تعامل در وب سایت های نام تجاری (برند) : پاسخهای شناختی، عاطفی، و رفتاری توضیح داده شده توسط تجربه آنلاین مصرف کنندگان

Web site interactivity creates numerous opportunities for marketers to persuade online consumers and receives extensive attention in the marketing literature. However, research on cognitive and behavioral responses to web site interactivity is scarce, and more importantly, it does not provide empirical evidence for how interactivity effects can be explained. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the underlying principle that explains the influence of web site interactivity on consumers' cognitive, affective and behavioral responses: online flow, the web site users' complete immersion in an online activity (Hoffman and Novak 2009). In two studies, the hypothesis was tested that a visitor's flow experience in a specific brand web site mediates the effects of interactivity on the number and type (web site vs. product related) of thoughts, on attitudes toward the brand and web site, and on several behavioral intentions. The results provide evidence for the importance of flow in a marketing context, and the notion that the flow experienced on a specific web site is the underlying mechanism by which cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral responses to an interactive brand web site can be explained.

Consistent with the predictions, the results support the idea that online flow mediates the effects of web site interactivity on affective responses. Further, the results confirmed that perceived interactivity increases online flow and, in turn, the magnitude of cognitive responses. More specifically, the results support the hypothesis that web site interactivity increases online flow, increasing the product-related but not web site-related thoughts. Study 2 replicates and extends the findings of Study 1 by testing whether online flow not only mediates the relation between interactivity cognitive and affective responses, but also behavioral responses regarding the web site, the advertised products and the brand (H4). Furthermore, to increase the generalizability of the outcomes of the current studies, a web site for another product category was used, in which different brands were advertised for a different target group than in Study 1. Moreover, prior research employed two variations of the method to measure flow with self-report scales. To ensure that the mediation effect cannot be explained by the measurement method, this study extends the findings in Study 1 by using an additional measure for experienced online flow. By using this additional measure, Study 2 can provide more robust support for the mediation hypotheses.