In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
381
E alua ion o Web Use s’ A i ude owa d he
B and Online: The Case o an Online E en
Dhouka Oueldoubey
Depa men o Managemen , ENISO, Sousse, Tunisia
Faouzia Mida
1
Depa men o Managemen , ESSECT, Tunis, Tunisia
Imed Zaiem
Depa men o Managemen , FSEGN, Nabeul, Tunisia
Abs ac
Web use s su he ne looking o web pages ha use se e al a ac i e ools
such as music, g aphics and colo s. In he con ex o online pu chasing, hese
a mosphe ic a iables answe web use s’ que ies and consequen ly in luence
hei beha io al esponses. The p esen su ey a ge s he s udy o he impac o
a websi e’s a mosphe ic dimensions ( eadabili y and design) on he web use ’s
a i ude owa d he b and. The s udy is abou an online e en c ea ed by
Tunisiana e sus Oo edoo (a p i a e elecommunica ions ope a o in Tunisia)
ollowing he comme cial eb anding ha aimed a uni ying he g oup and
subsidia ies wi hin one b and. The su ey was conduc ed using adminis e ed
ques ionnai e nex o a con enience sample o 200 web use s. The esul s o he
s udy demons a ed he posi i e in luence o websi e eadabili y as well as design
on he web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and.
Keywo ds: Websi e a mosphe e, a i ude owa d he b and, eadabili y,
design, online e en .
Ci e his a icle: Oueldoubey, D., Mida, F., & Zaiem, I. (2015). E alua ion o Web Use s’
A i ude owa d he B and Online: The case o an online e en . In e na ional Jou nal o
Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics, 2(5), 381-393.
In oduc ion
Companies use websi es o p omo e hei p oduc s and se ices. Conside ing he
mul iplying numbe o si es and he cons an conce n o di e en ia ion om compe i o s
1
Co esponding au ho ’s email: [email protected]
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
382
in condi ions simila o he eal pu chasing en i onmen , companies show mo e and mo e
in e es in his i ual con ex ia web designe s.
In ac , web use s su he ne looking a e a ious de ices ha would d aw hei
a en ion such as music, g aphics and colo s. In an online pu chasing con ex , hese
a mosphe ic a iables help answe web use s’ que ies (Limayem, 2006). Admi edly, in
eal sales ou le s, dis ibu o s use deco a i e a iables o inc ease he sales olume
(Lemoine, 2005); while in i ual s o es, designe s a e qui e esou ce ul in a ying he
a mosphe ic a iables.
Se e al s udies deal wi h websi es’ a mosphe es. Some ha e o ins ance highligh ed
he impac o a mosphe ic a iables such as music and colo s on consume s’ beha io
(Mangana i, 2009; Mummalaneni, 2005). O he s udies ha e also ocused on he men al
image y gene a ed du ing he su ing expe ience (Kh ou and Gha bi, 2008). Howe e ,
only a ew s udies ha e aken in o conside a ion he e alua ion o web use s’ a i ude
owa d he b and.
The p esen s udy hopes o examine he impac o he a mosphe ic dimensions o a
websi e ( eadabili y and design) on he web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and.
In o de o mee his objec i e, we conduc ed a s udy on he online e en c ea ed by
Tunisiana e sus Oo edoo (p i a e elecommunica ion ope a o in Tunisia) ollowing he
eb anding s a egy ha was ope a ed in Ap il 2014. A ques ionnai e su ey was
conduc ed on a sample o 200 web use s. The da a analysis was ealized using s uc u al
equa ions me hods.
We he eby p opose a li e a u e e iew on he a mosphe e o a websi e and he in luence
o a mosphe ic a iables on he a i ude o he web use owa d he b and. S a ing om
his li e a u e, we we e able o de elop a concep ual model ha in eg a es a websi e’s
a mosphe ic a iables (design and eadabili y) and he a i ude o he web use owa d he
b and. Secondly, we will p esen he me hodology hen he esul s and manage ial
implica ions.
Concep ual amewo k
The concep o a websi e a mosphe e
I was du ing he 1970s ha in e es in he concep o a mosphe e in a sales ou le
s a ed o ake shape. The a mosphe e o a physical sales ou le co esponds o « he
c ea ion o a pu chasing en i onmen p oducing emo ional e ec s, such as pleasu e o
exci emen , ha is suscep ible o inc ease he pu chasing p obabili y wi hin he
indi idual » (Ko le , 1973).
S udies on he a mosphe e o a sales ou le a e based on se e al models ha discuss
he dimensions o a mosphe ic a iables. Milliman and Fuga e (1993) de ine a mosphe e
as being he se o componen s o he pu chasing en ionmen a ec ing he indi idual’s
pe cep ual ield and able o s imula e his/he senses. To his end, a ious dimensions ha e
been p oposed in he li e a u e and one can men ion ha o Tu ley and Milliman (2000),
Be man and E ans (1995), and ha o Bi ne (1992). Bake ’s de ini ion (1983)
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
383
pa icula ly o e s he mos comp ehensi e ision. I p o ides in o ma ion on ambien ,
design and social a iables. La e adap ed o he i ual wo ld, his classi ica ion o e s a
wide a ea o esea ch and d i es schola s o p opose heo e ical ounda ions.
In ac , i was wi h he s a o he millenium ha some s udies ha e ied o
concep ualize he a mosphe e o a websi e (Lemoine, 2008; Dailey, 2004).
Dailey (2004) de ines he a mosphe e o a websi e as he « de elopmen o i ual
en i onmen s des ined o c ea e posi i e e ec s, bo h a he indi idual’s cogni i e as well
as emo ional le els, in o de o cause a o able esponses owa ds he si e (check he si e
again, spend ime on he si e) ».
By analogy o a sales ou le ’s a mosphe e, he a mosphe ic elemen s o a websi e
in luence he beha io al esponses o he web use such as he ime dedica ed o he isi ,
he numbe o clicks, he numbe o consul ed pages, he pu chase in en ions and he
in en ions o e isi he websi e. This in luence will happen h ough a ious p ocedu es
such as colo s, music and anima ions o ins ance. In ac , inspi e o web use s’ ola ili y,
hey a e a ac ed by some cha ac e is ics o his medium (Guizon and Ama o, 2004).
The componen s o a websi e
Va ious a iables o a websi e a mosphe e can ac on he web use ’s p esence and on
his/he online beha io . We can ci e he unc ional elemen s (p esence o pop-ups, si e
plans, pull down menus), o he hedonic ones (such as backg ound music, anima ions,
ideos, games) o e en symbolic elemen s (backg ound colo s, size and police used,
na u e o images on he si e) (Chang e al., 2002).
We will he eby e e o he dimensions o eadabili y and design. The choice o hese
wo a iables is no a bi a y, i is ou o conce n o a y he echnical cha ac e is ics and
a websi e’s deco a ion a iables. Besides, he s udy o he a i ude owa d a b and in a
websi e equi es he use o well-de ined a mosphe ic a iables ha a e in di ec
ela ionship wi h he web use .
Readabili y o a websi e
Among he mos impo an cha ac e is ics o a websi e is i s eadabili y. Acco ding o
Gonzalez (2005), his means he ease and he possibili y o inding an answe o an online
p oblem in a leas one click. To Lemoine (2008), websi e eadabili y appea s as he
a iable associa ed o su ing he si e, i.e. ease, simplici y and cla i y o usage. Readabili y
is de ini ely he mos equi ed a iable by web use s.
In he con ex o elec onic comme ce, he inpu o Boye e al. (2008) classi ies his
a iable among he 5 dimensions o websi e quali y which a e:
The quan i y and quali y o in o ma ion a ailable on a websi e.
Ease in su ing, use and unde s anding.
Si e design mainly eadabili y and composi ion o i s pages.
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
384
Reliabili y and online selle ’s abili y o keep p omises.
Secu i y o ansac ions and pe sonal da a.
Acco ding o Elid issi (2005), his a iable is unde s ood as « pleasu e o he eyes ».
I engages a good « isual quali y » des ined o apply backg ound colo s, ex s and images
o achie e « beha io loyal y » owa d he si e.
Gonzalez (2005) a i ms ha he e is a need o add a iables ha ha e cha ac e is ics
linked o aspec s o colo , music, anima ions: I is he design o a websi e.
The design o a websi e
Web use s’ online p esence equi es ecogni ion o he needs and a pa icula design
ha allows answe ing hei needs. Acco ding o Ladewin (2001), he design o a websi e
ac s on he « sa is ac ion o he web use , on his/he pu chase decision and e en on his/he
loyal y». To Co a (2004), he design is seen as a global ac i i y ha uni es bo h he
physical and he men al aspec s. This akes in o conside a ion he o mal dimensions o
objec s as well as hei s uc u al, unc ional and symbolic dimensions.
Acco ding o Lemoine (2008) he design o a websi e is in igh ela ion o na igabili y
and accessibili y. I is he a iable ha is compa ed o he agen ha acili a es mo ing
inside he sales ou le . In o he e ms, he design o a websi e is exp essed by he ease o
i s use, i s simplici y, i s cla i y and i s eadabili y.
The wo ks o Ka e a enakul (2002) ha e helped syn hesize he design o a websi e in
h ee dimensions:
-Design ha a ge pleasu e: hey os e he web use ’s accep ance o he isi ed
en i onmen which in u n engende s an exci emen ha will ex end he du a ion o
his/he p esence on ha pa icula si e. The use will hen eel a kind o
pleasu e/displeasu e and will consequen ly o ien his/he beha io on he si e.
- Design ha acili a e he sea ch: This is abou he amoun o in o ma ion collec ed
on a p oduc /se ice which will sa is y a need in asking o u he in o ma ion. The web
use would ha e easily unde s ood he p esen ed in o ma ion wi hou ha ing he need o
su o he web pages and ex end he sea ch owa d o he ho izons. The exis ence o an
in o ma ion sea ch ool, a compa ison wi h compe ing a es, he a ailabili y o a i ual
agen , he as access o upda ed da a a e all ools ha help di ec online p esence.
-Design ha acili a e he ansac ion: exis in websi es wi h online paymen ools and
d i e he web use o inalize a pu chase. In sum, his classi ica ion aims a making « a
websi e one o quali y o e iciency » (Ka e a enakul, 2002). These designs mee he
equi emen s o web use s while making hei su ing expe ience a pleasan one. In
addi ion, he abundance o use ul in o ma ion on he p oduc will mo e easily lead o a
pu chasing ac ion endowed wi h a secu e ansac ion. The design will hen ac as a
undamen al elemen in he web use s’ in en ion o e isi he si e and in hei e en ual
beha io such as online a i ude owa d he b and.
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
385
Impac o a websi e a mosphe e on he web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and
The e exis se e al de ini ions o « a i ude » p oposed in he li e a u e. Mc Kenzie and
Lu z (1989) de ine he a i ude as « a p edisposi ion o espond in a a o able o
un a o able way o a pa icula s imulus du ing a pa icula occasion o exposi ion». As
o Eagly and Chaiken (1993), hey de ine a i ude as « a psychological endency exp essed
while e alua ing a pa icula en i y wi h a ious deg ees o app o al and disapp o al ».
I is in luenced by subjec i e alues o belie s owa d he e alua ed objec (Ajzen, 2001).
In spi e o he in e es shown by esea ch on he concep o websi e a mosphe e, s udies
on he e alua ion o he la e in e ms o web use s’ a i ude owa d he b and ha dly
exis . Mos o he wo ks on websi e a mosphe e ha e ocused on he la e ’s e alua ion in
e ms o a i ude owa d a websi e (Chen and Wells, 1999; Heijden, Ve hagen and
C eeme s, 2001). Fo ins ance, he wo ks o Go n e al. (2004) explo ing he e ec o
colo on downloading ime show ha a long wai ing ime can a ec he e alua ion o an
in e ne si e and he willingness o ecommend i o o he s. Bie s and Richa ds (2002)
s udied he impac o a websi e’s dominan colo on he pe cep ion o p omo ed p oduc .
Finally, Sibé il (1994) examined he e ec o music on he e alua ion o a s o e.
Wi hin he scope o ou esea ch, we a e in e es ed in he s udy o he impac o a
websi e’s a mosphe e in e ms o he a i ude owa d he b and. We a gue ha he
a mosphe e o a websi e could posi i ely in luence he a i ude owa d he b and. We
pa icula ly posi ha he wo componen s o he a mosphe e o a websi e (which a e
eadabili y and design) posi i ely in luence he a i ude owa d he b and.
Wi hin he con ex o elec onic comme ce, he s udies o Filse (2001) and Lemoine
(2008) ha e demons a ed he in luence o he a mosphe ic a iables o websi es on web
use s’ online eac ions. The eadabili y and design ac o s jus i y emo ional eac ions such
as pleasu e, con en men , elaxa ion and ange among a numbe o beha io al eac ions
such as on si e a ic and ime dedica ed o he isi (Lemoine, 2008).
These indings helped ex end ou esea ch scope and in eg a e he a i ude owa d he
online b and a iable and consequen ly o mula e he ollowing hypo heses:
H1: Readabili y o a websi e posi i ely in luences he web use ’s a i ude owa d he
b and.
H2: The design o a websi e posi i ely in luences he web use ’s a i ude owa d he
b and.
This hypo hesis is he e o e di ided in wo u he hypo heses as ollows:
H2.a: Designs a ge ing pleasu e posi i ely in luence he web use ’s a i ude owa d
he b and.
H2.b: Designs acili a ing he sea ch o in o ma ion posi i ely in luence he web
use ’s a i ude owa d he b and.
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
386
WEBSITE ATMOSPHERE
The a ious ela ions ha we e dis inguished can be schema ically p esen ed in he
model (see igu e 1) ha we a e ying o es .
H1
H2a
H2b
H 2
Figu e 1 The concep ual model o he esea ch
Me hodology
Con ex o he s udy
Ou s udy examined an online e en c ea ed by Tunisiana (a p i a e
elecommunica ion ope a o ) ha changed i s name in o Oo edoo (meaning in English: I
wan ) in Ap il 2014. This eb anding s a egy consis s in modi ying one o all he
elemen s o a b and in o de o c ea e a new one. In he case o Tunisiana e sus Oo edoo,
he eb anding s a egy co e ed all he elemen s o he b and (name, logo, and slogan).
This decision has been made ollowing he epu chase o Tunisiana’s sha es by Qa a
elecom who is now a majo i y sha eholde . This change in he ade name aims o uni y
he g oup and i s subsidia ies unde one b and as i was he case wi h O ange and
Voda one. Oo edoo exis s oday in 15 coun ies and he b and is mainly isible in No h
A ica, in he Middle-Eas and Sou h Asia.
Da a collec ion
In o de o e alua e he impac o a mosphe e o a sales ou le on he web use ’s a i ude
owa d he b and, we ha e conduc ed a ques ionnai e su ey. Da a was collec ed ia an
online ques ionai e nex o a con enience sample o 200 indi iduals, 43% o whom a e
males and 57% a e emales (see he able1 below on he sample’s cha ac e is ics).
WEBSITE READABILITY
Design ha a ge pleasu e
WEBSITE
DESIGN
ATTITUDE TOWARD
THE BRAND
Design ha acili a e he
sea ch
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
387
Table 1 Sample cha ac e is ics
Gende
%
Age
%
Educa ional le el
%
Male
43
18-25
40
P ima y
5
Female
57
26-35
35
Seconda y
33
36-50
17,9
Uni e si y
62
Mo e han 50
7,1
Measu ing he a iables
Readabili y was measu ed using he Yako and al. scale (2005). This scale was
alida ed by Yako and al. (2005) by showing good eliabili y (α=0.82).
The design’s measu ing scale was equally adop ed in he wo ks o Yako and al.
(2005) and is cha ac e ized by i s good ep esen a ion quali y (α=0.83) and by i s
exhaus i eness. I is composed o h ee dimensions which a e: designs a ge ing pleasu e,
designs acili a ing he sea ch and designs acili a ing he ansac ion. In he scope o ou
esea ch, we ha e chosen o only e e o he i s wo dimensions conside ing ha ou
s udy aims o know he web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and and no he possibili y o
buying a p oduc online.
The a i ude owa d a websi e was measu ed using he Mi chell scale (1986) which
ep esen s a la gely used e e ence in he ma ke ing li e a u e. I comp ises h ee bipola
i ems (do no like/like, un a o able/ a o able, bad/good).
All he a iables o he s udy we e measu ed using a 5 poin scale going om 1
« comple ely disag ee» o 5 « ully ag ee ».
Resul s o he s udy
The su ey’s da a we e ea ed ia he SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 so wa es and we e
submi ed o a se o analyses. Da a analysis allowed us o check he dimensionali y and
he eliabili y o he measu ing scales h ough an explo a o y ac o ial analysis. We ha e
hen conduc ed a con i ma o y ac o ial analysis in o de o es he s uc u al model.
Pu i ica ion o he measu ing scales
In a i s s age, an explo a o y analysis was done on all he scales. The esul s below
men ioned in able 2 indica e:
Fo all he scales, he da a a e adequa e o he ac o iza ion ( he KMO indices
p esen sa is ying alues and he Ba le es is signi ican ). The pe cen age o he
explained a iable exceeds 70%.
C onbach alphas a e highly sa is ying exceeding he minimum h eshold o 0,7.
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
388
Table 2 Resul s o P incipal Componen Analysis
Scale / Cons uc
Ba le 's sphe ici y
es and he KMO
index
Va iance explained
(%)
Reliabili y
α
Websi e eadabili y
KMO = 0,823
Ba le 's es = 0,000
Componen 1 : 62,413
To al : 62,413
0,81
Websi e
design
Design ha a ge
pleasu e
KMO = 0,872
Ba le 's es = 0,000
Componen 1 : 67,516
Componen 2 : 12,275
To al : 79,791
0,83
Design ha
acili a e he sea ch
A i ude owa d he b and
KMO =0,776
Ba le 's es =0,000
Componen 1 : 82,276
To al : 82,276
0,85
Table 2 shows ha he coe icien s o C onbach Alpha () a e eliable a he
explo a o y le el o all he scales.
In a second s age, we applied a con i ma o y analysis (AFC). We adop ed he Fo nell
and La cke p ocedu e (1981), in o de o calcula e he con e gen alidi y and he
disc iminan alidi y o he cons uc s.
Table 3 Resul s o Reliabili y and Validi y o Scales
Scale / Cons uc
Rho o
Jö eskog
Con e gen
alidi y
Disc iminan
Validi y
Websi e eadabili y
0,80
0,74
0,74˃0,45
Websi e
design
Design ha a ge pleasu e
0,77
0,62
0,62˃0,45
Design ha acili a e he
sea ch
0,79
0,66
0,66˃0,45
A i ude owa d he b and
0,82
0,58
0,57˃0,45
As shown in able 3, Jö eskog’s Rhô indica e sa is ying alues exceeding he minimum
h eshold o 0.7. The Rhô o he con e gen alidi y a e supe io o he minimum
p esc ibed h eshold o 0.5. The disc iminan alidi y was e i ied conside ing ha he
ex ac ed alue is supe io o he co ela ion squa e be ween he la en a iables.
Thus, we can conclude ha he scales a e eliable and alid.
Causal model and e i ica ion o he esea ch hypo heses
The causal model helps check he esea ch hypo heses as well as he in ensi y and
signi icance o he causali y links be ween he la en a iables.
Table 4 shows ha he measu ing model p esen s a good adjus men by e e ing o he
ob ained a iables o he absolu e, inc emen al and pa simonious indices.
In e na ional Jou nal o Managemen , Accoun ing and Economics
Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 2015
ISSN 2383-2126 (Online)
© IJMAE, All Righ s Rese ed www.ijmae.com
389
Table 4 Model adjus men
Indica ion
Chi-deux/ddl
GFI
AGFI
RMR
RMSEA
NFI
Value
2,452
0,863
0,845
0,023
0,031
0,767
Then, he e is a need o e i y ha he ela ions be ween he la en a iables a e
s a is ically signi ican (di e en om ze o) (Roussel e al., 2002). I is necessa y o
examine he di ec ion and powe o he eg ession coe icien . All he hypo heses ha e
been simul aneously using a model o s uc u al equa ions.
Table 5 Es ima es o he Rela ionship be ween he La en Va iables
Hyp.
Rela ion
CR
P
H1
Websi e eadabili y → A i ude owa d he b and
2,400
0,000
H2a
Design ha a ge pleasu e →A i ude owa d he b and
2,130
0,000
H2b
Design qui ise la acili é de la eche che →A i ude
owa d he b and
4,225
0,000
Table 5 shows ha he eadabili y o a websi e exe cises an in luence on he a i ude
o he web use owa d he b and which allows he accep ance o hypo hesis H1. The
design o a websi e exe cises a posi i e in luence on he a i ude o he web use owa d
he b and. Designs pa icula ly aim a acili a ing he sea ch o in o ma ion ha e mo e
impac s on he web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and han designs a ge ing pleasu e which
alida es hypo heses H2 a and H2 b.
Discussion and conclusion
The a mosphe e o a websi e is o he company a place o p omo e i s p oduc s o
se ices o be di e en om compe i o s in he same ashion as i would be possible in a
eal en i onmen . The e a e a ious a mosphe ic a iables ha help answe he web use s’
need o in o ma ion. These a iables in luence he web use ’s beha io owa d he b and.
Va ious s udies ha e been conduc ed on he a mosphe e o a websi e; howe e , e y
ew o hem ha e aken in o conside a ion he la e ’s e alua ion in e ms o he web use ’s
a i ude owa d he b and. The e o e, he p esen esea ch aims a s udying he impac o
he dimensions o a websi e a mosphe e ( eadabili y and design) on he web use ’s a i ude
owa d he b and.
In his espec , we ha e de eloped a concep ual model ha in eg a es eadabili y o a
websi e, designs a ge ing pleasu e, designs acili a ing he sea ch o in o ma ion and he
web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and.
In o de o check he hypo he ical links, we conduc ed a su ey nex o a sample o
200 web use s. The su ey was abou an online e en c ea ed by Tunisiana e sus
Oo edoo (a p i a e elecommunica ion ope a o in Tunisia) ollowing he change o i s
comme cial adema k aiming a uni ying he g oup wi h i s subsidia ies unde one b and.
The empi ical da a o ou causal model show ha eadabili y o a websi e exe cises a
posi i e and signi ican impac on he web use ’s a i ude owa d he b and. In ac , he
