Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

RESEARCH ARTICLE

A TASK-BASED MODEL OF PERCEIVED

WEBSITE COMPLEXITY1

By: Sucheta Nadkarni
College of Business Administration
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0491
U.S.A.
snadkarn@unlnotes.unl.edu
Reetika Gupta
College of Business and Economics
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA 18015
U.S.A.
reg205@lehigh.edu
Abstract
In this study, we propose that perceived website complexity
(PWC) is central to understanding how sophisticated features
of a website (such as animation, audio, video, and rollover
effects) affect a visitor’s experience at the site. Although pre-
vious research suggests that several elements of perceived
complexity (e.g., amount of text, animation, graphics, range
and consistency of webpages configuring a website, ease of
navigating through it, and clarity of hyperlinks) affect impor-
tant user outcomes, conflicting results yielded by previous
1 experience at the website is satisfying. For example,
Deborah Compeau was the accepting senior editor for this paper. Sue
Brown was the associate editor. Dov Te'eni, Vicki McKinney, and Alex
Ramirez served as reviewers.
Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the INFORMS Conference,
San Antonio, TX, 2000; American Marketing Association Educators’
Conference, Orlando, FL, 2002; and the OCIS Division of the Academy of
Management National Conference, Seattle, WA, 2003.
research have created an important debate: Does complexity
enhance or inhibit user experience at a website? In this
study, we draw on the task complexity literature to develop a
broad and holistic model that examines the antecedents and
consequences of PWC. Our results provide two important
insights into the relationship between PWC and user out-
comes. First, the positive relationship between objective
complexity and PWC was moderated by user familiarity.
Second, online task goals (goal-directed search and experi-
ential browsing) moderated the relationship between PWC
and user satisfaction. Specifically, the relationship between
PWC and user satisfaction was negative for goal-directed
users and inverted-U for experiential users. The implications
of this finding for the practice of website design are
discussed.
Keywords: Perceived website complexity, user perception,
website usability
Introduction
Businesses spend billions of dollars annually to add a wide
range of sophisticated features, such as animation, audio,
video, and rollover effects, to improve users’ experience with
their websites. However, these features are of value only
when online users find them interesting and when the user
Brynjolfsson and Smith (2000) find that by providing efficient
search features at a website, online retailers can charge a
price-premium to time-sensitive customers. In contrast, when
website features inhibit information search, users do not buy
products at the website, resulting in loss of sales for online
firms (Hof 2001). Moreover, Kotha, Rajgopal, and Venkata-

MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 501-524/September 2007 501

Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
chalam (2004) argue that website design layout can provide
online retailers cost advantages by reducing the cost of
acquiring new customers and the need for expensive offline
support as customers navigate the site and help themselves.
In other words, website features that provide users a satisfying
experience can act as differentiators in a cluttered market
place and can provide online retailers with a sustainable com-
petitive advantage (Kotha et al. 2004). Thus, understanding
how the information cues presented at a website affect user
experience is critical for the success of online companies.
We propose that perceived website complexity (PWC) is
central to understanding how these information cues affect a
user’s experience at the website. There is evidence that
elements of PWC affect the degree to which users find a
website appealing and satisfying (Geissler et al. 2001;
Stevenson et al. 2000). This implies that by effectively
managing a website’s level of complexity, a firm can
differentiate its website from other sites and produce a
compelling navigation experience for users. Drawing on
Wood’s (1986) framework of task complexity, we define
PWC as a function of three facets: component (density and
dissimilarity of visual features such as text, graphics, video,
and animation presented at a website), coordinative (range of
topics covered by the website and interrelationships between
these topics), and dynamic (ambiguity and clarity of action-
outcome relationship in a hyperlink).
Research suggests that several elements of PWC (e.g., amount
of text, animation, graphics, range and consistency of
webpages configuring a website, ease of navigating through
it, and clarity of hyperlinks) affect important user outcomes
such as perceived web-information and web-system quality
(McKinney et al. 2002), perceived ease of use (Agarwal and
Venkatesh 2002), communication effectiveness (Geissler et
al. 2001), and satisfaction (Stevenson et al. 2000). However,
a particularly important debate remains unresolved. Results
of some studies suggest that simple websites are easy to use
and effective (Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002; Shneiderman
1998), whereas others suggest that complexity increases the
richness of information presentation and thereby enhances
user satisfaction (Palmer 2002). In addition, other studies
suggest an inverted-U relationship between website com-
plexity and communication effectiveness (Geissler et al. 2001;
Stevenson et al. 2000). Because different studies present con-
flicting findings, it is unclear whether complexity enhances or
inhibits user experience at a website. We attempt to address
this question by theorizing that user familiarity and online
task goals play important roles in determining how PWC
affects an important user outcome, user satisfaction.
The model of PWC developed in our study clarifies the
relationship between complexity and user outcomes in two
502 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
ways. First, we distinguish between objective website com-
plexity and PWC. Our study shows that the relationship
between objective website complexity and PWC is moderated
by user familiarity. Second, our study demonstrates that
online task goals—goal-directed (focused on information
gathering to achieve a predetermined end goal) and experien-
tial (focused on information browsing for recreation and navi-
gational experience) (Hoffman and Novak 1996; Schlosser
2003; Te'eni and Feldman 2001)—are important in under-
standing the relationship between PWC and user satisfaction.
We show that the PWC–user satisfaction relationship is
different for goal-directed and experiential users as the two
online task goals induce users to adopt separate mechanisms
in interacting with the online environment. An important
implication of our results is that web designers need to create
websites that can accommodate different levels of complexity
in order to maximize the satisfaction of both goal-directed and
experiential users. Taken as a whole, the comprehensive set
of antecedent and outcome relationships of PWC examined in
this study can provide useful insights for web evaluation and
design.
Theory Development
Definition of Perceived Website Complexity
We use Wood’s (1986) comprehensive framework of task
complexity to define perceived website complexity. This
task-based framework is especially important for the online
environment, where users visit websites mainly to fulfill task
goals such as goal-directed search and experiential browsing
(Hoffman and Novak 1996; Novak et al. 2003). Wood
contends that information cues (pieces of information about
the stimulus that individuals must process in performing a
task) are central to understanding perceived complexity. For
online users, websites are the primary medium through which
they interact with the information cues in the online environ-
ment to achieve their online task goals. Because websites
represent a major task stimulus for online users (Agarwal and
Venkatesh 2002; Venkatesh and Agarwal 2006; Hoffman and
Novak 1996; McKinney et al. 2002; Palmer 2002),
information cues (e.g., text, animation, hypertext structure,
and navigation tools) presented at a website are central to
online users’ perceptions of task complexity.
Wood specifies perceived complexity (TCt) as a linear com-
bination of three dimensions that capture distinct elements of
the information cues that make up a task stimulus: component
(TC1), coordinative (TC2), and dynamic (TC3):
TCt = "TC1 + $TC2 + (TC3
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
Perceived component complexity refers to the users’ per-
ceptions of the density and dissimilarity of information cues
in the task stimulus. A task stimulus with dense and dis-
similar information cues is perceived as more complex than
one with sparse information cues. For a website, dense cues
are represented by long text, many images, and colors;
whereas dissimilarity is reflected in the use of varied formats
(e.g., text, graphics, and animation) such as dissimilar
graphics and dissimilar information items on a webpage.
Perceived coordinative complexity describes users’ percep-
tions of the range of and interdependencies among the dif-
ferent information clusters (groups or chunks of related
topics) in the task stimulus. The wider the range of informa-
tion clusters and interrelationships among the clusters, the
greater the perceptions of coordinative complexity. For a
website, high coordinative complexity is reflected in a wide
range of topics covered by the website, high number of
webpages configuring a website, and many paths linking
webpages.
Perceived dynamic complexity refers to the ambiguity
(number of different possible interpretations of the same piece
of information) and uncertainty (clarity of action–outcome
relationships) that individuals face in performing a task.
Ambiguous hyperlinks and search procedures and unpre-
dictable click streams can increase the dynamic complexity of
a website.
Previous literature posits that simultaneous sources of
complexity, from all of the elements of a stimulus, are percep-
tually integrated to produce a general level of perceived
complexity (Berlyne 1960; Wood 1986). Thus, we treat PWC
as a unified aggregate construct and test our model for the
aggregate PWC rather than for individual facets of PWC
(component, coordinative, and dynamic).
Objective Complexity and
Perceived Complexity
The literature on task complexity distinguishes between
objective and perceived complexity of a task stimulus
(Campbell 1988; Earley 1985; Te'eni 1989, 2001; Wood
1986). The objective complexity is defined by the number
and configuration of information cues in the stimulus itself,
whereas perceived complexity, which is based on the indi-
vidual’s perception of the stimulus, focuses on the person–
stimulus interaction. The web evaluation literature also treats
objective and perceived complexity as distinct constructs
capturing different facets of websites. Objective complexity
is defined by a universal set of design characteristics that
encompass the technological aspects of a website (e.g., pre-
sentation formats, multimedia and search tools, hierarchical
menu structure, and download time for webpages) and has its
roots in the system design literature (Bucy et al. 1999; Nielsen
2000; Schubert and Selz 1998; Shneiderman 1998). In
contrast, perceived complexity is rooted in the human–
computer interaction (HCI) literature and captures users’
personal interpretation of the website and their interaction
with it (e.g., how uncertain and ambiguous users find the
hyperlinks, how dense and dissimilar users find the infor-
mation cues presented at a website) (Agarwal and Venkatesh
2002; McKinney et al. 2002; Te'eni 1989, 2001). The central
tenet of the perceived complexity literature is that users may
perceive the same level of objective complexity differently
because of their different backgrounds and experience.
PWC and Web Evaluation Outcomes
Web evaluation studies suggest that elements of component
(e.g., amount of text, animation, and graphics on webpages),
coordinative (e.g., range and consistency of webpages con-
figuring a website), and dynamic complexity (e.g., ease of
navigating through it and clarity of hyperlinks) that make up
PWC determine important user outcomes such as web-
information and web-system quality (McKinney et al. 2002),
perceived ease of use (Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002; Davis
1989; Venkatesh 2000; Venkatesh et al. 2003), communica-
tion effectiveness (Geissler et al. 2001), and satisfaction
(Stevenson et al. 2000). However, the varied interpretations
resulting from these studies have produced controversy as to
whether PWC increases or hinders user satisfaction at a
website. One stream of research suggests that PWC increases
the richness of information presentation, thereby providing a
rich and satisfying experience (Hall and Hanna 2004; Nack et
al. 2001; Palmer 2002). Other research suggests that PWC
creates confusion and frustration in users, resulting in a
negative impact on key user outcomes such as perceived ease
of use (Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002; Shneiderman 1998;
Venkatesh 2000; Venkatesh et al. 2003). A third stream
suggests an inverted-U relationship between PWC and user
outcomes, such that low levels of PWC create boredom for
users, whereas high levels of PWC create confusion and con-
flict for users (Geissler et al. 2001; Stevenson et al. 2000).
Thus, this research posits that medium levels of PWC maxi-
mize user satisfaction by arousing users’ curiosity and
engaging them in the navigation process without excessively
burdening them.
We address this theoretical conflict regarding website com-
plexity by developing a broad and holistic model that inte-
grates objective website complexity, PWC, user familiarity,
online task goals, and user satisfaction. We discuss this
model in the following section.
MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 503
Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
User
Familiarity
Online task goals:
Goal-directed vs. H3, H3a, H3b
Experiential
Figure 1. Theoretical Model of Perceived Website Complexity
Hypotheses
Drawing on the task complexity literature (Campbell 1984,
1988; Campbell and Gingrich 1986; Early 1985; Wood 1986),
we develop a model (shown in Figure 1) that examines the
antecedents and consequences of PWC. We propose that
(1) PWC mediates the relationship between objective com-
plexity and user satisfaction, (2) user familiarity moderates
the relationship between objective complexity and PWC, and
(3) online task goals moderate the relationship between PWC
and user satisfaction. Thus our model addresses how user
familiarity and online task goals determine the varying rela-
tionships between objective complexity, PWC, and user
satisfaction. We discuss each of these propositions in the
following sections.
Objective Website Complexity and PWC
The task complexity literature contends that perceived com-
plexity mediates the relationship between objective com-
plexity and task outcomes. Thus, it is perceived and not
objective complexity that directly affects user outcomes.
Objective complexity of a task influences the cognitive load
associated with performing the task—the information pro-
cessing effort that individuals need to spend in order to see
and understand information cues in the task stimulus
(Campbell 1984, 1988; Campbell and Gingrich 1986; Early
504 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
Objective
Website
Complexity
H1
H2
Component
Complexity
PWC Coordinative
Complexity
Dynamic
Complexity
User
Satisfaction
1985; Lindsay and Norman 1977; Wood 1986). This cogni-
tive load translates into the perceived complexity of the
information cues in the task environment.
When individuals face information cues, they spend cognitive
resources to encode the cues and decide how to respond to
these cues (Lindsay and Norman 1977). Objectively complex
cues require significantly more cognitive resources to encode
and respond to than simple cues. Because users have limited
cognitive resources, the excessive information processing
demands of objectively complex cues may create cognitive
overload. The notion of cognitive load (Lindsay and Norman
1977) is consistent with Miller’s (1956) seminal work on “the
magical number seven, plus or minus two,” which suggests
that human working memory can hold up to seven bits of
information, plus or minus two, at one time. This limitation
of human information processing in short-term memory
requires that displays be kept simple by minimizing anima-
tion, wild background patterns, and contrasting text colors;
that multiple page displays be consolidated; and that window-
motion frequency be reduced (Nielsen 1994; Shneiderman
1998). Thus, simple layout, clear content, and straightforward
navigation procedures reduce the cognitive strain on users.
When users experience less cognitive strain in interacting
with a website, they are likely to find it less complex.
Hypothesis 1: Objective website complexity will be
positively related to PWC.
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
User Familiarity
The task complexity literature suggests that the relationship
between objective complexity and perceived complexity is a
function of the individual’s familiarity with the task stimulus
and/or task domain (Campbell 1988; Earley 1985; Huber
1985; Jacoby et al. 1971; Keisler and Sproull 1982; Taylor
1981). Familiarity increases individuals’ tolerance of com-
plexity by (1) allowing them to better understand inter-
relationships between elements of the task stimulus and
(2) helping them to distinguish relevant from irrelevant
information in the task stimulus.
Individuals familiar with the task stimulus or domain have
superior knowledge of a given task stimulus than others have,
which allows them to develop a better understanding of the
relationships between different elements of that task stimulus
(Cox and Cox 1988; Hong et al. 2002; Russo and Johnson
1980). Individuals familiar with the task stimulus or domain
can encode new information in the task stimulus more effi-
ciently than other individuals can. Results of recent studies
support the conclusion that the richer store of knowledge
possessed by users familiar with the web contributes to a
clearer and better understanding of the content, organization,
and browsing procedures of the website or the products
offered than is possible for individuals who are unfamiliar
with the web (Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002; Cox and Cox
2002). Thus, for the same level of objective website com-
plexity, users familiar with the websites or products available
at the website may experience less PWC than unfamiliar
users.
A critical facet of processing task-related information is the
ability to select relevant information while ignoring infor-
mation irrelevant to the task at hand (Berlyne 1970; Larkin et
al. 1985). Individuals familiar with a task stimulus or task
domain may use their domain knowledge to limit their atten-
tion to task-related information, thus minimizing their
cognitive efforts toward redundant information at a website.
Therefore, we expect that familiarity will moderate the
relationship between objective complexity and PWC.
Hypothesis 2: User familiarity will moderate the
relationship between objective website complexity
and PWC such that, for the same level of objective
website complexity, the PWC ratings of users
familiar with the website or products available at a
website will be lower than those of users not familiar
with the website or products available at a website.
PWC, Online Task Goals, and User Satisfaction
The concept of user satisfaction occupies a central position in
information systems as well as web evaluation research.
Information systems studies have shown that when users are
satisfied with a system, they are more likely to use the system
(Delone and McLean 1992). User satisfaction is also central
to website evaluation research (Palmer 2002; Te'eni and
Feldman 2001). When users experience satisfaction at a
website, they are likely to return to the website (Hoffman and
Novak 1996; Te'eni and Feldman 2001), purchase products at
the website, and recommend the website to others (McKinney
et al. 2002). Conversely, when users are dissatisfied with the
website, they are likely to develop a negative impression of
the website, which is likely to hurt the overall image of the
website and online sales through the website. In other words,
user satisfaction is critical to website success. Thus, we chose
user satisfaction as the outcome in our model of PWC.
We posit that online task goals will play a significant role in
determining the relationship between PWC and user satis-
faction with the website. Researchers have classified online
task goals into two distinct categories: goal-directed and
experiential (Hoffman and Novak 1996; Novak et al. 2003;
Schlosser 2003; Te'eni and Feldman 2001). A goal-directed
activity consists of using the Internet for its informative value
and purchase utility, such as directly searching for specific
information to accomplish a task or to reduce purchase uncer-
tainty, whereas an experiential goal refers to browsing the
website in a relatively unstructured manner for recreational
purposes. Research suggests that goal-directed and experien-
tial task goals induce users to adopt separate mechanisms as
they interact with the online environment (Hoffman and
Novak 1996; Schlosser 2003), implying that PWC may inter-
act with online task goals to modify users’ satisfaction with
the website.
Goal-directed users have a clearly definable goal hierarchy,
putting more effort into reaching the end goal rather than into
undirected exploration. Goal-directed users consider chal-
lenge a deterrent to their main effort, as they do not want to
expend unnecessary effort in processing challenging infor-
mation (Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2001). As the complex cues
in the environment shift goal-directed users’ attention away
from their end-goals, medium and high levels of PWC may
pose a challenge to these users. Therefore, we predict that the
distraction experienced by goal-directed users at medium and
high levels of PWC may decrease their satisfaction at the
website. On the other hand, goal-directed users will experi-
MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 505
Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
ence satisfaction at low levels of PWC, characterized by few
information cues and clusters, and by clear, unambiguous
hyperlinks. Such a relatively uncluttered and easily navigable
environment facilitates the efficient scanning of goal-relevant
information.
In contrast, experiential users are not guided by a specific end
outcome. They adopt a spontaneous stance, focusing on the
process of exploration (Schlosser 2003; Wolfinbarger and
Gilly 2001). Because of this focus, they seek a higher level
of challenge and put greater effort into processing challenging
information. Accordingly, we predict that experiential users
will derive satisfaction from websites with medium levels of
PWC, whose multitude of cues and clusters and ambiguous
hyperlinks provide them with the stimulating and challenging
environment that they seek. This supports the stimulus
complexity view (Berlyne 1960), which posits that medium
levels of complexity provide the ideal scenario to users.
Experiential users will not be satisfied with low-PWC
websites because these do not provide the engagement and
challenge that they need in order to enjoy the browsing
process. However, at very high levels of PWC, experiential
users will experience confusion and conflict, and ultimately
low satisfaction levels, as they lack the resources needed to
process the excessive number of cues and clusters and the
completely ambiguous information.
We therefore expect the relationship between PWC and user
satisfaction to be different for goal-directed and experiential
users.
Hypothesis 3: Online task goals will moderate the
relationship between PWC and user satisfaction.
Hypothesis 3a: There will be a negative relationship
between PWC and user satisfaction for goal-directed
users.
Hypothesis 3b: There will be an inverted-U relation-
ship between PWC and user satisfaction for experi-
ential users.
Research Methods
Research Design and Data Collection
The design of this study comprises two phases: pilot and
testing. In the pilot phase, we developed the PWC measures
and conducted preliminary testing of the reliability and
validity of our construct measures. In the testing phase, we
506 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
used the construct measures developed in the pilot phase to
test our hypotheses. We describe each phase briefly in the
following paragraphs.
Pilot Phase
Because we drew on measures of PWC from different
research areas, the pilot phase was important to ensure that
these measures were relevant to our online website context
and to allow for modification of the wording of measurement
items, making them meaningful to online users. We devel-
oped the PWC scale in the pilot phase through a series of
steps. First, on the basis of a thorough search of the website
evaluation, HCI, and information systems literatures, we
identified existing measurement items that fit the definitions
of component, coordinative, and dynamic complexity. This
literature search yielded 22 items—15 web-specific and 7 not
specific to websites (Cox and Cox 1988; Daft and Lengel
1986; Kieras and Polson 1985).
Second, we conducted a free-association task (Aaker 1997) to
ensure that the measurement items comprehensively captured
our specified constructs and they were meaningful to people
(Aaker 1997; Bagozzi 1980). We asked 40 subjects (mean
age = 23, female = 30 percent) to write down complexity
characteristics that first came to mind when thinking about the
three websites that they most often visited. We used the
specific characteristics yielded by the free-association task to
recast the 22 items in a language meaningful to website users.
Third, we conducted a Q-sort analysis to qualitatively validate
the dimensionality of the 22 items (Anderson and Gerbing
1991; Bagozzi 1980). We provided three professors and two
web designers the definitions of component, coordinative, and
dynamic complexity and the 22 measurement scales and
asked them to sort the scales by the construct (W = 0.81).
Fourth, we pilot tested the questionnaire on a voluntarily
recruited pool of 50 undergraduates and 30 web experts (web-
site designers and researchers) using 6 websites representing
high (2), medium (2), and low (2) levels of objective com-
plexity (which were a subset of websites used in the testing
phase) and online task goals (goal-directed and experiential)
similar to the ones used in the testing phase of the study. We
did not provide any time limit for task completion in the pilot.
However, we asked the pilot subjects to answer the total time
that they typically spend on a website for both searching and
browsing. The pilot subjects suggested that they spend
between 20 and 25 minutes at the website for both browsing
and searching, which is consistent with the findings of pre-
vious web evaluation studies (e.g., Agarwal and Venkatesh
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
2002). After completing the pilot questionnaire, each respon-
dent reviewed all questions for content, clarity, meaning-
fulness, and the ability to measure the construct (Bagozzi
1980). We also used item-total correlation and discrimination
based on the t-statistic to eliminate redundant items (Churchill
1979). Items with low item-total correlations (two items:
0.25, n.s. and 0.19, n.s.) and nonsignificant t-statistic (same
two items: 1.07, n.s. and 1.24, n.s.) between the ratings of
respondents above 74th percentile and those below the 26th
percentile were eliminated. Based on these results of the pilot
test, we retained 20 items for the testing phase of the study.
In the pilot phase, we also conducted a preliminary analysis
of the dimensionality and validity of other construct measures
before using them in the testing phase. In the exploratory
factor analyses on a sample of 80 subjects, consistent with
previous literature, the user familiarity construct yielded two
dimensions (factor 1: eigen value = 3.24, factor loadings =
0.82, 0.86; factor 2: eigen value = 2.84, factor loadings =
0.84, 0.88) explaining 79 percent of the variance. Consistent
with our conceptualization of PWC, the 20 items of PWC
yielded three dimensions—component (eigen value = 4.51),
coordinative (eigen value = 3.67), and dynamic (eigen value
= 2.98)—that explained 84 percent of the variance. The
factor loadings on each factor ranged from 0.82 to 0.93.
Finally, consistent with McKinney et al. (2002), the user
satisfaction scale yielded a single factor (eigen value = 3.95)
explaining 78 percent of the variance in the pilot study. The
results provide preliminary evidence of validity for our
construct measures.
Testing Phase
In the testing phase, we collected data from 332 under-
graduate students at a major eastern (170) and a major
midwestern (162) university to test our hypotheses. Most of
the subjects (67 percent) were 18 to 24 years old and 43
percent of the subjects were female. All subjects had over 3
years of experience in using the Internet, and their weekly
Internet use ranged from 4 to 10 hours. To ensure that results
were not idiosyncratic to student subjects, we replicated the
study with subjects drawn from the population at large,
collecting data from 120 nonstudent subjects (male: 75,
female: 45) belonging to the age groups 9 to 14 years (40)
and 30 to 60 years (80). Subjects, who regularly visited the
library in the local community, comprised a cross-section of
people from different educational backgrounds and had an
average age of 42. We used the unpaired t-test (n = 452) to
determine whether there were significant differences in our
study variables between the two samples. There were no dif-
ferences in the results obtained with the two samples (com-
ponent complexity: t = 1.14, n.s.; coordinative complexity:
t = 1.05, n.s.; dynamic complexity: t = 0.97, n.s.; product
familiarity: t = 1.18, n.s.; website familiarity: t = 1.03, n.s.;
user satisfaction: t = 0.95, n.s.). Therefore, we combined the
two samples to test our model (n = 452).
We used the same procedures for all subjects. Student
volunteers were recruited for the study by circulation of a
notice describing the experiment to students from the sections
of a senior-level required course in business policies and of a
junior-level required introductory course in marketing (parti-
cipation rate: 89 percent). Nonstudent volunteers were
recruited by circulating the notice to visitors of a local com-
munity public library (participation rate: 78 percent). We
collected the data in a computer laboratory setting for all
subjects by using Dell computers with Windows XP, and
comparable hard drive space and RAM.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two online task
goal conditions (goal-directed and experiential) and one of
three objective complexity conditions (high, medium, and
low). Each participant was given an instruction sheet that
explained the specific task assigned (goal-directed or
experiential) and that instructed him/her to visit the site for 20
minutes (based on previous web evaluation studies and pilot
results), to complete the task assigned, and to complete the
questionnaire (which had been placed in a sealed envelope
under the instruction sheet) after completing the task.
Objective Website Complexity Conditions
We used a series of steps to select websites representing high,
medium and low levels of objective complexity. First, we
randomly selected from Yahoo! Directories 150 websites
representing 10 product categories: travel, auction, entertain-
ment, news or media, sports, computer hardware components,
office software, auto, astronomy, and fertilizers. Using mul-
tiple stimuli (e.g., websites) to represent the treatment cells
decreases the likelihood of skewed results and potential
confounds and increases the robustness and generalizability
of the results (Aaker 1997; Cox and Cox 2002).
Based on a thorough review of the web design literature, we
identified 13 objective complexity metrics that capture the
underlying technological characteristics of website design
(hypertext structure and presentation) and that are relevant to
component (e.g., percentage of white space, graphics count
and size, word count, color count), coordinative (e.g., number
of webpages, average depth of pages, average internal and
external, and same page links on the webpage, and coefficient
of variation in the number of presentation forms such as text,
MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 507
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graphics, and video), and dynamic complexity (e.g., average
pop-up advertisements per webpage, average webpage down-
load time, number of support tools such as site map, search
option and help links) (Bucy et al. 1999; Nielsen 2000;
Palmer 2002; Schubert and Selz 1998; Shneiderman 1998).
We acknowledge that objective complexity measures do not
have a perfect mapping with measures of component, coordi-
native, and dynamic complexity because, as discussed earlier,
objective complexity and PWC have roots in different streams
of literature and encompass different assumptions about com-
plexity. However, we chose objective complexity measures
that were relevant to the three facets of PWC. For example,
the objective complexity measures of “pop-up advertise-
ments,” “page download time,” and “support tools” are rele-
vant to dynamic complexity; the higher the number of pop-up
advertisements and page download time, the higher the
uncertainty (dynamic complexity) associated with the links on
the webpages. On the other hand, the higher the support tools
available at a website, the lower the uncertainty associated
(dynamic complexity) with the links on the webpage.
We used a web metrics software package to calculate the 13
complexity measures. We then computed an aggregate mea-
sure of objective complexity2 (coefficient " = 0.79) based on
the mean z scores of the 13 variables. Such formative treat-
ment of objective complexity is consistent with the web
design literature cited above. We then classified the 150
websites into high (top 33.33 percentile: 50 websites),
medium (middle 33.33 percentile) and low (bottom 33.33
percentile) objective complexity levels.
Thirty experienced web designers rated the degree to which
each of the ten objective metrics makes the website complex
(seven-point scale: not complex at all, 1; neutral, 4; highly
complex, 7) based on “universal web design principles” to
define robust factor levels. Each website was rated by three
designers. There was a high correlation between the objective
metrics and designers’ ratings (ranging from 0.59, p < 0.001
to 0.91, p < 0.0001) for the 150 websites.
We selected the final websites in two stages. First, the web-
sites’ level of complexity were categorized as high, medium,
and low based on objective metrics as well as on ratings of the
designers. Second, websites were chosen so that the number
2
We also conducted partial least squares analyses in which we measured
objective website complexity as follows, which is in line with our definition
of PWC: TCt = "TC1 + $TC2 + (TC3. We then classified the 48 websites into
high (top 33.33 percentile), medium (middle 33.33 percentile), and low
(bottom 33.33 percentile). Because this classification of websites based on
PLS analyses matched completely the classification based on the objective
complexity measure based on the mean z-scores of the 13 metrics, we do not
include this analysis in the paper.
508 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
of websites in each complexity level was equal for the three
categories. This process yielded a total of 48 websites—16 in
each complexity level. The 48 websites represented eight
product categories: travel, auction, news or media, sports,
computer hardware components, office software, auto, and
astronomy. We developed a categorical variable of objective
website complexity (high, medium, and low) rather than con-
tinuous individual measures to ensure an adequate number of
subjects per treatment cell (Churchill and Surprenant 1982).
We used ANOVA and mean-difference tests to confirm that
there was a significant difference in aggregate objective
complexity metrics measured across the three levels (F =
19.21, p < 0.001).
Online Task Goal Conditions
We designed the two online task goal conditions—goal-
directed and experiential—based on existing, valid manipu-
lations (Novak et al. 2003; Schlosser 2003). Those assigned
to a goal-directed task condition were instructed to go to their
site with “the goal of efficiently finding something specific
within that site” (Schlosser 2003, p. 188). Those assigned to
the experiential task goal condition were instructed to “have
fun, looking at whatever you consider interesting or enter-
taining.” What to look for was not specified, so that goal-
directed and experiential users would have similarly hetero-
geneous information needs. Thus, both goal-directed and
experiential users could adapt their experience to match their
own information or entertainment needs (Schlosser 2003).
To ensure that users viewed the website in the light of the
assigned online task goal, we designed a scale of manipu-
lation check for the two task conditions based on codes
constructed by Novak et al. (2003). We show the items in the
manipulation check scale in Table 1. Goal-directed users
reported a significantly lower score (M = 2.71) than experi-
ential users (M = 3.80; F = 29.17; p < .001) on the mani-
pulation scale, suggesting that they were more focused and
had an identifiable purpose. The scale was an agree–disagree
scale where 1 suggested “high goal-directedness” and 7 “low
goal-directedness.”
Measures
Perceived Website Complexity
We used the 20-item scale developed in the pilot phase to
measure PWC. We show the 20 items and the supporting
literature in Table 1 and illustrate them graphically in
Appendix A .
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

Table 1. Theoretically Derived Measurement Scales of Component, Coordinative, and Dynamic

Complexity
Construct Theoretical
Definition Dimensions Website Complexity Measures of Each Theoretical Dimension Source of Items
Component Similarity/ 1. The clarity between text and images was High (1) – Low (7) Geissler et al. 2001
Complexity: dissimilarity 2. The images (or graphics) on the webpages were Similar (1) – Stevenson et al. 2000
The degree to (Berlyne 1960) Dissimilar (7)
which users 3. The information items on the webpages were Similar (1) –
find the form Dissimilar (7)
and content
cues at the Visual density 4. The text on the webpages was Short (1) – Long (7)
individual (Berlyne 1960; 5. The webpage backgrounds were Not visually dense at all (1) –
webpages Campbell 1988) Visually Dense (7)
visually dense 6. The graphics on the webpages were Not visually dense at all
and dissimilar (1) – Visually dense (7)
7. The layout of the webpages was Not visually dense at all (1) –
Visually dense (7)
Coordinative Range 1. The range of the alternative links to find information was Broad Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002
Complexity: (Campbell 1988; (1) – Narrow (7) Daft and Lengel 1986
Users’ percep- Wood 1986) 2. The choice of both image and text clicks was Broad (1) – Ha and James 1998
tions of the Narrow (7) Kieras and Polson 1985
range of and 3. The variety of information clusters (groups of related McKinney et al. 2002
the degree of information) was Low (1) – High (7) Nielsen 2000
connectedness Palmer 2002
among the Connectedness/ 4. The links at the website were Logical (1) – Illogical (7) Schubert and Selz 1998
information Interrelationships 5. The layout across the webpages was Uniform (1) – Not Shneiderman 1998
clusters at a (Steinmann Uniform at all (7) Steuer 1992
website 1976) 6. The backgrounds across the webpages were Uniform (1) – Not
Uniform at all (7)
7. The information clusters (groups of related information) were
Interrelated (1) – Not at all interrelated (7)
Dynamic Ambiguity 1. Procedures to browse the websites were Unclear (1) – Clear Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002
Complexity: (Campbell 1988) (7) McKinney et al. 2002
Users’ percep- 2. Hyperlinks on the website were Unambiguous (1) – Oinas-Kukkonen 1998
tions of ambi- Ambiguous (7) Palmer 2002
guity of hyper- 3. Information presented on the websites was Unambiguous (1) – Steuer 1992
links and Ambiguous (7) Te’eni 2001
uncertainty of
the relationship Action-outcome 4. Information on the succeeding links from the initial page was
between the Uncertainty Predictable (1) – Unpredictable (7)
hyperlink and (March and 5. Individual links took me to desired webpages: Always (1) –
the ensuing Simon 1958) Never (7)
webpages 6. Information presented on the website was Uncertain (1) –
Certain (7)
Objective 1. Percentage of white space: Percentage of a page not taken Bucy et al. 1999
Website up by text and graphics Geissler et al. 2001
Complexity 2. Graphics count: The mean number of graphics on the Nielsen 1994, 2000
webpages Palmer 2002
3. Graphics size: The mean size of the graphics on the Perrow 1986
webpages Schubert and Selz 1998
4. Word count: The mean number of words on the webpages Shneiderman 1998
5. Color count: The mean number of colors on the webpages Took 1990
6. Average number of different presentation forms used on a
webpage (text, graphics, video, audio, animation)

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Table 1. Theoretically Derived Measurement Scales of Component, Coordinative, and Dynamic

Complexity (Continued)
Construct Theoretical
Definition Dimensions Website Complexity Measures of Each Theoretical Dimension Source of Items
7. Average internal, external and same page links on the
webpage
8. Number of webpages configuring a website
9. Average depth of pages: The average number of pages from
a home page to a page with no more forward links or only
links external to the website
10. Coefficient of variation in the number of different presentation
forms (e.g., text, graphics, video, audio, animation) used
across webpages
11. Average pop-up advertisements per webpage
12. Average webpage download time
13. Number of support tools (e.g., site map, search option, help
links)
Familiarity Product 1. My knowledge of the product/s served by the website is: Very Cox and Cox 1988, 2002
familiarity Low (1) – High (7) Hong et al. 2002
2. I have used the products served by the website: Very often (1)
– Never (7)

Website 3. My knowledge of the website is: Very High (1) – Low (7)
familiarity 4. I have visited the website: Never (1) – Very often (7)
Online Task Goal-directed When I was at the XX website….. Novak et al. 2003
Goal and Experiential 1. I had a distinct identifiable purpose: Strongly agree (1) –
Manipulation Strongly disagree (7)
Check 2. I was looking up specific information: Strongly agree (1) –
Strongly disagree (7)
3. I was very focused: Strongly agree (1) – Strongly disagree (7)
4. I was absorbed in finding specific information: Strongly agree (1)
– Strongly disagree (7)
5. I was clicking often and went to many different webpages:
Strongly agree (1) – Strongly disagree (7)
6. I was absorbed in seeing where I could go next: Strongly agree
(1) – Strongly disagree (7)
7. I was randomly surfing through the website: Strongly agree (1)
– Strongly disagree (7)
User 1. After using this website, I am: Very dissatisfied (1) – Very McKinney et al. 2002
Satisfaction satisfied (7)
2. After using this website, I am: Very displeased (1) – Very
pleased (7)
3. Using this website made me: Frustrated (1) – Contented (7)
4. After using this website, I feel: Terrible (1) – Delighted (7)
5. After using this website, I will: Never recommend it to my friends
(1) – Strongly recommend it to my friends (7)
6. After using this website, I will: Never use it again (1) – Most
likely use it again (7)

510 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007

 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
Appendix A1 illustrates websites with high and low perceived
component complexity based on visual density and dis-
similarity. The website with low component complexity has
sparse information cues (use of fewer graphics and colors)
presented in a single format (text only and content of the
items is related), whereas the one with high component com-
plexity has visually dense information cues (long text, many
graphics, and colors) presented in different formats (use of
text, graphics, and video; dissimilar graphics; dissimilarity of
content items on the same webpage—movie trailer, cooking,
news, weather, directories).
Appendix A2 illustrates websites with high and low perceived
coordinative complexity based on the range of information
clusters and the interrelationships between them. The coordi-
natively simple website includes few information clusters
(e.g., top stories, world, domestic country, business, science
technology, and sports) with few interrelationships between
information clusters (e.g., few click choices in that only head-
lines can be clicked, uniformity in layout across webpages).
On the other hand, the coordinatively complex website covers
a broad range of information clusters (e.g., more news topics,
more external links to domestic and international news
sources) and many interrelationships between information
clusters (e.g., more click choices—both headlines and photos
can be clicked, layout across webpages is not uniform).
Appendix A3 demonstrates the ambiguity and uncertainty
with elements of perceived dynamic complexity. In Appendix
A3, icons that resemble the shopping carts used in real stores
allow users to clearly interpret the hyperlink, based on their
experiences in a real store, resulting in low levels of perceived
ambiguity with the hyperlink. In contrast, icons that resemble
“normal bags” or a “line of interlocked shopping carts” may
produce confusion and multiple interpretations of what a
hyperlink represents, creating high levels of perceived ambi-
guity associated with the link. Similarly, in Appendix A3, by
clicking on the “Chicago Bears@Green Bay packers at
Lambeau field” link, users expect to reach a webpage where
they can place a bid for these specific tickets, as is shown in
the certain link. However, in the case of the uncertain link,
when a user reaches an external webpage (Joe’s Green Bay
Packers’ corner) that does not allow him/her to place the bid,
the individual action-outcome expectancy is not met. This
increases users’ perception of uncertainty associated with this
hyperlink.
The final design of the questionnaire, including clarity and
specification of instructions, choice of rating scales, reverse
coding and sequencing of items, was based on suggestions to
reduce method bias (Torangeau 1999; Williams and Anderson
1994).
User Familiarity
The literature has identified two measures of familiarity:
knowledge/expertise and exposure (Cox and Cox 2002; Hong
et al. 2002; Jacoby et al. 1971; Johnson and Russo 1984;
Russo and Johnson 1980). We measured product familiarity
by the user’s knowledge of the product and frequency of
product use and we measured website familiarity by the user’s
knowledge of the website and frequency of visits to it. Based
on previous research and results of the pilot study, we defined
user familiarity as a higher order factor comprising two
dimensions: product familiarity and website familiarity (Law
and Wong 1998).
User Satisfaction
We adapted the six-item scale of user satisfaction developed
by McKinney et al. (2002) (shown in Table 1). This scale is
especially useful for our study for three reasons. First, it was
developed specifically for websites, which is the focus of our
study. Second, it measures users’ overall satisfaction with the
website rather than their satisfaction with specific attributes
of the website. Third, the psychometric properties of this
scale indicated promising validity and reliability in a previous
study (McKinney et al. 2002) as well as in our pilot study.
Control Variables
We controlled for several variables that may serve as alterna-
tive explanations of variance in PWC and user satisfaction.
First, a potential alternative explanation of PWC and user
satisfaction is initial likeability. Grush (1976) suggests that
likeability of initially liked stimulus tends to improve with
exposure, whereas that of initially disliked stimulus declines.
We also controlled for the users’ liking of the products served
by the website. For example, users who are movie enthusiasts
are likely to find a movie site usable regardless of website
complexity (perceived or objective) and user familiarity.
Thus, in our empirical analyses, we controlled for the initial
liking of the website and the products it serves. Because the
two measures were highly correlated (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), we
created a composite measure of initial liking.
We also controlled for four individual demographics (gender,
age, education, and Internet experience) that have been shown
to affect users’ perceptions of and attitudes toward computer-
related technologies in general and websites specifically.
Several HCI and web evaluation studies have shown that
males and females interact differently with, and have different
attitudes toward, computer-related technologies in general
MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 511
Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
(Harrison and Rainer 1992; Wilder et al. 1985) and websites
in particular (Venkatesh and Agarwal 2006), and these dif-
ferences may lead to differences in perceptions of website
complexity and user satisfaction. Studies have also shown
that younger users hold more positive attitudes toward com-
puters than do older users (Harrison and Rainer 1992;
Venkatesh and Agarwal 2006), which may lead to differences
in perceptions of website complexity and user satisfaction
between older and younger users. Several HCI studies have
found that education is positively related to favorable com-
puter attitude and negatively related to computer anxiety
(Harrison and Rainer 1992; Igbaria and Parasuraman 1989).
Thus, users with higher education are likely to be more
tolerant of complexity and find the websites more satisfying
than users with lower education levels. Finally, because
Internet experience positively affects attitudes toward web-
sites and anxiety in navigation (Hong et al. 2002), experi-
enced Internet users are likely to be more tolerant of com-
plexity and find complex websites more satisfying than less
experienced users.
Data Analyses
We used partial least squares to analyze the data (Chin 1998;
Venkatesh and Morris 2000). The categorical measures of
objective website complexity, online task goals, and the inter-
action variables in our model violate the multivariate
normality required by maximum likelihood estimation. PLS
is particularly useful for our study because it is robust to non-
normal data distribution (Chin 1998).
We used the measurement variables to generate first order
factor scores (objective complexity, product familiarity, web-
site familiarity, component complexity, coordinative com-
plexity, dynamic complexity, and user satisfaction). We esti-
mated second order factor scores for PWC and user
familiarity using the repeated indicators method based on the
hierarchical component model suggested by Wold (1981).
This method is especially suited for our study because it can
estimate formative indicators such as those of PWC and user
familiarity and works best when the number of indicators is
approximately equal for each construct (which is the case for
the subconstructs of both PWC and user familiarity) (Chin et
al. 2003).
Before estimating the structural models, we created three
latent interaction variables (LIVs): objective complexity ×
familiarity, PWC × online task goals, and PWC² × online task
goals. First, to reduce inflation in path coefficients, we stan-
dardized and centered the indicators of each construct (Chin
512 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
1998). Then, in line with the work of Chin et al. (2003), we
represented LIVs by creating all possible products from the
two set of indicators. Finally, we used the LIV, objective
website complexity × familiarity, to estimate the interaction
effect of familiarity and we used the LIVs, PWC × online task
goals, and PWC² × online task goals, to estimate the inter-
action effect of online task goals in the structural model (Chin
et al. 2003; Kenny and Judd 1984).
Results
Assessment of Measures
The descriptive statistics of the constructs are shown in
Table 2. As mentioned earlier, results of unpaired t-tests sug-
gested no significant differences between the student and the
nonstudent samples.
We assessed the reliability of individual items by inspecting
the loadings of the items on their corresponding construct
(Chin 1998) and their internal consistency values (Fornell and
Larcker 1981). As shown in Table 3, all measures satisfied
requirements for reliability (reliability greater than 0.70). The
internal consistency values for all constructs (Table 3) exceed
the 0.70 guideline that Nunnally (1978) recommends.
We assessed the discriminant validity of the first-order con-
structs by assessing their cross-loadings on other constructs.
The range of cross-loadings shown in Table 3 is considerably
lower than the corresponding factor loadings. These results
support the discriminant validity of all first order construct
measures.
For the second-order factor of PWC, the structural coeffi-
cients of component (0.85), coordinative (0.83), and dynamic
complexity (0.75) were considerably higher than the recom-
mended value of 0.70 (Chin 1998). The two subdimensions
of product (0.87) and website (0.81) familiarity also loaded
highly on the second-order factor, user familiarity. The inter-
factor correlations (component–coordinative: 0.35; compo-
nent–dynamic: 0.37; coordinative–dynamic: 0.34) were con-
siderably lower than the structural coefficients of PWC.
Similarly, the inter-factor correlations between website and
product familiarity (0.45) were lower than the structural
coefficients of user familiarity. Collectively, these results
provide evidence of reliability and validity for the higher
order factors.
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics and Cross-Sample Differences in Study Constructs

Descriptive Statistics
Undergraduate Sample Library Sample Unpaired t-test
(n = 332) (n = 120) (n = 452)
Constructs Mean SD Mean SD t-value
1. Component website complexity 4.05 1.89 4.12 1.95 1.14
2. Coordinative website complexity 4.21 1.75 4.15 2.01 1.51
3. Dynamic website complexity 4.29 1.94 4.32 1.76 0.79
4. Product familiarity 4.22 1.55 4.17 1.63 1.01
5. Website familiarity 4.11 1.73 4.24 1.88 0.86
6. User satisfaction 4.54 1.92 4.43 2.17 0.97

Table 3. Loadings, Cross-Loadings, and Reliability of First-Order Factors

Range of Factor Reliability
Items Factor Loadings Cross-Loadings (n = 452)
1. Component website complexity (COMP) 0.87
COMP1 0.88 0.21 – 0.32
COMP2 0.89 0.25 – 0.39
COMP3 0.85 0.19 – 0.29
0.24 – 0.35
COMP4 0.90 0.21 – 0.37
COMP5 0.87 0.17 – 0.41
COMP6 0.83 0.25 – 0.44
COMP7 0.91 0.28 – 0.36
2. Coordinative website complexity (COOD) 0.92
COOD1 0.85 0.21 – 0.39
COOD2 0.89 0.16 – 0.42
COOD3 0.82 0.25 – 0.40
0.28 – 0.37
COOD4 0.89 0.22 – 0.41
COOD5 0.81 0.18 – 0.33
COOD6 0.89 0.15 – 0.42
COOD7 0.84 0.17 – 0.32
3. Dynamic complexity (DYN) 0.85
DYN1 0.82 0.29 – 0.35
DYN2 0.85 0.22 – 0.38
0.27 – 0.43
DYN3 0.81
0.18 – 0.29
DYN4 0.79 0.25 – 0.36
DYN5 0.83 0.20 – 0.32
DYN6 0.88 0.33 – 0.45
4. Product Familiarity (PFAM) 0.89
PFAM1 0.91 0.15 – 0.40
PFAM2 0.87 0.22 – 0.38
5. Website Familiarity (WFMA) 0.84
WFAM3 0.85 0.29 – 0.42
WFAM4 0.82 0.23 – 0.32
6. User Satisfaction (SAT) 0.92
SAT1 0.88 0.18 – 0.39
SAT2 0.85 0.24 – 0.43
0.21 – 0.39
SAT3 0.84
0.26 – 0.33
SAT4 0.87 0.19 – 0.31
SAT5 0.89 0.24 – 0.36
SAT6 0.91 0.28 – 0.42
Because they are products of other items, indicators for interaction terms are typically not included in a confirmatory factor analysis of the measure-
ment model. Their inclusion would violate assumptions about the item’s independence (Yang Jonson 1998).

MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 513

Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
Assessment of Structural Model3
The intercorrelations among our study constructs are shown
in Table 4, whereas the results of our PLS analyses are shown
in Table 5. We discuss these results in the following sections.
Antecedents of PWC
Table 5 presents the results for the antecedents of PWC.4
None of the control variables were significantly related to
PWC (R² = 0.09). Objective website complexity (B = 0.31,
p < 0.001) had a positive relationship with PWC, supporting
hypothesis 1. Familiarity (B = –0.22, p < 0.05) had a negative
relationship with PWC. The significant negative interaction
terms of objective website complexity × familiarity (B =
–0.27, p < 0.001) suggests that the lower the familiarity, the
higher the PWC for a given level of objective website com-
plexity. These results support H2. Figure 2 depicts these
relationships graphically for familiar and unfamiliar users
(split on the median rating: 4).The graphs indicate that there
are no differences in slopes of familiar and unfamiliar users
between low and high complexity levels, indicating no inter-
action effects of familiarity. However, there are differences
in the slopes of familiar and unfamiliar users in moving from
low to medium levels of PWC and from medium to high
levels of PWC. This suggests that the interaction effects of
familiarity are driven by medium levels of PWC.
Outcomes of PWC
We tested the mediating effect of PWC between objective
website complexity and user satisfaction in two separate
models. In the first model, we tested the direct effect of
objective website complexity on user satisfaction. The results
of this analysis are shown in Part B of Table 5. There is an
inverted-U relationship between objective website complexity
and user satisfaction as is indicated by the significant negative
objective website complexity square term (B = –0.16, p <
0.05). Moreover, the significance of the objective website
complexity square × online task goals suggests that online
task goals moderate this inverted-U relationship (B = –0.22,
p < 0.05).
3
We conducted PLS analyses separately for each dimension of PWC: com-
ponent, coordinative, and dynamic complexity. The results of each indi-
vidual dimension of PWC were consistent with the overall model of PWC.
4
We compared the full model including interactions (objective website
complexity × familiarity) with the model without the interaction term. The
variance explained increased significantly by adding the interaction term
()R² = 0.14, p < 0.001).
514 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
Second, we tested the full model of objective website com-
plexity, PWC, online task goals, and user satisfaction,5 which
is shown in Part C of Table 5. The results show that once the
PWC variables are entered in the model, the effect of objec-
tive complexity on user satisfaction becomes insignificant,
confirming that objective website complexity influences user
satisfaction through PWC. The negative PWC² term (B =
–0.17, p < 0.05) suggests an overall inverted-U relationship
between PWC and user satisfaction. The significant negative
interaction term—PWC² × online task goals (B = –0.32, p <
0.001)—confirms the moderating effect of online task goals
in the relationship between PWC and online task goals, sup-
porting H3. This moderating effect is depicted graphically in
Figure 2; a negative linear relationship is seen between PWC
and user satisfaction for experiential users, and an inverted-U
relationship between PWC and user satisfaction for goal-
directed users. These results support H3a and H3b.
Discussion
This research was motivated by an interest in examining how
and why PWC affects the user outcomes in an online environ-
ment. To this end, we developed and tested a holistic model
comprising objective website complexity, user familiarity,
PWC, online task goals, and user satisfaction. Specifically,
by focusing on user familiarity and online task goals, we
attempted to resolve the theoretical debate regarding the
nature of the relationship between complexity and user out-
comes. Not only does our model synthesize and integrate
research on complexity, it extends this body of work by
clarifying how PWC affects user satisfaction. Our results pro-
vide two important insights into the relationship between
PWC and user outcomes. First, the positive relationship
between objective complexity and PWC was moderated by
user familiarity. Second, online task goals moderated the
relationship between PWC and user satisfaction. Specifically,
the relationship between PWC and user satisfaction was nega-
tive for goal-directed users and inverted-U for experiential
users. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications
of these results in the following sections.
Limitations
Limitations that circumscribe the interpretation of our
findings must be acknowledged. First, our conceptualization
5
Similarly, we compared the full model including the online task goals ×
PWC interaction with the model without this interaction. The variance
explained increased significantly ()R² = 0.12, p < 0.001).
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

Table 4. Intercorrelations among Study Constructs

Intercorrelations (n = 452)
Constructs 1 2 3 4 5
1. Objective Complexity —
2. PWC 0.30*** —
3. User Satisfaction 0.24* 0.25* —
4. User Familiarity –0.07 –0.21* –0.22 —
5. Online Task Goals 0.09 –0.32*** –0.19 0.08 —
*p < 0.05 **p < 0.01 ***p < 0.001

a
Table 5. PLS Results
PWC
Parameter Estimate (Standard Error)
A. Objective Website Complexity, Familiarity, and PWC (n = 452)
b
Control Variables
R² 0.09
Model Variables:
R² 0.25
Objective Website Complexity 0.31*** (0.09)
Familiarity –0.22* (0.07)
Objective Website Complexity × Familiarity –0.27*** (0.04)
c
B. Objective Website Complexity, Online Task Goals, and User Satisfaction (n = 452)
Model Variables:
R² 0.17
Objective Website Complexity 0.23* (0.11)
Objective Website Complexity² –0.16* (0.05)
Online Task Goals 0.12 (0.02)
Objective Website Complexity × Online Task Goals 0.19* (0.02)
Objective Website Complexity² × Online Task Goals –0.22* (0.06)
C. Objective Website Complexity, PWC, Online Task Goals, and User Satisfaction (n = 462)
Model Variables:
R² 0.23
Objective Website Complexity
Objective Website Complexity 0.12 (0.07)
Objective Website Complexity² –0.09 (0.05)
Online Task Goals 0.11 (0.08)
Objective Website Complexity × Online Task Goals 0.08 (0.04)
Objective Website Complexity² × Online Task Goals –0.17 (0.07)
PWC
PWC 0.28*** (0.07)
PWC² –0.17* (0.04)
Online Task Goals 0.13 (0.02)
PWC × Online Task Goals 0.27** (0.02)
PWC² × Online Task Goals –0.32*** (0.05)
a
We also ran a PLS model for each dimension of PWC (component, coordinative, and dynamic complexity) to confirm that the results of the overall
model were consistent with each dimension of complexity. Because we found that the results for each individual dimension of PWC were consistent
with the overall results for the PWC construct, we do not report the results in the paper.
b
Control variables include age, education, gender, computer use in hours per week, computer use in years, and initial satisfaction with the website.
c
Online task goals were represented by a dummy variable: Goal-directed = 0 and Experiential = 1.
*p < .05 **p < 0.01 ***p < 0.001

MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 515

Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
Objective Website Complexity, Familiarity, and PWC
Unfamiliar
7 Familiar
6
PWC
4 4
3 3
2 2
1
Low Medium High
Objective Website Complexity
Figure 2. Moderating Effects of Familiarity and Online Task Goals in the Antecedent and Consequence
Relationships of PWC
of PWC was based on Wood’s (1986) framework of per-
ceived task complexity, which we chose because it compre-
hensively captured the user–task interactions that are impor-
tant to defining complexity in an online environment. Thus,
our findings are unique to this specific view of complexity.
We acknowledge that there are other frameworks that define
complexity differently. For example, complexity has been
defined by the cognitive load—the number of resources it
uses (Kramer et al. 1983; Moray 1977; Sheridan 1980;
Welford 1978). Although, we developed the relationships
between objective website complexity and PWC on the basis
of these cognitive load arguments, we did not define PWC as
cognitive load. Examining our model of PWC by using this
definition of complexity may yield some important additional
insights.
Second, we created three levels (high, medium, and low) for
our objective website complexity condition so that we had an
adequate number of subjects in each treatment cell (Churchill
and Surprenant 1982). However, because of this categoriza-
tion, we could not assess whether the 16 websites in each
category affected this result. In other words, the 16 websites
in each treatment cell could represent diverse characteristics
that could affect the results differently. Although, we used a
number of websites to achieve representativeness, we do
understand that collapsing the websites to create three levels
could have created a within-cell bias (Kirk 1982).
Third, we examined complexity at an aggregate level to
determine task outcomes, which is consistent with previous
516 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
PWC, Online Task Conditions, and User Satisfaction
7 Goal-directed
6 Experiential
User Satisfaction
5
1
Low Medium High
PWC
literature on perceived complexity (Berlyne 1960; Wood
1986). However, it would be interesting in future research to
investigate the effects of each dimension of PWC (com-
ponent, coordinative, and dynamic) on user satisfaction and
the underlying processes driving these effects.
Finally, goal-directed and experiential categories represent
just one way of classifying online task goals. Other classifi-
cations of online task goals, such as transacting (purchasing)
and communicating (chatting) (Hoffman and Novak 1996),
may yield different results. A related task classification per-
tains to task uncertainty (e.g., routine or nonroutine) (Gal-
braith 1973; Perrow 1967, 1986). The antecedent and conse-
quence relationships of PWC may play out differently for
routine tasks (repetitive, predictable, well understood) and
nonroutine tasks (unique or ever changing situations, difficult
to understand).
Theoretical Implications and Future Research
Our finding that user familiarity moderated the positive rela-
tionship between objective complexity and PWC is consistent
with the task complexity literature (Campbell 1988; Earley
1985; Huber 1985; Jacoby et al. 1971; Taylor 1981). Users
with relatively low familiarity experienced higher PWC than
users with higher familiarity for a given level of objective
complexity (shown in Figure 2). This difference points out
the importance of user familiarity in managing complexity in
an online environment. Although the role of user familiarity
 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
has been emphasized in literature on information systems use
(Harrison and Rainer 1992), website evaluation research has
largely ignored the role of familiarity (an exception is Hong
et al. 2002). Our results suggest that future studies should
incorporate user familiarity in testing relationships among
web evaluation constructs in an online environment.
The second and more important set of results explains how
PWC affects user satisfaction and reconciles the conflicting
findings regarding this relationship in previous literature. The
PWC–user satisfaction relationship was negative for goal-
directed users. Because goal-directed users focus on the end-
goal and minimize their cognitive effort on the navigation
process, medium and high levels of perceived complexity
distract and frustrate them. In contrast, the inverted-U rela-
tionship between PWC and user satisfaction for experiential
users suggests that experiential users are as frustrated with
low levels of PWC as they are with high levels of PWC; their
satisfaction is maximized at medium levels of PWC. Thus,
our results address the theoretical conflict on whether com-
plexity inhibits (Agarwal and Venkatesh 2002; Shneiderman
1998; Venkatesh 2000; Venkatesh et al. 2003) or improves
(Hall and Hanna 2004; Nack et al. 2001; Palmer 2002) posi-
tive user outcomes. Our results suggest that the nature of the
relationship between PWC and user satisfaction is too com-
plex to be explained completely by a single stream of
research. The different explanations of the PWC–user out-
come relationship are not contradictory; rather, they are com-
plementary in explaining this relationship for goal-directed
and experiential users; complexity inhibits user satisfaction
for goal-directed users, whereas medium levels of complexity
enhance user satisfaction for experiential users.
Although we did not empirically test the specific processes
underlying the differences in the PWC–user satisfaction
relationships for goal-directed and experiential users, our
results do raise an interesting question: Are the processes
underlying the PWC–user satisfaction relationships different
for goal-directed and experiential users? For example, the
negative relationship between PWC and user satisfaction sug-
gests that cognitive processing mechanisms may be driving
this relationship for goal-directed users. In contrast, the
inverted-U relationship between PWC and user satisfaction
for experiential users suggests that cognitive processing
mechanisms may not completely explain how PWC affects
user satisfaction for these users. The cognitive processing
mechanisms gain prominence at high levels, but not at low
and medium levels, of PWC. Other important aspects may be
critical in explaining this relationship for experiential users:
curiosity and interest (Berlyne 1960), which capture the fun,
entertainment, and enjoyment value of the website (Hall and
Hanna 2003; Nack et al. 2001). To maximize the satisfaction
of experiential users, web designers may need to manage the
complexity of the website by balancing the cognitive pro-
cessing elements with the fun and entertainment value.
Empirical examination of this contention is an important area
for future research.
Our findings on the nature of the PWC–user satisfaction rela-
tionship also contribute to the literature on online task goals
(Moe 2003; Schlosser 2003). Online task goal studies have
examined how these goals affect the search procedures and
shopping behaviors that users adopt. However, these studies
have ignored the role of the perceived attributes of the online
task environment, such as complexity, in the relationship
between user task goals and user outcomes. Our research
shows that the fit between PWC and online task goals is an
important predictor of user satisfaction.
Further, the importance of PWC–online task goal fit sug-
gested by our study raises an interesting question: How do
goal-directed and experiential users cope with PWC? Based
on Gollwitzer’s (1999) theory of implementation intentions,
there could be two strategies of coping with complex environ-
ments: complexity-resolving and task-facilitating. As the
mechanisms driving PWC–user outcome relationships are
different for goal-directed (cognition-based processes) and
experiential (affect-based processes) users, these two cate-
gories of users may adopt different strategies to cope with
complexity in an online environment. For example, when
goal-directed users face complexity, they may employ
complexity-resolving strategies by relying on navigational
aids (e.g., tool bars, search function) available at the site to
relieve some of the cognitive load that they experience. On
the other hand, experiential users who face complexity may
be motivated to resolve this complexity on their own and may
adopt task-facilitating strategies where they continue their
exploration in an undirected manner. Examining these
differences in coping strategies adopted by goal-directed and
experiential users is an important area of future research.
Practical Implications
The results of our study have some important practical impli-
cations. We found that user satisfaction for goal-directed
users was maximized at low levels of complexity, whereas
experiential users found medium levels of complexity most
satisfying. This suggests that to maximize user satisfaction,
web designers must provide different levels of complexity to
goal-directed and experiential users.
Web designers can create distinct websites with low and
medium levels of complexity in many ways. One way would
be to provide two hyperlinks for entering the site: Text Only
and Rich Graphics. Clicking on the Text Only hyperlink
MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 517
Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity
could take goal-directed users to a simple website with few
graphics, little or no animation, few colors, clearly spelled out
text hyperlinks, limited information clusters, and an open
layout with adequate blank space. In contrast, experiential
users could click on the Rich Graphics hyperlink to access a
complex but visually rich website with a wide range of inter-
related information categories, rollover effects in navigation,
and audio and video formats, which could provide experien-
tial users a stimulating and enjoyable experience at the web-
site. A second way to create websites with different levels of
complexity is to provide users a login option by registering at
the website. Registered users could access more visually rich,
complex, and expanded information at the website than non-
registered users. Because goal-directed users are focused on
the goal, they would prefer to search a simple website without
logging in, whereas experiential users could use the log-in
option to access a medium complexity website.
As web designers provide higher levels of complexity to
experiential users (than goal-directed users), web designers
can use methods such as consumer profiling (Raghu et al.
2001) to identify experiential users, to determine the range of
information that may be of interest to them, and to allow
experiential users to better manage perceived complexity at a
website. Current technology available on the web such as
dynamic HTML, applets, and cookies provides the means to
acquire an individual customer profile. By use of these
applications, customers can be profiled in many ways,
including registration forms completed by users, history of
users’ actions, and current user activity. For example, a site
that sells both compact disks and books may profile a user
who always goes to the compact disks sections and never to
the book section as a music lover. The site could then provide
this user a wide range of music-related information, including
hyperlinks to external musical sites in a variety of formats
such as audio, graphics, and video. Although such richness
of form and content cues increases the complexity of the
website, it will also make the website more enjoyable to
experiential users because the information content matches
the interests of the users.
Web designers may also be able to use the type of products
served at the website to determine whether their user pool is
typically goal-directed or experiential, and may be able to
adjust the complexity of the website to maximize the satis-
faction of their users. Recent research seems to suggest that
the nature of website experience desired by users may depend
on whether the online product is a search product (products
that can be evaluated based on prepurchase or pre-use
information) or an experience product (products that can be
evaluated only by using or buying the product) (Schlosser
2003). As users can gain complete information on search
products before purchase (Wright and Lynch 1995), websites
518 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007
containing search product domains (e.g., a university website
with information about application procedures, specific
majors, etc.) will attract goal-directed users seeking detailed
information about the product to facilitate their decision
making. Conversely, at websites containing experiential pro-
ducts (e.g., music, wine), users are not looking at information
cues at a website to influence their purchase decision.
Instead, such websites will attract experiential users who are
seeking to enjoy the process of browsing. Because the pro-
duct category at a website determines the type of users (goal-
directed or experiential) that visit the website, web designers
can use this information to discern the optimum level of
complexity to be provided at these websites to maximize the
satisfaction of their users.
Conclusions
The overarching goal of this paper was to enrich our under-
standing of how website complexity affects important user
outcomes. We proposed perceived website complexity as a
key construct in understanding how the use of sophisticated
website design features such as animation, audio, video, and
rollover effects affect user satisfaction. The results suggest
that online task goals (goal-directed and experiential) deter-
mine how PWC affects user outcomes. Our study represents
a first step in integrating disparate explanations to develop a
more complete understanding of the complex relationships
between PWC and user outcomes. Given the undeniable
reality that complexity is inevitable as web design technology
becomes more sophisticated and as the scope of online acti-
vities expands, research that sheds light on how to manage
and adjust this complexity to maximize user outcomes has
value to both theory development and practice. Several ave-
nues for future work remain, and we hope that this study will
stimulate others to extend this line of research further.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Professor Deborah Compeau (senior
editor), the associate editor, and three anonymous reviewers for their
valuable comments and suggestions, which helped improve this
paper considerably.
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About the Authors
Sucheta Nadkarni is an associate professor of Management at the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She received her Ph.D. from the
University of Kansas. Her research focuses on cognitive issues in
strategic decision making and management information systems.
She has published or has papers forthcoming in journals such as
Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business
Studies, Organization Science, and MIS Quarterly.
Reetika Gupta is an assistant professor of Marketing at Lehigh
University. She received her Ph.D. from Baruch College, City
University of New York. Her research interests include consumer
behavior in interactive consumption environments and consumer
learning of new products.
MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 521
Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

Appendix A
Graphical Illustrations of Sale Items
A1. Illustration of Component Complexity
Low Component Complexity High Component Complexity

Finance Music Shopping Mail MyGoget it! Messenger

ChooseSearchCategory: WEB l Picturesl DirectorylLocal l NEW!l Newsl Products

•Advanced
SearchtheWeb: Goget it!! Search •Preferences
Web Pictures Groups News About Go get it!! More>>

Advanced Search
Preferences
Language Tools

Search Go Get It!! I feel good!

What’sin News 9:00am, wedNov10

ReplayAnimation-AdFeedback
FunThings >>Funthings
PreviewLindonHogan's'That ‘80sShow'debut
•Trailer Premiere: DavidBeaconin'Thetreeman'
•LennyRepptalksparenthoodand'Noland'
•Meet DRIVEBuddingArtist RonnieMcFee
Hohan'sTVDebut
•Tasteechocolatecompanystartedanewplant
•Hurricaneshit somepartsof theworld
•Therehasbeendomesticunrest against current
government inacountryin Asia
•Tourismindustryprospersdomestically
•Currencyfluctuationscontinuetoplague
international business
•President resignsinamajor countryintheworld
•Markets:
Dow+0.3%·Nasdaq-0.3%StockQuotes:

InvogueLog–What everyoneislookingfor >>MoreInvogue Log

What’stheweather like 9:00am, wedNov10
Great waytobeginyour morning. Digintoourtopbreakfast
searches! More...
Enter U.S. Cityor ZipCode
TopBreakfastSearches

1. BedandBreakfast 3. Breakfast Recipes Go

2. Breakfast at Tiffany's 4. TheBreakfast Club
»Findworldwideweather

Wow!! Onlinedirectory >>MoreGoget it!! Onlinedirectory Savelocationonthispage

Arts Business Computers Education Entertainment Health About Goget it!!

News Recreation Reference Regional Science Society

522 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007

 Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

A2. Illustration of Coordinative Website Complexity

Linked Page

Pre vious Home Help Ne xt

Web Pict ures Gr ou ps News Abo u t G o ge t it !! More >>

NEWS PAGE
Tastee chocolate
company started a new
T op Stories plant
Tastee chocolate company opened its new plant
W orld in California. This plant employs 1,000 full time
employees and is located Applecounty.
D omes tic C ountry Tasteeinvested a tfotal of 20 million dollars and
the company expects to produce over 200,000
Bus iness units of chocolate a month
More>>
Sc ienc e/Tec hnology
Hurricanes hit some
Sports parts of the world

Home Page S ome countries inS outhAmerica were hit by

some powerful hurricanes which destroyed
several houses along the coastline. The local
government dispatched approximately 2000

Low Coordinative
rescue workers to affected areas and allocated 1
million dollars to helpin the reconstruction
process.
More>>
Sear ch Go Get It!!

Domestic unrest against

Complexity current government in an

Asian country
There were several demonstrations and strikes
against the local government in anA siancountry.
50 people were injured and no casualties were
reported. The government officials continued their
negotiations with theleaders of the demonstrating

Previous Home Help Next organization to restore peace.

More>>

Web Pictures Groups News About Go get it!! More>>

Linked Page
Advanced Search
Preferences
Language Tools

Search Go Get It!! I feel good!

Top Stories
NEWS PAGE
Global
Tastee chocolate company
High Coordinative Local
started a new plant
Business
Complexity Science/Technology
Tastee chocolate company opened its new plant in
California. This plant employs 1,000 full time
employees and is located Apple county.
Sports Tasteeinvested a tfotal of 20 million dollars and the
Entertainment company expects to produce over 200,000 units
of chocolate a month
Health More>>
Weather Hurricanes hit some parts of
the world
Search Go Get It!! Some countries in South America were hit by some
powerful hurricanes which destroyed several
houses along the coastline. The local government
dispatched approximately 2000 rescue workers to
affected areas and allocated 1 million dollars to
NEWS SOURCES help in the reconstruction process.
Press More>>

Television Domestic unrest against

Domestic current government in an Asian
International country
There were several demonstrations and strikes
against the local government in an Asian country.
50 people were injured and no casualties were
reported. The government officials continued their
negotiations with the leaders of the demonstrating
organization to restore peace.
More>>

MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007 523

Nadkarni & Gupta/Task-Based Model of Perceived Website Complexity

A3. Illustration of Dynamic Website Complexity

Ambiguous Hyperlinks for Shopping Cart Unambiguous Hyperlinks for Shopping Cart

J O E ’S G R E E N B A Y P A C K E R S ’
C O R N E R

O n e -s to p s h o p fo r G re e n B a y P a c k e r fa n s !

H is to r y o f G re e n
B a y P a c ke rs
G re e n B a y P a c k e rs
T ic k e t F in d e r

N ew s a n d B u zz V e n u e S ta te /P r o v in c e

Hyperlink: NFL ticket bid A n y

V e n u e C it y
G re e n B a y
P a c k e r s S p o r t in g
M o n th
G o o d s

Uncertain P h o to s
D ay

Link
Great Green Bay
Y e a r

Packer tickets⎯ T ic k e t s
S h o w ite m s

Chicago Bears@
Green Bay Packers
Venue:
Lambeau Field
Current bid US $139.45
Certain Place Bid >

Link Time left: 22 hours 14 mins

1- day listing. Ends Dec - 08
05 16:52:10 PST
Start time: Dec - 07 - 05 16: 52:10 PST

History: 12 bids (US $0.01 starting bid)

High Bidder: bistrobistro (128 )

Item location: Cincinnati, Ohio

United States

Shipping, payment details and return policy

524 MIS Quarterly Vol. 31 No. 3/September 2007