Three Essays on Sex Differences in the Web Environment : An Information Processing Perspective

Sex differences in personality trait have been documented in many empirical studies. Grounded on these differences in traits, two theories developed in cognitive psychology have proposed that men and women differ in the way they process information. Meyers-Levy (1989) proposed that women are comprehensive processors while men are selective processors: women tend to engage in more detailed, elaborative and effortful processing of information than do men. Putrevu (2001; 2004) proposed a competitive theory arguing that men and women do not differ in elaboration and processing effort but in their style of processing: Men are item-specific processors and women are relational ones. The main objective of this study is twofold: First, to improve our understanding on how men and women process information in the context of directed information searches on the Internet and, second, to explore the relevance of both theories in this context.;This dissertation is composed of three empirical essays. The first essay directly compares Meyers-Levy and Putrevu models in providing a fine-grain analysis of the information processing of Internet users while they perform a goal-oriented search. The second essay assesses search efficiency and effectiveness of men and women at different levels of task complexity, and the last essay investigates the moderating role of sex in the relationship between key website characteristics, ease of use, and behavioral intentions.;The major findings of this research are the following. While searching for information on the web, women exerted more comprehension effort than men, and showed a greater usage of a relational processing style than men. However, men failed to verbalize more item-processing thoughts than women in processing the product information available on the site. The results support the theory of the selectivity model (Meyers-Levy, 1989) but gives only partial support to the Item/Relational processing theory developed by Putrevu.;Furthermore, task demands have a differential impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of men and women Internet users. These results are also in line with the selectivity model and affirm findings found in an audit context. Finally, factors driving behavioral intentions do not differ between men and women but perceptions of websites' ease of use are formed by different factors according to the sexes. Site information is more salient for women than for men in forming ease of use perceptions. However, the relationship between personalization of the interaction and ease of use is stronger for men than for women.;These findings have significant theoretical and managerial implications. From the point of view of research, results of the study support the relevance of the selectivity model in the context of online directed search of information. The research findings can also be used by marketing managers and website designers to develop personalisation elements in line with the information processing of men and women Internet users.