WEBSITE SERVICE QUALITY IN IRELAND - A Consumer Perspective

Regina Connolly

2008

Abstract

Despite the fact that service quality is a critical determinant of website success, studies show that consumers frequently view the service quality delivered through websites as unsatisfactory. This paper outlines a study that is investigated the dimensions of website service excellence valued by Irish customers of a small to medium enterprise specialising in gifts. The e-S-QUAL measurement instrument was applied to the customers who purchase products online from this retailer, in order to determine their purchasing patterns and the dimensions of e-service quality that they value. This study makes a major contribution to the literature as it describes the application of the newly operationalised E-S-QUAL measurement instrument. The results of this study will indicate the effectiveness of the instrument in determining gaps in e-service quality. The findings will benefit both practitioners and researchers in developing an understanding of the factors that contribute towards the creation and maintenance of consumer satisfaction in Irish online transactions.

References

  1. Ahmad, S. (2002) “Service Failures and Customer Defection: A Closer Look at On-line Shopping Experiences.” Managing Service Quality, 12 (1) 19- 29.
  2. Amarach Consulting TrendWatch Technology Report, Quarter 2, 2002. Available at http://www.amarach.com/news/press.htm
  3. Asubonteng, P., McCleary, K.J., Swan, J. (1996), "Servqual revisited: a critical review of service quality", Journal of Services Marketing, 10 (6) 62-81.
  4. Babakus, E., Boller, G.W. (1992), "An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale", Journal of Business Research, 24 (3), 253-68.
  5. Babakus, E., Mangold, G.W. (1989), "Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to hospital services: an empirical investigation", Hospital Services Research, 26 (6) 767-86.
  6. Barnes, S. J. and Vidgen, R.T. (2002) “An Integrative Approach to the Assessment of E-Commerce Quality” Journal of Electronic Commerce Research 3 (3) 114 - 27.
  7. Bebko, C.P., Garg, R.K. (1995), "Perceptions of responsiveness in service delivery", Journal of Hospital Marketing, 9 (2) 35-45.
  8. Bitner, M.J. (1990), "Evaluating service encounters: the effects of physical surroundings and employee responses", Journal of Marketing, 54 (2), 69-82.
  9. Bowers, M.R., Swan, J.E., Koehler, W.F. (1994), "What attributes determine quality and satisfaction with health care delivery?", Health Care Management Review, 19 (4), 49-55
  10. Cai, S. and Jun. M. (2003) “Internet Users Perceptions of On-line Service Quality: A Comparison of On-line Buyers and Information Searchers”, Managing Service Quality, Vol 13, No 6, pp 504 - 519.
  11. Carman, J.M. (1990), "Consumer perceptions of service quality: an assessment of the SERVQUAL dimensions", Journal of Retailing, 66 (1), 33-55.
  12. Cox, J., and Dale, B.G. (2001) “Service Quality and eCommerce: An Exploratory Analysis”, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp 121 -131.
  13. Cronin, J.J., Taylor, S.A. (1994), "SERVPERF versus SERVQUAL: reconciling performance-based and perception-minus-expectations measurement of service quality", Journal of Marketing, 58 (1), 125-31.
  14. Cronin, J., Taylor, S.A. (1992), "Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension", Journal of Marketing, 56 (July), 55-68.
  15. Doney, P.M., Cannon, J.P., and Mullen, M.R. (1998), 'Understanding the Influence of National Culture on the Development of Trust', Academy of Management Review, Vol. 23 (3), pp.601-620.
  16. Finn, D., Lamb, C. (1991), "An evaluation of the SERVQUAL scale in a retailing setting", Advances in Consumer Research, 18, 483-90.
  17. Fukuyama, F. (1995), Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York, Free Press.
  18. Gaudin, S. (2003) “ Companies Failing at On-line Customer Service” Retrieved from
  19. http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/erp/article.php/158817 1
  20. Gefen, D. and Heart, T. (2006) “On the Need to Include National Culture as a Central Issue in E-Commerce Trust”, Journal of Global Information Management, Vol. 14, Issue 4, pp 1-30.
  21. Grönroos, C (1983), Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector, Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, MA .
  22. Hofstede, G. H. (1984). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA.: Sage Publications.
  23. Lehtinen, J.R and Lehtinen, U. (1982), "Service quality: a study of quality dimensions", Unpublished working paper, Service Management Institute, Helsinki .
  24. Loiacono, E, Watson, R.T., Goodhue, D. (2000) “WebQual: A Web Site Quality Instrument,” Working paper, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
  25. Long, M. and McMellon, C. (2004) “Exploring the determinants of retail service quality on the Internet”, Journal of Services Marketing, 18(1), pp.78-90.
  26. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., and Malhotra, A. (2005) “E-S-Qual: A Multiple Item Scale for Measuring Electronic Service Quality”, Journal of Service Research 7, (3), 213 - 233.
  27. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. (1988), "SERVQUAL: a multiple item scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality", Journal of Retailing, 64 (1), 12-40.
  28. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L. "1985", in A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research (Eds), Journal of Marketing, 49 (Fall), 41-50.
  29. Paulin, M and Perrien, J. (1996) Measurement of Service Quality: The Effect of Contextuality, in Kunst and Lemminck (eds.) Managing Service Quality, London, Chapman.
  30. Santos, J. (2003), "E-service quality: a model of virtual service quality dimensions", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 13 No.3, pp.233-46
  31. Shaffer, Teri Root and Bradley S. O'Hara (1995), “The Effects of Country of Origin on Trust and Ethical Perceptions”, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 15, (April), pp. 162-179.
  32. Swartz, T.A., Brown, S.W. (1989), "Consumer and provider expectations and experience in evaluating professional service quality", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 17, 189-95.
  33. Szymanski, D. M and Hise, R. T. (2000) “e-Satisfaction: An Initial Examination,” Journal of Retailing, 76 (3), 309 - 22.
  34. Teas, K.R. (1993), "Consumer expectations and the measurement of perceived service quality", Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 8 (2), 33-53.
  35. Trabold, L. M., Heim, G., Field, J, (2006) “Comparing eservice performance across industry sectors: Drivers of overall satisfaction in online retailing” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol 34, No 4/5, pp. 240 - 257.
  36. Van Iwaarden, J., Van der Wiele, T., Ball, L., Millen, R. (2004) “Perceptions about the Quality of Websites: A survey amongst students and Northeastern University and Erasmus University”, Information and Management, 41 (8), 947 - 959.
  37. Van Riel, A., Liljander V., and Jurriëns P. (2001), Exploring Consumer Evaluations of E-Services: A Portal Site, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 12, No 4, pp. 359-377.
  38. Wolfinbarger, M. and Gilly, M.C. (2003) “eTailQ: Dimensionalizing, Measuring, and Predicting etail Quality,” Journal of Retailing, 79 (3) 183 - 98.
  39. Woodside, A.G., Frey, L.L., Daly, R.T. (1989), "Linking service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention", Journal of Health Care Marketing, 9 (4), 5- 17.
  40. Yoo, B. and Donthu, N. (2001) “Developing a Scale to Measure the Perceived Quality of an Internet Shopping Site (Sitequal) Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce, 2 (1) 31 - 46.
  41. Zeithaml, V. (2002), "Service quality in e-channels", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 12 No.3, pp.135-8.
  42. Zucker, L.G. (1986), 'Production of Trust: Institutional Sources of Economic Structure, 1840 - 192078, In Staw, B.M., and Cummings, L.L. (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 8, pp. 53-111. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.
Download


Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Connolly R. (2008). WEBSITE SERVICE QUALITY IN IRELAND - A Consumer Perspective . In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 2: WEBIST, ISBN 978-989-8111-27-2, pages 378-386. DOI: 10.5220/0001519003780386


in Bibtex Style

@conference{webist08,
author={Regina Connolly},
title={WEBSITE SERVICE QUALITY IN IRELAND - A Consumer Perspective},
booktitle={Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 2: WEBIST,},
year={2008},
pages={378-386},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0001519003780386},
isbn={978-989-8111-27-2},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 2: WEBIST,
TI - WEBSITE SERVICE QUALITY IN IRELAND - A Consumer Perspective
SN - 978-989-8111-27-2
AU - Connolly R.
PY - 2008
SP - 378
EP - 386
DO - 10.5220/0001519003780386