Patrali Chatterjee

Bio: Patrali Chatterjee is an academic researcher from Montclair State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Web banner & Brand equity. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 43 publications receiving 3451 citations. Previous affiliations of Patrali Chatterjee include Vanderbilt University & Rutgers University.

Commercial scenarios for the Web: opportunities and challenges

Abstract: The potential of the World Wide Web on the Internet as a commercial medium and market has been widely documented in a variety of media. However, a critical examination of its commercial development has received little attention. Therefore, in this paper we propose a structural framework for examining the explosion in commercial activity on the Web. First, we explore the role of the Web as a distribution channel and a medium for marketing communications. Second, we examine the factors that have led to the development of the Web as a commercial medium, evaluating the benefits it provides to both consumers and firms and its attractive size and demographic characteristics. Third, we discuss the barriers to commercial growth of the Web from both the supply and demand side perspectives. This analysis leads to a new classification of commercialization efforts that categorizes commercial Web sites into six distinct types including 1) Online Storefront, 2) Internet Presence, 3) Content, 4) Mall, 5) Incentive Site, and, 6) Search Agent. The first three comprise the “Integrated Destination Site,” and the latter three represent forms of “Web Traffic Control.” Our framework, argued in the context of integrated marketing, facilitates greater understanding of the Web as a commercial medium, and allows examination of commercial Web sites in terms of the opportunities and challenges firms face in the rush towards commercialization.

Online Reviews: Do Consumers Use Them?

Abstract: The use of the WWW as a venue for voicing opinions, complaints and recommendations on products and firms has been widely reported in the popular media. However little is known how consumers use these reviews and if they subsequently have any influence on evaluations and purchase intentions of products and retailers. This study examines the effect of negative reviews on retailer evaluation and patronage intention given that the consumer has already made a product/brand decision. Our results indicate that the extent of WOM search depends on the consumer's reasons for choosing an online retailer. Further the influence of negative WOM information on perceived reliability and purchase intentions is determined largely by familiarity with the retailer and differs based on whether the retailer is a pure-Internet or clicks-and-mortar firm. Managerial implications for positioning strategies to minimize the effect of negative word-of-mouth have been discussed.

Modeling the Clickstream: Implications for Web-Based Advertising Efforts

Abstract: In this paper, we develop an analytical approach to modeling consumer response to banner ad exposures at a sponsored content Web site that reveals significant heterogeneity in (unobservable) click proneness across consumers. The effect of repeated exposures to banner ads is negative and nonlinear, and the differential effect of each successive ad exposure is initially negative, though nonlinear, and levels off at higher levels of passive ad exposures. Further, significant correlations between session and consumer click proneness and banner exposure sensitivity suggest gains from repeated banner exposures when consumers are less click prone. For a particular number of sessions, more clicks are generated from consumers who revisit over a longer period of time, than for those with the same number of sessions in a relatively shorter timeframe. We also find that consumers are equally likely to click on banner ads placed early or late in navigation path and that exposures have a positive cumulative effect in inducing click-through in future sessions. Our results have implications for online advertising response measurement and dynamic ad placement, and may help guide advertising media placement decisions.

Online Reviews: Do Consumers Use Them?

Abstract: The use of the WWW as a venue for voicing opinions, complaints and recommendations on products and firms has been widely reported in the popular media. However little is known how consumers use these reviews and if they subsequently have any influence on evaluations and purchase intentions of products and retailers. This study examines the effect of negative reviews on retailer evaluation and patronage intention given that the consumer has already made a product/brand decision. Our results indicate that the extent of WOM search depends on the consumer’s reasons for choosing an online retailer. Further the influence of negative WOM information on perceived reliability and purchase intentions is determined largely by familiarity with the retailer and differs based on whether the retailer is a pure-Internet or clicks-and-mortar firm. Managerial implications for positioning strategies to minimize the effect of negative word-ofmouth have been discussed.

Are unclicked ads wasted? enduring effects of banner and pop-up ad exposures on brand memory and attitudes

Abstract: Do creative ad executions like large ad sizes and intrusive ad formats that enhance communication outcomes and clickthroughs immediately after ad exposure persist over time? In examining this question, we focus on the role of advertisement size (large vs. small) and ad exposure format (intrusive vs. voluntary) on immediate and delayed brand recall, ad recognition and brand attitude in web-based media. Voluntary exposure ad formats like banners and text ads are more likely to be cognitively avoided since it is an automatic, subconscious process that occurs in parallel with the browsing activity and does not require any behavioral action by the consumer. Intrusive ad formats like pop-ups that interrupt browsing activity and demand immediate response are more likely to be physically avoided by closing them. Prior research on preattentive processing and endurance of implicit/ explicit memory and memory for subgoals supports our findings that gains from using intrusive ads accrue when ad sizes are small and negative impact of intrusiveness decay over time.

Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments: Conceptual Foundations

Abstract: The authors address the role of marketing in hypermedia computer-mediated environments (CMEs). Their approach considers hypermedia CMEs to be large-scale (i.e., national or global) networked enviro...

Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and Flow Theory to Online Consumer Behavior

Abstract: In this study, we consider the online consumer as both a shopper and a computer user. We test constructs from information systems (Technology Acceptance Model), marketing (Consumer Behavior), and psychology (Flow and Environmental Psychology) in an integrated theoretical framework of online consumer behavior. Specifically, we examine how emotional and cognitive responses to visiting a Web-based store for the first time can influence online consumers' intention to return and their likelihood to make unplanned purchases. The instrumentation shows reasonably good measurement properties and the constructs are validated as a nomological network.A questionnaire-based empirical study is used to test this nomological network. Results confirm the double identity of the online consumer as a shopper and a computer user because both shopping enjoyment and perceived usefulness of the site strongly predict intention to return. Our results on unplanned purchases are not conclusive. We also test some individual and Web site factors that can affect the consumer's emotional and cognitive responses. Product involvement, Web skills, challenges, and use of value-added search mechanisms all have a significant impact on the Web consumer. The study provides a more rounded, albeit partial, view of the online consumer and is a significant steptowards a better understanding of consumer behavior on the Web. The validated metrics should be of use to researchers and practitioners alike.

Measuring the Customer Experience in Online Environments: A Structural Modeling Approach

Abstract: Intuition and previous research suggest that creating a compelling online environment for Web consumers will have numerous positive consequences for commercial Web providers. Online executives note that creating a compelling online experience for cyber customers is critical to creating competitive advantage on the Internet. Yet, very little is known about the factors that make using the Web a compelling experience for its users, and of the key consumer behavior outcomes of this compelling experience.Recently, the flow construct has been proposed as important for understanding consumer behavior on the World Wide Web, and as a way of defining the nature of compelling online experience. Although widely studied over the past 20 years, quantitative modeling efforts of the flow construct have been neither systematic nor comprehensive. In large parts, these efforts have been hampered by considerable confusion regarding the exact conceptual definition of flow. Lacking precise definition, it has been difficult to measure flow empirically, let alone apply the concept in practice.Following the conceptual model of flow proposed by Hoffman and Novak (1996), we conceptualize flow on the Web as a cognitive state experienced during navigation that is determined by (1) high levels of skill and control; (2) high levels of challenge and arousal; and (3) focused attention; and (4) is enhanced by interactivity and telepresence. Consumers who achieve flow on the Web are so acutely involved in the act of online navigation that thoughts and perceptions not relevant to navigation are screened out, and the consumer focuses entirely on the interaction. Concentration on the navigation experience is so intense that there is little attention left to consider anything else, and consequently, other events occurring in the consumer's surrounding physical environment lose significance. Self-consciousness disappears, the consumer's sense of time becomes distorted, and the state of mind arising as a result of achieving flow on the Web is extremely gratifying.In a quantitative modeling framework, we develop a structural model based on our previous conceptual model of flow that embodies the components of what makes for a compelling online experience. We use data collected from a largesample, Web-based consumer survey to measure these constructs, and we fit a series of structural equation models that test related prior theory. The conceptual model is largely supported, and the improved fit offered by the revised model provides additional insights into the direct and indirect influences of flow, as well as into the relationship of flow to key consumer behavior and Web usage variables.Our formulation provides marketing scientists with operational definitions of key model constructs and establishes reliability and validity in a comprehensive measurement framework. A key insight from the paper is that the degree to which the online experience is compelling can be defined, measured, and related well to important marketing variables. Our model constructs relate in significant ways to key consumer behavior variables, including online shopping and Web use applications such as the extent to which consumers search for product information and participate in chat rooms. As such, our model may be useful both theoretically and in practice as marketers strive to decipher the secrets of commercial success in interactive online environments.

Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication

Abstract: Managers are very interested in word-of-mouth communication because they believe that a product's success is related to the word of mouth that it generates. However, there are at least three significant challenges associated with measuring word of mouth. First, how does one gather the data? Because the information is exchanged in private conversations, direct observation traditionally has been difficult. Second, what aspect of these conversations should one measure? The third challenge comes from the fact that word of mouth is not exogenous. While the mapping from word of mouth to future sales is of great interest to the firm, we must also recognize that word of mouth is an outcome of past sales. Our primary objective is to address these challenges. As a context for our study, we have chosen new television (TV) shows during the 1999-2000 seasons. Our source of word-of-mouth conversations is Usenet, a collection of thousands of newsgroups with diverse topics. We find that online conversations may offer an easy and cost-effective opportunity to measure word of mouth. We show that a measure of the dispersion of conversations across communities has explanatory power in a dynamic model of TV ratings.