The impact of Internet interactivity and need for closure on consumer preference

The Internet is used by an ever-increasing number of people worldwide. However, there is little understanding of the interaction between Internet technology and the behavior of different human personality types. This article focuses on the impact of the need for closure on the desired level of interactivity of a given Website. For this experiment, four commercialized Websites were created: (1) flat with no hyperlinks and no time pressure; (2) flat with time pressure; (3) interactive with no time pressure; and (4) interactive with time pressure. All of the Websites contained identical information presented in different ways. The interaction between need for closure as a personality variable and as a situational variable and level of interactivity of the Website as a variable on consumer behavior was examined. A 2 (high need for closure vs. low need for closure)x 2 (time pressure vs. no time pressure)x 2 (interactive vs. non-interactive Website) between-subjects design was used. One hundred and eighty-two experienced Web surfers took part in the experiment, and were randomly assigned to one of the Websites. After surfing they completed a questionnaire about their level of satisfaction with the Website, their willingness to purchase the product offered there, and their wish to return to the Website. It was predicted that people with a high need for closure would prefer a Website with fewer hyperlinks, while people with a low need for closure would prefer a Website containing more hyperlinks. Results confirmed our predictions with regard to the conditions without time pressure. In contrast, when participants were under time pressure, the results were completely reversed: People with a low need for closure preferred the flat Website and those with a high need for closure preferred an interactive Website. The implications of the results on Website design are discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.