Consumer participation in using online recommendation agents: effects on satisfaction, trust, and purchase intentions

Online product recommendation agents (RAs) are gaining greater strategic importance as a critical touch-point between marketers and consumers. Yet, the role of consumer participation in using RAs has not been examined. This study shows that greater consumer participation in using an RA leads to more satisfaction, greater trust, and higher purchase intentions, related to the RA and its recommendations. In contrast, the financial risk (associated with the product under consideration) reduces satisfaction, trust, and purchase intentions, and it also moderates the effect of consumer participation on these same variables. The findings extend the literature and suggest actionable implications for marketing strategy.

[1]  K. File,et al.  Customer Participation In Service Specification And Delivery , 2011 .

[2]  J. Driscoll.  Trust and Participation in Organizational Decision Making as Predictors of Satisfaction , 2011 .

[3]  Simon S. K. Lam,et al.  Is Customer Participation in Value Creation a Double-Edged Sword? Evidence from Professional Financial Services across Cultures , 2010 .

[4]  J. Wong,et al.  Should a lower-price service offer a full-satisfaction guarantee? , 2009 .

[5]  Hui-Yun Chen,et al.  The Interplay between Customer Participation and Difficulty of Design Examples in the Online Designing Process and Its Effect on Customer Satisfaction: Mediational Analyses , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[6]  Susannah Fox,et al.  Generations online in 2009 , 2009 .

[7]  K. Ruyter,et al.  A dual-sequence framework for B2C relationship formation: Moderating effects of employee communication style in online group chat. , 2009 .

[8]  Sanghyun Lee,et al.  The effect of expertise on consumers' satisfaction with the use of interactive recommendation agents , 2008 .

[9]  E. Shih,et al.  Co-production and customer loyalty in financial services , 2007 .

[10]  Montgomery Van Wart,et al.  When Public Participation in Administration Leads to Trust: An Empirical Assessment of Managers’ Perceptions , 2007 .

[11]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  E-Commerce Product Recommendation Agents: Use, Characteristics, and Impact , 2007, MIS Q..

[12]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The Effects of Personalizaion and Familiarity on Trust and Adoption of Recommendation Agents , 2006, MIS Q..

[13]  P. A. Dabholkar.  Factors Influencing Consumer Choice of a "Rating Web Site": An Experimental Investigation of an Online Interactive Decision Aid , 2006 .

[14]  J. Sweeney,et al.  Customer empowerment and relationship outcomes in healthcare consultations , 2006 .

[15]  Ann E. Schlosser,et al.  Converting Web Site Visitors into Buyers: How Web Site Investment Increases Consumer Trusting Beliefs and Online Purchase Intentions , 2006 .

[16]  F. Sultan,et al.  Are the Drivers and Role of Online Trust the Same for All Web Sites and Consumers? A Large-Scale Exploratory Empirical Study , 2005 .

[17]  Devon S. Johnson,et al.  Cognitive and affective trust in service relationships , 2005 .

[18]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Trust In and Adoption of Online Recommendation Agents , 2005, J. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[19]  Sijun Wang,et al.  Signaling the trustworthiness of small online retailers , 2004 .

[20]  M. Gilly,et al.  Gaining Compliance and Losing Weight: The Role of the Service Provider in Health Care Services , 2004 .

[21]  C. Prahalad,et al.  Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation , 2004 .

[22]  Stephen L. Vargo,et al.  Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing , 2004 .

[23]  Dan Ariely,et al.  Learning by Collaborative and Individual-Based Recommendation Agents , 2004 .

[24]  Sergio Román.  The Impact of Ethical Sales Behaviour on Customer Satisfaction, Trust and Loyalty to the Company: An Empirical Study in the Financial Services Industry , 2003 .

[25]  Karen Flaherty,et al.  Enhancing Salesperson Trust: An Examination of Managerial Values, Empowerment, and the Moderating Influence of SBU Strategy , 2003 .

[26]  David Gefen,et al.  Managing User Trust in B2C e-Services , 2003 .

[27]  Charles M. Brooks,et al.  An empirical test of trust-building processes and outcomes in sales manager-salesperson relationships , 2003 .

[28]  Paul A. Pavlou,et al.  Consumer Acceptance of Electronic Commerce: Integrating Trust and Risk with the Technology Acceptance Model , 2003, Int. J. Electron. Commer..

[29]  Nada Nasr Bechwati,et al.  Do Computers Sweat? The Impact of Perceived Effort of Online Decision Aids on Consumers’ Satisfaction With the Decision Process , 2003 .

[30]  Rajiv Vaidyanathan,et al.  The Perceived Effectiveness of Virtual Shopping Agents For Search Vs. Experience Goods , 2003 .

[31]  Peter A. Todd,et al.  Solutions-driven marketing , 2002, CACM.

[32]  Sung-joon Yoon,et al.  The antecedents and consequences of trust in online-purchase decisions , 2002 .

[33]  Anthony D. Miyazaki,et al.  Consumer Perceptions of Privacy and Security Risks for Online Shopping , 2001 .

[34]  R. Kohli,et al.  Internet Recommendation Systems , 2000 .

[35]  George R. Milne.  Privacy and Ethical Issues in Database/Interactive Marketing and Public Policy: A Research Framework and Overview of the Special Issue , 2000 .

[36]  R. Teas,et al.  The effects of extrinsic product cues on consumers’ perceptions of quality, sacrifice, and value , 2000 .

[37]  Valerie J. Trifts,et al.  Consumer Decision Making in Online Shopping Environments: The Effects of Interactive Decision Aids , 2000 .

[38]  Karen E. Flaherty,et al.  The Role of Trust in Salesperson—Sales Manager Relationships , 2000 .

[39]  George R. Milne,et al.  Trust and Concern in Consumers’ Perceptions of Marketing Information Management Practices , 1999 .

[40]  Eric T. Bradlow,et al.  Agents to the Rescue? , 1999 .

[41]  Mark S. Johnson,et al.  The Different Roles of Satisfaction, Trust, and Commitment in Customer Relationships , 1999 .

[42]  Donna L. Hoffman,et al.  Building consumer trust online , 1999, CACM.

[43]  Pattie Maes,et al.  Agents that buy and sell , 1999, CACM.

[44]  F. Selnes.  Antecedents and consequences of trust and satisfaction in buyer‐seller relationships , 1998 .

[45]  F. Scientific.  Online Shopping , 1998, Current Biology.

[46]  Deborah L. Kellogg,et al.  On the relationship between customer participation and satisfaction: two frameworks , 1997 .

[47]  Mary Jo Bitner,et al.  Customer contributions and roles in service delivery , 1997 .

[48]  John G. Lynch,et al.  Interactive Home Shopping: Consumer, Retailer, and Manufacturer Incentives to Participate in Electronic Marketplaces , 1997 .

[49]  D. W. Barclay,et al.  The Effects of Organizational Differences and Trust on the Effectiveness of Selling Partner Relationships , 1997 .

[50]  P. A. Dabholkar.  Consumer evaluations of new technology-based self-service options: An investigation of alternative models of service quality , 1996 .

[51]  R. Staelin,et al.  A Model of Perceived Risk and Intended Risk-handling Activity , 1994 .

[52]  Shankar Ganesan.  Determinants of Long-Term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships , 1994 .

[53]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The Use of Information in Decision Making: An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Computer-Based Decision Aids , 1992, MIS Q..

[54]  William B. Dodds,et al.  Effects of Price, Brand, and Store Information on Buyers’ Product Evaluations , 1991 .

[55]  S. Beatty,et al.  External Search Effort: An Investigation across Several Product Categories , 1987 .

[56]  Terence A. Shimp,et al.  Warranty and Other Extrinsic Cue Effects on Consumers' Risk Perceptions , 1982 .

[57]  R. Sitgreaves.  Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[58]  J. Nunnally,et al.  Psychometric Theory: NY. , 1978 .

[59]  R. Ferber.  Research By Convenience , 1977 .