Interactivity reexamined: A baseline analysis of early business web sites

Ha, Louisa; James, E. Lincoln

doi:10.1080/08838159809364462

Cited by 487 publications

(361 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Sometimes, provide "before" and "after" pictures to show the effects of the products The unit of analysis was determined to be the first page or homepage of the web site, excluding analysis of hyperlinked pages. This decision was made because, as the size of web sites varies considerably, evaluating an entire site could be extremely time-consuming as well as confusing (Ha and James, 1998). In addition, Hwang et al (2003) argue that "the homepage is central to web-based communication because it takes on a role more important than the headline of traditional print ads".…”

Section: Beneficial Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excitement or sophistication? A preliminary exploration of online brand personality

Okazaki

2006

International Marketing Review

103

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El acceso a la versión del editor puede requerir la suscripción del recurso Access to the published version may require subscription a long-term relationship with the brand" and suggest "what type of person the brand would be if it were human and what it would do and like" (Hawkins et al., 2001, p. 376). In this vein, prior research adopted the trait approach, in which brand personality was conceptualized as a set of multi-dimensional traits. In the most comprehensive study to date, Aaker (1997) identified the "Big Five" dimensions of brand personality: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. Her work has established an important cornerstone in the development of an object measurement scale, the variables of which influence consumer purchase decisions both independently and interdependently.Of the variables in the marketing mix, marketing communication has often been regarded as the most influential in the creation of brand personality (Anderson and Rubin, 1986). Given the recent proliferation of corporate or brand web sites, a question arises: what dimensions of brand personality do multinational corporations (MNCs) attempt to create in the minds of online consumers? What kind of online communications do they use? Despite the abundant literature on brand personality in general, little attention has been paid to how companies attempt to formulate brand personality on the internet.The aim of this study is to fill this research gap, by conducting a cross-cultural content analysis of American MNCs' web sites. Brand personality is conceptualized as a combination of two sets of stimuli (functional and expressive), on the assumption that American MNCs are utilizing a series of online communications in the attempt to make consumers perceive a single "intended" brand personality across markets. The countries studied were the USA (home country), UK, France, Germany, and Spain (host countries), which were chosen because they exhibit political, social, and economic similarity, but cultural and linguistic diversity. In total, 270 web sites of 64 American MNCs were examined across markets.In the following sections, the relevant literature is first reviewed. Then, the theoretical framework of the study is established, and the research questions formulated. The research methodology is then explained in detail, and is followed by the description of the results, and by a discussion of the research findings. In the conclusion, the implications of the findings are summarized. Finally, the limitations of this study are discussed and suggestions for further research are made.

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Section: Beneficial Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excitement or sophistication? A preliminary exploration of online brand personality

Okazaki

2006

International Marketing Review

103

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“…A number of early studies conducted in this tradition simply concentrated on developing typologies of interactivity. Scholars have been eager to propose new dimensions to classify a wide range of new media (e.g., Ha & James, 1998;Jensen, 1998;Steuer, 1995) but have just as often been at a loss to explain how specific attributes make one technology more interactive than another does. In addition, no typology enables all forms of communication technology to be readily classified, and new technologies not considered at the time of analysis continuously appear.…”

Section: Structural Approaches: Ignoring the Effects Of Third Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aside from a handful of experimental studies that have controlled the media stimulus presentation (e.g., Eveland & Dunwoody, 2001;Sundar, Kalyanaraman, & Brown, 2003;Tao & Bucy, 2005), communication scholars have not shown much interest in tracking which interactive attributes have actually been used. Structural analyses, including Heeter's (1989) six-dimensional model, Ha and James' (1998) five-dimensional model, and Jensen's (1998) three-dimensional model, effectively catalog the types of interactivity available in mediated environments but do not go beyond initial classification to advance the field with empirical testing and theory building.…”

Section: Structural Approaches: Ignoring the Effects Of Third Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mediated Moderation Model of Interactivity

2007

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This paper argues for enhanced consideration of third variables in interactivity research and proposes a "mediated moderation" model to bring increased sophistication to bear on the study of information technology effects. Interactivity, a central phenomenon in new media research, is an elusive concept that has enduringly intrigued and confused scholars. Extant conceptualizations have produced incomplete causal models and have generally ignored the effect of third variables. We conceptualize interactivity as technological attributes of mediated environments that enable reciprocal communication or information exchange, which afford interaction between communication technology and users, or between users through technology. Specifying roles for mediator and moderator variables, this paper proposes a model that incorporates interactive attributes, user perceptions (mediators such as perceived interactivity), individual differences (moderators such as Internet self-efficacy), and media effects measures to systematically examine the definition, process, and consequences of interactivity on users. Lastly, statistical procedures for testing mediated moderation are described.An enduring question and major inconsistency in interactivity research is how to best isolate the concept for systematic investigation. Various definitions and multi-dimensional models have been proposed but current approaches attempt to either mix structural characteristics of media systems, message exchanges, and user perceptions into a single multidimensional construct, or identify one of these factors as the central locus of interactivity (Sundar, 2004). Not surprisingly, the empirical research on interactivity has yielded scattered findings and has been unable to ascertain consistent patterns of effects on users. After three decades of analysis and investigation, we scarcely know what interactivity really is, let alone what MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY, 9,

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“…Per country, we select three to five newspapers with the largest circulation 2 . The selected newspapers represent, in quantitative and qualitative terms, the traditional serious national press in each country and, as far as practically possible, across Europe.To be able to compare print and online newspapers we follow other studies and analyse front pages (see Bridges and Bridges, 1997;Ha and James, 1998;Kenney et al, 2000;Li, 1998;Schoenbach, 1997). The front page is the primary editorial page where the most important news is presented and other parts of the newspaper are made accessible via pointers (hyperlinks or other references).…”

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confidence: 99%

Online and print newspapers in Europe in 2003. Evolving towards complementarity

Wurff¹,

Lauf²,

Balčytienė³

et al. 2008

Comm

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This article assesses online newspapers in Europe from a media evolutionary perspective, ten years after the introduction of the World Wide Web. Comparing print and online front pages of 51 newspapers in 14 countries in 2003, we argue that online newspapers complement print newspapers in modest ways. Online, publishers put more emphasis on service information, offer additional news items, that nonetheless report on similar topics in similar ways, and add personal interactivity, content selectivity and realtime news to the print news offering.One subset of online newspapers charges for services, and offers more content and personal interactivity. Another, partly overlapping subset offers more original news; in a short and anonymous format. Overall, however, online newspapers in Europe make up a heterogeneous group, suggesting that online newspapers still have to find their definite form and role in the European news market. Keywords: media evolution, online newspapers, print newspapers, Europe Online newspapers in EuropeThe development of online newspapers is a major, yet unfinished experiment in innovation in the newspaper industry. It has caught the imagination and attention of scholars and experts, who advanced enthusiastic views of how the Internet could improve the provision of news and debate in society, as well as gloomy predictions of how print newspapers and traditional newspaper publishers would become obsolete. At a more concrete level, the development of online newspapers is a continuous search for ways to use Internet technology to improve existing practices of news production and consumption. Communications 33 (2008) Richard van der Wurff, et. al. This paper assesses how newspaper publishers and editors have dealt with these challenges. Our focus is on serious European newspapers in 2003, ten years after the introduction of the World Wide Web. Our approach is media-evolutionary and comparative. We investigate how publishers position online newspapers on the intermedia news market in relation to print newspapers. Our guiding hypothesis is that new media initiate a media evolutionary process in which old and new media alike are forced to adapt to each other and find new and different niches (Dimmick and Rothenbuhler, 1984;Lehman-Wilzig and Cohen-Avigdor, 2004). What particular niches old and new media, and in our case, print and online newspapers, eventually occupy is a question for empirical research. Beginning to address this question, we investigate in this paper to what extent print and online newspapers offer the same or different types of editorial and non-editorial content and services.Building on previous studies that investigated online newspapers in individual countries in the late 1990s, this study describes in detail the front pages of 51 print and online newspapers in 14 European countries in 2003. We compare the types of content and editorial information offered in print and online newspapers and assess so-called Internet features. We attempt to construct a typology of onlin...

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Interactivity reexamined: A baseline analysis of early business web sites

Cited by 487 publications

References 8 publications

Excitement or sophistication? A preliminary exploration of online brand personality

Excitement or sophistication? A preliminary exploration of online brand personality

The Mediated Moderation Model of Interactivity

Online and print newspapers in Europe in 2003. Evolving towards complementarity

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