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본 연구는 온라인상에서의 개인화 서비스에 대한 사용자의 지각 요인으로서의 인지된 개인화(perceived personalization)를 중심으로 개인화의 수용 과정에 대한 이론적 이해를 진전시키고 사용자의 개인화 수용을 촉진하기 위한 시사점을 제시하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 구체적으로 본 논문에서는 심리학의 자극-유기체-반응(SOR; Stimulus-Organism-Response)모형과 스키마 이론(schema theory), 그리고 정보시스템 분야의 지능형 시스템 관련 연구에 근거하여, 개인화 수용에서의 인지된 개인화의 역할과 그 선행 요인들에 대한 이론적 모형을 제시하고, 인터넷 사용자를 대상으로 한 온라인 실험을통하여 실증 분석을 수행하였다. 본 연구의 주요 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 사용자의 인지된 개인화 수준이 높을수록 개인화 수용의도가 증가하며, 또한 인지된 개인화는 객관적인 개인화 수준과 개인화 수용의도와의 관계를 완전 매개한다. 둘째, 개인화의 과정 및 결과에 대한 사용자들의 이해는 인지된 개인화 수준을 증가시킴과 동시에 개인화 수용의도에 직접적인 영향을 미친다. 따라서 사용자의 인지된 개인화 수준과 개인화 수용의도의 향상은 객관적인 개인화 수준의 강화에의해서뿐만 아니라, 개인화 서비스에 대한 사용자들의 이해수준을 증가시킴으로써 이루어 질 수 있다. 셋째, 개인화 시스템에서 개인화 과정 및 결과에 대한 설명을 사용자들에게 제공함으로써, 사용자들의 개인화에 대한 이해를 증대시킬 수있다. 본 연구의 결과는 개인화 서비스의 성공적 확산을 위해서는 개인화 서비스 제공 시 개인화 수준에 대한 사용자의인지를 직접적으로 고려해야 함을 시사한다. 또한 개인화 과정과 결과에 대한 설명을 제공함으로써 사용자의 개인화에 대한 이해를 유도할 수 있으며, 이러한 이해의 향상을 통해 인지된 개인화 수준과 개인화 서비스 수용의도를 높일 수 있음을 의미한다.
Many online companies have installed various tools enabling them to provide personalized offerings and unique experiences to individual users based on their personal information. By offering a higher level of personalization with greater accuracy and on a wider range of product or service attributes, the companies are trying to improve their value propositions for their consumers, and accordingly increase profitability. However, linking personalization to profits can be challenging, if the firms do not understand psychological factors and subjective attributions that matter to the users when they consider the adoption of the personalization. For example, recent studies based on behavioral decision making have shown that customers perceive the level of fit between their preferences and personalized offerings differently even when the same personalized offerings are provided, depending on their involvement in the personalization process. Also it has been found that when a customer perceives a higher level of fit for the same personalized offering, she has a higher willingness to pay for the offering. These imply that there is a lack of congruency between the actual level of personalization and users’ perception and valuation of the personalization. Therefore, users’ subjective perception regarding personalization may play a critical role in the adoption of personalization services. To investigate the role of users’ psychological factors in the adoption of personalization, this article theoretically develops a conceptual model of personalization adoption with a focus on two psychological factors, perceived personalization and understanding of personalization. Grounded on SOR (Stimulus-Organism-Response) model and schema theory adapted to the peculiar features of personalization, we formulate six hypotheses describing the underlying mechanism of personalization adoption as follows. First, we identify the mediating role of perceived personalization in the relationship between actual level of personalization and intention to adopt personalization (Hypotheses 1 through 3). According to the SOR paradigm, an external stimulus (S) to the individual is transformed with an internal process (O), and both S and O (or only O sometimes) elicit(s) a response (R). By applying the paradigm into the case of personalization service adoption, the influence of actual level of personalization (S) on intention to adopt the personalization (R) is expected to be mediated by perceived personalization (O). Second, based on the schema theory and the literature on intelligent information systems,we hypothesize that valid and relevant explanation from a personalization system on the process and results of personalization can facilitate the user’s understanding of personalization (Hypothesis 4), which, in turn, can increase the user’s intention to adopt the personalization as well as her perceived personalization (Hypotheses 5 and 6). The proposed model is tested using data gathered from 211 Internet users through an online experiment. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of four recommendation systems on TV, which were generated based on the combination of two manipulation factors: the actual level of personalization (high vs. low) and the provision of explanations on the process and results of recommendation (provided vs. not provided). The two systems with the higher level of personalization recommended three TV models out of sixty-four models to each participant,based on the participant’s responses to eight questions regarding his or her lifestyle. On the other hand, thirty-two TV models and four questions were used for recommendations in the other two systems with the lower level of personalization. Independently of the personalization level, explanation about personalization process and results was provided in the two systems while it was not offered in the remaining two systems. Structural equations modeling using partial least squares validated the proposed model,suggesting the following main results. First, the user’s perceived personalization fully mediates the influence of the actual level of personalization on her intention to adopt personalization. Second, the user’s understanding of the personalization process and its results increases both the perceived personalization and the intention to adopt personalization. Finally, the understanding of personalization can be triggered by proper explanations from a personalization system on its personalization process and the results derived. The results of our study suggest that a personalization service firm should pay attention to users’ psychological factors. The firm need to focus on the perceived personalization of the users rather than the actual level of personalization it provides. Furthermore, it is a desirable strategy for the firm to provide each user with the reason for collecting personal information needed for personalization and the rationale behind the outcome of the personalization process. By doing so, the firm can help the users understand the personalization process and its results, thereby increasing perceived personalization level of the users and ultimately their intentions to adopt personalization.
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explanation, perceived personalization, understanding of personalization, adoption of personalization
