Did I buy the wrong gadget? How the evaluability of technology features influences technology feature preferences and subsequent product choice

Joseph S. Valacich, Xuequn Wang, Leonard Michael Jessup

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Prior usability assessment research has paid little attention to how product and feature ratings are influenced by the evaluation context. However, the evaluability hypothesis, which guides this research, suggests that the evaluation context is a vital factor in shaping user's assessments and perceptions about technology features. pecifically, the evaluability hypothesis proposes that technology feature perceptions, and ultimately technology choices, will change when evaluating a single technology in isolation versus when simultaneously comparing more than one. To demonstrate the evaluability hypothesis effect in the context of consumer technology product evaluations, two experiments were conducted. Both studies support the evaluability hypothesis effect, showing that when two IT products are compared, hard-to-evaluate but easy-to-compare features are perceived to be more important and therefore have a larger influence on product preferences. Alternatively, when evaluating a single product in isolation, easy-to-evaluate features are perceived to be more important and therefore have a larger influence on product preferences. Consequently, different product preferences emerge (i.e., preference reversals) in different evaluation contexts. The results demonstrate that this theoretical lens is robust to the technology evaluation context, providing important theoretical and practical insights for technology design, usability assessments, and, ultimately, product acceptance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)633-644
Number of pages12
JournalMIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems
Volume42
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2018

Keywords

  • Evaluability hypothesis
  • Preference reversals
  • Technology acceptance
  • Technology choice
  • Technology design
  • Technology evaluation
  • Usability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Management Information Systems
  • Information Systems
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Information Systems and Management

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