This study examined effects of structural and perceptual variables on
attitude toward websites. Data were collected from 311 consumers who
reviewed four hotel websites. The sites were structurally different in
terms of having high versus low number of features and also in terms of
informational versus transformational creative strategies. Involvement
and perceived interactivity were the two perceptual variables examined
in the study. Involvement with the subject of a site and the
subdimension of perceived interactivity that measured level of
engagement were the best predictors of attitude. Positive attitudes
were also associated with sites that took advantage of web-specific
features such as virtual tours and online reservations systems. A key
implication of this study is the need for advertisers and researchers
to reconsider advertising in the context of the web. Radio and
television required advertisers to adjust to the new concepts of buying
and selling time instead of space and of incorporating aural and visual
appeals in messages. The web demands that advertisers adjust to a new
medium that is not bound by either space or time and that has the
technical capability to involve and engage the consumer.This study was funded in part by grants from
the University of Tennessee Scholarly Activities Research Initiative
Fund (SARIF) and the Department of Advertising and College of
Communication at the University of Tennessee.