ساختار عاملی خلاقیت وب سایت

The objective of this study is to develop an instrument measuring user-assessment of web site creativity and then to investigate the impacts of web site creativity on user behavior. A conceptual model for user perception and response to web site creativity was constructed and the initial Web Site Creativity Measurement Instrument was developed, whose construct validity was based on the literature. This instrument was then administered via a survey (N = 289) with satisfactory internal consistency. The results of factor analysis indicated a refined instrument with seven factors (28 items): Aesthetic Appeal, Interactivity, Novelty and Flexibility, Affect, Importance, Commonality and Simplicity, and Personalization, which explained 63% of the total variance. Stepwise regressions further identified important factors in predicting the user’s attitude and behavior towards web site creativity. 62% of the total variance regarding the prediction of the user’s overall preference towards creative web sites was explained by significant factors. Guidelines and checklist for creative web site design were also developed based on the refined instrument.

5.1. Theoretical and practical contributions This study has both theoretical and practical utilities. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in three folds. First and foremost, the findings of this research reveal that web site creativity comprises seven key dimensions: Aesthetic Appeal, Interactivity, Novelty and Flexibility, Affect, Importance, Commonality and Simplicity, and Personalization. Out of them, Affect, Novelty, and Importance have been validated as three significant factors of creativity for traditional hardware products. Yet, this study does verify that the distinctive characteristics of web technology bolster more opportunities for germinating creativity in web sites which are not available or are severely restricted in the context of traditional hardware products. In other words, the increase of aesthetic appeal, interactivity, flexibility, and personalization can significantly enhance the level of web site creativity (Albert et al., 2004, Canali et al., 2005, Cao et al., 2005, Dysart, 1998, Ho, 2006, Hostetter et al., 1997, Perugini and Ramakrishnan, 2003, Sam et al., 2006, Tam and Ho, 2005, Teoa et al., 2003, White, 2006 and Zeng and Salvendy, 2008). The second aspect of theoretical contribution involves the impacts of web site creativity. Regression analyses indicate that web site creativity which is attractive to the public will lead to the user’s satisfaction and can trigger his/her intention to visit, remain on, revisit a web site, and purchase goods or services from it. Although there are other aspects such as quality, speed, content preparation that can affect the web visitor’s attitude, web site creativity does add appreciable values to the asset of web sites and can positively influence the user’s behavior. Again, those distinctive features of web applications and services contribute much to the visitor’s positive affect. By shaping the user’s affect, web site creativity further affects his/her decision-making process and satisfaction (Horn & Salvendy, 2006a). This research verifies that web site creativity serves as a significant factor accounting for the visitor’s purchase intension. It should be noted that this research is build on an outcome-based approach rather than on the person, process, or press based perspectives (Zeng & Salvendy, 2008). Research in this field argues that not merely must any cognitive process identified as creative depend on its fruit, personal characteristics that mark creative individuals also have to be validated via those individuals’ final work. Still, the influence of environmental factors on creative web sites can only be investigated based on a reliable and valid measure of web site creativity (Amabile, 1982 and Zeng and Salvendy, 2008). Thirdly, the order of factors in terms of the percentage of total variance explained has significant implications. Both factor and regression analyses indicate that aesthetic appeal, interactivity, novelty and flexibility, and affect can explain over 50% of the total variance, which reflects the discussion in the background literature. By increasing the levels of interactivity, flexibility, and aesthetic appeal, web sites will become more fun, creative, and attractive to the web user, which leads to the user’s positive affect and ultimately shapes his/her attitude and behavior (Albert et al., 2004, Laviea and Tractinsky, 2004, Shneiderman, 2004 and Teoa et al., 2003). The practical utility of this study lies in that web site managers and developers can integrate these seven dimensions into web site design, management, and marketing in order to make their web applications and services more creative, engaging, and commercially viable. The seven-dimension model attained in this study provides web site designers with an effective way to enhance the level of web site creativity so as to boost the popularity of and gain from their web sites.