Behavioral Effects in Consumer Evaluations of Recommendation Systems

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how designers and marketers can promote the use of technologies aiding online consumers’ decisions. We examine the problem from two different viewpoints that highlight different strategies by which one can influence consumer behavior towards recommendation systems.
Overall, this dissertation contributes to the academic literature in a number of ways. Firstly, it offers a first account of the role of anticipated emotions in technology and RA acceptance. Focusing on technology itself, RA use and RA output, it also confirms that the presentation of alternatives at the output stage, as well as the decision strategy implemented by the recommendation system itself, can enhance one’s evaluation of an RA. At a minimum, our findings underscore that these elements need to be considered when designing decision support systems. Understanding the mechanisms through which consumers make technology choices is of great importance for marketing managers when they develop new technology products, services and marketing communication campaigns. Finally, the dissertation presents three actionable ways through which managers and designers can increase RA acceptance and evaluation.