Factors of Information Credibility for an Internet Advice Site

Abstract

Information credibility is important to Internet advice site vendors because they primarily build a revenue stream based on how credible consumers consider the information on the website. Unless consumers believe the website’s information is credible, they are not likely to be willing to act on the advice. This paper reports on an empirical study of how individual differences and initial site impressions affect perceptions of website information credibility. Results confirm that most of the proposed individual difference and initial impression variables play an important role in how consumers view the credibility of an unfamiliar website. Implications are included regarding adapting websites to take into account initial site impressions and individual differences.