Attitudes toward personalized content: An experimental investigation
of the psychological effects of customized web portals
Student researcher
Sriram Kalyanaraman (PhD)
This paper is based on the author's dissertation.
Faculty Supervisor
Dr. S. Shyam Sundar
Abstract
Consistent advances in technology have paralleled the ability of mass
media to deliver customized messages to audiences. The evolution of media--from
print to electronic--has witnessed increased, and more effective, dissemination
of individualized messages. The advent of the World Wide Web, however,
has truly revolutionized the media's ability to deliver customized content.
The uniqueness of the Web medium lies in its capacity to customize content
according to individual specifications. That is, unlike any other medium,
the Web, by the use of such elements as interactivity, can identify and
target single users. It is conceivable, then, that users who are exposed
to highly customized Websites may perceive such Websites in a positive
light. That is, they may be psychologically affected by customized messages,
and show more positive attitudes toward a Website offering customized
information. This dissertation examines the effects of customization in
one of the most popular of e-venues: the portal. Specifically, it examines
the relationship between the level of customization (low, medium, high)
in Web portals and attitude toward the portal. It identifies several possible
outcomes of customization and hypothesizes that greater levels of customization
lead to increased perceptions of relevance, involvement, interactivity,
community, and novelty, which in turn lead to a more positive attitude
toward the portal. It details the methods and results of a pilot study
(N = 30) designed to examine the research question. It identifies several
methodological weaknesses of the pilot study and proposes a refined experimental
design ( N = 60) to better understand the relationship between customization
and attitude toward the portal. The results indicate that customization
is a psychologically significant variable because higher levels of customization
result in more positive attitudes toward the portal, and this relationship
is mediated by users' perceptions of relevance, involvement, interactivity,
and novelty. In addition, customization also has behavioral effects because
it affects users' Web browsing activity. Theoretical and practical implications,
limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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