Improving User Experience with Recommender Systems by Informing the Design of Recommendation Messages

Advice-giving systems such as decision support systems and recommender systems (RS) utilize algorithms to provide users with decision support by generating ‘advice’ ranging from tailored alerts for situational exception events to product recommendations based on preferences. Related extant research of user perceptions and behaviors has predominantly taken a system-level view, whereas limited attention has been given to the impact of message design on recommendation acceptance and system use intentions. Here, a comprehensive model was developed and tested to explore the presentation choices (i.e., recommendation message characteristics) that influenced users’ confidence in—and likely acceptance of—recommendations generated by the RS. Our findings indicate that the problem and solution-related information specificity of the recommendation increase both user intention and the actual acceptance of recommendations while decreasing the decision-making time; a shorter decision-making time was also observed when the recommendation was structured in a problem-to-solution sequence. Finally, information specificity was correlated with information sufficiency and transparency, confirming prior research with support for the links between user beliefs, user attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.