WEB SURVEY PAGE

Determinants of Consumers' Attitude Toward the World Wide Web as Product Information Source
(Wibowo Santoso, College of Business Administration, University of the Philippines-Diliman)

Surveybar English MS DOC 6.0/95 English ZIP Indonesian MS DOC 6.0/95 Indonesian ZIP


 
Thank you for visiting my web survey page. I am a doctoral student at the College of Business Administration at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Using this survey page I expect to collect enough data for my dissertation research which is entitled "Determinants of Consumers' Attitude Toward the World Wide Web as Product Information Source." The data collection is expected to last on December 1, 1997 and the results will be available in early February 1998. This survey is purely academic and results will be presented only in aggregate.  Under no circumstances individual responses will be revealed to anyone. If you wish to receive the result's summary you need to provide your e-mail address in the survey form. Your e-mail address will be used only to send the result's summary and will not be revealed to anyone for whatever purpose.
I hope you can spare about 15-20 minutes to complete the survey form. Please CLICK HERE to go directly to the questionnaire.
You may also download the questionnaire in MS WORD 6.0/95 format or its ZIP. If you'll answer the questionnaire off-line, please return it to: survey@skyinet.net

CATATAN :
Untuk PENJELASAN dalam bahasa Indonesia silakan KLIK DISINI dan untuk KUESIONER dalam bahasa Indonesia silakan KLIK DISINI. Anda dapat pula download kuesioner dalam format MS WORD 6.0/95-22K (klik kanan dan save link as) atau ZIPnya (6K)untuk mengisi secara off-line. Bila Anda mengisi secara off-line mohon dialamatkan ke survey@skyinet.net.

If you prefer, you can first read the summary (background, objectives, significance of the study, related studies, and conceptual framework) of the study proposal, check my homepage, or  UP-Diliman College of Business Administration homepage.
 
Regards,
Wibowo Santoso
College of Business Administration
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The World Wide Web has become a popular and important business and marketing medium. It has produced new ways for companies and organizations to communicate and do business with their current and potential customers. Many believe that the World Wide Web has the potential to significantly alter business and marketing strategies (e.g., Alvey et al, 1996; Hoffman, Novak and Chatterjee, 1996; Kambil, 1995; Wehling, 1996; Winer et. al, 1996).
    Changes in communication and business transaction methods between firms and their customers that take place with the adoption of the Internet and the World Wide Web are quite considerable.  Big and small companies, including those in the Philippines and Indonesia, have set up their presence in the cyberspace. So far, the primary use of commercial web sites on the World Wide Web is to perform marketing communication function like advertising in conventional media (television, radio, magazine, newspaper, brochure, etc.) or personal selling (Hoffman, Novak, and Chatterjee, 1996).
    Is the World Wide Web a good medium to convey information to consumers in developing countries like the Philippines and Indonesia? It seems that the current state of the Internet in these countries may not make the marketing communication potential fully realized yet. In most developing countries Internet access is available to a very small fraction of the population.  In the Philippines, for example, the latest estimate of internet users is about 50,000 (Internet World Philippines, 1997), less than 0.1% of the total population.
    Internet access cost may also hinder the use of the World Wide Web as a marketing communication medium. Most users outside the United States, even in developed countries in Europe, have to pay higher costs for Internet access (Preston, 1996). The cost of accessing and navigating the World Wide Web in Indonesia may be even more expensive because of the telephone billing system (metered) and relatively high call rates. Internet users in the Philippines may also face the same problem should the new telephone billing system take effect later. Realization of the World Wide Web's potential as marketing communication medium also depends on how consumers use and perceive it. Consumers will use the World Wide Web as an information source certainly only if they find it worthwhile.

 | Back to top | Objectives of the Study | Significance of the Study | Related Studies | Conceptual Framework | References |
GO TO QUESTIONNAIRE | KUESIONER DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA |


OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

With research on the Internet/World Wide Web marketing in its nascent stage, the purpose of the study is to develop a fuller understanding of how consumers view the World Wide Web as product information source. Specifically the researcher is interested in perceptions of consumers in the Philippines and Indonesia where Internet is a relatively new phenomenon. The specific objectives of the proposed study are:
  1. To asses consumers' attitude toward the World Wide Web as a source of product information.
  2. To identify the determinants of consumers' attitude toward the World Wide Web as a source of product information.
  3. To identify and test a model of consumers' attitude toward the World Wide Web as a source of information.
  4. To assess consumers' relative evaluation of the World Wide Web compared to other product information sources.
 | Back to top | Background of the Study | Significance of the Study | Related Studies | Conceptual Framework | References |
GO TO QUESTIONNAIRE | KUESIONER DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA |


SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Given the scarcity of academic research in this new media the proposed study is significant for the following reasons:
  1. The study will contribute to the scanty literature on the Internet/World Wide Web marketing, particularly in the area of advertising and consumer behavior. This will open avenues for further research in this media to develop fuller understanding in this area of interest.
  2. It will be a pioneering study in the field of Internet/World Wide Web marketing in the Philippines and Indonesia.
  3. Marketing practitioners may also find the study results as valuable inputs in the formulation of marketing communication strategies, particularly in the use of the World Wide Web.
 | Back to top | Background of the Study | Objectives of the Study | Related Studies | Conceptual Framework | References |
GO TO QUESTIONNAIRE | KUESIONER DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA |

RELATED STUDIES
The foundation of this study is "attitude toward the ad" and "attitude toward advertising in general" concepts. The first concept refers to attitude (like or dislike) toward individual advertisements, while the latter refers to advertising as an institution. Researchers in the area have established that consumers' attitude toward the ad can influence advertising effectiveness, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions (Andrews, 1989; Biehal, Stephens and Curlo, 1992; James and Kover, 1992; Calfee and Ringold, 1994; Ducoffe, 1996; Durvasula et. al, 1993; MacKenzie and Lutz, 1989; Peter and Olson, 1996; Pollay, and Mittal, 1993).
    In perhaps the most complete conceptualization thus far, Lutz (1985) as cited by Durvasula et. al (1993) outlined five antecedents of attitude toward the ad: (1) ad credility, (2) ad perceptions, (3) attitude toward the advertiser, (4) mood, and (5) attitude toward advertising in general. While many studies have examined antecedents such as ad perceptions (2), few studies have focused on attitude toward advertising in general and its determinants (Durvasula et. al, 1993).
        Given that various advertising media differ in their effectiveness, Ducoffe (1995) proposed "advertising value" approach, an overall representation of the worth of advertising to consumers, for understanding advertising effectiveness of any particular medium. This approach is rooted in the view that advertising messages are potential communications exchanges between advertisers and consumers, and for exchanges to be consummated each party to the exchanges both gives and receives value. Consumers will pay attention to advertisements only if they find them valuable.
    To understand what makes advertising valuable, Ducoffe (1995) identified the primary benefits and costs consumers derive from advertising and empirically tested these hypothesized relationships. Three factors determine advertising value:
  1. informativeness: the ability to inform consumers
  2. irritation: negative experience in processing advertising
  3. entertainment: the ability of advertising to provide enjoyment to viewers
    Using the above model, Ducoffe (1996) found that the model confirm the respective roles of informativeness, entertainment, and irritation as important predictors of the value of Web advertising. The results also represent evidence that the model originally developed to assess advertising value in the traditional media (newspapers, television, etc.) holds in the case of advertising in the World Wide Web. Ducoffe (1996) also reports a strong association between web advertising value and attitude toward web advertising. Entertainment retains an independent and direct impact on overall advertising attitudes.
    An interesting result emerges from the ranking of media that respondents were asked. Of the seven media, the World Wide Web placed near the bottom. Television ranked as the most valuable source of advertising, followed by newspapers, magazines, direct mail, radio, World Wide Web, and outdoor ads. The World Wide Web placed ahead of only outdoor ads in terms of its value. It seems that the respondents are not about to shed their attachments to the traditional media and still consider the World Wide Web to be a work in process (Ducoffe, 1996).
 
 | Back to topBackground of the Study | Objectives of the Study | Significance of the Study | Conceptual Framework |
| References |
GO TO QUESTIONNAIRE | KUESIONER DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA |

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The framework of the proposed study is built upon a study by Ducoffe (1996). Apart from being the only published study available in attitude toward Web advertising, his model is intuitively attractive due to its emphasis on personal costs and benefits of advertising. This is particularly important due to the nature of the World Wide Web as product information source. As consumers are faced by choices of media (e.g., Web, newspapers, television), personal costs and benefits are important considerations in determining what media to use should one needs to look for product information.
    Two adaptations are made to reflect the objectives of the study and concerns pertinent to consumers in the Philippines and Indonesia. The first adaptation is the restriction placed on the function of the World Wide Web itself that is as a source of information. The second adaptation is the addition of efficiency factor in the model.This factor reflects problems encountered by Internet users in the Philippines and Indonesia when they try to search for information on the World Wide Web.
    The vastness of information available on the World Wide Web and current technological constraints require considerable skill and patience from users to be able to find what they need. As a result, the World Wide Web as a product information source is sometimes less efficient (in terms of consumer's efforts and costs) than the conventional media. Hence, it is argued that efficiency has direct relationship with the advertising value of the World Wide Web.
    The major constructs in the study are as follows.
  1. Entertainment: the ability of corporate/product web pages to provide enjoyment to viewers.
  2. Informativeness: the ability of corporate/product web pages to inform consumers.
  3. Irritation: viewers' negative experience in processing information available on corporate/product web pages.
  4. Efficiency: costs associated with searching product information on the World Wide Web.
  5. Advertising value: overall representation of the worth of product information on the World Wide Web to consumers.
  6. Attitude toward the World Wide Web as product information source: consumers' overall liking toward the World Wide Web as product information source.
    Each of the first four constructs (exogenous) related to the advertising value (construct 5). The model also indicates that the exogenous dimensions are all proposed to be intercorrelated. Although the exogenous dimensions are proposed to be distinct, it is recognized that some perceptions are shared, and thus there are correlations among the constructs. Advertising value is then posited to be the sole predictor of overall attitude toward the World Wide Web as product information source (construct 6). The exogenous variables can also be sources of overall attitude toward the World Wide Web. However, these causal relationships will be explored through the testing of alternative model specification (i.e., competing model). In the alternative model, the four exogenous dimensions-entertainment, informativeness, irritation, and efficiency, could retain independent and direct impact on overall attitude.

| Back to topBackground of the Study | Objectives of the Study | Significance of the Study | Related Studies | References |

GO TO QUESTIONNAIRE | KUESIONER DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA |


REFERENCES (only articles/authors cited in this page)

  1. Alvey, Patty, Isabella Cunningham, John Leckenby, Wei-na Lee, Deborah Morrison, John Murphy, Paula Poindexcter, Jeff Richards, Pat Stout, Elizabeth Tucker, Marye Tharp, and Gary Wilcox, 1996. Thoughts about the Future of Marketing. College of Communications, The University of Texas at Austin. Unpublished paper.
  2. Andrews, J. Craig, 1989. "The Dimensionality of Beliefs Toward Advertising in General." Journal of Advertising, v18 n1: 26-35.
  3. Biehal, Gabriel, Debra Stephens, and Eleonora Curlo, 1992. "Attitude Toward the Ad and Brand Choice." Journal of Advertising, v21 n3: 19-36.
  4. Calfee, John E., and Debra J. Ringold, 1994. "The 70% Majority: Enduring Consumer Beliefs About Advertising." Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, v13 n2: 228-238.
  5. Ducoffe, Robert H., 1995. "How Consumers Assess the value of Advertising." Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, v17 n1: 1-18.
  6. Ducoffe, Robert H., 1996. "Advertising Value and Advertising on the Web." Journal of Advertising Research, September/October: 21-35.
  7. Durvasula, Srinavas, J. Craig Andrews, Steven Lysonski, and Richard G. Netemeyer, 1993. "Assessing the Cross-National Applicability of Consumer Behavior Models: A Model of Attitude toward Advertising in General." Journal of Consumer Research, v19 n4: 626-636.
  8. Hoffman, Donna L., Thomas P. Novak, and Patrali Chatterjee, 1996. "Commercial Scenarios for the Web: Opportunities and Challenges." Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, v1 n3. Available on the World Wide Web [URL: http://www.usc.edu/dept/annenberg].
  9. Internet World Philippines, 1997. Available on the World Wide Web [URL: http://www.iworld.com.ph].
  10. James, William L., and Arthur J. Kover, 1992. "Do Overall Attitudes Toward Advertising Affect Involvement with Specific Advertisements?" Journal of Advertising Research, September/October: 78-83.
  11. Kambil, Ajit, 1995. "Electronic Commerce: Implications of the Internet for Business Practive and Strategy." Business Economics, v30: 27-34.
  12. Mackenzie, Scott B., and Richard J. Lutz, 1989. "An Empirical Examination of the Structural Antecedents of Attitude Toward the Ad in an Advertising Pretesting Context." Journal of Marketing, v53 n2: 48-65.
  13. Peter, J. Paul, and Jerry C. Olson, 1996. Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy (4ed). Richard D. Irwin, Chicago.
  14. Pollay, Richard W., and Banwari Mittal, 1993. "Here's the Beef: Factors, Determinants, and Segments in COnsumer Criticism of Advertising." Journal of Marketing, v57 n3: 99-114.
  15. Preston, Holly H., 1996. "Not So Worldly (The Web is Slow to Spread Overseas)." PC Week, v13 n34: A1-2.
  16. Wehling, Bob, 1996. "The Future of Marketing: What Every Marketer Should Know About Being Online." Vital Speeches, v62 n6: 170-172.
  17. Winer, Russel S., John Deighton, Sunil Gupta, Eric J. Johnson, Barbara Mellers, Vicki G. Morwitz, Thomas O'Guinn, Arvand Rangaswamy, Alan G. Sawyer, 1996. "Choice in Computer-Mediated Environments." Unpublished working paper.
| Back to topBackground of the Study | Objectives of the Study | Significance of the Study | Related Studies |
| Conceptual Framework |
GO TO QUESTIONNAIRE | KUESIONER DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA |
 
Wibowo Santoso © 1997