Web Navigation Layout: An Experimental Application on E-consumer’s Internal States 1 Carlota LORENZO University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) Faculty of Economics and Business. Marketing Department. Plaza de la Universidad, 1. 02071. Albacete, Spain Alejandro MOLLÁ University of Valencia (Spain) Faculty of Economics. Marketing Department. Avenida de los Naranjos, s/n. 46022. Valencia, Spain and Miguel A. GÓMEZ-BORJA University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) Faculty of Economics and Business. Marketing Department. Plaza de la Universidad, 1. 02071. Albacete, Spain 1 This study was developed within the Research Projects whose references are SEJ2005-06105 (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 2005- 2008) and TC20070056 (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2008). ABSTRACT Based on background literature, this research is focused on the study of the effects of two different navigational web layouts –named “guided hierarchical e-pathway” and “free network”– on e-consumer’s internal states (i.e. affective, cognitive and satisfaction) within an online shopping situation through an experimental application. In addition, within that model we included two types of variables –involvement and atmospheric responsiveness– which mediate the relationships between the constructs analyzed. A website and a tracking behaviour methodology for a fictitious apparel retailer were developed. Results show that if web marketers design stores without restrictive navigation cues –offering, in consequence, freedom of movement during navigation– they could be able to generate more positive internal responses on e-consumers during their visits across the online stores. Keywords: Navigational design, web atmosphere, usability, e-consumer’s internal states, mediator variables, online shopping 1. INTRODUCTION AND MAIN OBJECTIVE The physical environment of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers plays an important role in influencing consumer attitudes and behaviors. However, not much systematic research attention has been given to the nature and effectiveness of online retailing, and specifically, to the role of the online environment characteristics in shaping consumer responses. Some work can be found related to the nature and the features of the medium (e.g. [22]…) and users' processing of information in the virtual world [35], neglecting the study of the influence atmosphere cues on consumer responses. Moreover, given both the increasing number of online stores and shoppers and the importance of the study of atmospheric cues in brick-and-mortar retail, retailers must pay a special attention to online stores design. In brick-and-mortar retail environments, marketers combine different cues such as directory signs and physical layouts in order to provide easy, comfortable, and enjoyable visit to consumers within the store [4. In the same way, e-marketers use text, images, and icon links as cues to aid consumer navigation within websites [22]. In fact, the merchandising tools that are frequently used in traditional shopping environments are adopted by e-tailers in order to offer convenience and attractive online stores to increase their sales. Specifically, a web atmospheric cue is comparable to a brick- and-mortar atmospheric cue and can be defined as any web interface component within a consumers’ perceptual field that stimulates their senses [30]. In this sense, some authors suggest that usability reflects the perceived facility and usefulness for the navigation through the Internet (e.g. Davis, 1989; Vrechopoulos, 2002; Nielsen, 2003). Moreover, some works found that usability is a very important attribute to achieve desirable internal and behavioral responses (e.g. [10]; [33]; [18]; [16]; [19]; [20]…). In this sense, some studies posit that although the instrumental qualities or utilitarian elements of online shopping (e.g. ease and convenience) are important predictors of consumers' attitudes and purchase behaviors, the hedonic aspects of the web medium could play an equally important role in shaping these behaviors [10]. In fact, the physical environment has typically been conceptualized as a set of in-store variables such as music, lighting, color, smell, and store layout, but the Internet has created a new type of electronic physical environment [26]. Nevertheless, research about the nature and effectiveness of online retailing is somewhat scarce, and specifically, research on the effects of online context characteristics on user’s responses. In fact, some authors study some features of the