http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/35587/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37794/ 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z Online retailers significantly benefit when consumers use interactive decision aids (IDAs). In this study, we investigate how to best design messages that promote IDA use. Using an extended message framing perspective, we propose that messages about consumers' traditional action (searching) increase usage intentions more than messages about the new action (IDA use). Results from two experiments confirm that this holds across both high and low involvement categories and in particular when the traditional action frame is combined with a loss outcome. We also demonstrate that familiarity with the message's focal action mediates this effect. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25862/ 2011-04-01T00:00:00Z Interactive decision aids (IDAs) typically use concrete, feature-based approaches to interact with consumers. Recently, however, interaction designs that focus on communicating abstract consumer needs have been suggested as a promising alternative. This paper investigates how temporal distance moderates the effectiveness of these two competing IDA communication designs by its effect on consumers' mental representation of the product decision problem. Temporal distance is inherently connected to IDAs in two ways. Congruency between consumption timing (immediate versus distant) and IDA communication design (concrete versus abstract, respectively) increases the likelihood to accept the IDA's advice. This effect is also achieved by congruency between IDA process timing (immediate versus delayed delivery of recommendations) and IDA communication design (concrete versus abstract, respectively). We further show that this process is mediated by the perceived transparency of the IDA process. Managers and researchers need to take into account the importance of congruency between the user and the interface through which companies interact with their users and can further optimize IDAs so that they better match consumers' mental representations.