Established and Emerging Decision Constructs – A Taxonomic Perspective

One might assume information systems (IS) are developed so systems enhance the user experience and facilitate a satisfying, productive interaction. From prior research, the authors established this assumption was not safe and certain design features amongst some online retailers were atypical of ‘good’ design elsewhere. It was apparent the transactional process was being used to present consumers with optional extras (and other decisions) that not only slowed the process down, but also stressed and agitated users. The research identified some new and unusual decision constructs such as the ‘must-opt’. The objective of the research presented herein is two-fold: to make an incremental contribution in first theorising and then identifying and categorising into a taxonomy some new decision constructs alongside established ones encountered throughout on-line Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transactional processes followed by a preliminary study confirming their existence and examining their clarity.