Use evaluation of the web A case in

Use & evaluation of the web: A case in Hong Kara Chan and Brian Wong Hong Kong Baptist University

Use of IT in companies, 2000 • • PC penetration 52% Internet connectivity 37% Web site 7% Business receipt received thru electron means US$0. 6 billion in 1999 • E-business (purchase, receipt, selling, delivery, • Services or information) 35%

Use of IT in homes, 2000 • • • PC penetration (HH) 50% Internet connectivity (HH) 36% Use internet service (individual) 30% Mostly at homes, then at work, then at schools Mainly for email or to gather information Use of electronic commerce services 85% (mainly ATM cash machines, EPS cash payment, Payment by phone) • Bought goods on line 1% (security)

Trends • Government: electronic service delivery scheme in October, delivery of government services on line • Filing tax return, registering as voters, • Applying driving licences • Public broadcast on line: 2 million listen to RTHK on line every day • Business: e-banking, on-line newspapers • Medium-small companies: lag behind due to lack of IT and financial support

An experimental study • 2 X 2 factorial design: random assignment • Design factor 1: image to text ratio: high vs low • Design factor 2: interactivity: presence or absence of hyperlink • Two products: high involvement: driving school; low involvement: electronic games • Dependent variable: 15 evaluative statements (5 point scale) and overall score (100 points) • Respondents: 144 Chinese undergraduates

Respondents profile • 107 females + 33 males • Used internet for > 1 year • Popular topics: news, entertainment, art, computer • Often used search engines and friends to find sites • Manipulation check: significant difference in perceived importance of the purchase decision of driving course and e-game

Findings for driving course web • No difference in 14 evaluative statements • No difference in overall evaluation scores • Site with less pictures, more links was considered to be more interesting than site with more pictures and no link

Findings for games web • No difference in 12 evaluative statements • No difference in overall evaluation scores • Site with links (no matter pictures are big or small) was considered to have higher chance of revisit • Site with links was considered to be less boring • Site with links was considered to have better interactive communication

mediating variable • Internet literacy: respondents more familiar with internet liked the web more and were likely to find them boring, more likely to re-visit the web

Factor analysis • Across individuals and web sites • 3 -factor solution • Factor 1: appreciation: liking, interesting, worth browsing, effective • Factor 2: information-rich, find the relevant information, good interactive communication • Factor 3: clarity: not getting lose, easy to read, good icons

conclusion • Under high involvement condition, respondents need for information, design factors don’t play an important roles • Under low involvement situation, design factors play a more important role • Three dimensions of evaluation of web sites: for a successful web: provide necessary information, add entertainment element, easy to retrieve