 35

3.8 Conceptual map....................................................................................................................... 36

Part IV: Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 38

4 Data & Methods ............................................................................................................................. 38

4.1 Research population & Data collection ................................................................................... 38

4.2 Research object: the website .................................................................................................. 38

4.3 Survey questions ..................................................................................................................... 39

4.3.1 Initial trust ........................................................................................................................ 39

4.3.2 Aesthetics ......................................................................................................................... 40

4.3.3 Emotional appeal .............................................................................................................. 41

4.3.4 Short run website evaluation ........................................................................................... 42

4.4 Measurement .......................................................................................................................... 43

4.5 Pre-test round ......................................................................................................................... 43

Part V Data analysis .............................................................................................................................. 45

5.1 Sample ..................................................................................................................................... 45

5.2 Univariate data analysis of the sample ................................................................................... 45

5.3 Principal Components Factor Analysis .................................................................................... 46

5.3.1 Determining the independent components ..................................................................... 46

5.3.2 Determining the dependent component ......................................................................... 49

5.3.3 Reliability constructs ........................................................................................................ 50

5.3.4 Overview components ..................................................................................................... 50

5.4 Homogeneity of the sample .................................................................................................... 52

5.4.1 Gender .............................................................................................................................. 52

5.4.2 Age .................................................................................................................................... 52

5.5 Testing hypothesis ................................................................................................................... 52

5.5.1 Overview hypothesis and instruments ............................................................................. 53

5.5.1 H1a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on Initial trust ....................................... 54

5.5.2 H2a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on Organization.................................... 55

5.5.3 H3a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on Visual appeal ................................... 56

5.5.4 H4: The net effect of the human aspect in images on Aesthetics .................................... 57

5.5.5 H5a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on Pleasure .......................................... 58

5.5.6 H6a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on Arousal ............................................ 59

5.5.7 The effect of the human aspect in images on the short run ............................................ 60

5.5.8 H7a-d: The effect of perceived aesthetics on perceived emotional appeal ....................... 60

5.5.9 H8: The effect of initial trust on the short run website evaluation .................................. 63

5.5.10 H9: The effect of organization on the short run website evaluation .............................. 64

5.5.11 H10: The effect of visual appeal on the short run website evaluation ............................ 65

5.5.12 H11: The effect of pleasure on the short run website evaluation ................................... 66

5.5.13 H12: The effect of arousal on the short run website evaluation ..................................... 68

5.5.13 Building a model concerning the short run website evaluation .................................... 70

Part VI Discussion & Findings ............................................................................................................... 72

6.1 The influence of human aspects in images on the short run .................................................. 72

6.1.1 Difference between an online bookstore and an online electronic store ....................... 72

6.1.2 Why human aspects might not have influence on the short run website evaluation ..... 72

6.2 The effect of initial trust on short run website evaluation ..................................................... 73

6.4 The effect of pleasure on arousal on the short run ................................................................ 75

6.5 The effect of visual appeal on emotional appeal on the short run ......................................... 75

6.6 The effect of organization on visual appeal on the short run ................................................. 76

Part VII Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 77

7.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 77

7.2 Implications for practice .......................................................................................................... 78

Limitations ............................................................................................................................................ 79

Recommendations for future research ................................................................................................ 81

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 83

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 90

PART I: RESEARCH PROBLEM & QUESTIONS

1 Introduction

Imagine you are looking for a book on a certain subject online, something to read during your

vacation. You do not have an e-reader yet, so you want to buy a paper version. You are not familiar

with any book selling website, so you decide to use Google to start your search. You click the link on

top of the search results, have a look at it, and decide to click it away without having read any of the

text on the website. What just happened?

There is a possibility their assortment is way larger than their competitors, and they may even be

specialized in the kind of books you like, their prize may even be lower, and the delivery might be

quicker than that of their competitors. You don’t know, because you did not give the website any

chance at all. Unfair? No. The website just looked too chaotic and unreliable to even give it a chance.

In a blink of an eye the judgment has been given, no second chances.

This sounds harsh, but we do this every time we visit a website. It is called the short run website

evaluation, and it determines everything.

1.1 Problem definition

The first impression of a website determines how you conceive possible imperfections of the

website. When this first impression is good, imperfections as longer than usual loading time irritates

you, but it will not make you click the website away. Conversely, when the first impression of website

is bad, this same imperfection triggers you to close down the window and look for a competitors

website. Sometimes a bad first impression is even enough to exit the website immediately. For this

reason, it is very important companies have their webdesign up-to-date with the latest findings on

website evaluation. Website design is not all about looking pretty, it influences other aspects as well,

like important aspects in today’s economy as trust and emotional appeal. Especially in this time,

where consumers get more demanding, and digitalization takes over the world, the online channel

becomes more and more important for every company. Bricks become clicks, e-commerce is still

increasing its market share (figure 1).

FIGURE 1 E-sales as percentage of total retail

Models are created for the long run website evaluation. Creating a positive effect on the long run

website evaluation should be the goal of every sustainable website. However, some aspects of these

models, are influenced greatly by the first impression of the website: the short run website

evaluation. Until now, there are models for the short run website evaluation. Therefore, one of the

goals of this thesis is to create a model which does explain the first impression of the website.

How this model can be influenced by the design of a website is examined as well. In this study,

different main images and their effect on the short run website evaluation model is tested. The main

research question will be:

How will different images effect the short run overall evaluation of a website?

This question is extended to a number or other, more specific, research questions, which will be

formed and discussed after the literature review on the subject. These questions will be based

on the theoretical foundations.

1.2 Contribution to existing literature

This thesis, will be the first study developing a complete short run website evaluation model. Long

run website evaluation models are reviewed (Liu & Arnett, 2000; Yoo & Donthu, 2001; Aladwani &

Palvia, 2002; Barnes & Vidgen, 2002; McKinney et al., 2002; van Iwaarden & van der Wiele, 2003;

Yang et al., 2004; Cao et al., 2005; Bresolles, 2006; Laiocono et al.; 2002, 2007), for rebuilding this

models into a short run website evaluation model. Some long run factors, as trust, are replaced by

short run factors, as initial trust (McKnight et al., 1998). Some long run factors are adapted to give

more precise insights, such as the concept of emotional appeal in the study of Laiocono et al. (2007).

A new effect, never been stated in any website evaluation model, namely the effect of aesthetics on

emotional appeal, is tested. This effect will give us new, more precise insights in how website

evaluation models work.

This thesis will increase our insights on the first impression of a website, and out of what aspects this

first impression consists.

1.3 Thesis structure

In the first part of this study, the research problem and question is briefly discussed. The second and

next part, will focus on the theoretical foundations of the research, and contains an extensive

literature review on the subject. In the third part, hypotheses are formed based on these theoretical

foundations. These hypotheses zoom in on the more specific parts of the main research question.

The fourth part describes how the data for this study is collected, and how this data will be analyzed.

The fifth part provides us with the insights which can be gained from the data analysis. Conclusions

from this section will be drawn and discussed in the sixth part together with its practical implications,

and finally, in the seventh part, the most important conclusions of this study will be summarized.

Limitations, recommendations for future research, a list of the literature used for this study and the

appendices, can be found at the last pages of this thesis.

PART II: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

2 Literature Review

A lot of research has been done about websites in general, and how they are evaluated by visitors of

the websites. Research is even been fine-tuned to different kind of businesses and their websites, to

the differences in evaluating the website across cultures and differences in demographics. However,

most of the researches focus on only one aspect of the website evaluation, for instance trust,

emotional response, usefulness or aesthetics. Most of these studies focus on the long run evaluation,

and, by my knowledge, not much studies are dedicated to the short run evaluation of a website. In

this part a literal review will be given, concerning the short run website evaluation.

2.1 Short run impression of a website

According to a recent study of Robins and Holmes (2008) visitors of websites are judging a website

within the first 3.42 seconds, when only looking at the lay out of the website. According to Lindgaard

et al. (2006) visitors of a website can even judge a website within the first 50ms, this was confirmed

by Tractinsky et al. (2004; 2006). The layout is, together with the downloading speed, in fact what

forms the first impression of a visitor, because that is all they have got when they are judging the

website on the short run. The short run impression of the website can be very important, because

visitors of websites are more likely to stay, and look further on the website, when this first

impression is favorable (Jennings, 2000; Xiang and Fesenmaier, 2006). On top of this, this first

impression will potentially last over time, and thereby influence the overall evaluation of the website

on the long run. This is called the ‘halo-effect’ (Lindgaard et al., 2006; Nickerson , 1998; Bryant,

1997). Visitors of a website with a favorable first impression may, until a certain point of

disappointment, disregard negative clues, and tend to be consistent with their initial judgment about

the website (Campbell & Pisterman, 1996).

As mentioned before, downloading speed and the layout of a website, are the first two things a

visitor of a website experiences, and will therefore be the two most important factors which

determine the short run impression of a website. A fast downloading time can easily be achieved

nowadays, by just upgrading the website to a faster host address, or by just adding less features on

the main page which cost long downloading time. Therefore, this study will solely focus on the layout

of the website, and its impact on the short run evaluation of a website.

2.2 Short run impression and images

The layout of a website contains out of a lot of different aspects, and not all of those aspects can be

studied in one research paper. Therefore, we will focus on one of the most important aspect of the

layout of most websites, when it comes to influencing the short run impression of the website:

images. Images on a website can determine the whole look and feel of the website, and thereby play

a big role when it comes to evaluating the website. For instance, the purchase intention of a visitor of

an online shop is highly influenced by different images, for both rational shoppers, as well as for

impulsive shoppers. For impulsive shoppers, images are even the most important factors which

influences the purchase intention (Gofman et al., 2009). So, images are in fact important when

evaluating a website. According to an eye-tracking study of Russell (2005), images and logos are first

looked at in the first seconds of the visit of a website. An eyetracking study of Riegelsberger et al.

(2002) confirms this for images of humans, although their study also stated the main image of the

website will draw significantly less attention when repeatedly visiting the website. This can be

explained by the learning effect of visitors, largely ignoring factors that are not task related. In this

study, however, we focus on the first impression of the website, so the main image will, in fact, be

important.

2.3 Images and the human aspect

Photos with human aspects in it, are attracting visual attention, the first time people visit a website,

according to an eyetracking study by Riegelsberger et al. (2002). In Russell’s study (2005), he noticed,

when the image contained human aspects, the focus of the image seemed to be on the face, more

than other aspects of the image. This is confirmed by a more recent study on the specific subject by

Cerf et al. (2008): even when observers of images with human aspects in it, did not get the task to

look for anything in particular, 80% fixated on a face in the image within the first two fixations. On

top of this, Dimberg et al. (2000) found evidence viewing facial expressions to subjects, resulted in an

unconscious emotional response within 30 ms. Exposure to negative facial expressions, such as

anger, leads to negative emotional reactions, such as fear. The same way, positive facial expressions,

such as happiness, lead to positive emotional reactions (Dimberg, 1997).

Human aspects in images seem to have an effect on the short run evaluation. For this reason, the

effects of different large images on the landingpage of a website, with and without human aspects,

on the short run evaluation of the website, will be the main focus of this research.

Some website images mainly focus on the product they sell, or the service they provide. Other

websites focus on the product or service being used by a model, or photos of personnel of the

company. The last one mentioned, is widely studied on the effect on trust. Some of these studies

found a positive effect of photos of personnel on the website on trust (Nielsen et al., 2000; Fogg et

al., 2001; Steinbruck et al., 2002), other studies find neutral or even negative results (Riegelsberger &

Sasse, 2001; Riegelsberger et al., 2003).

However, this research will be about the human aspect in images in general. To reduce noise and get

a clearer view on the subject, the focus will not be on personnel, but on the consumer as the human

aspect in the images. A recent study has already shown that having pictures on the website with

human characteristics, leads to a more appealing and warm perception of a website, and in addition

to this, social presence. These factors in turn, lead to more online trust (Cyr et al., 2009).

In summary, images are important for the short run evaluation of a website, and human aspects on

these images seem to have a positive effect on this, when depicting positive emotions. Cyr et al.

(2009) already studied human aspects on website images, and the effect of this on online trust. For

their study, three kind of images where investigated, namely: images with no human aspects, images

with so called medium human aspects, and images with so called high human aspects. Medium

human images contained mostly unnatural looking images of humans without the face visible. High

human images contained humans with their face visible for the observers. This study will maintain

the images with no human aspects, namely: images of the product/service provided by the website.

Focus on the product/service might have greater results then image with the focus on the human

aspects, because all the attention of the observer goes to the product/service sold, although this is

not expected. This study will also maintain the so called high human images, in which a model uses

the product/service provided. The third and last image investigated in this thesis, will take this

research one step further: an image which not only contains human aspects, but specifically focuses

on the human face and its expression, no product aspects involved. To summarize, three different

images will be studied in this thesis, namely:

- Images focusing on the product sold, which we will name ‘product images’ further along this

research.

- Images focusing on the usage of this product by a person, which we will name

‘human/product images’.

- Images focusing on the facial expression of a person, which we will name ‘human images’.

To reduce noise it is also important all images look ‘real’ and are of the same quality. This way the

human aspect of the picture will be more isolated, and the only factor influencing the website

evaluation.

2.4 Website evaluation

The images on the landingpage can have a direct effect on the short run evaluation of the website,

but the reason for this must be explained as well. Therefore, we will use some moderators, which will

explain the cognitive paths of the visitor in a more detailed way. Different pictures might have a

positive influence on the short run overall evaluation in a different way.

To date, there is no short run website evaluation model developed. Adjusted to the goals of this

research, a short run website evaluation model will be developed based on existing (long run)

website evaluation models. Several studies have proposed different instruments to measure the

website evaluation by its users. In table 1, an overview is given of all instruments measuring website

design quality. Most e-business quality measure instruments are excluded, because these

instruments tend to focus more on the service of internet shops, rather than lay out features of the

website itself, which are very important for the short run evaluation.

TABLE 1 Website evaluation models overview

Instrument Instrument

measures Dimensions Source

Instrument testing methodology

- Website success - Quality of Information - Service - Security - Playfulness perceived by

consumers - Design of the web site

Liu & Arnett (2000)

122 webmasters Questionaires by mail

SiteQual B2C e-commerce website quality

- Aesthetic design - Competitive Value - Ease of use - Clarity of ordering - Corporate & Brand equity - Security - Processing Speed - Product Uniqueness - Product assurance quality

Yoo & Donthu (2001)

69 Marketing students Questionaires Three internet shopping sites

- User perceived web quality

- Specific content - Content quality - Appearance - Technical adequacy

Aladwani & Palvia (2002)

127 students Questionaires Bank website Online bookstore Car manufacturer’s website Online electronic store

WebQual 4.0

Quality websites

- Web site usability - Information quality - Service interaction

Barnes &

Vidgen (2002)

376 respondents

(90% student)

Tasks +

Questionaires

Online bookstores

ServQual Quality in service environments, also applicable to website quality

- Tangibles - Reliability - Responsiveness - Assurance - Empathy

van Iwaarden & van der Wiele (2003)

293 students Questionaires

- Web customer

satisfaction Information quality:

- Understandability - Reliability - Usefulness

System quality:

- Access - Usability - Navigation

McKinney et al. (2002)

568 internet users Questionaires

- User perceived

service quality web portals

- Usability - Usefulness - Adequacy of information - Accessibility - Interaction

Yang et al. (2004)

1992 respondents Questionaires

-

B2C e-commerce website quality

- System quality - Information quality - Service quality - Attractiveness

Cao et al. (2005)

71 students Tasks + questionnaire Three online bookstores

NetQual Electronic

service quality - Quality/quantity

information - Ease of use - Design/aesthetics - Reliability and respect of

commitment - Security and privacy - Offer - Interactivity

Bresolles (2006)

1259 respondents Online Questionaires Two travel websites Assurance website Electricity website

WebQual TM Website evaluation

Usefulness:

- Info/fit to task - Tailored information - Online completeness - Relative advantage

Ease of Use:

- Ease of understanding - Intuitive operations

Trust Response time Entertainment:

- Visual appeal - Innovativeness - Emotional appeal - Consistent image

Laiocono et al. (2002, 2007)

1534 undergraduate students Task + Questionaires Three online bookstores Three online CD stores Three websites of a hotel Three websites of an airline company

Notes: a) Only methodology of the research to test the instruments is included, not the methodology used

to develop the instrument (eg. exploratory research, pre-test rounds etc.). b) Since WebQual 4.0 (Barnes & Vidgen, 2003) is a continuous improvement of WebQual 1.0 (Barnes

& Vidgen, 2000), WebQual 2.0 (Barnes & Vidgen, 2001a), and WebQual 3.0 (Barnes & Vidgen, 2001b), the three last mentioned instruments are not included.

ServQual is one of the most used website evaluation instrument in scientific research. This model,

however, also got some critique. The model, originally designed to measure the quality of face-to-

face service environments (Zeithalm et al., 1990), is not completely applicable with online services

according to Tate & Evermann (2010). Tate & Evermann (2010) stated ServQual does not offer a

reliable foundation for subsequent researchers, does not represent the interactions of online

services accurately, and has not produced a cohesive body of knowledge, to apply the model on

online services.

Critique aside, it is not really possible to draw conclusions on ServQual for the short run evaluation of

websites, because the focus is more on service, rather than on interface layout. To test the short run

impression of a website, especially when it comes to the effect of different images, a model is

needed in which the focus is more on the aspects that can be influenced by these images. After

analyzing all above mentioned instruments, and the methodologies used to test these instruments,

WebQualTM (Laiocono et al., 2002; Laiocono et al., 2007), not to be confused with the WebQual-serie

of Barnes & Vidgen, seems to be the most appropriate instrument.

The WebQualTM model (Laiocono et al., 2007) is one of the best tested instruments listed above, with

a total of 1534 respondents divided over four rounds, by giving them real life situational tasks for

four different websites. On top of this, the WebQualTM model is the most extensive model, including

a lot of factors which could be influenced by the main image and the human aspect in it. In the next

section of this paper the WebQualTM model will be adapted for the purpose of this research.

2.5 Short run website evaluation

This research focuses on the effect of different images on the website, so the focus of this paper will

solely be on the aspects of the WebQualTM model that may be influenced by those images, with or

without human aspects, in the short run. For this reason, the dimensions of the WebQualTM model

will be shortly discussed one by one, to see which dimensions can be useful for the short run

evaluation of websites. The dimensions used in the WebQualTM model are: usefulness, ease of use,

trust, response time and entertainment. The dimensions which will eventually be used in the new

model, will be extensively discussed later on in this paper.

2.5.1 The dimensions related to Usefulness

Usefulness is solely determined by the information provided by the website (Laiocono et al., 2007),

and will therefore not be influenced by the images on the landingpage. For that reason, this factor

will not be included in this research.

2.5.2 The dimensions related to Ease of use

Ease of use is determined by the interface of the website, and whether users understand how to

operate and navigate the website. In addition to this, the information given on the website must be

easy to read and understand (Laiocono et al., 2007). The ease of use can be influenced by the layout

of the website, but probably not with the change of the main image of the homepage. Therefore, this

factor can influence the short run evaluation of the website, but won’t have any effect in this study.

2.5.3 Trust

Consumers can have a lack of trust towards a website, because of the lack of face-to-face contact

with the personnel of a company. Images of personnel on the website can simulate this face-to-face

contact, and therefore create trust in a website (Aldiri et al., 2008).

On top of this, Everard & Galletta (2005) proved that trust can be influenced by qualities of the

website in a very short period of time. So, according to theory, trust can be influenced by the main

image on the landingpage in the short run, therefore, trust will be included in the model used for this

study. A further and more specific explanation of the concept trust, will be given later on.

2.5.4 Response time

The response time of the website, is the speed in which the website is loaded, and is reacting in the

appropriate way after a request from its users (Laiocono et al., 2007). When visiting a website for the

first time, this can in fact determine the short run evaluation of a website. For instance, a really slow

website can irritate the visitor, and the website will be clicked away before it is even fully loaded.

Heldal et al. (2004) suggests visitors of websites only accept 10 seconds of inactivity. So the response

time of a website can be very important when visitors evaluate the website in short run. However,

this study is about the effect of large images on the short run evaluation, so response time will not be

included as well.

2.5.5 The dimensions related to Entertainment

The entertainment-factor of the website determines the ‘experience’ of the website, and is

determined by visual appeal, innovativeness, emotional appeal, and the consistent image of the

website (Laiocono et al., 2007). The entertainment-factor of the website, will be very important in

this research, because all factors at least partly depends on the layout of the website. Therefore all

dimensions related to the entertainment-factor, will be discussed in the next part.

- Visual appeal

Visual appeal is determined by the look and feel of the website, and is often mentioned as a

dimension of the term ‘aesthetics’ in literature about the subject. The term aesthetics will be

used from now on in this study. According to theory, aesthetics can be determined by the

short run impression (Fernandes et al., 2003; Tractinsky et al., 2004; Tractinsky et al., 2006),

and a human factor in the images might have an influence on it. Therefore this dimension will

be taken into the equation in this study.

- Innovativeness

Innovativeness is determined by the creativity and the uniqueness of the design of the

website (Laiocono et al., 2007), so the layout of the website has a big influence on this.

However, the innovativeness of the website is not dependent on whether there are human

aspects shown in the main image or not. Therefore this dimension will not be investigated for

this study.

- Emotional appeal

In the WebQualTM study (Laiocono et al., 2007) emotional appeal is simplified to three survey

questions, containing the following, all positive, emotions: happiness, cheerfulness and

sociability. After an intensive literature study, a more scientific approach of online emotions

is found, which will be discussed later on.

The main image of the website, and its human aspects, can influence the emotional reaction

of users (Dimberg et al., 2000), and according to theory, even on the short run (Ekman, 1992;

Epstein, 1994). Therefore, emotional appeal will be taken into the equation.

- Constistent image

Consistent image is determined by the way the look and feel of the brand, and whether this

is the same as the look and feel of the website design (Laiocono et al., 2007). The main image

of the website can indeed be a factor in this, however, this study focuses on the effect of

human aspects in the image, not whether this is consistent with the brand image. To reduce

noise, all the images must be equally consistent with the brand of the tested website, and

this dimension will not have to be included in the new model.

2.5.6 The dimensions determining the new model

As more extensively explained in above, this study will take three dimensions into consideration for the research model, because of their ability to be influenced on the short run by the main image containing human aspects. The three dimensions are:

- Trust - Aesthetics - Emotional appeal

These three dimensions will be discussed more extensively in the next part of this paper.

2.6 Online trust

The concept of online trust, is widely discussed in literature, and brings along a variety of definitions

and dimensions. Furthermore, trust brings along a variety of parties involved. Online trust, starts for

instance with the acceptance of technology (Bahmanziari et al., 2003). But when it comes to e-

commerce, there also need to be trust in the company, and trust in the website and transaction. This

study will focus on trust in the website.

For the short run evaluation of a website, the initial stage of trust is specifically important. This

concept is studied before by McKnight et al. (1998), Lim et al. (2006) and Lowry et al. (2008), and is

defined as:

“The ability of the truster to believe and rely upon the trustee without any firsthand knowledge of

the trustee”

Initial trust is critical for the evaluation of first-time visitors of a website (McKnight et al., 1998; Lim

et al., 2006). When this initial trust is negative, the customer of the e-business will avoid contact with

the company. But when this initial trust is positive, it is likely the customer will start a relationship

with the company. If this relationship starts to develop over a while, initial trust will change into

sustainable trust (Kim & Tadisina, 2007), or robust trust (McKnight et al., 1998). Robust trust is

defined as “a trusting intention level that does not change dramatically over time”. This concept is

further developed into sustainable trust, which defines itself as “a higher level of trust that maintains

committed relationships”. Initial trust is the term that will be studied in this thesis from now on,

because short run evaluation of a website will not have a direct impact on robust or sustainable

trust.

According to McKnight et al. (1998) initial trust is effected by three factors, namely: individual

disposition to trust, institution-based trust, and cognitive-based trust. Individual disposition to trust

is a characteristic of one’s personality that develops mainly during childhood (Erikson, 1968; Bowlby,

1982), and according to the study of McKnight et al. (1998) is defined as:

“a person has dispositional trust if s/he has a consistent tendency to trust across a broad spectrum of

situations and persons.”

Two types of reasoning further explain dispositional trust:

- Most people are trustworthy, so one should usually trust one another

- One will obtain better outcomes when trusting each other, so one should trust one another

Dispositional trust is different for every individual, and depends on nurture rather than the interface

of the website, so human aspects will in the main image will not influence dispositional trust.

Institution-based trust is determined by the environment, and is defined as the perceived security of

a consumer in a situation, influenced by guarantees, safety nets and other regulatory/legal structures

(Zucker, 1986; Shapiro, 1987). It is needless to say this will not be influenced by a human aspect in

the main image as well.

Cognitive-based trust is developed by the consumer, based on rapid cognitive cues and first

impressions. Since this study is about first impressions, cognitive-based trust is important when

evaluating websites on the short run. In conclusion, initial trust in a website will on the short run

mainly be influenced by the layout of the website.

2.7 Online aesthetics

As trust, website aesthetics are studied intensively as well, which brings along many different

definitions and concepts of aesthetics. Some equal aesthetics to ‘visual appeal’ (van der Heijden,

2003; Cry et al., 2006), but most recent studies found empirical evidence aesthetics goes further than

just visual appeal. The visual appeal stays central, but is not the only factor that determines

aesthetics in these studies. Most of these studies divided aesthetics into two components, namely a

cognitive component and an affective component. Table 2, mainly adopted from Cai et al.’s study

(2008), gives an overview of the different two dimensional definitions of aesthetics:

TABLE 2 Aesthetic constructs overview

Cognitive Component Affective Component Source Context

Order/coherence The degree and kind of lawfulness governing the relations among the parts of an entity.

Complexity/diversity The multiplicity of the relationships among the parts of an entity.

Arnheim (1966)

Landscapes

Making sense The need to comprehend in the immediate environment.

Involvement The need to figure out, to learn, to be stimulated.

Kaplan (1979)

Landscapes

Coherence The order and level of direction of attention and how the scene “hangs together”

Complexity The amount of the diversity of the visual elements presented in the scene which people are interested in seeking how much is going on in the scene.

Kaplan (1982), Kaplan (1989)

Landscapes

Formal factor

- Order - Legibility - Complexity

Appeal factor

- Overall impression - Beauty - Meaningfulness

Schenkman & Jonsson (2000)

Websites

Classical aesthetics The orderliness and clarity of the design

Expressive aesthetics The originality, creativity and the richness of the design

Lavie & Tractinsky (2004)

Websites

Coherence A reflection of the unity of a scene, where coherence may be enhanced through repeating patterns of color and texture.

Complexity The diversity and richness of landscape elements and features, their interspersion as well as the grain size of the landscape.

Tveit et al. (2006)

Landscapes

Organization The degree of lawfulness governing the relations among the elements of Web site.

Visual appeal The degree in which the website is pleasing for the eye, and the degree in which visitors get the desire to explore the website.

Cai et al. (2008)

Online shopping websites

The last mentioned study in the table, builds upon the previous studies and empirically verified their

dimensions: ‘organization’ and ‘visual appeal’. On top of this, Cai et al. (2008) only focused on

aesthetics in the online environment, making their proposed dimensions of aesthetics more valuable

for this study. For these reasons, we will use Cai et al.’s (2008) definition of aesthetics, further along

this research.

Visual appeal is described as the affective dimension of aesthetics, and is defined as: the degree in

which the website is pleasing for the eye, and the degree in which visitors get the desire to explore

the website. This definition of visual appeal is adapted from the term ‘Website attractiveness’ by van

der Heijden (2003). ‘Organization’ covers the cognitive component of the website, and is defined as:

“the degree of lawfulness governing the relations among the elements of Web site.”

Organization takes into account in which degree the layout of a website, makes the browsing process

more efficient and effective. For rational people, so called ‘thinkers’, this aspect will be more

important than for intuitive people, so called ‘feelers’. This in turn can depend on the

product/service provided by the website.

Now aesthetics is defined, we will have a look at the short run evaluation of aesthetics. According to

Fernandes et al. (2003), evaluations of the visual appeal of 100 webpages where remarkably accurate

even when very little time was given to judge the webpages, namely 0.5 seconds. Tractinsky et al.

(2004; 2006) confirmed these results with a short run judgments of 50 other webpages in both

studies. So it is indeed possible for visitors to judge a website on aesthetics in very short period of

time.

2.8 Online emotions

Emotions have been proved to be an important underlying factor to explain consumer behavior in

both traditional and online environments. Emotions influence general purchase intentions (Baker et

al., 1992; Dubé et al., 1995), intended shopping behavior (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982), affinity with

the store, the amount of money spent, the amount of time spent in the store, and the number of

items purchased (Sherman et al., 1997). In an online retailing environment Menon & Khan (2002)

found evidence emotions influenced online shopping behavior, and Eroglu et al. (2003) found

emotions influenced consumers’ attitude, the level of satisfaction, and shopping behavior.

In almost every study on shopping behavior influenced by emotions, two key emotional states are

mentioned: pleasure and arousal. According to Sherman et al. (1997) pleasure positively influences

the affinity with the store and the amount of money spent, arousal positively influences the amount

of money spent as well, but in addition to this also the amount of time spent in the store and the

number of items purchased.

All above mentioned studies used the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) paradigm (Mehrabian &

Russell, 1974; Mehrabian, 1980; Russell & Pratt, 1980), a theoretical model which has been very

valuable to analyze the effect of the store environment on consumer behavior. Every adequate S-O-R

model includes a set of stimuli, mediating variables, and a set of responses.

In this study, the stimulus of the environment is the layout of the website, since this is the key factor

determining the short run website evaluation. The layout of the website will be the only manipulated

factor in this study. When browsing the internet at home, a whole range of stimuli can influence the

response variables. The person may have music or other sounds in the background, the background

can be distracting the visitor’s attention of the screen, and light intensity may differ. However, to

reduce all this noise, it is necessary these environmental factors stay approximately the same for all

respondents.

The mediating variables in S-O-R model will be the different emotional states influencing the

response variables. Mehrabian & Russell (1974) stated three basic emotional states influences the

response variables, which will be discussed later on, determined by the environmental stimuli.

Namely: Pleasure – Displeasure, Arousal – Non-arousal, and Dominance – Submissiveness. These are

called the PAD-dimensions (Pleasure, Arousal, Dominance). Mehrabian & Russell (1974) empirically

proved that any environment will result in an emotional state within the PAD-dimensions. Pleasure –

Displeasure, is determined by the degree in which a person feels good, joyful, happy and satisfied.

Arousal – Non-arousal, is determined by the degree in which a person feels excited, active, alert and

stimulated. Dominance – Submissiveness, is determined by the degree in which a person feels in

control and free to act. In a later study, Russell & Pratt (1980) decided to drop the Dominance –

Submissiveness dimension. In contrary to the two other dimensions, evidence for this dimension was

weak. Russell & Pratt (1980) proved the Pleasure – Displeasure, and the Arousal-Non-arousal

dimensions represent all possible emotions adequately (see appendix A). Donovan & Rossiter (1982)

confirmed these findings. Therefore, for this study we will use the Pleasure and Arousal dimensions

solely, to represent all emotional states.

Mehrabian & Russell (1974) postulated all response variables can be captured as avoidance-approach

behaviors (Wundt, 1905). These behaviors include four aspects.

Physical approach-avoidance. The desire to physically stay in (approach) or get out (avoidance) an

environment. In this study this will be determined by the desire of staying (approach) or leaving

(avoidance) the website.

Exploratory approach-avoidance. The desire to explore (approach) or to avoid interaction

(avoidance) with the environment. In this study this will be determined by the desire to click further

on the website then rationally necessary (approach) or to only click further when absolutely

necessary (avoidance).

Communicational approach-avoidance. The desire to communicate (approach) or to avoid

communication with the environment (avoidance). In this study this will be determined by the desire

to contact the company behind the website (Approach) or to avoid communication with the

company behind the website (Avoidance).

Performance and satisfaction approach-avoidance. The enhancement (approach) or non-

enhancement (avoidance) of the satisfaction determined by the task performance. In this study,

performance and satisfaction approach-avoidance behavior, is irrelevant. Since tasks can only be

performed in the long run when it comes to websites, this kind of approach-avoidance behavior will

be left out of the equation.

The Mehrabian-Russell study (1974) also specifies an interaction between the basic emotional states

(pleasure and arousal) and approach-avoidance behavior, depicted in the table below. High arousal

leads to avoidance behavior, because more arousing stimuli demand more attention and cognitive

resources (Cohen, 1978). According to Kahneman (1973) these cognitive resources consumers rather

conserve. An exception consists when there are high levels of pleasure, in which case people are

willing to pay more attention and use more cognitive resources (Isen, 1987). Low arousal leads to

approach behavior, because people are then more likely to seek more stimulation later on in the

experience.

TABLE 3 Interaction between Basic emotional states and Approach/Avoidance behavior

Level of Pleasure Level of Arousal Behavior

Neutral Moderate arousal Approach Neutral High arousal or low arousal Avoidance High pleasure High arousal Approach Displeasure High arousal Avoidance

Menon & Khan (2002) found evidence for the same results in the online environment. They found

that consumers in a high pleasure environment, visit more categories, more online stores, and more

websites, more stimulating categories, and more promotional websites, then consumers in a neutral

pleasure environment. Therefore high pleasure should be the aim of websites.

Consumers in low arousal conditions searched more categories, visited more online stores, visited

more websites, searched for more stimulating categories and stores, visited more promotional

websites, and engaged in more promotional interaction, then consumers in moderate and high

arousal conditions (Menon & Khan, 2002). So in the online environment, low levels of arousal should

be the aim of websites. As be seen in the table above, it is important in this condition of arousal, to

have high levels of pleasure, otherwise avoidance behavior will be the result.

High arousal is caused by so called ‘high-load’ environments, environments with a high information

load (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Donovan & Rossiter, 1982). High-load environments contain a lot of

novelty, surprising elements and complexity. The level of arousal depends on individual differences

as well: ‘Screeners’, people who filter the environment, and make it less complex, and sensation

seekers, will be less aroused by the environment, then ‘non-screeners’ and risk averse people.

Finally, according to Ekman (1992) and Epstein (1994) the affective process is way faster than the

cognitive process. On top of this, Dimberg et al. (2000) found evidence viewing facial expressions to

subjects, resulted in an unconscious emotional response within 30 ms, so a website and possible

human aspects in the main image will indeed have an impact on the emotions of visitors in the short

run, according to theory.

PART III: HYPOTHESES & THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3 Research Method & Hypotheses

To wrap up, the short run evaluation of a website can be very important, since it not only has an

effect on the actions of the visitors right away, for instance the desire to explore further (Jennings,

2000; Xiang and Fesenmaier, 2006), but it also influences the actions of visitors on the long run. This

phenomenon is called the ‘halo-effect’ (Lindgaard et al., 2006; Nickerson , 1998; Bryant, 1997).

The layout of the website determines this short run evaluation for the greater part, which is in turn

influenced by the main image of the website, because this is the first thing most visitors look at

(Russell, 2005), especially when human aspects are involved (Riegelsberger, 2002; Cerf et al., 2008).

So the main image of the website is indeed an important factor according to theory, which

determines the short run evaluation of the website. Therefore, the main question of this research,

will be:

How will different images effect the short run overall evaluation of a website?

This short run evaluation will be determined by the following mediators: initial trust, aesthetics and

emotional appeal.

3.1 Images & initial trust

The effect of images with human aspects on trust on the long run is, as mentioned before, already

studied by Cyr et al. (2009). The findings of this study were positive for the images containing human

aspects. Therefore, the human/product image will be expected to be more positive on trust then the

product image on the short run as well.

The effect of the focus on solely the human aspect and the facial expression, is for the same reason,

expected to be more positive then for product images as well. The human image, is expected to have

a greater social presence, which will simulate face-to-face contact more than product/human image.

This in turn is expected to result in more trust (Aldiri et al., 2008).

As concluded before, initial trust is mainly influenced by cognitive-based trust on the short run,

based on rapid cognitive cues and first impressions. This in turn, will mainly be influenced by the

layout of the website and the main image. It is expected the human aspect in the image will have the

same effect on the short run, as in the long run. Therefore, the hypotheses examining the effect of

the different images on initial trust, will be:

H1a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived initial trust

of the website, then product images.

H1b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived initial trust of the

website, then product images.

H1c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived initial trust of

the website, then human/product images.

FIGURE 2

Hypothesis 1a-c schematic

Main image on website

H1a-c

a) Product image Initial trust b) Human/product image (+) c) Human image (++)

3.2 Images & aesthetics

Aesthetics can be divided into two dimensions: ‘organization’ and ‘visual appeal’ (Cai et al., 2008).

The organizational dimension of aesthetics, is specifically important for so called ‘thinkers’, purely

rational thinking people. According to Riegelsberger et al. (2002) the first time a person visits a

website, they spend more time looking at an image with human aspects in it, then they would do

when they repeat-visit the site, in which case the focus is more on the text. This could mean the

human image is in fact distracting on the short run, because the first-time visit, visitors spend less

time with task related observations, namely, reading the text. In this case the human aspect in

images on websites has a negative effect on the organizational dimension of aesthetics, which is

important for thinkers. Hence, the hypothesis concerning the effect of human aspects in images on

organization:

H2a: Human/product images will have a more negative effect on the perceived

organization of the website, then product images.

H2b: Human images will have a more negative effect on the perceived organization of

the website, then product images.

H2c: Human images will have a more negative effect on the perceived organization of


FIGURE 3 Hypothesis 2a-c schematic

Main image on website Aesthetics

H2a-c

a) Product image Organization b) Human/product image (-) c) Human image (--) Visual appeal

For so called ‘feelers’, purely intuitive thinking people, the visual appealing dimension of aesthetics is

more important. Therefore, we will have a somewhat closer look at visual appeal. Visual appeal is

determined by the following statements in Cai et al.’s study (2008): ‘The website is pleasing to look

at’ (Hall & Hanna, 2004), ‘I like the look and feel of the website’ (Hong & Kim, 2004), ‘The website is

visually appealing’, and ‘The visual design of the website is attractive’ (Cai et al., 2008). Exposure to

positive facial expressions, evokes positive emotions on the subject (Dimberg, 1997), so human

aspects on the main image, with positive facial expressions like happiness, could have a positive

effect on especially the ‘feeling’ of the website. Therefore, human aspects in the main image, will

probably have a positive effect on the visual appealing dimension of aesthetics, which is particularly

important for feelers. Hence, the hypothesis concerning the effect of human aspects in images on

visual appeal:

H3a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived visual

appeal of the website, then product images.

H3b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived visual appeal of


H3c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived visual appeal of

the website, then human/product image

FIGURE 4 Hypothesis 3a-c schematic


a) Product image Organization b) Human/product image (+) H3a-c c) Human image (++) Visual appeal

The question remains which dimension of aesthetics is more important in the short run. Therefore,

we will take a look at the two underlying processes of these dimensions. The cognitive process

(organization, human images have a negative impact), and the affective process (visual appeal,

human images have a positive impact). In the short run, the affective process seems to be the more

important one, because the affective process is way faster than the cognitive process. Hence, an

emotional response can be triggered more quickly than a rational response (Ekman, 1992; Epstein,

1994). For above mentioned reasons, the hypotheses examining the effect of the different images on

aesthetics, will be:

H4: In the short run, the absolute effect of human aspects in images on visual appeal, is

greater than the absolute effect of images on organization. This in turn will result in a

net positive effect of images containing human aspects on aesthetics, because the

negative effect of the organization dimension, will be outnumbered by the positive

effect of the visual appeal dimension.

FIGURE 5

Hypothesis 4 schematic


a) Product image H4 Organization b) Human/product image (+) c) Human image (++) Visual appeal

Furthermore, when the affective process is so important for short run evaluation of aesthetics, this

could mean aesthetics influences the emotional appeal of the website. This will have an impact on

the research model, because now aesthetics influences the short run evaluation not only in a direct

way, but also, or perhaps exclusively, in an indirect way, via emotional appeal. We will discuss this

phenomenon later on in this study.

3.3 Images & emotional appeal

Emotional appeal, determined in this study by pleasure and arousal, can be effected by the human

aspect of the image, specifically by exposure to facial expressions (Dimberg, 1997; Sproull et al.,

1996). Positive facial expressions lead unconsciously to more positive emotions, and therefore to

higher pleasure (the degree in which a person feels good, joyful, happy and satisfied), using the PAD-

dimensions. Therefore, the hypotheses examining the effect of the different images on pleasure, will

be:

H5a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived

pleasure of the website, then product images.

H5b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived pleasure of the


H5c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived pleasure of the

website, then human/product images.

FIGURE 6


Main image on website Emotional appeal

H5a-c

a) Product image Pleasure b) Human/product image (+) c) Human image (++) Arousal

On the other hand we have arousal: people get more aroused when being in presence of a human-

being, or even a computerized face (Sproull et al., 1996). So therefore it is likely people got higher

levels of arousal (the degree in which a person feels excited, active, alert and stimulated) exposed to

the human aspect in the main image. Hence, the hypotheses examining the effect of the different

images on arousal, will be:

H6a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived arousal


H6b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived arousal of the


H6c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived arousal of the


FIGURE 7



a) Product image Pleasure b) Human/product image (+) H6a-c c) Human image (++) Arousal

3.4 Aesthetics & emotional appeal

As stated before, in the short run the affective process of aesthetics seems to be very important.

Therefore it is likely aesthetics will have an influence on the emotional appeal of the website as well.

According to Cupchik & Winston (1992) aesthetics can indeed evoke pleasure and arousal, especially

when the goal of the subject is to experience pleasure and arousal. This would be the case when

someone is hedonic browsing.

Evoking arousal is very important in almost every scientific study on aesthetics. Subjects “tolerate

most often and for the longest time a certain medium degree of arousal, which makes them feel

neither overstimulated nor dissatisfied by a lack of sufficient occupation”, when being exposed to an

aesthetic environment (Arnheim, 1985; Fechner, 1978). So the most aesthetic objects evoke

maximum pleasure and not more arousal then a person can handle. When high levels of pleasure got

evoked, as mentioned before, people are willing to pay more attention and use more cognitive

resources (Isen, 1987), and can handle higher levels of arousal.

The organization dimension of aesthetics is especially important for rational people,

however, as stated before, the rational process is less important than the emotional process

when it comes the first impressions. In the long run, organization would probably have a

negative effect on arousal, because an organized environment is less stimulating then a

badly organized environment. However, in the case of the short run evaluation, no effect on

both dimensions of emotional appeal is expected. Hence, the hypothesis concerning the

organization dimension of aesthetics:

H7a: Organization will have no influence on perceived pleasure in the short run.

H7b: Organization will have no influence on perceived arousal in the short run.

Conversely, visual appeal is all about emotions. High levels of visual appeal are expected to result

in higher levels of pleasure. According to a study of Demangeot and Broderick (2006) an aesthetic

website design draws the attention of the visitor. Therefore, high visual appeal is expected to be

more stimulating, which will lead to higher levels of arousal. Hence, the hypothesis concerning

the visual appeal dimension of aesthetics:

H7c: Visual appeal will have a positive influence on perceived pleasure in the short

run.

H7d: Visual appeal will have a positive influence on perceived arousal in the short run.

FIGURE 8

Hypothesis 7a-d schematic Aesthetics Emotional appeal

H7a-d

Organization Pleasure Visual appeal Arousal

3.5 Initial trust & the short run evaluation website

Trust in the online environment is important, because it results positively in online purchase

intentions (Gefen & Straub, 2003), e-loyal customer behavior (Cyr, 2008; Flavián et al., 2006), a more

positive website evaluation in general (Laiocono et al., 2007; Laiocono et al., 2002), and finally, all

these factors can lead to more visitors and greater revenues from online sales for e-commerce

websites.

As stated before, trust on the short run, initial trust, is in fact critical for the evaluation of first-time

visitors of a website (McKnight et al., 1998; Lim et al., 2006). When this initial trust is negative, the

customer of the e-business will avoid contact with the company. Conversely, it is likely the customer

will start a relationship with the company, when initial trust is positive. Hence, the eighth hypothesis

of this study:

H8: The perceived initial trust of the website has a positive effect on the short run

evaluation of the website.

FIGURE 9


H8 (+)

Initial trust Short run evaluation Website

3.6 Aesthetics & the short run evaluation website

Aesthetics are determined by the way a visitor clarifies, intensifies and interpret events in his/her

visual environment (Cai et al., 2008). Aesthetics draw the attention of visitors of the website, and

engages them in activity (Jennings, 2000). According to a study of Demangeot and Broderick (2006)

an aesthetic website design not only draws the attention of the visitor, but it also conveys a clear and

unique image which helps the visitor achieving their goals of visiting the website. Emperical studies

even reveal that aesthetics affects the visitors’ perception of the website qualities (van der Heijden,

2003). On top of that, Schenkman and Jonsson (2000) proved aesthetics is one of the most important

determinants of website preference, and according to Fiore et al. (2005) aesthetics lead to more

positive attitudes towards an online store.

Furthermore, it is proven by several studies (Fernandes et al., 2003; Tractinsky et al., 2004; 2006),

consumers can judge a website on aesthetics, in a very short period of time. However, like

mentioned before, the organization dimension of aesthetics, is expected not to be of significant

importance in the short run evaluation. The visual appeal dimension in contrary, ís expected to have

a significant positive effect on the short run. In fact, I think this is the main factor that causes the

results of the studies of Fernandes et al. (2003) and Tractinsky et al. (2004; 2006), because the

affective process is way more important in such a short period of time.

Hence, the hypotheses concerning the effect of aesthetics on the short run evaluation of the

website:

H9: The perceived organization of the website has no effect on the short run evaluation

of the website.

FIGURE 10 Hypothesis 9 schematic

Aesthetics

H9

Organization Short run evaluation Website

Visual appeal H10: The perceived visual appeal of the website has a positive effect on the short run



Aesthetics Organization

H10 (+)

Visual appeal Short run evaluation Website

3.7 Emotional appeal & the short run evaluation website

Several studies (e.g. Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Menon & Kahn, 2002) found evidence high levels of

pleasure results in approach behavior. This approach behavior will result in a more positive website

evaluation. Hence, the eleventh hypothesis of this study:

H11: Pleasure has a positive effect on the short run evaluation of the website.

FIGURE 12


Emotional appeal

H11 (+)

Pleasure Short run evaluation Website

Arousal

These same studies found evidence high levels of arousal results in avoidance behavior, unless a

subject experiences high pleasure. Dependable on the level of pleasure, arousal can have a positive

of negative effect on the short run website evaluation. Hence, the twelfth hypothesis of this study:

H12: Arousal has a positive or negative effect on the short run evaluation of the website,

depending on the level of pleasure.

FIGURE 13


Emotional appeal Pleasure

Arousal Short run evaluation Website

H12

3.8 Conceptual map

All hypotheses together, lead to the following research model. First, the effect of the human aspects

in the images on initial trust, aesthetics and emotional appeal will be tested. The main image of the

website with human aspects, is expected to have a positive effect on initial trust, aesthetics, pleasure

and arousal. The organizational dimension of aesthetics is expected to have no effect at all in the

short run. The visual appeal dimension of aesthetics is expected to have a positive effect on pleasure

as well as arousal. Initial trust, aesthetics and pleasure are in their turn expected to have a positive

effect on the short run overall website evaluation. Finally, arousal is expected to have a negative or

positive impact on the short run overall evaluation of the website, depending on the level of

perceived pleasure.

FIGURE 14 Conceptual map

Initial Trust

H1a-c H8 (+)

Aesthetics

Main image on website H9

H2a-c Organization

a) Product image SR website evaluation

b) Human/product image H3a-c Visual Appeal

c) Human image H10 (+)

H5a-c H7a-d H11 (+)

H6a-c Emotional appeal H12

Pleasure

Arousal

PART IV: METHODOLOGY

4 Data & Methods

4.1 Research population & data collection

The research population contains all internet users, since they’re the ones evaluating websites on a

daily basis, although sometimes unconsciously. After all, the users of websites are determining

whether a website is of high quality or not. However, since there are significant cultural differences,

when evaluating a website (Cyr, 2008), and this study does not take these cultural differences into

account. There will be a focus on the Dutch internet user.

Data collection will be done by online and offline surveys. By conducting a survey, many data can be

gathered, and possible relations can be analyzed. Online surveys will be sent by e-mail, which is

expected not to give any problems, because internet users are often accessible through e-mail, and

have enough knowledge how to fill in an online survey. Offline surveys are added to speed up the

data collection, and reach people who need personal motivation to fill in the questionnaire. On top

of this, offline respondents can directly communicate any problems while filling in the survey, and

give their opinion personally.

4.2 Research object: the website

As mentioned before, respondents get to analyze three different websites, namely:

- A website with solely the product featured in the main image (product image)

- A website with a person using the product (human/product image)

- A website with solely the human aspect (human image)

For the research of this study, it is important the respondents are judging unfamiliar websites of

unfamiliar brands. Otherwise, their evaluations might be influenced by evaluations in the past. The

only aspect changing on this website is the main image, which will be the product image, human-

product image, or the human image.

Most papers about website evaluation, have chosen online bookstores as an object to test their

instruments on (e.g. Aladwani & Palvia, 2002; Barnes & Vidgen, 2002; Cao et al., 2005; Laiocono et

al., 2007). Although there seems to be no reason to study bookstores to increase the scientific quality

of the research, other than being used by a great proportion of internet shoppers, an online

bookstore will be the subject that will be studied in this study as well.

The three different websites are non-existing bookstores, with only the main image changed. They

can be found in appendices B-D. The product image contains books, the human/product image

contains a woman reading a book, and the human image contains a smiling woman. To reduce noise,

both pictures containing human aspects contain a brunette women and grass in the background.

Since this study is about the short run evaluation of the website, it will solely be judged on layout,

and will not be clickable. The online survey will have a powerpoint-file attached to it, containing a

picture of the website. Powerpoint is a standard software program in the Microsoft Office package,

installed on most Windows computers. This powerpoint-file can show the website fullscreen with the

hit of one button on the keyboard for a period of time I want the respondents to be exposed. This

brings us to the next topic: exposure time.

Aesthetics can be judged within 50ms (Fernandes et al., 2003; Tractinsky et al. 2004; 2006), and facial

expressions results in an emotional responses within 30ms (Dimberg et al., 2000). However, the last

one mentioned, the emotional reactions, are unconscious, and can’t be described by the respondent

him/herself. On top of this, it seems highly unlikely initial trust can be won in such a short period of

time. Therefore the exposure time will be based on the study of Robins & Holmes (2008). They

stated, visitors are judging a website within the first 3.42 seconds, when only looking at the layout of

the website. Whether 3.42 seconds are indeed enough to form an opinion about a website will be

tested in the pre-test round: the offline surveys.

4.3 Survey questions

The survey will contain solely closed questions, which will make the data easier to process. In the

end, there will be a possibility to add comments. The respondents in the offline survey, will be asked

what they think about the questionnaire, to check whether the statements are understandable.

Underneath, I will discuss the statements we will use in the questionnaires.

4.3.1 Initial trust

Four statements determining initial trust and their sources can be found in table 4. The same

statements are used in a study on initial trust by Koufaris & Hampton-Sosa (2004). Uncertainty terms

as ‘seems’ instead of ‘is’, and ‘probably’ are added to focus more on initial trust, which is not certain,

but is more about the feeling a visitor gets towards a website. It is for instance impossible to

determine whether the information provided by the website is trustworthy, if one has not even got

the time to process the information.

TABLE 4 Initial trust statements

Variable Statement Source

TRUST1 This website seems trustworthy Jarvenpaa et al., 2000

TRUST2 I trust this website keeps my best interests in mind Jarvenpaa et al., 2000

TRUST3 This website will probably keep promises it makes to me Doney & Cannon, 1997

TRUST4 I will probably believe the information that this website

provides me

Doney & Cannon, 1997

4.3.2 Aesthetics

The four statements determining organization and their sources can be found in table 5. The same

statements are used to determine organization in a study on aesthetics by Cai et al. (2008).

TABLE 5

Organization statements


ORGAN1 The design of the website is harmonious Nasar & Hong, 1999

ORGAN2 The layout of the website is intuitive Pavlou & Fygenson, 2006

ORGAN3 The website has logically organized elements Rosen & Purinton, 2004

ORGAN4 The website was designed in a manner I am accustomed to Cai et al., 2008

The four statements determining visual appeal and their sources can be found in talbe 6. The same

statements are used to determine visual appeal in a study on aesthetics by Cai et al. (2008).

TABLE 6 Visual appeal statements


VISUA1 This website is pleasing to look at Hall & Hanna, 2004

VISUA2 I like the look and feel of the website Hong & Kim, 2004

VISUA3 The website is visually appealing Cai et al., 2008

VISUA4 The visual design of the website is attractive Cai et al., 2008

4.3.3 Emotional appeal

The four statements determining pleasure can be found in table 7. The self-developed statements

are based on the definition of pleasure in Mehrabian & Russell (1974): the degree which a person

feels good, joyful, happy and satisfied.

TABLE 7

Pleasure statements


PLEAS1 This website makes me feel good Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

PLEAS2 This website makes me feel joyful Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

PLEAS3 This website makes me feel happy Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

PLEAS4 I am satisfied with this website Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

The four statements determining arousal can be found in table 8. The self-developed statements are

based on the definition of arousal in Mehrabian & Russell (1974): the degree which a person feels

excited, active, alert and stimulated. Alertness is translated to the concentration on the website,

otherwise this can be confused with alertness in the surrounding environment. The environment

studied in this paper is the website itself.

TABLE 8 Arousal statements


AROUS1 This website makes me feel excited Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

AROUS2 This website activates me Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

AROUS3 This website would increase my

concentration on the screen

Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

AROUS4 This website stimulates me Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s

study (1974)

4.3.4 Short run website evaluation

In table 9, the four statements determining the short run website evaluation can be found. The self-

developed statements are based on the definition of the four approach-avoidance aspects: physical,

exploratory, communicational, and performance & satisfaction (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). EVALU1

explains the physical aspect of approach-avoidance behavior. Since the website is the environment,

clicking it away equals physically leaving the environment. EVALU2 explains the exploratory aspect of

approach-avoidance behavior. The sentence ‘even though not absolutely necessary’ is needed to

strengthen the exploratory factor of this statement. Besides this, EVALU1 en EVALU2 would be

comparable when not adding this sentence: when people leave the website open for use, they will

click further, otherwise there is no reason to stay on the website. EVALU3 explains the

communicational factor of the approach-avoidance behavior. There is no reason to communicate

with a website, when you don’t want extra information, this explains the ‘When I want more

information…’-part. Performance-satisfaction behavior will be left out of the equation, because it

won’t apply on short run website evaluation as stated before in this thesis.

It is necessary for respondents to imagine they wanted something on this website, otherwise they

would have no reason to, for instance, stay on the website (e.g. when the respondent don’t ever

buys books online, there is no reason to stay on a book-webshop, no matter how well the website is

designed).

TABLE 9 Short run website evaluation statements


EVALU1 I would stay on this website Self-developed, based on Mehrabian

& Russell’s study (1974)

EVALU2 I would click further on this website, even

though not absolutely necessary

Self-developed, based on Mehrabian


EVALU3 When I want more information, I would send

this company my question

Self-developed, based on Mehrabian


All statements will be tested on the three requirements that are needed to be met to allow

conducting a PCA, namely; the Bartlett’s test of sphericity, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of

sampling and the anti-image covariance matrix.

4.4 Measurement

Each respondent will be exposed to one website, containing one of the three images. A respondent

only gets to judge one website, otherwise they will know what to look for on the next website. On

top of that, when judging all three websites, the respondents will soon find out what the

questionnaire is about, and this could possibly influence the results.

After being exposed to a website, the respondent will fill in which level they (dis)agree with the

statements in the questionnaires. In this study a 5-point Likert scale will be used instead of a 7-point

Likert scale, because this will increase the reliability and the validity of the sample, according to

Dawes (2008).

4.5 Pre-test round

Before spreading the surveys by e-mail, the survey was conducted offline and personally to fifteen

respondents. Respondents could comment verbally while filling in the survey, this way, it was

possible to detect problems right away.

Respondents seemed to think of the exposure time (3.42 seconds) as very short, but not impossible

to base a first impression on. No questions were asked about both the statements and the way the

survey was conducted; according to all fifteen respondents the survey was easy to understand.

Hence, the survey was ready to be spread more broadly, by e-mail.

PART V DATA ANALYSIS

5.1 Sample

The sample consists out of 91 respondents. Most of them are students, because of their willingness

to cooperate, since they have to do this kind of research as well at the end of their study.

5.2 Univariate data analysis of the sample

The univariate data analysis provides a summarization of all statistics concerning the individual

variables. This gives us a clear overview of the distribution of the sample, and could be useful to

explain certain outcomes of the data analysis.

TABLE 10a

Age sample

Dataset Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

‘Product’ sample 19 55 28.45 11.736

‘Human/product’ sample 18 57 33.45 14.116

‘Human’ sample 18 55 26.58 10.436

Total sample 18 57 29.42 12.354

TABLE 10b Gender sample

Dataset Male Female

‘Product’ sample 32.3% 67.7%

‘Human/product’ sample 44.8% 55.2%

‘Human’ sample 45.2% 54.8%

Total sample 40.7% 59.3%

As can be seen in the tables above, the minimum age of the respondents is 18, and the maximum age

is 57, with a mean of 29.42 years. 40.7% of the respondents were male, and 59.3% were female.

The respondents which were exposed to the ‘product’-website are slightly younger than the overall

respondents, with a minimum age of 19, maximum age of 55 and a mean of 28.45. In this dataset,

only 32.3% of the respondents are male, which may have some impacts on the results. The

homogeneity between men and women will be discussed in chapter 5.4, after this, it will be decided

if gender should be taken into account when analyzing the datasets.

The respondents which were exposed to the ‘human/product’-website are slightly older than the

respondents exposed to the ‘product’-website, with a minimum age of 18, maximum age of 57 and a

mean of 33.48. In this dataset, 44.8% of the respondents are male, a higher proportion then the

respondents of the ‘product’-dataset.

The respondents which were exposed to the ‘human’-website are about the same age of the

respondents exposed to the ‘product’-website, and younger than the respondents exposed to the

‘human’-website. The minimum age is 18, the maximum age is 55 and the mean is 26.58. In this

dataset, almost equal to the ‘human-product’-dataset, 45.2% of the respondents are male, a higher

proportion then the respondents of the ‘product’-dataset.

5.3 Principal Components Factor Analysis

5.3.1 Determining the independent components

Before conducting a principal components factor analysis (PCA), one must check the analysis on

three things, namely the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (KMO), the Bartlett’s

test of Sphericity, and the anti-image covariance matrix.

The KMO measures whether the correlation between the variables are high enough. The KMO value

must exceed at least 0.50 to conduct an appropriate PCA. As can be seen in table 11, the KMO value

is 0.878, which means this requirement is met.

TABLE 11 KMO and Bartlett’s Test independent components

KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy .878 Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity

Approx. Chi-Square

982.821

Df 190 Sig. .000

The Barlett’s test identifies the inequality between the correlation matrix and the identity matrix,

and must be proven significant. As can be seen in table 11, this requirement is met as well (X2 =

982.821, P = 0.000).

At last, the anti-image correlation matrix contains the negatives of the partial correlation coefficients,

and the anti-image covariance matrix contains the negatives of the partial covariances. Most of the

off-diagonal elements must be small, in order to produce a good factor model. As can be seen in

appendix E, this requirement is met as well.

For above mentioned reasons, PCA may be conducted.

The Eigen Value explains which proportion of the variables is explained by the components. When

reducing variables, information will be lost. In this case the top five components, explain 72.330% of

all the variables. Most efficiently, the ‘elbow’ of the screeplot determines how many components

should be used: in this case only three components (appendix F). Since this PCA contains five

constructs, namely: initial trust, organization, visual appeal, pleasure and arousal, it is not possible to

reduce data to three components without losing two constructs. Therefore, there has been decided

to use five components instead.

TABLE 12 Rotated Component Matrix independent variables

Component

Pleasure Initial Trust Organization Visual Appeal Arousal

TRUST1 .138 .766 .227 .154 .010 TRUST2 .178 .700 .088 .203 .366 TRUST3 -.004 .744 .402 .028 .057 TRUST4

.042 .805 .193 .193 .164

ORGAN1 .389 .454 .228 .113 .134 ORGAN2 .258 .414 .650 .073 -.112 ORGAN3 .076 .299 .809 -.045 .216 ORGAN4

.052 .188 .750 .288 .100

VISUA1 .347 .327 .233 .659 .327 VISUA2 .464 .239 .449 .269 .370 VISUA3 .354 .193 .178 .781 .160 VISUA4

.499 .172 .046 .681 .140

PLEAS1 .657 .270 .069 .384 .225 PLEAS2 .872 .073 .107 .238 .153 PLEAS3 .841 -.038 .058 .245 .101 PLEAS4

.499 .352 .352 .248 .276

AROUS1 .703 .150 .156 .114 .374 AROUS2 .153 -.034 .336 .294 .713 AROUS3 .373 .396 -.019 .000 .626 AROUS4 .433 .275 .008 .249 .693

Notes: Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis, Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser

Normalization. Rotation converged in 8 iterations.

As can be seen in table 12, the first component is Pleasure, although the variable AROUS1 (‘this

website makes me excited’) seem to fit this first component as well. However, according to theory

this variable does not measure pleasure, and will not be part of the first component. PLEAS4 (‘I am

satisfied with this website’) in contrary, is spread too much over the different components to

become part of the first component. This makes sense, since this statement was the least outspoken

of the four statements measuring pleasure. In conclusion, the first component of the PCA, will be

‘Pleasure’ and will consist out of PLEAS1 (‘this website makes me feel good’), PLEAS2 (‘this website

makes me joyful’) and PLEAS3 (‘this website makes me feel happy’).

The second component is Initial Trust, and consists out of all trust-measuring variables: TRUST1 (‘this

website seems trustworthy’), TRUST2 (‘I trust this website keeps my best interests in mind’), TRUST3

(‘this website will probably keep promises it makes to me’), TRUST4 (‘I will probably believe the

information that this website provides me’).

The third component is Organization, and consists out of ORGAN2 (‘the layout of the website is

intuitive’), ORGAN3 (‘the website has logically organized elements’) en ORGAN4 (‘the website was

designed in a manner I am accustomed to’). ORGAN1 (‘the design of the website is harmonious’)

drops out. Although ORGAN1 is the statement used in the oldest study (Nasar & Hong, 1999) of the

four statements, there seems to be no apparent reason for the drop out, because this statement is

almost meaning the same as ORGAN3 (‘the website has logically organized elements’). Nevertheless,

this variable will not be used further along this study.

The fourth component is Visual appeal, and consists out of VISUA1 (‘this website is pleasing to look

at’), VISUA3 (‘this website is visually appealing’) and VISUA4 (‘the visual design of the website is

attractive’). VISUA2 (‘I like the look and feel of the website’) is spread too much over all components

and will not be used further along this study.

The last and fifth component is Arousal, and consists out of AROUS2 (‘this website activates me’),

AROUS3 (‘this website would increase my concentration on the screen’) and AROUS4 (‘this website

stimulates me’). As mentioned before, AROUS1 (‘this website makes me feel excited’) seem to fit the

component Pleasure way more than the component Arousal. Therefore, this variable will not be used

as part of the Arousal component.

5.3.2 Determining the dependent component

For the dependent variable Evaluation, a separate PCA is conducted (appendices G & H). Using all

variables (EVALU1, EVALU2 and EVALU3), the KMO value (0.576, table 13) did exceed 0.50. Bartlett’s

test of Spericity is proven to be significant (X2=34.316, P=0.000) as well. On top of that, the non-

diagonal elements of the anti-image matrices turned out to be small. Therefore, an appropriate PCA

can be conducted using all three variables.

TABLE 13 KMO and Bartlett’s Test dependent components

KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy .576 Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity

Approx. Chi-Square

34.316

Df 3 Sig. .000

5.3.3 Reliability constructs

After conducting the PCA, one can consider the high loaded variables as valid for a certain

component. However, the constructs must be tested on internal reliability as well. Cronbach’s alpha

determines this internal reliability. Cronbach’s alpha must at least exceed 0.60 to pass the reliability

test according to Hair et al. (2006). Litfin et al. (2000) observed that even a score of 0.50 is accepted

when doing an exploratory research like this study.

TABLE 14

Reliability test constructs

Construct Cronbach’s α

Initial trust 0.822 Organization 0.740 Visual appeal 0.883 Pleasure 0.857 Arousal 0.774 Short run website evaluation 0.581

As can be concluded from table 14, all constructs score well on Cronbach’s alpha, in exception for the

short run website evaluation. Dropping EVALU3 (‘when I want more information, I would send this

company my question’ ) from the construct, would improve Cronbach’s alpha to 0.636. However,

since this is an exploratory research, there has been chosen to use all three variables and accept the

score of 0.581. All constructs pass the reliability test, and no variables will be dropped from the

equation.

5.3.4 Overview components

To sum up the conclusions of the PCA and the reliability test, an overview is given in the table 15.

TABLE 15 PCA Components Overview

Component Variables Statement Source

Initial trust TRUST1 This website seems trustworthy Jarvenpaa et al., 2000 TRUST2 I trust this website keeps my best interests in

mind Jarvenpaa et al., 2000

TRUST3 This website will probably keep promises it makes to me


TRUST4 I will probably believe the information that this website provides me


Organization ORGAN2 The layout of the website is intuitive Pavlou & Fygenson, 2006 ORGAN3 The website has logically organized elements Rosen & Purinton, 2004 ORGAN4 The website was designed in a manner I am

accustomed to Cai et al., 2008

Visual appeal VISUA1 This website is pleasing to look at Hall & Hanna, 2004 VISUA3 This website is visually appealing Cai et al., 2008 VISUA4 The visual design of the website is attractive Cai et al., 2008

Pleasure PLEAS1 This website makes me feel good Self-developed, based on

Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

PLEAS2 This website makes me joyful Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

PLEAS3 This website makes me feel happy Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

Arousal AROUS2 This website activates me Self-developed, based on

Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

AROUS3 This website would increase my concentration on the screen

Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

AROUS4 This website stimulates me Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

Short run website evaluation

EVALU1 I would stay on this website Self-developed, based on Mehrabian & Russell’s study (1974)

EVALU2 I would click further on this website, even though not absolutely necessary


EVALU3 When I want more information, I would send this company my question


5.4 Homogeneity of the sample

5.4.1 Gender

With P<0.95 male tend to be significantly less trusting towards the website then female (p=0.020,

table 16). Males on average scored the reliability of the website 0.325 points lower than the average

female. With P<0.90 the average male tend to be also significantly less aroused by the website

(p=0.096, table 16), and evaluate the website lower (p=0.058, table 16) than the average female.

TABLE 16 Gender-based differences

Component Male (1-5) Female (1-5) Significance

Initial trust 3.383 3.708 0.020 Arousal 2.981 3.259 0.096 Short run website Evaluation

3.027 3.346 0.058

Note: calculations based on appendix I

This will have some consequences for the three different datasets (one for each website). Since the

first dataset, in where respondents evaluate the ‘product’-website, has a lower proportion of male

respondents, this may effect the results positively for the evaluation of this website. This factor will

be taken into account for further analysis.

5.4.2 Age

With P<0.90, older respondents seem to be significantly rating the organization of the website lower

(p= 0.099, appendix J). This can be explained by the fact that older respondents are not digital

natives, and are less familiar with the construction of websites then younger respondents. For older

people websites are often more complicated.

5.5 Testing hypothesis

Now components are determined, and computed, it is time to test the hypotheses of this research.

Dummy variables are added to combine the three datasets of the three research objects (product

website, human/product website and the human website). Since the product website is expected to

have the least effect on the components, this will be the benchmark for further analysis. Dummy

variables for the ‘human/product’ and ‘human’ data are added to the dataset.

As claimed in the previous chapter about the homogeneity of the dataset, the ‘product’ data will

probably positively be influenced by the low proportion of male respondents. Therefore, gender will

be taken into consideration, when analyzing the hypotheses considering the change of the main

image.

5.5.1 Overview hypothesis and instruments

In table 17, an overview of the hypotheses is given, followed by the instrument of analysis which will

be used to test the hypothesis.

TABLE 17 Hypothesis Overview

Dependent variable Independent variable(s) Hypotheses Instrument

Initial trust

Product image Human/product image Human image Gender

H1a-c

Lineair regression

Organization Product image Human/product image Human image Gender

H2a-c

Lineair regression

Visual appeal Product image Human/product image Human image Gender

H3a-c

Lineair regression

Pleasure


H5a-c Lineair regression

Organization Visual appeal

H7a H7c

Arousal


H6a-c Lineair regression

Organization Visual appeal

H7b H7d

SR evaluation Website

Initial trust H8 Lineair regression Organization H9 Visual appeal H10 Pleasure H11 Arousal H12

5.5.1 H1a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on initial trust

The hypotheses 1a to 1c, are testing the effect of the human aspect in images on initial trust on the

short run. After the review of the theory, it was expected the human aspect in the images would

have a positive effect on initial trust. The human aspects in the image, has a greater social presence,

which in return leads to more trust (Aldiri et al., 2008).

H1a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived initial

trust of the website, then product images.

H1b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived initial trust of


H1c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived initial trust of


FIGURE 2


Main image on website

H1a-c

a) Product image Initial trust b) Human/product image (+) c) Human image (++)

Although, human aspect in images are proven to have a positive effect on trust on the long run

website evaluation (Cyr et al., 2009), no significant effect is found in this research (table 18), which

examines the short run website evaluation. The effect even seems to be negative for the

human/product image, although not significant (t= -1.681, p= 0.096, table 18).

TABLE 18 The effect of human aspects in images on Initial trust

Coefficients (Dependent variable: TRUST)

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t

p B ε β (Constant)*

3.795

.120

31.569

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0)* -.318 .137 -.243 -2.313 .023 Human image -.014 .161 -.010 -.085 .932 Human-Product image -.277 .165 -.201 -1.681 .096 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale Initial trust is 1-5, 5 being maximum trustable.

In conclusion, no evidence is found that human aspects influence initial trust in the short run. This

means the hypotheses 1a, 1b and 1c are not supported by the data.

Cyr et al.’s study (2009) has two main differences with this research: the human aspect in images,

and its effect on trust, was tested on experimental websites selling electronics, where this research

used an online bookstore as a research object. The second difference is the exposure time, where Cyr

et al. studied the long run website evaluation; this study focusses on the short run website

evaluation. Which factor made the difference in the results, will be discussed further along this study.

5.5.2 H2a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on organization

The hypotheses 2a to 2c, are testing the effect of the human aspect in images on organization on the

short run. Organization is a part of the construct aesthetics. After the review of the theory, it was

expected the human aspect in the images would have a negative effect on organization. Images with

human images would distract the attention from the more rational aspects of the website (eg. the

text).

H2a: Human/product images will have a more negative effect on the perceived

organization of the website, then product images.

H2b: Human images will have a more negative effect on the perceived organization of


H2c: Human images will have a more negative effect on the perceived organization of




H2a-c

a) Product image Organization b) Human/product image (-) c) Human image (--) Visual appeal

No evidence is found to support hypotheses 2a, 2b and 2c. As can be seen in table 19, the images

seem to have no significant effect on organization on the short run. The human aspects did not

extract the viewers from the rational elements of the website. This might be explained by the fact

that cognitive processes are often too slow to effect the first impression.

TABLE 19

The effect of human aspects in images on Organization

Coefficients (Dependent variable: ORGAN)

Model



t


3.942

.116

33.872

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.119 .132 -.098 -.904 .369 Human image .091 .154 .073 .588 .558 Human-Product image -.066 .159 -.051 -.414 .680 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale Organization is 1-5, 5 being maximum score on organization.

5.5.3 H3a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on visual appeal

The hypotheses 3a to 3c, are testing the effect of the human aspect in images on visual appeal on the

short run. Visual appeal is a part of the construct aesthetics. After the review of the theory, it was

expected the human aspect in the images would have a positive effect on visual appeal. Exposure to

positive facial expressions would hereby evoke positive emotions on the subject (Dimberg, 1997),

this in turn would lead to a more visually appealing image.

H3a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived visual

appeal of the website, then product images.

H3b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived visual appeal of


H3c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived visual appeal of


FIGURE 4



a) Product image Organization b) Human/product image (+) H3a-c c) Human image (++) Visual appeal

As can be seen in table 20, no evidence is found for significant effects of human images on visual

appeal on the short run. The human/product image even seems to have a negative effect on

visual appeal, although not significant (t=-1.874, p=0.064).

TABLE 20 The effect of human aspects in images on Visual Appeal

Coefficients (Dependent variable: VISUA)

Model



t


3.829

.148

25.930

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.002 .167 -.001 -.012 .991 Human image -.161 .197 -.100 -.818 .416 Human-Product image -.375 .200 -.228 -1.874 .064 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale Visual Appeal is 1-5, 5 being most visual appealing.

5.5.4 H4: The net effect of the human aspect in images on aesthetics

Since H2a-c and H3a-c are rejected, no evidence was found that the human aspect of images has any

effect on aesthetics on the short run. Therefore, H4, testing the net effect of the human aspect in

images on aesthetics, will be rejected as well.

5.5.5 H5a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on pleasure

The hypotheses 5a to 5c, are testing the effect of the human aspect in images on pleasure on the

short run. Pleasure is a part of the construct emotional appeal. After the review of the theory, it was

expected the human aspect in the images would have a positive effect on pleasure. Exposure to

positive facial expressions would hereby evoke positive emotions on the subject (Dimberg, 1997).

H5a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived

pleasure of the website, then product images.

H5b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived pleasure of the


H5c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived pleasure of the


FIGURE 6



H5a-c

a) Product image Pleasure b) Human/product image (+) c) Human image (++) Arousal

Again, the difference in images, did not show any significant effect (table 21). No evidence for human

aspects in images effecting pleasure on the short run, is found.

TABLE 21 The effect of human aspects in images on Pleasure

Coefficients (Dependent variable: PLEAS)

Model



t

p B ε Β (Constant)*

3.264

.153

21.297

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.185 .172 -.116 -1.078 .284 Human image -.170 .203 -.102 -.835 .406 Human-Product image -.119 .209 -.070 -.568 .572 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale Pleasure is 1-5, 5 evoking most pleasure.

5.5.6 H6a-c: The effect of the human aspect in images on arousal

The hypotheses 6a to 6c, are testing the effect of the human aspect in images on arousal on the short

run. Arousal is a part of the construct emotional appeal. After the review of the theory, it was

expected the human aspect in the images would have a positive effect on arousal. People get more

aroused when being in presence of a human-being, or even a computerized face (Sproull et al.,

1996). So therefore, it is likely people got higher levels of arousal (the degree in which a person feels

excited, active, alert and stimulated) exposed to the human aspect in the main image.

H6a: Human/product images will have a more positive effect on the perceived arousal


H6b: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived arousal of the


H6c: Human images will have a more positive effect on the perceived arousal of the


FIGURE 7



a) Product image Pleasure b) Human/product image (+) H6a-c c) Human image (++) Arousal

No significant effect of the human aspect in images on arousal on the short run is found (table 22).

Therefore, no evidence is found for H6a-c.

TABLE 22 The effect of human aspects in images on Arousal

Coefficients (Dependent variable: AROUS)

Model



t


3.257

.147

22.144

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.271 .167 -.179 -1.630 .107 Human image .129 .195 .082 .660 .511 Human-Product image -.154 .204 -.094 -.754 .453 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale Arousal is 1-5, 5 evoking most arousal.

5.5.7 The effect of the human aspect in images on the short run

Human aspects in images does not seem to effect any of the constructs, and as can be seen in table

23, does not seem to have any significant effect at all on the short run website evaluation. After all,

images might not be as important on the short run, at least not for an online bookstore. These results

will be discussed further in part six of this study.

TABLE 23 The effect of human aspects in images on Short Run Website Evaluation

Coefficients (Dependent variable: EVALU)

Model



t


3.451

.150

23.003

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.299 .168 -.187 -1.782 .078 Human image -.091 .199 -.055 -.455 .651 Human-Product image -.260 .202 -.154 -1.284 .203 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale short run website evaluation is 1-5, 5 being most positively evaluated.

5.5.8 H7a-d: The effect of perceived aesthetics on perceived emotional appeal

Hypothesis 7a to 7d test whether perceived aesthetics has an effect on perceived emotional appeal.

Since the organization dimension of aesthetics is important to rational people, no effect is expected

to be shown on emotional appeal. On top of this, the website is evaluated on the short run, and the

cognitive process then is way less important.

H7a: Organization will have no influence on perceived pleasure in the short run.

H7b: Organization will have no influence on perceived arousal in the short run.

Conversely, visual appeal is all about emotions. High levels of visual appeal are expected to result

in higher levels of pleasure. According to a study of Demangeot and Broderick (2006) an aesthetic

website design draws the attention of the visitor. Therefore, high visual appeal is expected to be

more stimulating, which will lead to higher levels of arousal.

H7c: Visual appeal will have a positive influence on perceived pleasure in the short

run.

H7d: Visual appeal will have a positive influence on perceived arousal in the short run.

FIGURE 8

Hypothesis 7 schematic Aesthetics Emotional appeal

H7a-d

Organization Pleasure Visual appeal Arousal

As expected, organization is proven to have no direct significant effect on neither pleasure (table 24)

nor arousal (table 25). Conversely, visual appeal has a significant positive effect on both pleasure

(t=7.960, p=0.000) and arousal (t=5.376, p=0.000). In conclusion, evidence is found for hypothesis 7a,

7b, 7c and 7d.

TABLE 24

The effect of Aesthetics on Pleasure


Model



t

p B ε β (Constant)

.405

.446

.908

.367

Organization -.003 .119 -.002 -.026 .979 Visual Appeal* .738 .093 .695 7.960 .000 Note: Scale Pleasure is 1-5, 5 evoking most pleasure.

TABLE 25 The effect of Aesthetics on Arousal


Model



t


.427

.460

.928

.356

Organization .199 .124 .160 1.608 .112 Visual Appeal* .531 .099 .535 5.376 .000 Note: Scale Arousal is 1-5, 5 evoking most arousal.

In addition to this, evidence is found, organization indirectly influencing both pleasure and arousal in

a positive way. As can be seen in table 26 and table 27, isolated, organization has a significant

positive influence on both pleasure (t=2.986, p=0.004), and arousal (t=4.045, p=0.000).

TABLE 26

The effect of Organization on Pleasure


Model



t


1.454

.553

2.628

.010

Organization* .417 .140 .306 2.986 .004 Note: Scale Pleasure is 1-5, 5 evoking most pleasure.

TABLE 27 The effect of Organization on Arousal


Model



t


1.126

.504

2.233

.028

Organization* .514 .127 .412 4.045 .000 Note: Scale Arousal is 1-5, 5 evoking most arousal.

Combined with the calculations in table 24, 25 and 28, the conclusion can be drawn organization is

indirectly positively effecting both pleasure and arousal, via visual appeal.

TABLE 28

The effect of Organization on Visual Appeal


Model



t

p B Ε β (Constant)*

1.340

.483

2.774

.007

Organization* .589 .122 .461 4.822 .000 Note: Scale Visual Appeal is 1-5, 5 being most visual appealing.

FIGURE 15 The effect of Aesthetics on Emotional appeal

Aesthetics

Organization Emotional appeal + + Pleasure Visual appeal Arousal

To understand why organization influences visual appeal on the short run, we will have a closer look

at the definitions of these two concepts in ‘Part VI: Discussion & Findings’ of this study.

5.5.9 H8: The effect of initial trust on the short run website evaluation

Hypothesis 8 tests whether initial trust has an effect on the short run website evaluation. Initial trust

is expected to have a positive effect on the short run website evaluation. According to McKnight et

al. (1998) and Lim et al. (2006) it is in fact critical for the evaluation of first-time visitors of a website.

H8: The perceived initial trust of the website has a positive effect on the short run


FIGURE 9


H8 (+)

Initial trust Short run evaluation Website

As can be seen in table 29, there is indeed found evidence for initial trust significantly influencing the

short run website evaluation in positive way (t=2.414, p=0.018). In conclusion, support is found for

hypothesis 8.

TABLE 29

The effect of the constructs on Short Run Website Evaluation


Model



t


-.246

.389

-.633

.529

Initial Trust* .270 .112 .222 2.414 .018 Organization .011 .114 .008 .095 .924 Visual Appeal .060 .109 .057 .547 .586 Pleasure .125 .100 .126 1.251 .215 Arousal* .585 .101 .552 5.785 .000 Note: Scale Short Run Website Evaluation is 1-5, 5 being most positively evaluated.

5.5.10 H9: The effect of organization on the short run website evaluation

Hypothesis 9 tests whether organization has an effect on the short run website evaluation. Since

organization is part of the cognitive process, it was expected organization would have no influence

on the short run website evaluation in which affective processes are more important.

H9: The perceived organization of the website has no effect on the short run evaluation

of the website.


Aesthetics

H9

Organization Short run evaluation Website

Visual appeal

At first sight this hypothesis seems to be supported, organization has no direct significant effect on

the short run website evaluation. However, as stated before, organization has a significant positive

effect on visual appeal (table 28), which in turn has a significant positive effect on emotional appeal

(table 24 & 25), which in turn has a positive significant effect on the short run website evaluation

(table 29). So in a very indirect and weak way, organization might have a small positive effect on the

short run website evaluation, but certainly not directly. Therefore, hypothesis 9 is supported.

FIGURE 16

The effect of Aesthetics on SR website evaluation via Emotional appeal

Aesthetics Organization Emotional appeal + + Pleasure + Visual appeal Arousal SR evaluation Website

5.5.11 H10: The effect of visual appeal on the short run website evaluation

Hypothesis 10 tests whether visual appeal has an effect on the short run website evaluation. Since

visual appeal is part of the affective process, it was expected organization would have a positive

influence on the short run website evaluation in which affective processes are more important.

H10: The perceived visual appeal of the website has a positive effect on the short run


FIGURE 11

Hypothesis 10 schematic Aesthetics Organization

H10 (+)

Visual appeal Short run evaluation Website

As can be seen in table 29, no support is found for a direct positive effect of visual appeal on the

short run website evaluation. Therefore hypothesis 10 is not supported. However, visual appeal does

effect the short run website evaluation positively in an indirect way via arousal. Removing both

emotional appeal components (pleasure and arousal), visual appeal positively influences the short

run website evaluation (t=4.101, p=0.000, table 30).

TABLE 30



Model



t

p B Ε β (Constant)

.010

.465

.020

.984

Initial Trust* .452 .135 .363 3.345 .001 Organization .019 .141 .014 .133 .895 Visual Appeal* .418 .102 .402 4.101 .000 Note: Scale Short Run Website Evaluation is 1-5, 5 being most positively evaluated.

FIGURE 16 The effect of Aesthetics on SR website evaluation via Emotional appeal

Aesthetics

Organization Emotional appeal + + Pleasure + Visual appeal Arousal SR evaluation Website

5.5.12 H11: The effect of pleasure on the short run website evaluation

Hypothesis 11 tests whether pleasure has an effect on the short run website evaluation. Several

studies (e.g. Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Menon & Kahn, 2002) found evidence high levels of pleasure

results in approach behavior. This approach behavior will result in a more positive website

evaluation.

H11: Pleasure has a positive effect on the short run evaluation of the website.


Emotional appeal

H11 (+)

Pleasure Short run evaluation Website

Arousal

As can be seen in table 29, no support is found for a direct positive effect on the short run website

evaluation. Looking closer, evidence can be found for pleasure positively effecting the short run

website evaluation indirectly, via arousal (table 31 & 32).

TABLE 31



Model



t


-.025

.455

-.055

.956

Initial Trust* .448 .127 .361 3.521 .001 Organization -.002 .134 -.002 -.016 .988 Visual Appeal .143 .124 .138 1.153 .252 Pleasure* .371 .109 .376 3.414 .001 Note: Scale Short Run Website Evaluation is 1-5, 5 being most positively evaluated.

TABLE 32 The effect of Pleasure on Arousal


Model



t


1.379

.260

5.313

.000

Pleasure* .579 .082 .618 7.074 .000 Note: Arousal is 1-5, 5 evoking most arousal.

FIGURE 17 The effect of pleasure on SR website evaluation via Arousal

Emotional appeal

Pleasure + + Arousal SR evaluation Website

In the short run pleasure seems to have a positive effect on arousal. So if the website makes one

experience positive emotions (eg. happiness), one get more stimulated by the website. This positive

effect, ofcourse, is measured when both levels of pleasure and arousal were neutral. When the level

of pleasure changes, other effects might appear. This will be discussed in ‘Part VI: Discussions &

Findings’ of this study.

5.5.13 H12: The effect of arousal on the short run website evaluation

Hypothesis 12 tests whether arousal has an effect on the short run website evaluation. Several

studies (e.g. Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Menon & Kahn, 2002) found evidence high levels of arousal

results in avoidance behavior, unless high levels of pleasure are experienced at the same time.

Therefore, the effect of arousal depends on the level of pleasure.

H12: Arousal has a positive or negative effect on the short run evaluation of the website,

depending on the level of pleasure.


Emotional appeal Pleasure

Arousal Short run evaluation Website

H12

A significantly positive effect was found for the effect on the short run website evaluation (t=5.785,

p=0.000), this seems to be by far the strongest positive effect as well. The standardized beta has a

value of 0.552, compared to the standardized beta of initial trust, the other component directly

influencing the short run website evaluation: 0.222 (table 29).

FIGURE 18 The effect of emotional appeal and initial trust on SR website evaluation

Emotional appeal

Pleasure Initial Trust + + 0.222 0.552 Arousal SR evaluation Website

In this study arousal has a positive impact on the short run website evaluation. To explain this, table

3 is shown once again underneath. As can be seen, there are only two options for arousal having a

positive effect on the approach behavior: neutral pleasure in combination with moderate arousal, or

high pleasure in combination with high arousal.

TABLE 3

Interaction between Basic emotional states and Approach/Avoidance behavior

When we have a closer look at the dataset, we can see pleasure seems to be neutral (x=̄3.0926 on a

scale of 1 to 5, 3 being neutral), and arousal seems to be moderate (x=̄3.1429 on a scale of 1 to 5, 3

being moderate). In conclusion, approach behavior will get the overhand, translated into a positive

effect of arousal on the short run website evaluation. When arousal will increase further, and

pleasure stays at the same level, avoidance behavior will be the result and the effect of arousal on

the short run website evaluation will become negative. So the effect of arousal can indeed be

positive as well as negative, depending in the amount of pleasure experienced. In conclusion,

evidence is found for hypothesis 12.

TABLE 32 Perceived Pleasure and Arousal

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Pleasure 90 1.33 5.00 3.0926 .79170 Arousal 84 1.33 5.00 3.1429 .75390

Level of Pleasure Level of Arousal Behavior


In this study, arousal even seems to be the most important factor determining the short run website

evaluation, even more than twice as important as initial trust. One reason can be the exact right

amount of arousal for the given amount of pleasure, which in this case are almost equally neutral,

resulting in a strong positive effect on the approach behavior. A second, more likely reason, can be

the fact the affective process is very important for the short run website evaluation. Emotions in

general therefore have a bigger impact than more rational variables as initial trust. This will be

discussed more extensively in part six of this study.

5.5.13 Building a model concerning the short run website evaluation

All findings combined, the model depicted in figure 19 shows us how we form the short run website

evaluation, in case of the website in this study. A general model for short run website evaluation,

valid for websites in general, is depicted in figure 20. When we compare this model with the

conceptual map of this study, one can conclude emotional appeal is even more important than

expected, and aesthetics are less important than expected. Even though the entire website

evaluation is based on the lay out in the case of this study, aesthetics seems to play an inferior role.

This confirms the prove for affective processes being much more important in the short run than

cognitive processes.

FIGURE 19 Short run website evaluation model

Aesthetics Emotional appeal Organization Pleasure Initial Trust + + (0.388) + (0.222) + + Visual appeal Arousal SR evaluation Website

(0.265) (0.522)

Note: The numbers in the model are the standardized Beta’s of each effect. The standardized Beta is used to compare effects. Pleasure (0.388) has more effect on Arousal than Visual appeal (0.265), and Arousal (0.522) has more effect on Short run website evaluation than Initial trust (0.222).

On must keep in mind the general short run website evaluation model depicted in figure 20, was

constructed with the purpose to explain the short run effect of human aspects in images. Two

constructs of the WebQualTM model (Laiocono, 2002; 2007) could effect the short run website

evaluation as well: response time and innovativeness. Response time might effect the short run

website evaluation in a direct way, where innovativeness is more likely to effect the short run

website evaluation in a more indirect way, probably via aesthetics. Further research is needed to find

support for these two constructs, which can make the short run website evaluation model complete.

FIGURE 20 General short run website evaluation model

Aesthetics Emotional appeal Organization Pleasure Initial Trust + + + + - / + Visual appeal Arousal SR evaluation Website

PART VI DISCUSSION & FINDINGS

6.1 The influence of human aspects in images on the short run

No evidence is found that human aspects in images influence the short run website evaluation in any

way. Not in a direct way, and neither in an indirect way via the constructs trust, aesthetics and

emotional appeal. These same constructs are proven to have an effect on the long run website

evaluation, but do not seem to effect the first impression of the website. Basically, there are two

possible explanation for this:

- An online bookstore may not be influenced as much by human aspects in images, as for

instance an online electronic store, like used in the study on trust of Cyr et al. (2009).

- Human aspects in images do not have an influence on the short run, as it does on the long

run (Cyr et al., 2009).

Both possibilities will be discussed in the following chapters.

6.1.1 Difference between an online bookstore and an online electronic store

Cyr et al. (2009) scientifically proved human aspects in images made a difference on trust on the long

run. That study focused on an electronic selling website as research object. In this study, the human

aspects does not seem to effect initial trust at all. This may be explained by the fact trust is more

important for an online electronic store than for an online bookstore. Electronics are high-tech and

often more expensive than books, this means the risk of the consumer buying electronics online is

way higher. In fact, this is the reason why consumers that are comfortable with buying a book online,

rather buy their electronics in an offline store. There is a possibility this is the main reason why this

study results differ from the study of Cyr et al. (2009).

However, this solely explains the lack of influence on initial trust, and thereby the short run website

evaluation (since initial trust influences the short run website evaluation). This does not explain why

human images do not have any effect on aesthetics and emotional appeal. For this reason, the

second possibility discussed in the next chapter, seems to be more likely.

6.1.2 Why human aspects might not have influence on the short run website evaluation

On the short run, design and download speed, are the main aspects influencing website evaluation,

because it is about the first impression, exploration of the website have not even started yet. For this

study we focused on the design part, and the main image seemed to have a great influence on the

design (Riegelsberger et al., 2002; Russell, 2005; Gofman and Moskowitz, 2009). Although the focus

seems to be on the main image, and the human aspects in it, the message of the image may not get

across on the short run. The overall beauty of the image is evaluated, but the message of the image

is not translated into the short run evaluation. Maybe the image is even checked for consistency,

because a picture of, for instance, a digital camera might have confused visitors. However, it might

be, the message of trust, warmth and social presence of human aspect in images, only gets across

when executing a task at the same time (eg. while reading information). This might explain why

human aspects in image do not have any effect on the short run, but it does have effect on the long

run. Further research is needed to draw solid conclusions.

6.2 The effect of initial trust on short run website evaluation

According to McKnight et al. (1998) and Lim et al. (2006) initial trust is critical for the evaluation of

first-time visitors of a website. This study found evidence for this phenomena as well: initial trust

does effect the short run website evaluation. The variation of initial trust on the short run among

different website designs can be explained by individual disposition to trust, institution-based trust

and cognitive based trust (McKnight et al., 1998). Individual disposition to trust depends on nurture,

and cannot be influenced by the interface of the website. Institution-based trust depends on the

environment, and is defined as the perceived security of a consumer in a situation, influenced by

guarantees, safety nets and other regulatory/legal structures (Zucker, 1986; Shapiro, 1987). This can

partly be influenced by the website on the short run, by showing logos of institutions which provide

guarantees and safety nets. An example of this is the logo of ‘Thuiswinkel Waarborg’1 in the

Netherlands, which gives a warranty for products bought online by the shops subscribed to the

‘Thuiswinkel Waarborg’. A website depicting this logo sends a clear message of trust towards its

customers familiar with the Thuiswinkel Waarborg. Cognitive-based trust is based on rapid cognitive

cues and first impressions, and is the most important form of trust for short run website evaluation.

On top of this, cognitive-based trust is mainly dependent on the layout of the website on the short

run, and therefore it can be influenced. How exactly cognitive-based trust can be influenced remains

the question, since human aspects in images does not seem to have any effect on the short run.

Further research is recommended.

1 http://www.thuiswinkel.org

Whether this initial trust will evolve into sustainable trust (Kim & Tadisina, 2007), or robust trust

(McKnight et al., 1998) depends on several other aspects, like the quality of the service of the

company behind the website.

6.3 The effect of arousal on short run website evaluation Several studies (e.g. Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Menon & Kahn, 2002) found evidence high levels of

arousal results in avoidance behavior. This in turn, will result in less positive evaluations of the

website. However, this depends on the level of pleasure. When experiencing high pleasure, high

arousal will still lead to approach behavior. This effect is summarized in table 3.

TABLE 3 Interaction between Basic emotional states and Approach/Avoidance behavior

In this study, arousal is the most important factor determining the short run website evaluation, even

more than twice as important as initial trust. One reason can be the exact right amount of arousal for

the given amount of pleasure, which in this case are almost equally neutral, resulting in a strong

positive effect on the approach behavior. However, high pleasure accompanied by moderate arousal

would still score better, so the effect could be even stronger.

A second, more likely reason, can be the fact the affective process is very important for the short run

website evaluation. Emotions in general therefore have a bigger impact than more rational variables

as initial trust, for the simple reason that affective processes are faster than cognitive processes.

Since emotional appeal is so important for the short run website evaluation, even more important

than for the long run where there is more time for cognitive processes, it is very important for a

website to score high on pleasure, to effect arousal in the appropriate way so it results in approach

behavior.

Since human aspects in the main image does not seem to have any effect on arousal nor pleasure,

the questions remains how emotions can be influenced by the layout of the website. A factor, well

known for highly influencing emotions, is color (eg. Cerbus & Nichols, 1963, Adams & Osgood, 1973,

Jacobs & Suess, 1975, Valdez, 1993, Valdez & Mehrabian 1994).

Pleasure Arousal Behavior


Color probably influences emotions way faster than the human aspect in an image, because it takes

less cognitive resources to process them. Therefore, this can be an aspect highly influencing

emotional appeal, and thereby arousal and the short run website evaluation. However, further

research is needed to confirm this.

6.4 The effect of pleasure on arousal on the short run

In the short run pleasure seems to have a positive effect on arousal, when both constructs are

neutral. So if the website makes one experience positive emotions (eg. happiness), one get more

stimulated by the website. Conversely, if the website makes one experience negative emotions (eg.

anger), one get less stimulated by the website. Just as the effect of pleasure on the effect of arousal

and the short term website evaluation, this effect may change when experiencing other levels of

pleasure and arousal. This study’s effect of pleasure on arousal was positive, because both pleasure

and arousal where neutral to begin with.

When experiencing very low levels of pleasure, arousal might not be negatively influenced by this,

but probably even positively: lowering pleasure might heighten arousal. For instance, a shocking

picture might increase your concentration on the screen (pleasure down, arousal up). When

experiencing very high levels of pleasure, arousal is probably positively influenced by this, just like

when pleasure is neutral. However, further research is needed to confirm this.

In conclusion, pleasure and arousal cannot be seen apart from each other, because they influence

each other constantly in a different way, depending on the levels of both pleasure and arousal.

However, high scores for pleasure always seem to have an indirect, but important, positive effect on

the short run website evaluation. Therefore, the aim of every website should be evoking high levels

of pleasure. This cannot be reached by using human aspects in images according to the results of this

study, so other constructs (eg. color) should be used to influence pleasure.

6.5 The effect of visual appeal on emotional appeal on the short run

Visual appeal is the affective part of aesthetics, and therefore all about emotions. High levels of

visual appeal are indeed resulting in higher levels of pleasure. According to a study of Demangeot

and Broderick (2006) an aesthetic website design draws the attention of the visitor. Therefore, high

visual appeal was expected to be more stimulating, which leads to higher levels of arousal. This effect

was also shown in this study. Visual appeal has an indirect effect on the short run website evaluation

via pleasure and arousal. According to Loiacono et al. (2007) visual appeal has a more direct effect on

reuse intentions on the long run. There must be stated, their study failed to get a complete view of

the effect of emotional appeal, so no conclusions can be drawn yet. There might be a possibility

visual appeal plays a more important and direct role when evaluating a website on the long run, but

this is not proven yet. Further research is needed.

The indirect effect of visual appeal on the short run website evaluation is positive, so a more visual

appealing website scores higher. Visual appeal is influenced by affective processes and does not

seem to be effected by human aspects in images, therefore other ways must be found to make the

website more attractive (eg. a new innovative look). Further research is recommended.

6.6 The effect of organization on visual appeal on the short run

To understand why organization influences visual appeal on the short run, we will have a closer look

at the definitions of ‘organization’ and ‘visual appeal’. Visual appeal is defined as ‘the degree in which

the website is pleasing for the eye, and the degree in which the visitors get the desire to explore the

website’, where organization takes into account ‘in which degree the layout of a website, makes the

browsing process more efficient and effective’ (Cai et al., 2008). On the short run, visitors of the

website do not get to the browsing process, because the first impression is determined entirely by

the layout of the website and the download speed. To judge on the organization dimension, it is

therefore needed to look at firsthand clues, like the overall overview of the website. If the website

looks cluttered for example, the website scores low at organization, although the visitor did not even

browse on the website. This makes the website visually less attractive as well, hence, visual appeal

decreases. Conversely, when organization increases, visual appeal will increase as well.

Although it is the least important aspect of the developed short run model, organization has some

positive influence on the short run evaluation of the website in a very indirect way. Since

organization is mostly based on cognitive processes, organization is expected to have a much more

direct and important effect on the long run website evaluation. Organization, based on cognitive

processes, is therefore one of the most interesting factors when switching from a short run

evaluation to a long run evaluation: the factor becomes probably way more important when using

the website on the long run. Further research on the subject is recommended.

PART VII CONCLUSION

7.1 Conclusion

In the end, this study gave us four main conclusions, which gives us new insights in short run website

evaluation. The short run website evaluation is in fact important, because it influences the long run

website evaluation strongly via the ‘halo-effect’. We will discuss these four conclusions briefly

underneath.

- Human aspects in images do not seem to have any effect on the short run website

evaluation.

Surprisingly, human aspects in images do not have any effect on the short run website

evaluation in any way. Further research is needed, whether this effect is universal for all

short run website evaluations, or for websites selling low-risk products (eg. books) only.

- Initial trust based on a first impression plays an important role in case of the short run

website evaluation. However, initial trust will not be influenced by human aspects in

images on the short run.

Initial trust, based on first impressions, positively influences the short run website evaluation.

Whether this initial trust will develop into sustainable trust, depends on the performance of

the website on the long run. Initial trust is an important first step towards sustainable trust,

and therefore for the long run website evaluation. This makes initial trust an important factor

which should be taken into account when designing websites.

- Emotional appeal effects the short run website evaluation the most. Both pleasure and

arousal are important factors influencing the short run website evaluation. However,

emotional appeal will not be influenced by human aspects in images on the short run.

Both pleasure and arousal, are the most important factors influencing the short run website

evaluation. This can be explained by the fact affective processes are way faster than cognitive

processes. Pleasure must be high to achieve a positive effect of arousal on the short run

website evaluation. Arousal is best kept low, but can become higher as the levels of pleasure

rise. The design of a website must evoke positive emotions to result into the highest short

run website evaluations.

- Aesthetics effect emotional appeal in a positive way, which in turn has a positive effect on

the short run website evaluation.

The aesthetics, consisting out of a cognitive aspect ‘organization’ and an affective aspect

‘visual appeal’, influences the emotional appeal in a positive way. Aesthetics have no direct

effect on the short run website evaluation, but an indirect effect via emotional appeal. The

effect of aesthetics on emotional appeal never have been stated before in any website

evaluation model.

These conclusions leaves with some answers, a model for short run website evaluation is created,

but with a few questions as well. When human aspects in images do not effect initial trust, aesthetics

nor emotional appeal, what part of the layout does effect these aspects? Further research is

recommended.

7.2 Implications for practice

In this thesis, the short run website evaluation is discussed. It was expected the human element in

images would influence this short run website evaluation. Nevertheless, this is not supported by the

gathered data. This research learned us a few things about the short run website evaluation model,

but did not learn us how to influence the model. Therefore, more research is needed to determine

the aspects that do influence the short run website evaluation. However, no matter what those

aspects are, they must have some effect on the two most important constructs in the model: initial

trust and emotional appeal. The aspect(s) of the website able to influence initial trust or emotional

appeal, will be the key(s) to a positive short run website evaluation.

LIMITATIONS

Before generalizing the conclusions of this study, a few limitations should be considered. First of all,

the sample size as well as the heterogeneity of the sample are limited. The sample size is quiet small

(91 respondents) and although some significant results were shown, the sample might be too small

to draw solid conclusions. This study does, however, gives us a first look at how the short run website

evaluation model works. Therefore it is recommended to test the model in different situations.

Furthermore, the respondents mainly consist out of the authors social circle, and might not

represent the population entirely. The sample consist out of 41% male and 59% female respondents,

most of them with Dutch nationality, aged between 18 and 57 years old with an average of

approximately 29 years. In the internet population, of course the cultural differences are more

diverse, and the proportion of male internet users is about equally high as the proportion female

internet users. Also the average age of the sample is lower than the average age of the population.

The differences in demographics between the sample and population, might influence the results of

this study.

Secondly, the research object was an online bookstore, results might change when conducting the

same experiment on for instance an online electronic store. Online bookstores sell low-tech, low-risk

products, and trust might get more important when conducting the experiment on a website selling

high-risk products. Furthermore, since the website was shown full screen on powerpoint, the real

browsing process was left to the imagination of the respondents, since they were not browsing at

that moment. Evaluations conducted from real-life situations might be more reliable.

Thirdly, the short run model was built to test the human aspects in images on the short run. The

constructs as ‘Innovativeness’ and ‘response time’ were left out, and should be taken into

consideration when creating a more general model. These constructs were left out, because human

aspects would have no effect on the constructs. Testing the model more extensively for general

purposes, these constructs should be taken into consideration as well.

Lastly, the three different images used, on which the conclusions concerning the human aspect in

images is based, might differ in overall beauty, through the eyes of the respondents. For instance, in

this study the ‘product’-image seemed to be the most visual appealing image according to the

respondents (table 20). Although not significant different from the ‘product’-image at all, the

‘human’-image comes in second place, and, at last, the ‘human/product’-image is almost significantly

less visual appealing (t=-1.874, p=0.064). It is suspected the overall beauty of the last mentioned

image, is negatively influencing the visual appeal construct.

TABLE 20 The effect of human aspects in images on Visual Appeal


Model



t


3.829

.148

25.930

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.002 .167 -.001 -.012 .991 Human image -.161 .197 -.100 -.818 .416 Human-Product image -.375 .200 -.228 -1.874 .064 Note: The effect of the Product-image is the benchmark for the dummy-variables Human image and Human-product image. Scale Visual Appeal is 1-5, 5 being most visual appealing.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Although, according to theory, the focus of the first impression of a website seems to be on the main

image, and the human aspects in it, the message the image sent is not getting across on the short run

in this study. A possible explanation might be that the overall beauty and the consistency of the

image might be evaluated, but the message of the image of warmth and social presence of human

aspects in images, might only get across when executing a task at the same time. This might explain

why human aspects in image do not have any effect on the short run, but it does have effect on the

long run. Therefore, it might be interesting to study the effect the images in this website on the long

run as well.

Another explanation of the lack of effect of the human aspects, is to change the research object from

a low-tech and low-risk product selling website, to a high-tech and high-risk product selling website

(eg. an online electronic store). Initial trust becomes more important, and it might be the human

aspects will be taken into consideration (although probably unconsciously) for the overall short run

website evaluation.

Human aspects in images, do not seem to effect the short run website evaluation in any way. So

what part of the layout does effect initial trust, aesthetics and emotional appeal? A factor, well

known for highly influencing emotions, is color. Color might influence emotions way faster than the

human aspect in an image, because it takes less cognitive resources to process them. Therefore, this

can be an aspect highly influencing emotional appeal, and thereby arousal and the short run website

evaluation. Other aspects of the layout should be tested on short run website evaluation. This way,

the different aspects of the website layout, can be shown to influence the short run website

evaluation in a different way.

The next step, beyond short run website evaluation, should be comparing the model of short run

website evaluation to a model of long run website evaluation. How does the short run website

evaluation effect the long run website evaluation, and how important is this effect? Comparing the

short run website evaluation to the long run website evaluation, cognitive aspects will probably get

more important when evaluating a website in the long run, where affective aspects are more

important for evaluating a website on the short run. Where emotional appeal is the most important

factor influencing the short run website evaluation, cognitive factors as organization and trust

become more important in the long run. In addition to this, other cognitive constructs, not

influencing the short run website evaluation, will be important as well for the long run website

evaluation (eg. ease of use).

Concluding, the short run website evaluation model is just a start, further research is needed to

understand the meaning for design-aspects, and the impact of this model on the long run website

evaluation model.

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APPENDICES

Appendix A: Pleasure-Arousal Dimensions

Appendix B: ‘Product’-website

Appendix C: ‘Human/Product’-website

Appendix D: ‘Human’-website

Appendix E: Anti-image Covariance Matrix & Correlation Matrix independent variables

Appendix F: Eigen values & Scree plot

Appendix G: Anti-image Covariance Matrix & Correlation Matrix dependent variables

Anti-image Matrices

EVALU1 EVALU2 EVALU3

Anti-image Covariance EVALU1 .706 -.337 -.208

EVALU2 -.337 .756 -.042

EVALU3 -.208 -.042 .894

Anti-image Correlation EVALU1 .552a -.461 -.262

EVALU2 -.461 .568a -.051

EVALU3 -.262 -.051 .669a

a. Measures of Sampling Adequacy(MSA)

Appendix H: Component Matrix dependent variable

Component Matrixa

Component

1

EVALU1 .841

EVALU2 .777

EVALU3 .617

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

a. 1 components extracted.

Appendix I: The influence of gender on the constructs


Model



t


3.708

.086

43.239

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0)* -.325 .137 -.249 -2.371 .020


Model



t


3.951

.082

48.413

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.113 .130 -.092 -.865 .390


Model



t


3.667

.105

34.899

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.029 .168 -.018 -.171 .865


Model



t


3.176

.108

29.278

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.203 .169 -.127 -1.201 .233


Model



t


3.259

.107

30.587

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.278 .165 -.183 -1.682 .096


Model



t


3.346

.106

31.606

.000

Gender (M=1, F=0) -.319 .166 -.199 -1.919 .058

Appendix J: The influence of gender on the constructs


Model



t


3.765

.179

21.053

.000

Age -.006 .006 -.120 -1.118 .267


Model



t


4.159

.164

25.346

.000

Age -.009 .005 -.176 -1.669 .099


Model



t


3.514

.213

16.512

.000

Age .005 .007 .077 .717 .475


Model



t


2.940

.219

13.396

.000

Age .005 .007 .080 .753 .453


Model



t


3.383

.213

15.847

.000

Age -.008 .007 -.133 -1.219 .226


Model



t


3.417

.215

15.917

.000

Age -.007 .007 -.107 -1.015 .313

Short run website evaluation: the effect of human aspects in images

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