Identification of Important Attributes in Textbook-Sales Websites: A Lens Model Approach

Abstract

Textbook-sales websites have enjoyed increasing popularity in both the U.S. and other countries, and are of particular interest to students. However, no study has been done to identify the specific attributes of these sites that contribute to an ultimate purchasing decision. The current study aims to address this issue through the application of a lens model approach, and to inform the design of future textbook-sales websites. A modified Brunswik lens model using eight cues, four pertaining to commercial website features and four pertaining to usability issues, was generated from the data of 233 U.S. college students, 95 Chinese college students, and six usability experts. Overall, the three groups were found to have similar website judgment policies, weighting product price, site security, and ease of purchase higher than general usability features such as easiness to navigate and aesthetics. Surprisingly, the usability experts did not use the usability attributes in their judgments. However, the small sample size of the usability experts might be a limiting factor in generalizability of this finding. The U.S. and Chinese college students differed in their weightings of the attributes, but generally still had a high agreement in their judgment policies.