Toward a Theory of User Value of Information Systems: Incorporating Motivational and Habitual Aspects

Organizations are increasingly relying on information systems (IS) (e.g., the Internet and the WWW) as a means for reaching and informing customers. Current projection estimates that business revenues via on-line are expected to climb to $226 billion in 2000, more than double the $95 billion of 1999, and six times the $38 billion of 1998 (ActiveMedia Research, 1999). Given this level of opportunity, firms are clearly interested in how customers react to their Web sites in specific, information systems in general. Considering the enormous potential of the Web, it would not be desirable for a manager’s own intuition, which have never been verified, to entirely guide Web site designs. Accordingly, a large number of researchers argue the importance of collecting feedback from the users of the Web (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1997; Abels et al., 1997). Based on the input from users, managers finally can come to a better understanding of how customers see their Web sites. Such information should be helpful in identifying previously unknown problems and in forecasting the success of the Web. The challenge is to have a rational measure that helps in assessing the success of a Web site from a customer’s point of view. The measure will serve as the indicator of the effectiveness of a Web site, and accordingly guide the Web site development efforts in a more productive way. However, it is not easy to develop such a quick and easy diagnostic tool because customer evaluations are subjective in nature. In other words, users have different experiences, tastes and needs, therefore, understanding those differences is critical in assessing customer perceptions (Seddon, 1997)