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Information richness on service business websites

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Abstract

Delivering rich information is the key success factor for service business websites. Numerous studies have investigated useful guidelines to deliver rich information. The implicit assumption made by these studies is individual homogeneity. This study argues that this is only one side of the story, as individual heterogeneity is also important. Specifically, this study questions relationships between personal dispositional factors and the person’s perception of information richness. Dispositional factors of interest are age and personality. This study adopted information processing theory as its theoretical lens. A review of literature through the lens leads to the development of six hypotheses. The insurance industry provided the context of this study. Data were collected from 110 potential customers of 10 insurance organizations. The Hierarchical Linear Modeling technique was utilized for model building and hypotheses testing. The result revealed that aging individuals often find information as low in richness. Furthermore, those with high consciousness and extraversion generally perceived information as higher in richness. Lastly, the other three dimensions of personality showed no association with information richness.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand

    Buraj Patrakosol

  2. Department of Management, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA

    Sang M. Lee

Authors
  1. Buraj Patrakosol
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  2. Sang M. Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sang M. Lee.

Appendix

Appendix

1.1 Measurement items and reliability

Information Richness Item (α = 0.87)

I find the organization’s website

  1. 1.

    Provides accurate information

  2. 2.

    Provides timely information

  3. 3.

    Provides easy to understand information

  4. 4.

    Provides information at the right level of detail

Extraversion Item (α = 0.71)

I see myself as someone who…

  1. 1.

    Is talkative

  2. 2.

    Is full of energy

  3. 3.

    Generates a lot of enthusiasm

  4. 4.

    Tends to be quiet (reverse coding)

  5. 5.

    Is sometimes shy, inhibited (reverse coding)

  6. 6.

    Is outgoing, sociable

Agreeableness (α = 0.71)

I see myself as someone who…

  1. 1.

    Is helpful and unselfish with others

  2. 2.

    Has forgiving nature

  3. 3.

    Is generally trusting

  4. 4.

    Is considerate and kind to almost everyone

  5. 5.

    Likes to cooperate with others

Conscientiousness (α = 0.77)

I see myself as someone who…

  1. 1.

    Does a thorough job

  2. 2.

    Can be somewhat careless (reverse coding)

  3. 3.

    Tends to be disorganized (reverse coding)

  4. 4.

    Does things efficiently

  5. 5.

    Makes plans and follows through with them

  6. 6.

    Is easily distracted (reverse coding)

Neuroticism (α = 0.70)

I see myself as someone who…

  1. 1.

    Is relaxed, handles stress well (reverse coding)

  2. 2.

    Worries a lot

  3. 3.

    Can be moody

  4. 4.

    Gets nervous easily

Openness (α = 0.78)

I see myself as someone who…

  1. 1.

    Is original, comes up with new ideas

  2. 2.

    Is curious about many different things

  3. 3.

    Has an active imagination

  4. 4.

    Is inventive

  5. 5.

    Values artistic, aesthetic experiences

  6. 6.

    Is sophisticated in art, music, or literature

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Patrakosol, B., Lee, S.M. Information richness on service business websites. Serv Bus 7, 329–346 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-012-0162-x

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