The effects of the machine- and person-interactivity transaction information on uncertainty perception

Online consumers are inherently assuming high level of transaction uncertainty since the consequence of the transaction cannot be perfectly predicted. This research explores how two kinds of seller-provided transaction information acquired by utilizing different IT artifacts affect the online consumers' transaction uncertainty. We also further investigate, when the target online sellers hold different level of reputation, how the two kinds of information can affect the uncertainty perception. Online survey is used to collect field data in China. The results reveal information only acquired through the personinteractivity IT artifacts can significantly affect consumers' uncertainty, we further find seller reputation moderates the causal relationship between the both kinds of information and the uncertainty perception, the internal mechanism of the both moderating effects are also be explored. ©2009 IEEE.