Investigation and Identification of Quality Dimensions in e-Business

Abstract

This paper attempts to develop and empirically test a research model that examines the relationship between various e-service quality dimensions and overall service quality, customer satisfaction and purchase intension. The adopted quality dimensions are based on SERVQUAL and its extensions proposed by various researchers which refer specifically to some of the critical factors of electronic services provided by e-shops. A structured questionnaire has been constructed and electronically distributed. Three hundred and sixty usable questionnaires were received. SEM (structural equation modeling) was mainly used to analyse the gathered data and test the validity of the proposed research model. The results showed that the dimensions of web site design, web site usability, information quality, service reliability, responsiveness, trust, and personalization are some of the most important dimensions of quality. Almost all of them have direct or indirect relationship with overall service quality and customer satisfaction which, in turn, have a strong relationship with purchase intentions. Overall, the results suggest that e-shops should develop specific marketing strategies to better address the proposed dimensions of e-services.