Where Are You When I Need You? (or... Ending the Search for Search)
http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/feb06.asp

Straub, Kathleen
Human Factors International
2006

Abstract:

Just as with any relationships, users' previous experiences--good or bad--will influence the expectations and hopes that they will have for their relationship with your site. And as with human relationships, this means that if you really want it to work, you need to know some of the gory details of their past to make the future smooth. That's the bad news. The good news is that we are only talking about Web sites.