A Distributed Cognition Framework to Compare E-Commerce Websites Using Data Envelopment Analysis
This paper presents an approach based on the
adoption of a distributed cognition framework and a non parametric
multicriteria evaluation methodology (DEA) designed specifically to
compare e-commerce websites from the consumer/user viewpoint. In
particular, the framework considers a website relative efficiency as a
measure of its quality and usability. A website is modelled as a black
box capable to provide the consumer/user with a set of
functionalities. When the consumer/user interacts with the website to
perform a task, he/she is involved in a cognitive activity, sustaining a
cognitive cost to search, interpret and process information, and
experiencing a sense of satisfaction. The degree of ambiguity and
uncertainty he/she perceives and the needed search time determine
the effort size – and, henceforth, the cognitive cost amount – he/she
has to sustain to perform his/her task. On the contrary, task
performing and result achievement induce a sense of gratification,
satisfaction and usefulness. In total, 9 variables are measured,
classified in a set of 3 website macro-dimensions (user experience,
site navigability and structure). The framework is implemented to
compare 40 websites of businesses performing electronic commerce
in the information technology market. A questionnaire to collect
subjective judgements for the websites in the sample was purposely
designed and administered to 85 university students enrolled in
computer science and information systems engineering
undergraduate courses.
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and Policy, vol. 10, n. 1, pp 31-43, 2000.
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satisfaction and complaint reports", Journal of Marketing Research, vol.
20, pp. 21-28, 1983.
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Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1979.
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extended framework", Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 13, n. 1, pp.
119-126, 1986.
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Between Target Disc and Surrounding Discs", Human Factors, vol. 14,
n. 2, pp. 139-148, 1972.
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http://www.indiana.edu/iirg/ARTICLES/usability/usability.main.htm,
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to the measurement of customer satisfaction with e-commerce Web
sites" Aslib Proceedings, vol 54, n. 3, pp. 177-187, 2002.
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Decision Making Units", European Journal of Operations Research, vol.
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An examination", International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management, vol. 19, n. 7, pp 862-888, 2002.
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Complexity as a Foundation for Augmented Cognition", Proceedings of
the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
(HICSS-03), 2003.
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Internet Research: Electronic Networking Application and Policy, vol.
10, n. 4, pp 295-307, 2000.
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Media Richness and Structural Design", Management Science, vol. 32,
pp. 554-571, 1986.
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Interpretation Systems", Academy of Management Review, vol. 9, pp.
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heuristic evaluation procedure for the measurement of usability",
Information Systems Research, vol. 13, pp. 168-186, 2002.
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Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction Measures", Journal of Consumer Affairs,
vol. 11, n. 2, pp.11-24, 1977.
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Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment
Analysis", Management Science, vol. 30, n. 9, pp. 1078-1092, 1984.
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satisfaction and complaint reports", Journal of Marketing Research, vol.
20, pp. 21-28, 1983.
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Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1979.
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Complexity as a Foundation for Augmented Cognition", Proceedings of
the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
(HICSS-03), 2003.
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Internet Research: Electronic Networking Application and Policy, vol.
10, n. 4, pp 295-307, 2000.
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pp. 554-571, 1986.
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pp. 1-9, 1997.
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of the Kano model to Web-site design", Proceedings of the Fifth
Americas Conference on Information Systems, Milwaukee USA, 1999.
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London: Academic Press, 1984.
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Worth, TX: Dryden Press, 1995.
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IBM Technical Report TR 00.2720, December, Poughkeepsie, NY:
IBM, 1975.
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Handbook (3rd ed.), Hove, UK: Erlbaum Taylor & Francis, 1995.
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Royal Statistical Society, A(CXX), pp. 253-281, 1957.
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Instructional Technology: Does It Increase Student Learning?", available
on Internet
http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/webeval(webques/webques.htm, 1996.
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Software Teams: A Case Study of Collaborative Programming During
Adaptive Software Maintenance", in J. Koenemann-Belliveau, T.
Moher., and S. Robertson (eds.) Empirical Studies of Programmers:
Fourth Workshop, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1992, pp. 36-64.
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Addison-Wesley, 1973.
[35] G. Gay, M. Stefanone, M. Grace-Martin, and H. Hembrooke, "The
Effects of Wireless Computing in Collaborative Learning
Environments", International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction,
vol. 13, n. 2, pp. 257-276, 2001.
[36] P. Guriting, and N.O. Ndubisi, "Borneo online banking: evaluating
customer perceptions and behavioural intention", Management Research
News, vol. 29 n. 1/2, pp. 6-15, 2006.
[37] J.A. Howard, and J.N. Sheth, The theory of buyer behavior, New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1969.
[38] E. Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1995a.
[39] E. Hutchins, "How a cockpit remembers its speeds", Cognitive Science,
vol. 19, pp. 126-189, 1995b.
[40] E. Hutchins, and T. Klausen, "Distributed Cognition in an Airline
Cockpit", in D. Middleton, and Y. Engeström (eds.) Communication and
Cognition at Work, Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press,
1996, pp.15-54.
[41] S.L. Jarvenpaa, and P.A. Todd, "Consumer Reactions to Electronic
Shopping on the World Wide Web", Journal of Electronic Commerce,
vol. 1, n. 2, pp. 59-88, 1997.
[42] P.W. Jordan, An Introduction to usability, London: Taylor&Francis,
1998.
[43] J. Karat, "Evolving the scope of user-centered design", Comm. ACM,
vol. 40, pp. 33-38, 1997.
[44] D. Kirsch, and P. Maglio, "On distinguishing epistemic from pragmatic
action", Cognitive Science, vol. 18, pp. 513-549, 1994.
[45] D. Kirsh, "Adapting the Environment Instead of Oneself", Adaptive
Behavior, vol. 4, n. 3/4, pp. 415-452, 1996.
[46] D. Kolb, Learning Styles Inventory, Boston: McBer & Co, 1984.
[47] P. Kotzé, "Defining and specifying graphs using formal model-based
techniques", South African Computer Journal, vol. 26, pp. 217-221,
2000.
[48] S. Laforet, and X. Li, "Consumers- attitudes towards online and mobile
banking in China", International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 23, n.
5, pp. 362-380, 2005.
[49] J. Lave, Cognition in practice: Mind, mathematics and culture in
everyday life, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
[50] A. Lecerof, and F. Paterno, "Automatic support for usability evaluation",
IEEE Transaction on Software Engineering, vol. 24, n. 10, pp. 863 -
888, 1998.
[51] P.H. Lindsay, and D.A. Norman, Human Information Processing: An
Introduction to Psychology, 2nd ed., New York: Academic Press, 1977.
[52] G.L. Lohse, and P. Spiller, "Quantifying the effect of the user interface
design features on cyberstore traffic and sales", CHI-98 Conference
Proceedings, Los Alamitos, CA: ACM Press, 1998.
[53] E.T. Loiacono, "WebQual: a Web quality instrument", Proceedings of
the Fifth Americas Conference on Information Systems, Milwaukee,
USA, 1999.
[54] R. Merwe, and J. Bekker, "A framework and methodology for
evaluating e-commerce Web sites", Internet Research: Electronic
Networking Applications and Policy, vol. 13, n. 5, pp. 330-341, 2003.
[55] L. Mich, M. Franch, and L. Gaio, "Evaluating and designing Web site
quality", IEEE MultiMedia, vol. 10, n. 1, pp 34-43, 2003.
[56] G.E. Miles, A. Howes, and A. Davies, "A framework for understanding
human factors in web-based electronic commerce", International Journal
of Human Computer Studies, vol. 52, pp. 131-163, 2000.
[57] G.A. Miller, "The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some
limits on our capacity for processing information", Psychological
Review, vol. 63, pp. 81-97, 1956.
[58] S.Y. Mousavi, R. Low, and J. Sweller, "Reducing cognitive load by
mixing auditory and visual presentation models", Journal of Educational
Psychology, vol. 87, n. 2, pp. 319-334, 1995.
[59] A. Newell, and H. Simon, Human Problem Solving, Prentice Hall, 1972.
[60] F. Nicosia, Consumer Decision Processes: Marketing and Advertising
Implications, Prentice Hall, 1966.
[61] J. Nielsen, Usability Engineering, Boston, MA: Academic Press, 1993.
[62] J. Nielsen, Multimedia and hypertext: the Internet and beyond, Boston:
AP Professional, 1995.
[63] J. Nielsen, Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity,
Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing, 2000.
[64] J.W. Palmer, "Web site usability, design, and performance metrics",
Information Systems Research, vol. 13, n. 2, pp 151-167, 2002.
[65] H.E. Pashler, The Psychology of Attention, Massachusetts: A Bradford
Book, The MIT Press, 1998.
[66] N.L. Ping Zhang, "An assessment of human-computer interaction
research in management information systems: topics and methods",
Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 20, pp. 125-147, 2004.
[67] M. Polanyi, Personal Knowledge: Toward a Post-Critical Philosophy,
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1958.
[68] R. Radha, and C. Murphy, "Searching Versus Browsing in Hypertext",
Hypermedia, vol. 4, n. 1, pp. 1-31, 1992.
[69] Y. Rogers, "New Theoretical approaches for Human-Computer
Interaction", Annual Review of Information, Science and Technology,
vol. 38, pp. 87-143, 2004.
[70] Y. Rogers, and J. Ellis, "Distributed Cognition: an alternative framework
for analysing and explaining collaborative working", Journal of
Information Technology, vol. 9, pp. 119-128, 1994.
[71] J.M. Scandura, "Deterministic theorizing in structural learning: Three
levels of empiricism", Journal of Structural Learning, vol. 3, pp. 21-53,
1971.
[72] L. Schiffman, D. Bednall, E. Cowley, A. O-Cass, J. Watson, and L.
Kanuk, Consumer behaviour (2nd ed). Australia: Pearson Education
Australia Pty Ltd, 2001.
[73] H.A. Simon, "Rational decision-making in business organizations",
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@article{"International Journal of Information, Control and Computer Sciences:55574", author = "C. lo Storto", title = "A Distributed Cognition Framework to Compare E-Commerce Websites Using Data Envelopment Analysis", abstract = "This paper presents an approach based on the
adoption of a distributed cognition framework and a non parametric
multicriteria evaluation methodology (DEA) designed specifically to
compare e-commerce websites from the consumer/user viewpoint. In
particular, the framework considers a website relative efficiency as a
measure of its quality and usability. A website is modelled as a black
box capable to provide the consumer/user with a set of
functionalities. When the consumer/user interacts with the website to
perform a task, he/she is involved in a cognitive activity, sustaining a
cognitive cost to search, interpret and process information, and
experiencing a sense of satisfaction. The degree of ambiguity and
uncertainty he/she perceives and the needed search time determine
the effort size – and, henceforth, the cognitive cost amount – he/she
has to sustain to perform his/her task. On the contrary, task
performing and result achievement induce a sense of gratification,
satisfaction and usefulness. In total, 9 variables are measured,
classified in a set of 3 website macro-dimensions (user experience,
site navigability and structure). The framework is implemented to
compare 40 websites of businesses performing electronic commerce
in the information technology market. A questionnaire to collect
subjective judgements for the websites in the sample was purposely
designed and administered to 85 university students enrolled in
computer science and information systems engineering
undergraduate courses.", keywords = "Website, e-commerce, DEA, distributed cognition,evaluation, comparison.", volume = "3", number = "4", pages = "1021-9", }
