A Theoretical Model and Empirical Results Linking Website Interactivity and Usability Satisfaction

Usability is a key component of websites that are commercially successful. Interactivity has been inconclusively linked to website usability. This study strengthens the theoretical understanding of how interactivity affects usability by measuring user satisfaction — a subconstruct of usability — across bookstore and e-card websites. We build on theoretical models from Liu and Shrum [17] and Khalifa and Liu [15]. Users were asked to perform tasks of varying levels of interactivity at bookstore and e-card websites. Measures were obtained for the user’s expectations of, desires for, and satisfaction with the websites. Results indicate that interactivity is successfully able to increase website satisfaction. Finally, implications for practitioners, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are addressed.