A Presentation delivered to the Fifth Tricontinental Conference on Global Advances in Business Communications (GABC), Antwerp, Belgium May 29th-31st 2013. Details the results of a theory building study that examines how contextual elements impact the perceptions of information and search quality of a corporate e-commerce website.

1. The Predictive Effects of Communication and Search
Quality on Behavioral Intentions for a Global
Commercial Website:
The Contextual Influences of Culture, Brand
Knowledge and Task
G. Russell Merz, Ph.D.,
Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications
Eastern Michigan University
A Presentation to the Fifth Tricontinental Conference on Global
Advances in Business Communications (GABC), Antwerp,
Belgium May 29th-31st 2013

2. Agenda
2
 Background
o E-commerce activity
o Literature Review
 Conceptual Framework
 Research Gaps
o Research Questions and Hypotheses
o Research Model
 Methods
 Findings and Discussion
 Implications, Limitations and Future Research

3. 3
Background: E-Commerce Activity
The importance of e-commerce and the reliance on company websites for
influencing and facilitating on-line sales transactions is undeniable.
 E-commerce sales are growing at an estimated 19% annually, and
 Total global sales have reportedly hit $1.0 trillion in size.

4. 4
Furthermore, the regional
distribution of e-commerce
activity is changing:
 This year, eMarketer estimates
that sales will grow 18.3% to
$1.298 trillion worldwide,
 The Asia-Pacific region is
expected to surpass North
America in 2013 to become
the world's No. 1 market for
B2C e-commerce sales.
 Shares of other regions are
anticipated to remain steady
with sales growth equaling the
global rate.
Background: E-Commerce Activity

5. Electronic commerce can be defined loosely as “doing business
electronically” (European Commission 1997).
 Electronic commerce includes electronic trading of physical goods and of intangibles
such as information.
 This encompasses all the trading steps such as online marketing, ordering, payment,
and support for delivery.
 Electronic commerce includes the electronic provision of services, such as after-
sales support or online legal advice.
 Finally it also includes electronic support for collaboration between companies, such
as collaborative design.
Websites (or e-shops/storefronts) represent one of many business model forms
that are used for conducting e-commerce transactions.
 Others include e-auctions, e-mail, e-procurement , e-malls, and e-communities
(social media).
 Websites are the dominant form for electronic business to consumer (B2C)
transactions.
5
Background: E-Commerce Activity
Source: Timmers, P. (1998), “Business Models for Electronic Markets”, Journal of
Electronic Markets, 8(2), 3-8.

6. 6
This growth underscores
the importance of
websites as sources of
content and facilitators in
the sales process.
 A November 2012 study by
nRelate found that 48% of
online shoppers said they
trusted content from brand
websites.
 No other content type
approached the
trustworthiness of
corporate sites, according
to this survey—not even
mainstream news sites.
 In addition, visitors to CPG
brand websites spent 37%
more than non-visitors on
those brands in retail
stores.
Background: E-Commerce Activity

7. 7
Background: Managerial Problems
This performance record clearly suggests that understanding how digital
communications channels function as information sources and facilitators in the
e-commerce sales process is critical to success.
Several managerial problems are associated with the role that branded
websites play in the e-commerce sales phenomena:
 What information qualities should be emphasized in the content placed on
the brand’s website?
 How should websites be designed to effectively impact behaviors and/or
conversions?
 How should customer characteristics (e.g., culture, knowledge and tasks) be
factored into decisions about website content and design?

8. Research investigating the
influence of websites on
consumer behaviors within e-
commerce environments can be
classified into four categories of
inquiry:
 Issues related to the content, and
presentation of information (Blanco
et al. 2010, Huizingh 2000,Cyr
2008);
 The usability, design and
functionality of websites (Chang
and Chen 2008, Cyr 2008,
Huizingh 2000, Korgaonkar et al.
2009);
 The effects of these factors on
responses such as trust,
satisfaction and behavioral
intentions (Chang 2008, Krishen
2008, Kuan et al. 2008, Karimov et
al. 2012); and,
 The contexts within which these
relationships may operate (Blanco
et al. 2010, Chang and Chen 2008,
Cyr 2008, Stanaland and Tan
2010).
8
Background: Literature Review

9.  The separation of content and
information from design,
structure and usability is
specified in the classification
systems found in the work of
Huizingh (2000) and more
recently Karimov et al (2011).
 Furthermore, many researchers
posited a hypothetical direction
between the four construct
categories such that:
9
Background: Literature Review
Source: Huizingh, E.K.R.E.
(2000), “The Content and
Design of Web Sites: An
Empirical Study,”
Information & Management,
37, 123-134.
Source: Karimov, F.P., M.
Brengman, and L. Van Hove (2011),
“The Effects of Website Design
Dimensions on Initial Trust: A
Synthesis of the Empirical
Literature,” Journal of Electronic
Commerce Research, 12(4),
272-301.
Context
Content
Design
Response

10. 10
Communications
Quality
Information
and Content
Organization
Navigation
Perceptions
and
Attitudes
Context
Finding
Products
Familiarity
Usage Goals
Cultural
Search
Quality
Response
Types
Conceptual Framework
• Blanco et al. (2010)
• Cyr (2008)
• Huizingh (2000)
• Kamoun and Halaweh
(2012)
• Karimov et al. (2011)
• Korgoankar et al. (2009)
• Krishen and Kamra (2008)
• Kuan et al. (2008)
• Richard et al. (2010)
• Stanaland and Tan (2010)
• Blanco et al. (2010)
• Chang and Chen (2008)
• Richard et al. (2010)
• Krishen and Kamra (2008)
• Stanaland and Tan (2010)
• Cyr (2008)
• Chang and Chen (2008)
• Cyr (2008)
• Huizingh (2000)
• Kamoun and Halaweh
(2012)
• Karimov et al. (2011)
• Kuan et al. (2008)
• Richard et al. (2010)
• Stanaland and Tan (2010)
• Chang and Chen (2008)
• Korgoankar et al. (2009)
• Kuan et al. (2008)
• Stanaland and Tan (2010)
Behavioral
Intentions
• Blanco et al. (2010)
• Chang and Chen (2008)
• Cyr (2008)
• Korgoankar et al. (2009)
• Krishen and Kamra (2008)
• Richard (2010)
• Stanaland and Tan (2010)
• Chang and Chen (2008)
• Cyr (2008)
• Kuan et al. (2008)
• Stanaland and Tan (2010)
Implied Cause and Effect Relationships

11. 11
While the reviewed research provides a useful framework for guiding research,
four gaps in better understanding the nature of the constructs and the
relationships between them persists.
1. Context effects are not well understood, no research has examined the joint
effects of culture, task and brand knowledge or familiarity.
2. Communications quality is often confounded with structural and design
issues which are more formally conceived as dimensions of Search quality.
This reflects a conflict between two separate schools of thought, the
aesthetic and the functional, underlying the design of websites (O’Connor
2004).
3. There is inconsistent treatment of two dimensions of communications quality;
the perceived verbal and visual information qualities of the website
(O’Connor 2004).
4. Finally, the implied theoretical causal pathway between context,
communications content, search and behavior, has not been tested in a
single study. The evidence for its existence is piecemeal and derived from
the reviewed research.
Research Gaps

12. 12
Several research questions and associated hypotheses arise from these
observations.
RQ1: Do the three facets of the users’ contextual environment (cultural, task and knowledge) affect
the perceptions of website visual and verbal communications quality?
 H1a,b: The knowledge mix of users directly affects the perceptions of (a) visual and (b)verbal
quality.
 H2a,b: The task mix of users directly affects the perceptions of (a) visual and (b) verbal quality.
 H3a,b: The cultural mix of users directly affects the perceptions of (a) visual and (b) verbal quality
RQ2: Do the users’ perceptions of visual and verbal communication quality affect perceptions of
search quality?
 H4a,b: The perception of visual quality directly affects perceptions of (a) navigation ease and (b)
product browse capability.
 H5a,b: The perception of verbal quality directly affects perceptions of (a) navigation ease and (b)
product browse capability.
RQ3: Do users’ perceptions of search quality affect behavioral intentions?
 H6: The perception of navigation ease directly affects behavioral intentions.
 H7: The perception of product browse capability directly affects behavioral intentions.
Research Questions and Hypotheses

13. 13
Research Model
Communications
Quality
Verbal
Content
Visual
Content
Navigation
Ease
Behavioral
Intentions
Context
Browse
Capability
Knowledge
Sources
Task/Goal
Cultural
Search
Quality
Response
Type
H1a
H1b
H2a
H3a
H2b
H3b
H4a
H6
H4b
H5a
H5b
H7

14. 14
Data Collection:
 Information was collected via an on-line survey administered by Foresee ( a
commercial market research firm) at the completion of the visit by a sample of
9364 randomly selected consumers visiting the ecommerce website of a major
product manufacturer between November 1st 2012 and January 15th 2013.
 The website is visited by both B2C and B2B customers seeking information for a
variety of reasons (task context) and from five major regions of the globe (cultural
context), with varying levels of brand familiarity (knowledge context), all of which
are measured on the questionnaire.
 This study uses the B2C respondents in the analysis (n=4864)
Measurement and Analysis:
 Ten point scaled items are used to measure the perceptions of visual and verbal
communications quality, two aspects of search quality, navigation ease and
product browse capability, and various behavioral intentions.
 Multiple response questions and questionnaire language are used to capture
information about context (culture, task and knowledge sources)
 Structural equations modeling was used to estimate the models and comparisons
of modeling results were made to assess differences across contextual test
groups. Standard descriptive statistics are used for profiling.
Methods

15. 15
Findings: Respondent Profile
68.5%
4.7%
6.0%
7.0%
13.8%
How Frequently Do You Visit This Site?
First Time (68.5%)
Once a Week or More (4.7%)
2 to 3 Times per Month (6.0%)
Once a Month (7.0%
Less than Once a Month (13.8%)
71.9%
28.1%
Did you find what you were looking
for today?
Yes (71.9%)
No (28.1%)

16. 16
10.1%
24.9%
24.2%
14.2%
9.5%
6.9%
10.2%
When did you last purchase a company
product?
Never (10.1%)
Within last week (24.9%)
Within last month (24.2%)
Within last 3 months (14.2%)
Within last 6 months (9.5%)
Within last year (6.9%)
Over a year ago (10.2%)
3.0%
46.3%
15.1%
25.3%
4.0%
6.3%
How would you prefer to purchase from company?
Don't plan to buy (3.0%)
From distributor/retailer offline (46.3%)
From distributor/retailer online (15.1%)
Directly from company online (25.3%)
Directly from company offline (4.0%)
Other (6.3%)
Findings: Respondent Profile

17. 17
Findings: Descriptive Statistics of Modeled Variables
All “communication” and “search” quality, and “intention” indicators are scaled
on a 1 = poor or very unlikely to 10 = excellent/very likely scale.

18. 18
9.0%
0.8%
0.4%
46.5%
7.9%
4.2%
13.5%
0.3%
2.9%
4.6%
9.9%
Which of the following responses best describes
your primary reason for visiting website?
General Info (9.0%)
Career Info (0.8%)
Investor Info (0.4%)
Product Info (46.5%)
Find Distributor/Retailer (7.9%)
Order Samples (4.2%)
Purchase (13.5%)
Tracking Order (0.3%)
Educational Material (2.9%)
Price Info (4.6%)
Other (9.9%)
Findings: Descriptive Statistics of Modeled Variables
21.2%
8.2%
33.1%
32.3%
5.3%
Regions
Asia Pacific (21.2%)
Central/East Europe (8.2%)
Latin America (33.1%)
United States (32.3%)
West Europe (5.3%)
2.4%
2.0%
2.8%
2.2%
1.6%
0.2%
1.3%
27.8%
5.4%
17.9%
7.4%
5.4%
7.3%
0.7%
15.5%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0%
FrMessSN
Video
Blog
SNAds
CoMessSN
SMSMob
FrIM
KnowBnd
CoEmail
Search
WOM
MediaAd
WebAd
PinBd
Other
Information Sources
Context was modeled using
three categorical variables.
Formative indices for
“culture”, “task” and
“knowledge” were quantified
using the proportions of
responses in each category.

19. 19
Communications
Quality
Verbal
Content
Visual
Content
Navigation
Ease
Behavioral
Intentions
Context
Browse
Capability
Knowledge
Sources
Task/Goal
Cultural
Search
Quality
Response
Type
0.160***
H1a
0.146***
H1b
0.05***
H2a
-0.123***
H3a
0.032**
H2b
-0.174***
H3b
0.579***
H4a
0.471***
H6
0.084***
H4b
0.149***
H5a
0.697***
H5b
0.338***
H7
Findings: Model Evaluation
R2=0.054
R2=0.064
R2=0.400
R2=0.522
R2=0.454
n = 4864 cases; t-stat estimates based on bootstrapping 4000 cases 1000 times
[*** p≤0.000; **p≤0.05.]

20. 20
Communications
Quality
Verbal
Content
Visual
Content
Context
Knowledge
Sources
Task/Goal
Cultural
Findings: Model Evaluation
0.160***
H1a
0.146***
H1b
0.05***
H2a
-0.123***
H3a
0.032**
H2b
-0.174***
H3b
R2=0.054
R2=0.064
Interpretation: The
higher the proportion of
visitors from APAC
region the lower the
performance rating for
“visual” content.
All “context” constructs
are specified as formative
latent variables.

21. 21
Key Conclusions:
 The results of the analysis support the hypothesized relationships specified in the
research model.
o Three dimensions of visit “context” (knowledge, task and culture) were found
to have significant impact on the perceptions of website “communications
quality”, however the overall amount of variance explained is low;
o Within each “context” dimension the relative sizes of the categories within
differentially impact the perceptions of “communication quality” i.e., as the
proportion of visitors in each category changes, there is a predictable effect on
communications quality performance;
o The visual and verbal dimensions of “communication quality” are strongly
related to the “search quality” dimensions of navigation ease and product
browse capability;
o There is indication that visual communication is more important for navigation
ease, while verbal communications is more important for finding relevant
product content;
o Finally, navigation ease and product browse capability both have strong
effects on a composite index of future behavioral intentions.
Discussion

22. 22
Implications, Limitations, Future Research
Implications:
 This study demonstrates that visitor composition effects can be quantified, and
that changes in visitor composition have predictable effects on the perceived
performance of website communication quality.
 In addition, changes in perceived communications quality likewise affect the
perceptions of search quality and ultimately the way visitors may behave toward
the website and brand in the future.
 These finding suggest that with knowledge about “who” uses the website, “why”
they use it and “how” they acquire information about it, managers are better able
to craft communication strategies for increasing website use. This is especially
critical for businesses dependent on e-commerce for revenues.
Limitations:
 The study used a single website for a company selling utilitarian products
Future Research Opportunities:
 The growing interest about “content marketing” among practitioners is spawning
a proliferation of guidelines about “best practices”, unfortunately there is little
research supporting them.
 This study may be a useful template for follow-up research across a broader
range of websites and communications platforms such as social media sites, and
mobile devices.

23. 23
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24. 24
Thank You…Any Questions?

25. 25
Appendix: Model Evaluation—Hypothesis Tests
The estimated parameters for each hypothesized path in the model, and
bootstrapping results, are summarized in the table. All hypotheses are supported.

26. 26
Appendix: Model Quality
The model results meet the criteria for acceptable model quality recommended by
Fornell and Larcker (1981), Barclay, D. W., Thompson, R., and Higgins C. (1995),
and Hair, J., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C., and Mena, J. (2011).