Just give it a try: Assessing interactive ad‐hoc software‐evaluation behaviour

This study investigates actual consumer behaviour in end‐user software selection, a field that has been fairly neglected in extant research. The novel point we make is that the immaterial character of software—leading to its indestructibility and virtually cost‐free distribution—makes it easy for software manufacturers to let consumers evaluate computer programs hands‐on by trying them out in realistic settings. Detached paper‐and‐pencil methods for assessing consumers' predecision behaviour seem to be inadequate for modelling this type of evaluation in which individuals do not need to care about returning the object(s) in the same state. In this article, we present a methodology for and the first results of assessing unguided end‐user software evaluation behaviour in its natural complexity. Our exploratory approach focused on identifying a behavioural typology, as well as its relation to the choice result, which would have major implications for the design and distribution of demo versions, shareware, etc. Twenty individuals were subjected to a realistic choice problem involving direct interaction with real software products. Their behaviour was analyzed using a novel abstraction methodology. Results suggest the existence of four different evaluation types and the moderating influence of evaluation behaviour on choice result, which can be integrated into and plausibly explained by prevalent theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.