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Visual website aesthetics : the relationship between dimensions of visual website aesthetics, website trust and consumers' intention to visit the website

Dalen, Mie Birgitte
Master thesis
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masterthesis.pdf (838.7Kb)
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2383129
Utgivelsesdato
2015
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  • Master Thesis [3762]
Sammendrag
A review of previous research about visual aesthetics revealed inconsistencies and

contradicting views. Due to the important role of visual aesthetics in the online environment,

a more thorough understanding of the construct was beneficial. Therefore, the first aim of

this thesis was to develop a new structural framework of the dimensions of visual website

aesthetics based on a review of previous research findings and theories. This

conceptualisation process revealed that visual aesthetics can be explained by six dimensions,

each of which are defined, named, pre-tested and studied.

The six dimensions were named affective appeal, appropriate appeal, functional appeal,

harmonic appeal, original appeal and personal appeal. Affective appeal refers to consumers’

emotions towards the website and their mood at the time of interaction. Appropriate appeal

refers to how a website relates to other websites in the same category. A website has

functional appeal when consumers easily can navigate and use the website, and harmonic

appeal refers to the websites overall balance, attractiveness, clean design and symmetry.

Original appeal relates to the novelty of a website and personal appeal refers to a website’s

degree of customisation and personalisation, as well as the level of two-way-communication

and interaction.

The pre-test of the dimensions revealed a possibility for intercorrelation among them, likely

caused by the use of different termination in previous research. However, due to a small

sample and a simple study design, the pre-test was not considered definite enough to

overwrite previous validated research results. The dimensions were subject to further testing

through an online survey. An analysis of the results using structural equation modelling

(SEM) confirmed that some of the defined dimensions were highly correlated. Based on this

intercorrelation, two of the categories, appropriate appeal and functional appel, were

removed from the sample. This does not necessarily imply that the composition of the

dimensions should be moderated, as each are firmly grounded on findings from previous

research. However, it does imply that there are other variables that could influence the

importance of visual aesthetics, for instance the type of service the website provides or the

amount of competitors the website has. Identifying these variables can provide further

insight into visual website aesthetics.

Visual aesthetics was hypothesised to influence both the consumers’ trust in the website and

their intention to return to the website. In addition, trust was hypothesised to positively

influence consumers’ intentions to return, thereby suggesting that trust mediates the

relationship between visual aesthetics and intention. The second aim of this thesis was

therefore to explore these relationships, in an effort to highlight the effect that visual

aesthetics has on the online environment.

The survey results revealed that visual aesthetics does have a positive effect on consumers’

intention to revisit, as affective appeal was found to have an effect on intention. In addition,

visual aesthetics was found to have an effect on trust, as both functional appeal and personal

appeal had a significant effect on the trusting beliefs. However, no significant relationships

were found between trust in the website and intention to revisit. Still, these findings confirm

the impact visual aesthetics can have on vital aspects of the online environment, thereby

highlighting it as an important focus area for managers and decision makers.

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