Exploring the concept of web site customization: applications and antecedents

While mass customization is the tailoring of products and services to the needs and wants of individual customers, web site customization is the tailoring of web sites to individual customers? preferences. Based on a review of site customization applications, the authors propose a model with four different levels standardization, adaptation, passive personalization, and active personalization). Each of these levels requires a different level of involvement of both the supplier and the customer. Based on an extensive review literature the authors then develop conceptual models of the determinants of site customization from both a customer?s and a supplier?s point of view. Both models contain the factors that determine the willingness of a party (customer or supplier) to get actively involved in web site customization. Some factors have a positive impact on the willingness to customize while others have a negative impact. Managers engaged in site customization projects should realized that site customization is not an undisputed topic. Its success will be context dependent. The presented conceptual models can be used to analyze the essentials of a particular context and to assess the potential of web site customization.

The Future of Personalisation at News Websites: Lessons from a Longitudinal Study

This paper tracks the recent history of personalization at national news websites in the United Kingdom and United States, allowing an analysis to be made of the reasons for and implications of the adoption of this form of adaptive interactivity. Using three content surveys conducted over three and a half years, the study records—at an unprecedented level of detail—the range of personalization features offered by contemporary news websites, and demonstrates how news organizations increasingly rely on software algorithms to predict readers’ content preferences. The results also detail how news organizations’ deployment of personalization on mobile devices, and in conjunction with social networking platforms, is still at an early stage. In addressing the under-researched but important—and increasingly prevalent—phenomenon of personalization, this paper contributes to debates on journalism’s future funding, transparency, and societal benefits

Online banking customization via tag-based interaction

In this paper, we describe ongoing work on online banking customization with a particular focus on interaction. The scope of the study is confined to the Australian banking context where the lack of customization is evident. This paper puts forward the notion of using tags to facilitate personalized interactions in online banking. We argue that tags can afford simple and intuitive interactions unique to every individual in both online and mobile environments. Firstly, through a review of related literature, we frame our work in the customization domain. Secondly, we define a range of taggable resources in online banking. Thirdly, we describe our preliminary prototype implementation with respect to interaction customization types. Lastly, we conclude with a discussion on future work

Making 'The Daily Me': Technology, economics and habit in the mainstream assimilation of personalized news

The mechanisms of personalization deployed by news websites are resulting in an increasing number of editorial decisions being taken by computer algorithms — many of which are under the control of external companies — and by end users. Despite its prevalence, personalization has yet to be addressed fully by the journalism studies literature. This study defines personalization as a distinct form of interactivity and classifies its explicit and implicit forms. Using this taxonomy, it surveys the use of personalization at 11 national news websites in the UK and USA. Research interviews bring a qualitative dimension to the analysis, acknowledging the influence that institutional contexts and journalists’ attitudes have on the adoption of technology. The study shows how: personalization informs debates on news consumption, content diversity, and the economic context for journalism; and how it challenges the continuing relevance of established theories of journalistic gate-keeping

Modelling data intensive web sites with OntoWeaver

This paper illustrates the OntoWeaver modelling approach, which relies on a set of comprehensive site ontologies to model all aspects of data intensive web sites and thus offers high level support for the design and development of data-intensive web sites. In particular, the OntoWeaver site ontologies comprise two components: a site view ontology and a presentation ontology. The site view ontology provides meta-models to allow for the composition of sophisticated site views, which allow end users to navigate and manipulate the underlying domain databases. The presentation ontology abstracts the look and feel for site views and makes it possible for the visual appearance and layout to be specified at a high level of abstractio

Product Configuration Systems: State of the Art, Conceptualization and Extensions

Product configurators are considered to be among the most successful applications of artificial intelligence technology. In this paper, we determine different conceptualizations of configurators and condense them in a comprehensive morphological box, which should support configurator designers as well as decision makers in selecting the right system. The analysis of the criteria according to which configurators that are designed thus far reveals a neglect of the front-end perspective. Therefore, it is relevant to extend configurators with a front-end component assisting customers during product configuration through advisory. We develop a framework describing the main requirements on an advisory system and propose the technical infrastructure for its implementation. Finally, the advisory system and the configurator are integrated into a comprehensive interaction system.product configurators; advisory system; product personalization

Building a Tailored Text Messaging System for Smoking Cessation in Native American Populations

When starting new and healthy habits or encouraging vigilance against returning to poor habits, a simple text message can be beneficial. Text messages also have the advantage of being easily accessible for lower-income populations spread over a rural area, who may not be able to afford smartphones with apps or data plans. Users benefit the most from text messages that are customized for them, but personalization requires time and effort on part of the user and the counselor. However, personalization that focuses on the cultural background of a pool of recipients, in addition to general personal preferences, can be a low-cost method of ensuring the best experience for patients interested in taking up new habits. In this paper, we discuss the development of a system for motivating users to quit smoking designed for Native American users in South Dakota, using text messaging as a daily intervention method for patients. Our results show that focusing on modular message customization options and messages with a conversational tone best helps our goal of providing users with customization options that help motivate them to live happy and healthy lifestyles

The Role of the Mangement Sciences in Research on Personalization

We present a review of research studies that deal with personalization. We synthesize current knowledge about these areas, and identify issues that we envision will be of interest to researchers working in the management sciences. We take an interdisciplinary approach that spans the areas of economics, marketing, information technology, and operations. We present an overarching framework for personalization that allows us to identify key players in the personalization process, as well as, the key stages of personalization. The framework enables us to examine the strategic role of personalization in the interactions between a firm and other key players in the firm's value system. We review extant literature in the strategic behavior of firms, and discuss opportunities for analytical and empirical research in this regard. Next, we examine how a firm can learn a customer's preferences, which is one of the key components of the personalization process. We use a utility-based approach to formalize such preference functions, and to understand how these preference functions could be learnt based on a customer's interactions with a firm. We identify well-established techniques in management sciences that can be gainfully employed in future research on personalization.CRM, Persoanlization, Marketing, e-commerce,