Purpose -Recent years have witnessed the development of a variety of rating systems but the authors have little knowledge about their impact on users' perceptions of information quality, cognitive decision effort, and enjoyment. The purpose of this paper is to understand the potential cognitive fit underlining the relationship between rating systems types (i.e. five-star, binary-visual, and binary-textual) and tasks (i.e. purchase-decision and browsing tasks) in the context of shopping websites. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 191 subjects were obtained. This study conducted an experiment with a 2 × 3 between-subject factorial design. The first dimension is a task that has two conditions (purchasing vs browsing). The second dimension is a type of rating system that has three different types (binary-textual, binary-visual, and five-star). Findings -The results show that the cognitive fit may occur when individuals use a five-star rating system to help them make a purchasing decision and when they use a binary-visual rating system while browsing. This fit might increase perceived information quality while decrease cognitive decision efforts, and in turn raise intention to adopt the systems. Moreover, five-star rating systems can make users feel more fun and enjoyment than binary-textual and visual rating systems, regardless of task type. Research limitations/implications -This study focuses on three main rating systems that are popular on shopping websites. Nevertheless, few other rating systems exist in the market such as unitary or ten-star rating systems. Further studies can consider other types of rating systems and address, in addition to representation, the issue of information granularity (i.e. unitary, binary, five-star, and ten-star rating systems). Practical implications -The results of this study could provide design principles for web designers in determining which rating systems best match the websites they are developing. If the websites or specific webpages are more utilitarian oriented (hedonic oriented), five-star rating systems (binary-visual rating systems) are more appropriate. Originality/value -This study contributes to the rating system literature by examining the cognitive fit underlining the relationship between rating systems types and tasks. Importantly, this study extends cognitive fit theory by considering affective responses, that is, perceived enjoyment and intention to continue to use.

In recent years, social networking sites have received increased attention because of the potential of this medium to transform business by building virtual communities. However, theoretical and empirical studies investigating how specific features of social networking sites contribute to building a sense of virtual community (SOVC)-an important dimension of a successful virtual community-are rare. Furthermore, SOVC scales have been developed, and research on this issue has been called for, but few studies have heeded this call. On the basis of prior literature, this study proposes that perceptions of the three most salient features of social networking sites-system quality (SQ), information quality (IQ), and social information exchange (SIE)-play a key role in fostering SOVC. In particular, SQ is proposed to increase IQ and SIE, and SIE is proposed to enhance IQ, both of which thereafter build SOVC. The research model was examined in the context of Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. We adopted Blanchard's scales to measure SOVC. Data gathered using a Web-based questionnaire, and analyzed with partial least squares, were utilized to test the model. The results demonstrate that SIE, SQ, and IQ are the factors that form SOVC. The findings also suggest that SQ plays a fundamental role in supporting SIE and IQ in social networking sites. Implications for theory, practice, and future research directions are discussed.

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