Last modified: 04/20/2006

AIS SIGHCI Research Resources
ICIS 2005 HCI Workshop
Abstracts

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1. Website Design and Mobility: Culture, Gender, and Age Comparisons
   Dianne Cyr, Milena Head, and Alex Ivanov
   
   Anytime/anywhere services offered through mobile commerce hold great potential to serve customers in wireless environments. However, there is limited understanding of how to best tailor mobile interaction and design for individual differences. This paper seeks to explore the influence of individual differences (namely culture, gender and age) on the design (namely information design, navigation design and visual design) and satisfaction of mobile devices. Sixty subjects who differ on cultural, gender and age dimensions were tested in a controlled laboratory experiment on a mobile product, an Internet enabled phone. The results of this exploratory analysis were inconclusive in terms of cultural and gender differences, but significant differences were found between older and younger subject groups. Consistent with findings in the stationary Internet domain, design elements were found to impact satisfaction with mobile services. Implications and limitations of this research are presented, emphasizing the importance of additional investigations.
   
   
2. The Cultural Implications of Nomadic Computing in Organizations
   Lei-da Chen and Cynthia L. Corritore
   
   The model of an anytime anywhere workforce changing the landscape of business today is made possible by nomadic computing technologies, eg. mobile and wireless technologies. This research presents the concept of nomadic culture and examines a framework that describes the components of this new, emerging culture underlying anytime anywhere work. The effect of organizational support for nomadic behaviors, a part of nomadic culture, on job satisfaction is also examined. Using the structure equation modeling technique, significant support for the framework was found in data collected from 203 working IT professionals from a wide variety of organizations.
   
   
3. Investigating the Usability of the Stylus Pen on Handheld Devices
   Xiangshi Ren and Sachi Mizobuchi
   
   Many handheld devices with stylus pens are available on the market, however, there have been few studies which examine the effects of the size of the stylus pen on user performance and subjective preferences for hand-held device interfaces. Two experiments were conducted to determine the most suitable dimensions (pen-length, pen-tip width and pen-width) for a stylus pen. In Experiment 1, five pen-lengths (7, 9, 11, 13, 15 cm) were evaluated. In Experiment 2, six combinations of three pen-tip widths (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5mm) and the two pen widths (4 and 7mm) were compared. In both experiments, subjects conducted pointing, steering and writing tasks on a PDA. The results were assessed in terms of user performance and subjective evaluations for all three pointing, steering and writing tasks. We determined that the most suitable pen dimensions were 11 cm for length, 0.5 mm for tip width, and 7mm for pen width.
   
   
4. Measuring User Beliefs and Attitudes towards Conceptual Schemas: Tentative Factor and Structural Equation Model
   Geert Poels, Ann Maes, Frederik Gailly, and Roland Paemeleire
   
   Human factors research in conceptual modeling is scarce. Recently, quality assurance frameworks, methods and tools for conceptual schemas have received increased research attention, but the perception of quality by schema users has largely been ignored in this stream of research. This paper proposes a tentative model of user beliefs and attitudes towards the quality of conceptual schemas. The proposed model is original in the sense that it includes both perceived semantic quality and perceived pragmatic quality measures. The paper also presents a new measurement instrument for the perceived semantic quality of conceptual schemas. This instrument was used in a classroom experiment that tested the proposed user beliefs and attitudes model. It was shown that the perceived semantic quality of a schema is directly related to its perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use and indirectly to the user satisfaction with the schema.
   
   
5. The Centrality of Awareness in the Formation of User Behavioral Intention toward Preventive Technologies in the Context of Voluntary Use
   Tamara Dinev and Qing Hu
   
   Little is known about user behavior toward what we call preventive computer technologies that have become increasingly important in the networked economy and society to secure data and systems from viruses, unauthorized access, disruptions, spyware, and similar harmful technologies. We present the results of a study of user behavior toward preventive technologies based on the frameworks of theory of planned behavior in the context of anti-spyware technologies. We find that the user awareness of the issues and threats from harmful technologies is a strong predictor of user behavioral intention toward the use of preventive technologies. In the presence of awareness, the influence of subjective norm on individual behavioral intention is significantly weakened among less technology savvy users but strengthened among more technology savvy users. Also, commonly strong determinants “perceived ease of use” and “computer self-efficacy” in utilitarian technologies are no longer as significant in preventive technologies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
   
   
6. Evaluating Supply Chain Context-Specific Antecedents of Post-Adoption Technology Performance
   Susan K. Lippert
   
   This study investigated the influence of context-specific antecedents to user perceptions of technology performance using a new logistics information tracking technology designed to facilitate the linking of supply functions. Supply chain awareness, task-technology fit, and satisfaction with the existing system were evaluated as external variables likely to influence technology performance. This research examines the effect of these three constructs on technology acceptance as a function of post-adoption perceptions of technology performance. The research model was based on the original Technology Acceptance Model. Data from a mail survey were collected to evaluate 718 first-tier supply chain users’ perceptions of a new technology’s performance that includes accuracy, visibility, and efficiency. A structural equation model tested eleven hypothesized relationships. The results of this study advance understanding of technology adoption, enrich knowledge of technology innovation, and offer suggestions for enhancing user perceptions of technology performance. Implications along with suggestions for future research are provided.
   
   
7. The Role of Similarity in e-Commerce Interactions: The Case of Online Shopping Assistants
   Sameh Al-Natour, Izak Benbasat, and Ronald T. Cenfetelli
   
   This research proposes that technological artifacts are perceived as social actors, and that users can make personality and behavioral attributions towards them. These formed perceptions interact with the user’s own characteristics in the form of an evaluation of similarity. Using an automated shopping assistant, the study investigates the effects of two types of perceived similarity on a number of dependent variables. The results show that both, perceived personality similarity, as well as perceived behavioral similarity, between the user and the decision aid positively affect users’ evaluations of the technological artifact. Furthermore, the study investigates the role of design characteristics in forming social perceptions about the shopping assistant. The results indicate that design characteristics, namely content, can be used to manifest desired personalities and behaviors, allowing us to compute measures of “actual” similarity, which were found to predict perceived similarity.
   
   
8. It is that Dreaded Error Report: An Empirical Assessment of Error Reporting Behavior
   Khawaja Saeed and Achita (Mi) Muthitacharoen
   
   Software companies are currently using the Internet to solicit information from users about errors in the applications and using this information to prioritize further development efforts. To increase the likelihood of error reporting by users, it is important to systematically understand user perceptions that drive their intention to use an error reporting system (ERS). We theorize that perceived expected benefits of using ERS, the user’s value system, and design elements of the ERS are factors that drive ERS usage intentions. The results show that the users find ERS useful, if they believe that ERS is congruent with their values and will benefit them in future. While clarity of role and process transparency were identified as important factors, the ability to examine information transmitted through the ERS was not found to influence ERS usefulness. Prescriptive guidelines on effective design of the ERS and discussion on avenues of future research are offered.
   
   
9. Building Relationships Between Consumers and Online Vendors: Empirical Findings from Austria
   Horst Treiblmaier
   
   Customer Relationship Management has become one of the major topics in Information Systems. While IS researchers concentrate on the influence of computer-supported systems to strengthen the ties between customers and organizations, the underlying theoretical base has mainly been built and developed by the marketing discipline named relationship marketing. Interestingly, the central definition of what exactly constitutes a relationship remains unclear in both research fields. This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach and shows how relationships are defined in scholarly literature. Since the results remain unsatisfying, an empirical survey is conducted to let online consumers define what they perceive to be the crucial attributes of a relationship in general and with an (online) organization. The results indicate that the notion of relationship has to be redefined at least for online communication and interaction and offer practical implications for designing the interaction process with online users.
   
   
10. Online Advice Taking: Examining the Effects of Self-Efficacy, Computerized Sources, and Perceived Credibility
    Robin S. Poston, Asli Y. Akbulut, and Clayton A. Looney
    
    The Internet offers limitless advice on a multitude of products and services. The quality of the advice varies and is inherently a matter of human judgment. To help users determine the quality of advice and whether to use the advice, design features of web sites include information about the type and credibility of the advice source. This research examines how characteristics of the online user (i.e., self-efficacy) and characteristics of the advice source (i.e., type and credibility) affect advice taking in an online investing context. A laboratory experiment provides evidence that users with higher levels of self-efficacy are less likely to take advice than those with lower levels of self-efficacy. Results also suggest users given highly credible advice are more likely to take the advice compared to users who receive advice with dubious credibility. The implications are discussed.
    
    
11. An Empirical Study on Causal Relationships between Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Ease of Use
    Heshan Sun and Ping Zhang
    
    Causality is critical for our understanding of user technology acceptance. However, findings regarding the causal relationship between perceived enjoyment (PE) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) are not conclusive. PE has been theorized and empirically validated as either an antecedent or a consequence of PEOU. Covariance-based methods such as the widely used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), albeit robust in examining causal connectedness, are limited in detecting causal direction and therefore cannot provide additional evidence for one view or the other. This study provides an alternative statistical method, Cohen’s path analysis to explore causal relationship. Empirical results from two studies support that the PE→PEOU causal direction is stronger than the PEOU→PE direction for utilitarian systems.
    
    
12. Information Search Patterns in E-Commerce Product Comparison Services
    Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Hong-Hee Lee, and Liqiang Chen
    
    The presentation of product information is very important in e-commerce websites. In this research, we study how disposition styles can influence users’ search patterns in product comparison services of e-commerce websites. Our results show that people are inclined to use feature information paths in vertical disposition style and product information paths in horizontal disposition style. The results also indicate that there are more feature paths than product paths in the earlier stage of product comparison, and more product paths than feature paths in the latter stage of product comparison. Based on Gensch’s two-stage choice model and the results of our study, the vertical disposition style is more suited for supporting product comparison services.
    
    
13. Understanding the Social Implications of Technological Multitasking: A Conceptual Model
    Caroline S. Bell, Deborah R. Compeau, and Fernando Olivera
    
    Multitasking is common in today’s technology-enabled organizations. However, little attention has been paid to the social meaning and consequences of multitasking. We focus on technological multitasking - which we define as rapid task switching involving information technologies - in situations involving co-location and interpersonal interaction, such as checking e-mail during a meeting or instant messaging during group work. We argue that technological multitasking generates social perceptions and present a conceptual model linking these perceptions to situational factors and performance.
    
    
14. Contributing to Quality of Life: A New Outcome Variable for Information Technology in Ubiquitous Computing Environments
    Minkyung Lee, Jinwoo Kim, Hun Choi, Dongjin Lee, and Kun Shin Im
    
    The rapid spread of technological innovations like mobile data services (MDS) has made ubiquitous computing a fact of everyday life for many people. We need therefore to understand the contribution of ubiquitous computing to overall quality of life. This study proposes a theoretical model that connects user satisfaction (a traditional outcome variable of IT) with contributions to quality of life (a new outcome variable for ubiquitous computing) in the domain of MDS. The reliability of the outcome variables and the validity of the proposed model were tested through three empirical studies in Korea. Study results indicate that user satisfaction with MDS affected the contribution of MDS to quality of life in eleven subordinate domains, and these contributions in turn influenced the overall contribution of MDS to quality of life. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications and limitations of the study results.