The Number of Alternative Products and the Information about it on the Online Shop

Abstract As the Internet can aggregate and distribute a great amount of information to users, providing numerous products for consumers has been recognized as a major advantage of electronic commerce. Causing by the problem of information overload, however, consumers facing many alternatives on the online shop may feel hard to decide which one they prefer. Based on the theory of decision style and prospect theory, this study explores if too many products sold on the online shop will reduce consumers’ subjective status toward their buying decision. A 3×3 between subjects experiment was conducted and showed that the buyers’ decision style, the quantity of alternative products and the information about it will affect consumers’ subjective status. These results suggest that we should consider the role of electronic intermediaries more carefully, and further examine the theory of information overload and the need for information literacy to prepare for the future. Keyword: information overload, Prospect theory, online shopping

[1]  William L. Wilkie,et al.  Analysis of Effects of Information Load , 1974 .

[2]  M. Zeelenberg,et al.  Consequences of Regret Aversion: Effects of Expected Feedback on Risky Decision Making , 1996 .

[3]  M. Lepper,et al.  Rethinking the value of choice: a cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[4]  M. Zeelenberg,et al.  Consequences of regret aversion: 2. Additional evidence for effects of feedback on decision making , 1997 .

[5]  B. Schwartz.  The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less , 2004 .

[6]  J. Baron,et al.  Psychological determinants of decision attitude , 1994 .

[7]  Dan Ariely,et al.  Goal-Based Construction of Preferences: Task Goals and the Prominence Effect , 1999 .

[8]  I. Ritov,et al.  Probability of Regret: Anticipation of Uncertainty Resolution in Choice , 1996 .

[9]  Ned Kock,et al.  Information Overload: A Decision Making Perspective , 2001 .

[10]  A. Tversky,et al.  Prospect theory: an analysis of decision under risk — Source link , 2007 .

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

[12]  I. Simonson,et al.  THE INFLUENCE OF ANTICIPATING REGRET AND RESPONSIBILITY ON PURCHASE DECISIONS , 1992 .

[13]  R. MacAvoy,et al.  Frictionless Commerce? A Comparison of Internet and Conventional Retailers , 1999 .

[14]  J. Jacoby,et al.  Brand Choice Behavior as a Function of Information Load , 1974 .

[15]  P. Rabbit.  Human information processing , 1977, Nature.

[16]  J. E. Russo,et al.  More Information Is Better: A Reevaluation of Jacoby, Speller and Kohn , 1974 .

[17]  J. P. Bailey,et al.  Understanding Digital Markets: Review and Assessment , 2001 .

[18]  Kevin Lane Keller,et al.  Effects of Quality and Quantity of Information on Decision Effectiveness , 1987 .

[19]  M. Zeelenberg.  Anticipated regret, expected feedback and behavioral decision-making , 1999 .

[20]  B. Schwartz.  Self-determination. The tyranny of freedom. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[21]  J. Neumann,et al.  Theory of games and economic behavior , 1945, 100 Years of Math Milestones.

[22]  H. Simon,et al.  Rational choice and the structure of the environment. , 1956, Psychological review.

[23]  Peter Wright.  The harassed decision maker: Time pressures, distractions, and the use of evidence. , 1974 .

[24]  B. Schwartz,et al.  Maximizing Versus Satisficing : Happiness Is a Matter of Choice , 2002 .

[25]  John O. Summers.  Less Information is Better? , 1974 .

[26]  JoAnne Yates,et al.  Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies , 1987, CACM.

[27]  Stefan W. Schmitz,et al.  The Effects of Electronic Commerce on the Structure of Intermediation , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[28]  Nicholas H. Lurie.  Decision Making in Information-Rich Environments: The Role of Information Structure , 2004 .

[29]  A. Tversky,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases , 1974, Science.

[30]  Yannis Bakos,et al.  The emerging role of electronic marketplaces on the Internet , 1998, CACM.

[31]  M. Brucks.  The Effects of Product Class Knowledge on Information Search Behavior , 1985 .

[32]  Rong-An Shang,et al.  The effects of information overload on consumers' subjective state towards buying decision in the internet shopping environment , 2009, Electron. Commer. Res. Appl..

[33]  Eric J. Johnson,et al.  Product familiarity and learning new information , 1984 .

[34]  H. E. Krugman.  THE MEASUREMENT OF ADVERTISING INVOLVEMENT , 1966 .

[35]  Byung-Kwan Lee,et al.  The effect of information overload on consumer choice quality in an on-line environment , 2004 .

[36]  D. Scammon.  "Information Load" and Consumers , 1977 .

[37]  P. Evans,et al.  Strategy and the new economics of information. , 1997, Harvard business review.

[38]  A. Tversky,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty , 1982 .

[39]  R. Lawson,et al.  The effects of time pressure and information load on decision quality , 1992 .

[40]  A. Tversky,et al.  Choices, Values, and Frames , 2000 .

[41]  Xinran Y. Lehto,et al.  Gender differences in online travel information search: Implications for marketing communications on the internet , 2007 .

[42]  H. Simon,et al.  A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice , 1955 .

[43]  R. Sugden,et al.  Regret Theory: An alternative theory of rational choice under uncertainty Review of Economic Studies , 1982 .

[44]  N. Malhotra.  Information Load and Consumer Decision Making , 1982 .

[45]  J. Jacoby,et al.  Brand Choice Behavior as a Function of Information Load: Replication and Extension , 1974 .