An investigation of effort–accuracy trade-off and the impact of self-efficacy on Web searching behaviors

One of the major barriers to the electronic commerce is that Web users may waste a lot of time and effort to search for information. Previous research suggests that both goal and experience are important factors influencing user's Web search behavior. In the aspect of goal motivation, the effort–accuracy trade-off model provides a good explanation for the choice of strategy. Yet, this trade-off model does not consider the impact of the experience. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) may make up for this weakness by means of the construct called self-efficacy, which reflects the effect of experience. In this study, we explore if there indeed exists a trade-off effect between effort and accuracy in Web searching behaviors and how self-efficacy may impact the trade-off effect. The results show that while the emphasis of accuracy will increase the level of effort by low self-efficacy subjects, the trade-off between effort-saving and accuracy-seeking does not exist for individuals of higher self-efficacy.