Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY USING SERVQUAL MODEL:
A CASE STUDY OF E-RETAILING IN IRAN
SEYED HOSSEIN SIADAT
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY USING SERVQUAL MODEL:
A CASE STUDY OF E-RETAILING IN IRAN
SEYED HOSSEIN SIADAT
A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Science (Information Technology – Management)
Faculty of Computer Science and Information System
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
JUNE 2008
iii
Dedicated to my beloved family
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to God for His
abundant grace that I am able to be what I am today. I also wish to express my
sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Harihodin Selamat,
for his intelligent guidance, encouragement and helpful advices during the whole
process of thesis writing.
My sincere appreciation also goes to all my colleagues and friends who have
provided assistance at various occasions. Last but not least, a very special
appreciation goes to my beloved parents for their continuous supports, loves and
cares.
v
ABSTRACT
Service quality is a concept that has aroused considerable interest and debate
in the research literature because of the difficulties in both defining and measuring it
with no overall consensus emerging on either. Customer satisfaction and service
quality are often treated together as functions of customer’s perceptions and
expectations and research has shown that high service quality contribute significantly
to profitability. Service quality is required to be first measured in order to improve
the quality in a service organization. Practitioners and academics are eager on
measuring service quality accurately in order to have better understanding of its
indispensable antecedent and consequences, and eventually ascertain methods for
improving and measuring service quality in search for competitive advantage. The
aim of this study is to rank the dimensions of service quality that affect the
customers’ expectation in online purchasing in Iran from the customers’ perspective.
A questionnaire used in this study was published in Cloob.com which is an Iranian
virtual society website. The measurements used were based on the widely accepted
SERVQUAL model which is the most common method for measuring service
quality. A descriptive statistics analysis was used to evaluate the level of service
quality of Iranian’s online shops from the customers’ perspective. This study also
examined the service quality gap by comparing customers’ expectations and their
actual perceptions. The results of the study indicated that all of the service quality
factors are important. The “Access is fast” is the most important factor among the
others and respondents are not satisfied with current connection speed although they
are fine with extra services. Tangibility was rated as the most important dimension
followed by assurance, reliability, responsiveness, and empathy.
vi
ABSTRAK
Kualiti servis merupakan suatu konsep yang telah menimbulkan minat dan
debat di dalam sastera penyelidikan disebabkan oleh kesukaran dalam menerang dan
mengukur kualiti servis tanpa sebarang konsensus wujud daripada kedua-duanya.
Kepuasan pelanggan dan kualiti servis sering dianggap sebagai andaian serta
anggapan pengunna di samping harapan dan ekpektasi pengguna. Kajian dan
penyelidikan menunjukkan bahawa kualiti servis yang tinggi menyumbang kepada
keuntungan yang ketara. Kualiti servis terlebih dahulu perlu diukur bagi
meningkatkan kualiti sesuatu servis di dalam organisasi. Kaji selidik ini dijalankan
bagi mengukur dimensi kualiti servis yang mepengaruhi ekpektasi dan harapan
pengguna di dalam pembelian atas talian di Iran melalui perspektif pengguna. Soalan
kaji selidik telah digunakan di dalam kajian in di mana ia telah diumumkan di
Cloob.com yang merupakan laman web komuniti Iran. Ukuran yang digunakan
adalah berdasarkan kepada model SERVQUAL yang telah diterima umum sebagai
kaedah yang paling kerap dan sesuai digunakan di dalam pengukuran kualiti servis.
Analisa statistik yang deskriptif telah dihasilkan untuk menilai tahap kualiti servis di
dalam pembelian atas talian komuniti Iran melalui perspektif pengguna. Kajian ini
juga menilai jarak kualiti servis dengan membandingkan ekpektasi dan harapan
pegguna dengan tanggapan serta anggapan sebenar pengguna. Hasil kajian
menunjukkan bahawah semua faktor kualiti servis adalah penting dan perlu diambil
kira. ’Akses yang cepat’ adalah faktor yang paling penting dibandingkan dengan
faktor-faktor kualiti yang lain. Ketepatan dan perasaan yang dilahirkan oleh servis
yang diberikan merupakan dimensi yang paling penting diikuti dengan jamina, boleh
dipercayai, tindakbalas dan akhir sekali empati.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
TITLE i
DECLARATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
ABSTRAK vi
TABLE OF CONTENT vii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xii
1 PROJECT OVERVIEW 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background of Problem 2
1.2.1 E-Commerce 3
1.2.2 Online Retailing 3
1.2.3 Customer Satisfaction 7
1.2.4 Service Quality 8
1.2.5 Problem Discussion 10
1.3 Problem Statement 12
1.4 Project Objectives 12
1.5 Project Scope 13
1.6 Importance of Project 13
1.7 Chapter Summary 14
viii
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 15
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 Customer Satisfaction 16
2.2.1 What we need to measure? 20
2.2.2 Techniques for measuring customer satisfaction 22
2.2.3 Virtual organizations and customer satisfaction 23
2.3 Service Quality 25
2.3.1 Definition of service quality 28
2.3.2 Dimensions and determinants of service quality 28
2.4 E-Service Quality 34
2.4.1 Definitions of E-Service Quality 34
2.4.2 E-service Quality Dimensions 34
2.5 Conclusions 39
3 METHODOLOGY 40
3.1 Introduction 40
3.2 Research Propose 41
3.3 Research Approach 42
3.3.1 Quantitative Research 43
3.3.2 Qualitative Research 43
3.4 Research Strategy 44
3.4.1 Survay 46
3.4.2 Pilot Test 46
3.5 Sample Selection 47
3.5.1 Selecting the sampling method 47
3.5.2 Overview of the sample 49
3.6 Data Collection 50
3.7 Data analysis 51
3.8 Validity and Reliability 51
3.8.1 Validity 51
3.8.2 Reliability 52
3.9 Frame of Reference 54
3.9.1 Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality 55
ix
3.9.2 Different tools for measuring online service quality 55
3.9.2.1 SERVQUAL 56
3.9.2.2 WebQUAL 56
3.9.2.3 E-SERVQUAL 57
3.9.2.4 E-SEQUAL 57
3.9.2.5 E-S-QUAL 58
3.9.3 Conceptual Framework 58
3.9.4 SERVQUAL Dimensions in Relation to Online
Purchasing 59
3.10 Project Schedule 64
3.11 Chapter Summary 64
4 DATA COLLECTION 66
4.1 Introduction 66
4.2 Overview of the Sample 66
4.3 Quantitative Data Presentation 67
4.3.1 Sample and Response Rate 69
4.3.2 Descriptive Statistics 69
5 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 75
5.1 Introduction 75
5.2 The Most Important Dimensions of Service Quality 75
5.3 Comparing Web Quality Factors between Iranian and American
Customers 79
5.4 The Most Important Factors of SERVQUAL 83
5.5 Implications for Practitioners 85
5.6 Implications for Theory 86
5.7 Implications for Future Research 87
6 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 88
6.1 Introduction 88
6.2 Achievement 89
6.3 Constraints and Challenges 90
6.4 Aspirations 91
6.5 Chapter Summary 92
x
REFERENCES 93
APPENDICES 98
xi
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE
1.1 Top 40 E-retailers according to their satisfaction score 5
2.1 E-Service Quality dimensions and Descriptions 36
3.1 Research strategies 45
4.1 Satisfaction of the respondents with the equipment they use 72
4.2 The use of the web 72
4.3 Websites ranked by frequency of visits 73
4.4 The top five service quality factors with the highest
scores of importance 73
4.5 The bottom five service quality factors with the lowest
scores of importance 74
5.1 The top ten service quality factors with the highest
scores of importance 77
5.2 The bottom ten service quality factors with lowest
scores of importance 78
5.3 The top ten with the highest score on importance from
Iranian and American perspective 80
5.4 The bottom ten with the lowest score on importance from
Iranian and American perspective 82
5.5 Ranked SERVQUAL factors according to their importance mean 84
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE
1.1 A conceptual model of service quality 9
1.2 Dependence between quality, satisfaction and profitability 11
2.1 Literature Review Structure 16
2.2 Customer satisfaction continues improvement 19
2.3 The circle of satisfaction 20
2.4 The Principle of pre-study 21
2.5 Customer contact - customer focus matrix 24
3.1 Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
based on SERVQUAL 59
4.1 Pie chart: number of respondents by gender 70
4.2 Bar chart: number of respondents based on their education’s field 71
4.3 Bar chart: number of respondents by age 71
CHAPTER 1
PROJECT OVERVIEW
1.1 Introduction
Service quality is a concept that has aroused considerable interest and debate
in the research literature because of the difficulties in both defining it and measuring
it with no overall consensus emerging on either. Research has shown that high
service quality contribute significantly to profitability.
Service quality is about ensuring customers, both internal and external, get
what they want. Customer satisfaction is the feeling or attitude of a customer towards
a product or service after it has been used. Satisfaction and service quality are often
treated together as functions of customer’s perceptions and expectations. Customer
satisfaction is determined by defining customer perceptions of quality, expectations,
and preferences.
Always there exists an important question: why should service quality be
measured? Measurement allows for comparison before and after changes, for the
location of quality related problems and for the establishment of clear standards for
service delivery. In search of competitive advantage, both practitioners and
academics are keen on accurately measuring service quality in order to better
2
understanding its essential antecedent and consequences, and ultimately establish
methods for improving and measuring service quality.
In this paper we start with the concept of service quality, customer
satisfaction and followed by study on different models of measuring service quality
while focusing mostly on SERVQUAL approach, which is the most common method
for measuring service quality. The purpose of the research is to find the most
important service quality dimensions that affect customer satisfaction in online
purchasing in Iran. Since SERVQUAL model is founded a comprehensive method,
we are going to adopt and deploy it to encompass various aspects of service quality
in relation to the online shops in Iran. Besides, a questionnaire has been designed
based on literature in order to examine all service quality dimensions in SERVQUAL
model.
1.2 Background of Problem
The background of the research area is provided in this section. It contains
the general idea of e-commerce, online retailing, customer satisfaction and service
quality. This section also describes the importance of service quality and its
relationship with customer satisfaction. Then, the problem area will be next
discussed to provide a deeper understanding about the research area for reader. The
problem discussions end with a problem statement, project objectives and project
scopes. In the end of this chapter the contribution of this research is also presented.
3
1.2.1 E-Commerce
There are many definitions for e-commerce. What Vladimir Zwass in 1996
believed is: "Electronic commerce is the sharing of business information,
maintaining business relationships, and conducting business transactions by means of
telecommunications networks". Is not very far from what Jelassi in 2005 said:
"Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, is more specific than e-business and can be
thought of as a subset of it. Electronic commerce deals with the facilitation of
transactions and selling of products and services online, i.e. via the Internet or any
other telecommunications network" (Tawfik Jelassi & Albrecht Enders, 2005). This
was an academic definition for e-commerce, what practitioners believe is: "E-
commerce is often referred to as e-business and it is generally classified into four
types: B2B: business-to-business; B2C: business-to-consumer; C2C: Consumer-2-
Consumer; C2B: consumer-to-business" (Christian N.Madu and Assumpta A. Madu,
2002).
According to the Forrester, the research organization (www.forrester.com),
the fast growth of e-commerce in the developed countries and the value added which
they gain through it; woke up the lagged countries completely and make them revise
their marketing and commerce strategies; in order to compete in the world markets.
1.2.2 Online Retailing
We are witnessing the fast growth of e-retailers all around the world. Despite
of many online visitors, most of them just try to find more information instead of
purchasing online. These websites are essential e-CRM (Customer Relationship
Management) tools for retailers in order to survive in this competitive market, add-
value services are needed to keep differentiation with the rivals.
After emerging of e-commerce many firms start-up their websites to be the
4
pioneers in this field, but during the mid-2000 many bubbles burst. Story of survived
companies would lead us to better understanding of their strengths and powers. Larry
Freed has provided an Internet Retailer’s list of top 40 Retailers by sales volume in
Table 1.1 which shows whose online revenue was greater in 2004 (Larry Freed,
ForeSee Results, Spring 2005). Customers are lifeblood of an organization, so their
satisfaction is the top goals of the firms. In table 1.1 top 40 e-retailers are ranked by
their satisfaction score.
5
Table 1.1: Top 40 E-retailers according to their satisfaction score
Source: Larry Freed, 2005
6
From table 1.1 it is understood that amazon.com, had the greatest volume of
online sales in 2004, dell.com and officedepot.com are in the second and third
positions respectively.
Companies could not follow constant rules to be successful in online markets.
There is not a list of actions that lead companies to more profit or more customer
satisfaction. Goods are mostly available with good qualities, prices are very
competitive nowadays, so being the best in the market and remaining in that place is
not easily possible. Innovative strategies should be taken for customer relationships,
web site designing, after sales service and so on to survive in cyber markets.
Richard A. Feinberg, and Rajesh Kadam and Leigh Hokama, have provided
top 100 online retailers in 2002. Netflix.com considered as the best firm which
satisfied its customers more than others while amazon.com gained highest volume
revenue in 2004. "Netflix launched its movie rental service in 1999 with the goal of
using the DVD format and the Internet to make it easier for people to find and get
movies they will enjoy" (Netflix.com, 2005-09-29). What is amazing here is that
Netflix.com is not mentioned in top 100 e-retailers in 2002 and suddenly it exceeds
amazon.com in customer satisfaction in 2004. This shows how e-markets are
competitive and even pioneer companies should be aware of new comers.
7
1.2.3 Customer Satisfaction
To understand the importance of customer satisfaction, consider these facts:
customers with problems usually don't react and only 4% of them complain;
normally a person with problem tells 9 other people about it; while satisfied
customers tell 5 other people about their good experiment; keeping a current
customer costs about 1/7 of the cost of acquiring a new customer; retaining a current
employee costs one tenth of hiring and training a new one.
These facts; highlights the crucial role of satisfying customers which brings
employee satisfaction; hence, the profit maximization of the company.
Therefore, organizations need to understand that to what extend their
customers would be satisfy. Customer satisfaction in marketing context has specific
meanings: Anders Gustafsson, Michael D. Johnson, & Inger Roos (2005) brought
customer satisfaction definition as customer's overall evaluation of the date. This
satisfaction has positive influences on retaining customers among different variety of
services and products. In service based enterprises; service quality directly affects
customer satisfaction. Ingrid FecÏikovaÂ, (2004) interpreted satisfaction as a feeling
which results from a process of evaluating what was received against that expected,
the purchase decision itself and/or the fulfillment of needs/want.
Satisfaction refers to achieving the things we want. If satisfaction interprets
as "not going wrong" the firm should decrease complaint which by its own is not
sufficient. In order to satisfy customers, company should improve its services and
products. Customers with less expectation are more satisfied: companies by adding
innovative features would easily increase customer satisfaction. In contrast, when
customers are unaware of improvements but critical of losses in existing quality are
less satisfied and expect more.
One of the main ingredients of success in the market place is customer
satisfaction. Jochen Wirtz (2003) listed the results of customer satisfaction as
follows: repeat purchase; loyalty; positive word-of-mouth and increased long term
8
profitability.
Therefore, companies should measure their customers' satisfaction to fortify
their strengths and improve their weaknesses.
1.2.4 Service Quality
A conceptual model of service quality through empirical research developed
by Parasuraman et al. (1985). The model highlights the following five service quality
gaps:
(1) Gap1: Consumer expectations _management perceptions of consumer
expectations.
(2) Gap 2: Management perceptions of consumer expectations _ service quality
specifications actually set.
(3) Gap 3: Service quality specifications _ actual service delivery.
(4) Gap 4: Actual service delivery _ external communications about service.
(5) Gap 5: The final gap is the result of the four other gaps. (J. Cox and
B.G. Dale, 2001)
Figure 1.1 shows these 5 gaps in the conceptual model of service quality.
9
Figure 1.1: A conceptual model of service quality Source: Parasuraman et. al., 1985
10
1.2.5 Problem Discussion
Although the internet channel increasingly has been used by many online
shops; but many online retailers are shut down. In a competitive market place
understanding customer’s needs become crucial. Therefore, companies have moved
from a product-centric to a customer-centric position. Customer retention is directly
influenced by customer satisfaction. Retention is a major challenge particularly in
internet based services, as customers can easily switch from one service provider to
another at low cost (Khalifa and Liu, 2003). Considering the high costs of acquiring
new customers and the apparently high customer turn over of many online services,
it is very important to study the determinants of customer satisfaction (Van Rie,
Lijander & Jurriens 2001).
Customer satisfaction is the key factor determining how successful the
organization will be in customer relationships (Reichheld, 1996); therefore it is very
important to measure it. Total quality management (TQM) is based on the idea of
customer satisfaction - a management approach of an organization centered on
quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success
through customer satisfaction and benefits to all members of the organization and to
society (ISO 8402). The achievement of true customer satisfaction involves:
customer oriented culture; an organization that centers on the customer; employee
empowerment; process ownership; team building; and partnering with customers and
suppliers.
In the other words:
• improvement of the firm’s reputation and image;
• reduction of customer turnover; increased attention to customer needs in
TQM planning;
• reduction of marketing costs and, vice versa, lower transaction costs;
• reduction of costs related to product/service failures;
• and, lastly, increased satisfaction among personnel and greater stability of
the workforce. (David M. Szymansk, 2000)
11
There are several benefits for quality to be found via market research,
particularly in measuring the satisfaction levels of current customers, determining
customer needs for product development, and analyzing customer retention and
loyalty. To better manage customer satisfaction, firms spend millions on effectively
tracking the methods that guarantee customer satisfaction, because the quantitative
measurement of customer satisfaction is a great help for comprehensively measuring
the effect of product quality on customer behavior.
As what “Ingrid FecÏikovaÂ, 2004” illustrates in Figure 1.2; Customer
satisfaction as discussed above leads to profitability and service quality is the main
factor of it, especially in online trading, so it is clear that service quality indirectly
affects the stakeholders’ benefits.
Figure 1.2: Dependence between quality, satisfaction and profitability Source: Ingrid FecÏikovaÂ, 2004
For keeping online retailers alive with logical profits; retaining customers
must be the foremost aim. Customer satisfaction, as we discussed before, has the
most important effect on customer stickiness and in order to narrowing down we
focus on service quality as one of the customer satisfaction’s factors.
12
1.3 Problem Statement
Based on the problem background the following research questions have been
derived:
1. What are the most important service quality factors in online shopping
through Iranian perspective?
2. How to measure service quality in online shopping?
3. What is the satisfaction level of current customers in online shopping in Iran?
4. What are the customers’ needs in online shopping in Iran?
1.4 Project Objectives
There are a few objectives of this project that has been identified which are as
the following:
1. To study the importance and impact of service quality and customer
satisfaction in online shopping.
2. To find the most important dimensions of service quality that affect customer
satisfaction in online shopping in Iran.
3. To measure the satisfaction level of current customer in online shopping in
Iran.
4. To determine the customers’ need in online shopping in Iran.
13
1.5 Project Scope
Since the aspects of chosen problem area are many, the researcher has tried to
narrow down the focus. The aim of the research is to find the most important service
quality dimensions that affect customer satisfaction in online purchasing in Iran. In
the literature part, we will introduce theories related to service quality and customer
satisfaction in order to give a clear idea about the specific area to the reader and to
explain the proper context of the study. The project scopes that have been identified
are as follows:
1. Find the most important service quality dimensions that affect customer
satisfaction in online shopping in Iran
2. Focus on customer (not provider) and the gap between expected service and
perceived service.
3. This research will use the SERVQUAL model for measuring service quality.
4. Conducting survey and questionnaires as data collection methods.
5. The findings of this research are mostly useful for those managers, web
designers, etc. who intend to penetrate the Iranian market with least cost, time
and energy.
1.6 Importance of Project
In the last few years, a significant growth has been noticed in the Internet-
based services in the pure Internet businesses as well as the traditional enterprises,
which are developing their online services. Considering the high costs of acquiring
new customers and the apparently high customer turn over of many online services,
it is very important to study the determinants of customer satisfaction. Customer
satisfaction is the key factor determining how successful the organization will be in
customer relationships; therefore it is very important to measure it. In order to
14
narrowing down the research, we focus on service quality as one of the customer
satisfaction’s factors. The purpose of the research is to rank the service quality
factors and to find the most important service quality dimensions that affect customer
satisfaction in online purchasing in Iran. The findings of this research are mostly
useful to those (managers, web designers, etc.) who intend to penetrate the Iranian
market with least cost, time and energy. The results indicate the most important web
quality factors through Iranian online shoppers’ perspective.
1.7 Chapter Summary
As a conclusion, in this chapter we explained brief ideas and current issues
related to the project. The main propose of this research is to determine the most
important dimension of service quality that affect customer satisfaction in online
purchasing in Iran. The problem background, project statements, objectives and
scopes of the project have been discussed in this chapter. Having the overview about
the project statement and problem background, we will focus on literature reviews
that related to this research in next chapter. This research is organized as follows: In
chapter two theories and previews studies related to the topic will be presented.
Methodology is fully brought in chapter three which would be ended by frame of
reference that shows the exact road map of the study. Chapter four presents the data
which is gathered through the online survey. And last but certainly not least, chapter
five is about the data analyzing and will be finished by conclusion and further
studies.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter will give an overview of literature and models that are related to
the research problem presented in the previous chapter. In this chapter we will
introduce the concepts of customer satisfaction, service quality, relation between
customer satisfaction and service quality, traditional service quality dimensions,
online service quality dimensions and service quality model of online retailing in
order to give a clear idea about the research area. The essentials that are covered in
this topic are shown in Figure 2.1.
16
Figure 2.1: Literature Review Structure
2.2 Customer Satisfaction
There are two principal interpretations of satisfaction within the literature of
satisfaction as a process and satisfaction as an outcome (Parker and Mathews, 2001).
Early concepts of satisfaction research have typically defined satisfaction as a post
choice evaluative judgment concerning a specific purchase decision (Oliver, 1980;
Churchill and Suprenant, 1992; Bearden and Teel, 1983; Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988).
The most widely accepted model, in which satisfaction is a function of
disconfirmation, which in turn is a function of both expectations and performance
(Oliver, 1997). The disconfirmation paradigm in process theory provides the
grounding for the vast majority of satisfaction studies and encompasses four
constructs ± expectations, performance, disconfirmation and satisfaction (Caruana et.
al., 2000). This model suggests that the effects of expectations are primarily through
disconfirmation, but they also have an effect through perceived performance, as
many studies have found a direct effect of perceived performance on satisfaction
(Spreng and Page, 2001). Swan and Combs (1976) were among the first to argue
that satisfaction is associated with performance that fulfils expectations, while
Literature Review
Introduction
Customer Satisfaction
Service Quality
E-Service Quality
17
dissatisfaction occurs when performance falls below expectations. In addition, Poisz
and Von Grumbkow (1988) view satisfaction as a discrepancy between the observed
and the desired. This is consistent with value-percept disparity theory (Westbrook
and Reilly, 1983) which was developed in response to the problem that consumers
could be satisfied by aspects for which expectations never existed (Yi, 1990). The
value-percept theory views satisfaction as an emotional response triggered by a
cognitive-evaluative process (Parker and Mathews, 2001). In other words, it is the
comparison of the “object” to one’s values rather than an expectation.
Customers want a meeting between their values (needs and wants) and the
object of their evaluations (Paker and Mathews, 2001). More recently, renewed
attention has been focused on the nature of satisfaction ± emotion, fulfillment and
state (Parker and Mathews, 2001). Consequently, recent literature adds to this
perspective in two ways. First, although traditional models implicitly assume that
customer satisfaction is essentially the result of cognitive processes, new conceptual
developments suggest that affective processes may also contribute substantially to
the explanation and prediction of consumer satisfaction (Fornell and Wernerfelt,
1987; Westbrook, 1987; Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). Second, satisfaction should
be viewed as a judgment based on the cumulative experience made with a certain
product or service rather than a transaction-specific phenomenon (Wilton and
Nicosia, 1986).
There is general agreement that: Satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure
or disappointment resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance (or
outcome) in relation to his or her expectations (Kotler, 2003). Based on this review,
customer satisfaction is defined as the result of a cognitive and affective evaluation,
where some comparison standard is compared to the actually perceived performance.
If the perceived performance is less than expected, customers will be dissatisfied. On
the other hand, if the perceived performance exceeds expectations, customers will be
satisfied. Otherwise, if the perceived expectations are met with performance,
customers are in an indifferent or neutral stage.
Customer satisfaction is defined as a customer’s overall evaluation of the
performance of an offering to date. This overall satisfaction has a strong positive
18
effect on customer loyalty intentions across a wide range of product and service
categories (Gustafsson, 2005).
The satisfaction judgment is related to all the experiences made with a certain
business concerning its given products, the sales process, and the after- sale service.
Whether the customer is satisfied after purchase also depends on the offer’s
performance in relation to the customer’s expectation. Customers form their
expectation from past buying experience, friends’ and associates’ advice, and
marketers’ and competitors’ information and promises (Kotler, 2000).
Factors which determine the extent of expectations are: customer needs, total
customer value and total customer cost. It is mentioned by researchers who study
customer choice that choosing a product or service is only one of the stages
customers go through. A purchase decision is influenced by the buyer’s
characteristics. These include cultural, social, personal and psychological factors. In
addition to the buyer’s characteristics, a purchase decision is influenced by the
buyer’s decision process. The typical buying process develops through five stages: 1)
new recognition; 2) information search; 3) information evaluation; 4) purchase
decision; and 5) post-purchase evaluation (Chaston, 2001).
Searching for information is a key stage of a consumer’s decision-making
process and may include a search for both internal and external information. As the
perceived risk of a purchase decision increases, consumers search for more
information in order to cope with uncertainties about the potential positive or
negative consequences (Jihye Park, 2005).
Although buyers may skip or reverse some stages, basically they pass
sequentially through all five stages in buying a product. Value reflects what
customers do in evaluating, obtaining, using and disposing of the product or service.
Values can be defined as principles or standards of an individual as a whole. They
reflect an individual judgment as to what is valuable or important in life. Customer
delivered value is a result of comparison of total customer value with total customer
cost.
19
Information about the opinion of the customer regarding a product or service
is of essential importance, and can be obtained in several ways, such as customer
surveys, phone interviews, and customer panel discussions. It is also important to
measure customer orientation continuously (Rampersad, 2001).
What the company thinks its customer wants Is not necessarily the same as
What the company thinks it has to offer is not necessarily the same as What the
company actually offers is not necessarily the same as How the customer experiences
this is not necessarily the same as What the customer really wants (Hubert
Rampersad, 2001).
Mohamed Zairi (2000) developed figure 2.2 which shows in order to have a
continuous improvement of customer satisfaction there should be a cycle which starts
with listening to voice of customers then analyzing their comments, developing
actions and at the end implementing. Figure 2.2 illustrates this cycle:
Figure 2.2: Customer satisfaction continues improvement Source: Zairi, 2000
20
To have a thorough satisfaction firstly the good working condition is needed
to bring satisfied employees which leads to loyal employees and by preparing all
this, good production would be followed which influenced on Customer satisfaction
and make them loyal and as mentioned before high profit is about customer
retention.
Figure 2.3: The circle of satisfaction
2.2.1 What we need to measure?
Organizations can understand the satisfaction of their customers through the
number of problem calls; the number of complaints by e-mail, phone, etc.; and/or the
number of returned products (Werth, 2002).
21
It is somehow the measurement of customer dissatisfaction (no satisfaction)
and offers a possibility for the elimination of falls, not a possibility for product
development and product innovation. Companies should gather and analyze the
suitable data, which will provide relevant information to real customer satisfaction. It
is important to measure the right things, i.e. what is really important for the
customers. There is the possibility of wrong specifications or misinterpretations of
what a customer actually wants (Kekale, 2001) (the gap between what companies
think customers probably want and what customers really want). Criteria for the
measurement of customer satisfaction must be defined by the customer. Many
organizations determine the criteria for measurement internally, but “suppliers”
rarely have an accurate understanding of customer priorities (Hill, 1996). It is a
problem with measuring the performance dimensions that are not critical drivers of
value to the customers (value in the eye of customers, not in the eye of
organizations). The solution for this problem, to provide real insight into the market
needs, is to filter out irrelevant information and concentrate on the few dimensions
that really matter.
Figure 2.4: The Principle of pre-study
For evaluation of information, which we will achieve by pre-study, we can
use the histogram. The histogram shape shows how some questions in the
questionnaire were understood by respondents. For example: no-rectangular
distribution means misunderstanding a question, etc. After a simple pre-study the
22
companies can find support for their assumptions and simultaneously create a new,
more effective, questionnaire. If we have a set of customer demands and expectations
we can translate them into technical product features by using, e.g. the QFD
methodology. Very important also is determining the specific features, which mean a
limited number of critical measures in order to avoid information overload. There are
various methods (various approaches) for (to) the measurement of customer
satisfaction.
2.2.2 Techniques for measuring customer satisfaction
Market research techniques to measure customer satisfaction which are:
• customer satisfaction survey methodologies;
• focus groups to study customer satisfaction issues;
• standardized packages for monitoring customer satisfaction; and
• various computer software.
There are some problems with typical customer satisfaction measurement
techniques such as focus groups, survey methodologies and customer satisfaction
software. These include:
• Analytical - concerned with techniques, formal procedures, systems, and so
on;
• behavioral - concerned with the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, motivation,
commitment and resulting behavior of the people involved in the process;
and
• Organizational - concerned with the organizational structure, information
flows, management style and corporate culture, i.e. the context in which the
process is conducted (Piercy, 1996). (Ingrid FecÏikovaÂ, 2004)
23
2.2.3 Virtual organizations and customer satisfaction
The fast growing Internet technology introduced a new digital economy on a
virtual environment. Cox and Dale (2001) define that: E-business or e-enterprise is
the term used has shifted to competitiveness along with staff and customer
satisfaction in order to achieve long-term success. Surveys and research carried out
by a variety of sources (for example, Active Media Research LLC, 2000; PR
Newswire, 2000) have shown that the medium of the Internet and the development of
e-commerce are progressing extremely fast on a global scale. However, while the
Internet acts as a faster and less costly platform for consumers and businesses it has
inadvertently increased the importance of customer satisfaction. Caruso (2000)
reports that IT and business executives from all industries surveyed in the
Information and Business Week survey agree that generating new sources of revenue
is not the main goal of deploying e-business applications. In fact, this factor ranked
well behind creating or maintaining a competitive edge, improving customer
satisfaction, and keeping pace with the competition (Dalton, 1999). Heskett et al.
(1994) assert that the importance of customer satisfaction is to achieve good financial
performance in services in the physical world, and the same can be said of e-
commerce where a customer can be lost if unable to access a Web site or if the
experience proves unsatisfactory. It is clear that e-commerce will dramatically
change the way business operates with large-scale changes requiring a similarly
large-scale focus on the needs of the customer. Ody (2000), emphasize that the main
reasons why customers go onto the Internet are to find information or buy a product
or service with an emphasis on convenience and speed. Ziff-Davies (2000) maintains
that the concept of the Internet has raised customers’ sensitivity to fast customer
service. An overview of virtual organizations is presented by Aboelmaged and Tunca
(1999).
Figure 2.5 illustrates the customer contact-customer focus matrix for the
Internet companies. In Figure 2.5, the Y-axis shows the level of customer contact on
the Internet companies. The X-axis, however, shows the level of customer focus.
Customer contact level of the Internet companies is highly dependent on the nature
of the business. While a bookstore, for instance, has a high customer contact, the
24
content providers could have relatively lower customer contact. Customer focus, on
the other hand, crucially depends on strategic decisions. The highest customer
satisfaction can be reached, where both the customer contact and the customer focus
is high. A company with a high customer contact and focus is likely to be a
“winner”, while in a high to define a business that has a virtual presence or Web site
on the Internet either to promote brand awareness or enable-e-commerce. Customer
contact environment, if the customer focus is low, then the company is likely to be a
“loser”. The loser causes the highest customer dissatisfaction and is very likely to
disappear in a competitive environment. (Nasser Alomaim, Mustafa Zihni Tunca,
Mohamed Zairi, 20003)
Figure 2.5: Customer contact - customer focus matrix Source: Nasser Alomaim, Mustafa Zihni Tunca, Mohamed Zairi, 2003
25
2.3 Service Quality
Much of the initial work in developing a model to define and assess service
quality has been conducted by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) (otherwise
referred to as PZB). In conceptualizing the basic service quality model PZB (1985)
identified ten key determinants of service quality as perceived by the company and:
the consumer reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy,
communication, credibility, security, understanding/knowing the customer and
tangibility.
They noted that discrepancies existed between the firm's and the customer's
perceptions of the service quality delivered. In investigating these discrepancies,
PZB (1985) assert that service quality can be assessed by measuring the
discrepancies or "gaps" between what the customer expects and what the consumer
perceives he receives.
Arguing that the magnitude, and direction of this gap, directly affects the
service quality that the consumer perceives, PZB (1985) note that customers would
have perceptions of high service quality to the extent that their expectations are lower
than the perceived service performance. If the converse were true, customers would
perceive low service quality.
1. Report the results of a study that examines the usefulness of the
SERVPERF scale for assessing customer perceptions of service quality in the
uniform rental industry.
2. Assess the reliability of service quality measures as it applies to the
uniform rental industry.
3. Identify the dimensions of service quality that are important to customers
of uniform rental companies.
26
4. Assess the overall service quality and satisfaction level as perceived by
customers of rental companies.
PZB (1985) assert that their framework can be used for identifying
differences in the quality of goods and services by distinguishing between the
properties of a good or service. They note that Nelson (1974) defined "search
properties" as properties that can be determined before purchasing (such as
credibility and tangibles), and "experience properties" as properties that can be
determined only after purchase or consumption. Further, Darby and Karni (1973)
defined "credence properties," (such as competence and security) as properties or
characteristics that consumers often find extremely difficult to evaluate after their
purchase. Therefore, PZB (1985) concluded that consumers typically rely on
experience properties when evaluating service quality.
Based on their review of the literature, PZB (1985) developed the
SERVQUAL scale. The scale was designed to uncover broad areas of good or bad
service quality and can be used to show service quality trends over time, especially
when used with other service quality techniques. The SERVQUAL scale is based on
a difference score between customer expectations of service and their perceptions
after receiving the service. Initially PZB (1985) focused on the ten determinants of
service quality.
However, after two stages of scale purification, they reduced the ten
determinants to five dimensions of service quality: tangibles, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, and empathy (PZB 1988).
In their discussion, PZB (1988) assert that the SERVQUAL scale deals with
perceived quality and looks specifically at service quality, not customer satisfaction.
They state that "perceived service quality is a global judgment or attitude concerning
the superiority of service whereas satisfaction is related to a specific transaction".
They reported that the scale had a reliability rating of .92 and that the five
dimensions could be ranked in order of importance: reliability, assurance, tangibles,
responsiveness, and empathy.
27
Because of "wording related" high expectation scores and higher than normal
standard deviations on several questions, the authors later revised the SERVQUAL
scale (PZB 1991).
Subsequent research and testing of the SERVQUAL scale, however, has not
been supportive of its author's claims. For instance, Carman (1990) notes that while
SERVQUAL generally showed good stability, its five dimensions were not always
generic. Indeed, the various dimensions can vary depending on the type of service
industry surveyed. Carman also calls into question PZB's collection of expectation
data after a customer actually uses the service. He claims that this should be done
before using the service even though this is rarely practical. Carman states that even
when this is done, expectations and perceptions showed little relationship to one
another.
Teas (1993) questions SERVQUAL'S discriminant validity. He notes that the
service quality expectations concept may have serious discriminant validity short-
comings which can cause the "perceptions-minus-expectations" service quality
measurement framework to be "a potentially misleading indicator of customer
perceptions of service quality". He notes that SERVQUAL's lack of discriminant
validity results in a significant part of the variance in its expectations scores being
determined by the respondent's "misinterpretations" of the expectation questions.
Churchill, Brown and Peter (1993) argue that because the SERVQUAL scales
"scores" are really difference scores (perception scores minus expectation scores);
problems of reliability, discriminant validity, and variance restrictions exist. They
showed that while SERVQUAL had high reliability, a non-difference score rated
higher in reliability. Their findings also showed that the scale "failed to achieve
discriminant validity from its components", and the distribution of the SERVQUAL
scores were non-normal.
28
2.3.1 Definition of service quality
Some important definitions of service quality are coming as following:
Parasuraman et al., (1985, 1988): Service quality is determined by the
differences between customer’s expectations of services provider’s performance and
their evaluation of the services they received.
Asubonteng et al. (1996): Service quality can be defined as “the difference
between customers’ expectations for service performance prior to the service
encounter and their perceptions of the service received”.
Gefan (2002): Service quality as the subjective comparison that customers
make between the quality of the service that they want to receive and what they
actually get.
2.3.2 Dimensions and determinants of service quality
Gro¨nroos (1984), Lehtinen and Lehtinen (1982) and Czepiel et al. (1985)
have considered the service quality of the service encounter as two different
dimensions, one being technical or output quality and the other functional or process
quality. These dimensions were assessed according to attitudes and behavior,
appearance and personality, service mindedness, accessibility and approachability of
customer contact personnel.
Czepiel et al. (1985) not only pinpointed the process and outcome quality
dimensions but also identified three different dimensions of the service encounter,
distinguishing between customer perceptions, provider characteristics and production
realities. They suggested that these covered common crucial characteristics in service
delivery and that the determinants of satisfaction were therefore similar in each case.
29
For the customer perceptions and production realities, they listed elements which
were then judged along a continuum. The customer perceptions included purpose,
motivation, result, salience, cost, reversibility, and risk. The production realities
related more to elements such as technology, location, content, complexity and
duration. These two dimensions can be compared to the customer’s perception of a
Web site and the complexity or speed of the technology involved. The third
dimension of provider characteristics relates to the expertise, attitude and
demographic attributes of the staff.
Edwardsson et al. (1989) expanded further these two types of service quality,
and summarized four aspects of quality which affect customers’ perceptions:
(1) Technical quality;
(2) Integrative quality;
(3) Functional quality;
(4) Outcome quality.
Technical quality refers to the skills of the personnel and design of the service
system. In e-commerce, these two aspects are hidden from view and are not
experienced directly and therefore cannot be judged by the customer. Integrative
quality is concerned with how the different parts of the service delivery system work
together. This is crucial in e-commerce because the customer must have a positive
experience online and if relevant a positive experience offline. For example, if a
customer buys a product through a company’s Web site, then a smooth running
system will correctly translate that order and payment, and deliver the product as
promised. The third aspect is functional quality which means the manner in which
the service is delivered. As for Gronroos (1984) and Lehtinen and Lehtinen’s (1982)
definition of functional quality, the meaning is the same and is relevant to e-
commerce in so far as the layout and accessibility of a Web site is concerned,
without the direct human contact or physical environment. Outcome quality is when
the actual service meets the promised service and the customer’s needs and
expectations. This is true in the case of e-commerce just as much as for businesses in
the physical world. If a customer is dissatisfied, he or she is unlikely to visit that
shop or buy from the Web site again. The likelihood of non purchase is greater on the
30
Internet due to the ease with which customers can click to a competitor’s Web site.
Even though this type of research had considered the matter of customers’ perception
of quality, it was Parasuraman et al. (1985; 1988) who addressed the issue as to how
the customer makes an assessment of service quality. They came up with ten
determinants that can be used to measure service:
(1) Access (approachability and ease of contact);
(2) Communication (informing and listening to customers);
(3) Competence (possession of required skills and knowledge to perform the
service);
(4) Courtesy (demeanour and attitude of contact personnel);
(5) Credibility (trustworthiness and honesty);
(6) Reliability (consistency of performance and dependability);
(7) Responsiveness (timeliness of service and willingness of employees);
(8) Security (freedom from danger, risk or doubt);
(9) Tangibles (physical evidence of service);
(10) understanding/knowing the customer (making an effort to understand the
Customer’s needs)
Credibility is an assessment that can be made before using a service and this
has the same bearing in e-commerce - generally, a customer will only make a
transaction in e-commerce after having had some kind of recommendation from an
external source, whether it is through advertising or by word of mouth. Security is of
critical importance when making transactions online. Usually, the Web site will
indicate that it is a secure Web site so that customers can give, for example, credit
card details, without worrying about other people accessing this information. Other
determinants such as understanding the customer and access are also relevant to the
e-commerce marketplace. A Web site must be available at all times and does not
have opening and closing hours like a normal high street bank or shop. To
understand the customer, a clever Web site has cookies which recognize repeat
customers and do this by asking a new customer to register some kind of user word
like an e-mail address which they enter on each occasion that they access the Web
site. In this way, customers can be sent information by e-mail or offered purchasing
suggestions on re-entering a Web site depending on what they have previously
31
bought. The aim is to meet the customer’s needs and provide the kind of
personalization that a regular customer would get from contact personnel in a BAM
environment. Communication is difficult on the Internet because the interaction
between the Web site and the customer is often one way, the Web site providing
information to the customer. It is only if a Web site offers a telephone number or e-
mail address that the customer communicates with the company directly, and in most
cases, e-mail queries receive standard e-mail replies that may not respond directly to
the query. In a similar way, courtesy and competence can be said to be almost non-
existent during the Web site experience. The customer will generally navigate a Web
site if it is easy to use but he or she will not be able to judge what the personnel are
like behind this interface or if they have the required skills to perform a service. It is
only through the customer service option that this can be assessed and even then, an
automatic reply e-mail message is often devoid of human characteristics.
Tangibles are for the most part irrelevant for measuring service quality in e-
commerce as the customer only interacts with the Web site. Therefore, the customer
cannot have opinions about the physical properties used to deliver a service. Most e-
commerce companies either have their own warehouses for fulfilling orders for
products to be sent out, or ensure suppliers do this directly. The activity may take
place far away from where the customer is sitting and so is not applicable.
Responsiveness and reliability are, however, applicable because they relate to what
the company promises. Reliability could be judged, for example, by the correct
product being received by the customer within 48 hours. This is important for any
business and relates to the whole interaction between the interface and the back-end
processes of fulfillment. Responsiveness as such is slightly more indiscernible,
especially whilst directly interacting with the Web site. If the customer has a
problem, the customer service option of telephone or e-mail is how to report this and
it is here that the company’s ability to respond well and at a reasonable speed is
judged. This is also relevant if fulfillment is part of the service and the customer has
to send back an item or it is late arriving.
Parasuraman et al. (1988, 1988) subsequently reduced these ten determinants
to five, the following first three being the original ones and the other seven original
ones categorized into (4) and (5): (1) Tangibles; (2) Reliability; and (3)
32
Responsiveness; (4) Assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees); and (5)
Empathy (caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers).
These five determinants were used in their SERVQUAL measurement
instrument (1988b). Johnston et al. (1990) carried out similar research using
empirical data in ten UK service organizations which resulted in 12 determinants,
some of which were similar to the ten determinants of Parasuraman et al. (1985): (1)
Access; (2) Appearance/aesthetics; (3) Availability; (4) Cleanliness/tidiness; (5)
Comfort; (6) Communication; (7) Competence; (8) Courtesy; (9) Friendliness; (10)
Reliability; (11) Responsiveness; and (12) Security.
Four out of the five new determinants, appearance, cleanliness, comfort and
friendliness, refer to service delivery within a physical sense and are therefore not
relevant to the Internet experience. The fifth new determinant, availability, is very
relevant because it can refer to the availability of a Web site, just as much as to the
availability of what service or product the e-business is offering and whether
customer service contacts can help. The empirical research carried out by Johnston et
al. (1990) was only on management perceptions of service and not from the
customers’ perspective; therefore Johnston and Silvestro (1990) carried out further
research taking account of the latter and added five more determinants: (1)
Attentiveness/helpfulness; (2) Care; (3) Commitment; (4) Functionality; and (5)
Integrity.
The first three again refer to the staff performing the service and are therefore
unsuited for use as service quality measures over the Internet. However,
functionality, which here means serviceability and fitness for purpose, and integrity
can be judged by a customer because they refer directly to the Web site.
Johnston (1995) added another determinant, flexibility, after carrying out
further research on these 17 determinants in retail banking. This was used to describe
“a willingness and ability on the part of the service worker to amend or alter the
nature of the service or product to meet the needs of the customer” (Johnston, 1995).
In an e-commerce transaction, there is little flexibility because what an e-business
33
offers can be customized to a certain degree but not changed during the course of the
service delivery.
Gronroos (1990) has also undertaken further research into the determinants of
service quality based on his earlier model. He offered six criteria of good perceived
service quality: (1) Professionalism and skills; (2) Attitudes and behavior; (3)
Accessibility and flexibility; (4) Reliability and trustworthiness; (5) Reputation and
credibility; and (6) Recovery.
The first five of these are similar to the five determinants of Parasuraman et
al. (1988) and therefore merit equivalent arguments put forward above, when applied
to the world of e-commerce. The sixth determinant, recovery, has become an
important factor in service quality. Lewis (1999) notes that effective service recovery
can enhance customer loyalty and provoke increased positive word of mouth
communication. Looking at this in terms of a Web site, service failure will most
likely be due to the system crashing and could be caused by the company or
customer. If there is a consistent problem accessing the Web site or while using it,
then a customer should complain but they are more likely to click to another
competitor’s Web site rather than spend time complaining and therefore service
recovery becomes immaterial. However, if there is a problem with billing or
fulfillment, recovery does become an issue (i.e. to replace a damaged product or an
incorrectly delivered product).
34
2.4 E-Service Quality
In this part, understanding of e-service quality will be gained both from
definitions of e-service quality and e-service quality dimensions.
2.4.1 Definitions of E-Service Quality
According to Zeithaml, et al. (2000), e-service quality is comprehended both
from pre-and post- Web site service perspectives. It can be understood as the
evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of online shopping, purchasing, and
delivery products and serves. Similarly, Santos (2003) defined e-SQ as overall
customer evaluations and judgments of excellence e-service delivery in the virtual
marketplace.
2.4.2 E-service Quality Dimensions
A majority of studies view the dimensioned of e-service quality as
antecedents of e-satisfaction. (Dina et al. 2004). High standard e-service quality is
the means by which the potential benefits of the Internet can be realized (Yang et al.,
2001). Drawing upon the traditional service quality scale, Zeithaml et al. (2000) have
developed e-service quality dimensions for measuring e-service quality. In a series of
focus group interviews, they have identified eleven dimensions of online service
quality: access, ease of navigation, efficiency, flexibility, reliability, personalization,
security/privacy, responsiveness, trust/assurance, site aesthetics, and price
knowledge. In their research, they found the core dimensions of regular service
35
quality like efficiency, fulfillment, reliability and privacy were the same as online. At
the same time, they stated that responsiveness, compensation and real time access to
help as core dimensions of service recovery for online services. In addition, they
noted that empathy was less important online unless there were service problems
happened.
Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2002), through focus group interviews and an online
survey, reduced the scale of online service quality into four key dimensions: Web
site design, reliability, privacy/security, and customer service. In their research they
suggested that the most basic building of outstanding online service quality is
reliability and web site design including good functionality in time savings, easy
transactions, good selection, in-depth information and the right level of
personalization.
Yang et al. (2004) have uncovered six key online service quality dimensions-
reliability, access, ease of use, attentiveness, security, and credibility-employed by
Internet purchasers to evaluate e-retailers’ service quality. Furthermore, they
suggested that if online retailers want to achieve high level of customers’ perceived
service quality, four dimensions should be more focused on: reliability, attentiveness,
ease of use and access. Table 2.1 shows different description of each dimension.
36
Table 2.1: E-Service Quality dimensions and Descriptions
E-Service Quality
Dimensions Description
Reliability
It is included correctness of order fulfillment, prompt delivery,
and billing accuracy
Attentiveness
It is included individualized attention, personal thank-you notes
from online retailers and availability of a message area for
customer questions or comments.
Ease of use
It is related to easy-to-remember URL address, well-
organized, well structured, and easy-to-follow catalogues,
site navigability, and concise and understandable contents,
terms and conditions.
Access
It is included the list of the company’s street and e-mail
address, phone and fax number, accessibility of service
representatives, availability of chat room, bulletin board and
other communication channels.
Security
It is included security of personal information and minimal
online purchase risks.
Credibility
It refers to the business history of online retailers, special
rewards or discounts, and referral banners on other Web site.
37
Yang and Fang (2004) have noted that traditional service quality dimensions,
such as competence, courtesy, cleanliness, comfort and friendliness, are not relevant
to online retailing; whereas other factors, such as reliability, responsiveness,
assurance, and access, are critical to both traditional service quality and e-service
quality. Similarly, Jun et al. (2004) compared traditional with online service quality
dimensions and found that four of five traditional service quality dimensions stated
by Parasuraman et al. (1988) were also considered important online. They are listed
as: reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Moreover, Yang et al. (2000)
identified six key dimensions e.g., reliability, responsiveness, competence, eases of
use, security and product portfolio.
Madu (2002) proposed the following 15 dimensions of online service quality:
performance, features, structure, aesthetics, reliability, storage capacity,
serviceability, security and system integrity, trust, responsiveness, service,
differentiation and customization, Web store policies, reputation, assurance and
empathy. According to Dina et al. (2004), five dimensions are commonly used: ease
of use, web site design, customization, responsiveness and assurance. In order to
clarify the detailed determinants of e-service quality, Lee and Lin (2005) proposed
website design, reliability, responsiveness, trust and personalization as e-service
quality dimensions. According to their research, trust is the most significant
determinant to overall service quality and customer satisfaction, then reliability and
responsiveness. The less one is website design. To their surprise, personalization is
the least significant.
Based on the focus interviews and the insights of previous research, Santos
(2003) develop a conceptual model of e-service quality. This model proposed that e-
service quality consists of incubative and active dimensions, and each dimension
composed by five or six determinants. Active dimensions are: Reliability, Efficiency,
Support, Communication, Security and Incentive. Incubative dimensions are: ease of
use, appearance, linkage, structure & layout and content.
38
Before the launching of a Web site, the incubative dimension needs to be
considered and to ensure that:
• the Web site is easy to use, search and navigate;
• it has an appealing appearance to its target customers;
• links are set up and maintained, and the broken links are avoided;
• the site has a well-organized structure and layout; and
• there is an attractive presentation of factual contents.
When a Web site has been established, the active dimension needs to be
maintained throughout the entire period of active e-commerce on the Web site. The
determinants of active dimensions are:
• reliability
• efficiency;
• support;
• communications;
• security;
• incentive.
All determinants listed above are presented in descending order of
importance – from high importance to low importance.
According to Santos (2003), the Conceptual Model of e-Service Quality can
be of assistance to all companies that engage e-commerce, or plan to do so. The
model can assist companies to understand e-service quality and to gain customer
satisfaction, therefore, profitability.
39
2.5 Conclusions
This chapter is done with some literature review from some resources such as
internet, books, white papers, conferences and journal. We briefly discussed on
literature reviews according to the previous works from several researchers that
applied certain approaches, methods, framework or techniques that are related
Measuring service quality and SERVQUAL model.
.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents brief description of the research methodology used for
the project. This includes the purpose of the research, research approach, research
strategy, sample selection methods, data collection methods and data analysis
methods. At the end of this methodology part validity and reliability issues will be
discussed to follow the quality standards of the research. Then frame of reference
which brings a thorough road map of study is provided next.
41
3.2 Research Propose
Early in any research study, one faces the task of selecting the specific design
to use. A number of different design approaches exist but, unfortunately, no simple
classification system defines all the various that must be considered (Cooper &
Schindler, 2003).
Research can be classified in terms of their purpose. Accordingly, Saunders,
Lewis & Thornhil (2003) mentioned that they are most often classified exploratory,
descriptive or explanatory while Cooper and Schindler (2003) categorized in
descriptive and causal. This way the essential difference between descriptive and
causal studies lies in their objectives. If the research is concerned with finding out
who, what, where, when, or how much, then the study is descriptive. In a causal
study, we try to explain relationships among variables.
Exploratory research is useful when the research questions are vague or when
there is little theory available to guide predictions. At times, research may find it
impossible to formulate a basic statement of the research problem. Exploratory
research is used to develop a better understanding (Hair, Babin, Money & Samoel
2003). Exploratory studies are a valuable means of finding out what is happening, to
seek new insight, to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light. It is
particularly useful if researcher wish to clarify the understanding of a problem. There
are three principle ways of conducting exploratory research: a search of the literature,
talking to experts in the subject, conducting focus group interviews (Saunders, Lewis
& Thornhill 2003)
In contrast to exploratory studies more formalized studies are typically
structures with clearly stated hypotheses or investigative questions. Formal studies
serve a variety of research objectives:
- Descriptions of phenomena or characteristics associated with subject
population (the who, what, when, where, and how of a topic).
- Estimates of the proportions of a population that have these characteristics.
42
- Discovery of associations among different variables (Cooper & Schindler,
2003).
Generally things are described by providing measure of an event or activity.
For example, which brands are most preferred? What advertisements are most
effective? These are the questions that can be answered by descriptive research.
Descriptive research designs are usually structured and specifically designed to
measure the characteristics described in a research question. Hypotheses, derived
from the theory, usually serve to guide the process and provide a list of what needs to
measured (Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel 2003). The object of descriptive research
is to portray an accurate profile of persons, events of situations. It is necessary to
have a clear picture of the phenomena on which researcher wish to collect data prior
to the collection of the data (Saundrers, Lewis & Thornhill 2003).
Studies that establish causal relationships between variables may be termed
explanatory studies. The emphasis here is on studying a situation or a problem in
order to explain the relationship between variables (Saunders, Lewis & thornhill
2003). Explanatory studies are designed to test whether one event causes another
(Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel 2003).
The purpose of the research is descriptive. The data has been collected
through questionnaire, is aimed to understand the most important factors of service
quality.
3.3 Research Approach
The knowledge claims, the strategies and the method all contribute to a
research approach that tends to be more quantitative, qualitative or mixed (Creswell
2003).
43
3.3.1 Quantitative Research
Quantitative approach is one in which the investigator primarily uses post
positivist claims for developing knowledge (i.e. cause and effect thinking, reduction
to specific variables and hypotheses and questions, use of instrument and
observation, and the test of theories), employs strategies of inquiry such as
experiments and surveys and collects data on predetermined instruments that yield
statistical data (Creswell 2003).
Quantitative research is frequently referred to as hypothesis-testing research.
Characteristically, studies begin with statements of theory from which research
hypotheses are derived. Then an experimental design is established in which the
variables in question (the dependent variables) are measured while controlling for the
effects of selected independent variables. Subject included in the study are selected at
random is desirable to reduce error and to cancel bias. The sample of subjects is
drawn to reflect the population (Newman & Benz 1998).
The procedures are deductive in nature, contributing to the scientific
knowledge base by theory testing. This is the nature of quantitative methodology.
Because true experimental designs require tightly controlled conditions, the richness
and depth of measuring for participant may be sacrificed. As a validity concern, this
may be a limitation of quantitative designs (Newman & Benz 1998)
3.3.2 Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is multi method in focus, involving an interpretive,
naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers
study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret,
phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Newman & Benz 1998).
44
Qualitative approach is one in which the inquirer often makes knowledge
claims based primarily on constructivists perspectives (i.e., the multiple meaning of
individual experiences, meaning socially and historically constructed, with an intent
of developing a theory or pattern) or advocacy/participatory perspectives (i.e.,
political, issue-oriented, collaborative or change oriented) or both. It also uses
strategies of inquiry such as narratives, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded
theory studies or case studies. The researcher collects open-ended, emerging data
with the primary intent of developing themes from the data (Creswell 2003).
Since the purpose is to understand the most important dimensions of service
quality from the Iranian customers’ perspective, quantitative research is found to be
more appropriate for this study.
3.4 Research Strategy
Research strategy will be a general plan of how researcher will go about
answering the research questions that has been set by researcher. It will contain clear
objectives, derived from research questions specify the sources from which
researcher intend to collect data and consider the constraints that researcher will
inevitably have such as access to data, time, location and money, ethical issues
(Thornhill et. al., 2003).
Based on the conditions 1) form of research question 2) requires control over
behavioral events and 3) focus on contemporary events five research strategies were
identified in social science. These are: experiments, surveys, archival analysis,
histories and case studies (see table 3.1).
45
Table 3.1: Research strategies
Strategy Form of research
question
Requires control
over behavioral
event?
Focuses on
contemporary
events?
Experiment How, Why Yes Yes
Survey
Who, What,
Where, How many,
How much
No Yes
Archival analyses
Who, What,
Where, How many,
How much
No Yes/No
History How, Why No No
Case Study How, Why No Yes
Source: Yin, 1994, p.6
Most important condition for selecting research strategy is to identify the type
of research question being asked. “Who”, “What”, “Where”, “How” and “Why” are
the categorization scheme for the types of research questions. Two possibilities need
to investigate by asking the “What” question. First, some types of what questions are
justifiable for conducting an exploratory study and the goal is to develop pertinent
hypotheses and propositions for further inquiry. Any of the five research strategies
can be used in that situation- exploratory survey, exploratory experiment, or an
exploratory case study. The second type of what question is actually form a “how
many” or “how much” line of inquiry and the outcomes from a particular situation.
The survey or archival analysis is more favorable than other strategies. If the
researcher needs to know the “how” question, the better strategy will be doing
history or a case study.
46
Since question in this study is based on “what” question and this what
question is actually form a “how many” and investigator has no control over the
actual behavioral events, Survey is found to be a more appropriate approach in order
to gain a better understanding of the research area. Survey is more appropriate for
quantitative study.
3.4.1 Survay
The survey strategy is popular and common strategy in business research that
is usually associated with the deductive approach. Survey allows the collection of
large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical way.
Questionnaire, structured observation and structures interviews are often falls into
this strategy (Thornhill et. al., 2003). In this study a survey has been done using a
questionnaire.
3.4.2 Pilot Test
A pilot test is conducted to detect weaknesses in design and instrumentation
and to provide proxy data for selection of a probability sample. It should, therefore,
draw subjects from the target population and simulate the procedures and protocols
that have been designated for data collection (Cooper and Schindler, 2003).
47
3.5 Sample Selection
The basic idea of sampling is that by selecting some of the elements in a
population, researcher may draw conclusions about the entire population. There are
several compelling reasons for sampling, including: lower cost, greater accuracy of
result, greater speed of data collection and availability of population selection
(Cooper & Schindler 2003).
3.5.1 Selecting the sampling method
Selection of the sampling method to use in a study depends on a number of
related theoretical and practical issues. These include considering the nature of the
study, the objectives of the study and the time and budget available. Traditional
sampling method can be divided into two categories: probability and non- probability
sampling (Samuel et. al., 2003).
Probability sampling is most commonly associated with survey-based
research where researcher needs to make inferences from the sample about a
population to answer the research questions or to meet research objectives (Saunders
et. al., 2003).
In probability sampling, sampling elements are selected randomly and the
probability of being selected is determined ahead of time by the researcher. If done
properly, probability sampling ensures that the sample is representative (Hair et. al.,
2003)
Non-probability sampling provides a range of alternative techniques based on
researcher subjective judgment (Saunders et. al., 2003). In non-probability sampling
the selection of elements for the sample is not necessarily made with the aim of being
48
statistically representative of the population. Rather the researcher uses the subjective
methods such as personal experience, convenience, expert judgment and so on to
select the elements in the sample. As a result the probability of any element of the
population being chosen is not known (Samuel et. al. 2003).
According to Samuel et. al., 2003 most non-probability sampling methods
are:
• Convenience sampling
Convenience sampling involves select sample members who can provide
required information and who are more available to participate in the study.
Convenience samples enable the researcher to complete a large number of interviews
cost effectively and quickly but they suffer from selection bias because of difference
of target population (Hair et. al., 2003).
• Judgment sampling
Researcher’s judgment is used to select sample element and it involves for a
specific purpose. Group of people who have knowledge about particular problem
they can be selected as sample element. Sometimes it referred as a purposive sample
because it involves a specific purpose. Judgment sampling is more convenience and
low cost involvement. (Hair et. al., 2003)
• Quota sampling
Objective of quota sampling is to have proportional representation of the
strata of the target population for the total sample and the certain characteristics
describe the dimensions of the population (Cooper & Schindler 2003). In quota
sampling the researcher defines the strata of the target population, determines the
total size and set a quota for the sample elements from each stratum. The findings
from the sampling cannot be generalized because of the choice of elements is not
done using a probability sampling methods (Samouel et. al. 2003).
49
Purpose of this research is to classify the service quality dimensions in online
shopping from the Iranian shoppers. For the study sample has been selected from the
cloob.com members; because this group has more experience of e-commerce and
online shopping than the rest of people in Iran. Sample was selected by using
judgment because some criteria were followed during the sample selection:
� Sample should be more familiar with using Internet;
� Sample should have experience of using Online purchasing;
The questionnaire was divided into three parts in order to let responders more
time to concentrate on each question.
3.5.2 Overview of the sample
Cloob.com is a virtual Iranian society website that people can have their
profiles, web logs, list of friends, photo album, clubs, sending & receiving messages,
online shopping, sending SMS, online advertising and etc. Cloob.com has 88309
active members, and 20968 more has been invited and there are 6508 clubs in this
site. Its members are all aware of e-commerce, as they could rent a flat or buy a car
from this website.
Main purpose of this study is to understand the most important dimensions of
service quality in online shopping sector from the Iranian perspective. Based on the
objectives of the study the sample should be familiar with using Internet and also it
should have experience of using online purchasing.
Based on the facilities which cloob.com provides its 88309 members; it is
obvious that its members are all familiar with using Internet and e-commerce. So, the
members of Cloob.com were seemed to be the best sample for this study.
50
3.6 Data Collection
There are two major approaches to gathering information about a situation,
person, problem or phenomenon. Sometimes, information required is already
available and only need to be extracted. However there are times when the
information must be collected. Based upon these broad approaches to information
gathering data are categorized as: Secondary data and Primary data. Secondary data
are collected from secondary sources such as governments, publications, personal
records, census (Ranjit Kumar 1996) and primary data are collected through:
observation, interviews and/or questionnaires (Hair et. al., 2003). According to
Creswell (2003) data collection procedure in qualitative research involve four basic
types: Observations, Interviews, documents and audio-visual materials.
In this study quantitative survey is used as data collection method. Since the
aim of the study is classifying service quality dimensions in online purchasing from
the customers’ point of view, the main focus thus is customer. A questionnaire was
prepared to get idea about the customer’s experiences in online shopping. The
questionnaire divided into two parts and published on www.cloob.com; which is an
Iranian online club. A survey is a procedure used to collect primary data from
individuals. Data can range from beliefs, opinions, attitudes and lifestyles to general
background information on individuals such as gender, age, education and income as
well as company characteristics like revenue and number of employees. Surveys are
used when the research involves collecting information from a large sample of
individuals (Samuel et. al., 2003).
The questionnaire was developed based on research question and frame of
reference. The logical structure of questionnaire followed the order of service quality
dimension in the frame of reference. For understanding the importance and
satisfaction of each service quality dimension a 5-scale was used (1=very unsatisfied,
3= neutral, 5= very satisfied).
Once came up with the first draft of questionnaire, ten questionnaires were
handed out to the students of UTM and they were asked whether the questions made
51
sense to them and were they easy to understand. After refining questions, the well-
improved questionnaire was developed.
3.7 Data analysis
After collecting all the data the process of analysis begins. To summarize and
rearrange the data several interrelated procedure are performed during the data
analysis stage (Zikmund 2000).
For quantitative data analysis, statistical tools of Microsoft excel and SPSS
are used for data input and analysis. The statistics results were presented by graphical
form with detailed description.
3.8 Validity and Reliability
In order to reduce the possibility of getting the answer wrong, attention need
to be paid to two particular on research design: reliability and validity (Saunders et.
al., 2003).
3.8.1 Validity
Validity is concerned with whether the findings are really about what they
appear to be about (Saunders et. al., 2003). Validity defined as the extent to which
52
data collection method or methods accurately measure what they were intended to
measure (Saunders et. al., 2003). Cooper & Schindler (2003) believe that validity
refers to the extent to which a test measures what we actually wish to measure. There
are two major forms: external and internal validity. The external validity of research
findings refers to the data’s ability to be generalized across persons, settings, and
times. Internal validity is the ability of a research instrument to measure what is
purposed to measure (Cooper & Schindler, 2003).
Numbers of different steps were taken to ensure the validity of the study:
• Data was collected from the reliable sources, from respondents who are more
experienced to using online shopping;
• Survey question were made based on literature review and frame of reference
to ensure the validity of the result;
• Questionnaire has been pre-tested by the responded before starting the
survey. Questionnaire was tested by at least ten persons;
• Data has been collected through two weeks, within this short period of time
no major event has been changed with the related topic.
3.8.2 Reliability
According to Saunders et. al., 2003, reliability refers to the degree to which
data collection method or methods will yield consistent findings, similar observations
would be made or conclusions reached by other researchers or there is transparency
in how sense was made from the raw data. Cooper & Schindler (2003) have defined
reliability as many things to many people, but in most contexts the notion of
consistency emerges. A measure is reliable to the degree that it supplies consistent
results. Reliability is a necessary contributor to validity but is not a sufficient
condition for validity.
53
Reliability can be accessed by the following questions (Easterby-Smith et al.,
2002: p.53):
(1) Will the measures yield the same results on other occasions?
(2) Will similar observation be reached by other observers?
(3) Is there transparency in how sense was made from the raw data?
SPSS software offers “Reliability Analysis Statistics”: Reliability analysis
allows you to study the properties of measurement scales and the items that make
them up. The Reliability Analysis procedure calculates a number of commonly used
measures of scale reliability and also provides information about the relationships
between individual items in the scale. Intraclass correlation coefficients can be used
to compute interrater reliability estimates.
Statistics: Descriptive for each variable and for the scale, summary statistics
across items, inter-item correlations and covariances, reliability estimates, ANOVA
table, intraclass correlation coefficients, Hotelling's T2, and Tukey's test of
additivity.
The following models of reliability are available:
• Alpha (Cronbach). This is a model of internal consistency, based on the
average inter-item correlation.
• Split-half. This model splits the scale into two parts and examines the
correlation between the parts.
• Guttman. This model computes Guttman's lower bounds for true reliability.
• Parallel. This model assumes that all items have equal variances and equal
error variances across replications.
• Strict parallel. This model makes the assumptions of the parallel model and
also assumes equal means across items.
54
Numbers of different steps were taken to ensure the reliability of the study:
• Questionnaire was divided into three parts in order that responders could
concentrate more on each question;
• The theories that have been selected for the study was clearly described and
research question has been formulated based on the previous theory. Data has
been collected based on the frame of reference that was drawn from the
discussed theories. The objective is to make sure that if another investigator
will follow the same procedures and used the same questionnaires objects, the
same conclusions would be made.
• Alpha Cronbach test has also been taken for the 50 items (service quality
factors) and it shows the result was 0.960 which is more than .8 and
confirmed the reliability of the questions.
3.9 Frame of Reference
This part will provide the conceptual framework based on literature review.
This section will explain the key factors, variables and relationships among theories
or models and provide theoretical overview. The conceptualization helps to answer
the study’s research question. This conceptual framework will also guide the data
collection of this study.
Main purpose of this study is to rank service quality dimensions from Iranian
online shoppers’ perspective. Based on the objectives of the study the research
question focus on what are the most important service quality dimensions which
affect customers’ satisfaction in online purchasing in Iran.
55
3.9.1 Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality
Service quality and customer satisfaction are inarguably the two core
concepts that are at the crux of the marketing theory and practice (Spreng and
Mackoy, 1996). In today’s world of intense competition, the key to sustainable
competitive advantage lies in delivering high quality service that will in turn result in
satisfied customers (Shemwell et al., 1998). The prominence of these two concepts is
further manifested by the cornucopia of theoretical and empirical studies on the topic
that have emanated over the past few years. Therefore, there is not even an iota of
doubt concerning the importance of service quality and customer satisfaction as the
ultimate goals of service providers. (G.S. Sureshchandar, Chandrasekharan
Rajendran R.N. Anantharaman, 2002)
A basic agreement emanating from the wide range of literature on service
quality and customer satisfaction is that service quality and customer satisfaction are
conceptually distinct but closely related constructs (Parasuraman et al., 1994;
Dabholkar, 1995; Shemwell et al., 1998).
3.9.2 Different tools for measuring online service quality
Based on literature review I’m taking the online service quality dimensions
identified by different authors; to understand the most important dimensions from the
Iranian online customers. Different tools for measuring Service Quality are followed:
56
3.9.2.1 SERVQUAL
By the use of SERVQUAL scale it is possible to compare customers’
expectations and their perceptions of actual performance (Parasuraman and Zeithaml,
1990). This scale has been developed for the service sector and has five generic
dimensions or factors: (1) Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment and appearance
of personnel; (2) Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and
accurately; (3) Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt
service; (4) Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security):
Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and
confidence; (5) Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the
customer): Caring and individualized attention that the firm provides its customers.
3.9.2.2 WebQUAL
WebQUAL (Barnes et al, 2001) is an on-line questionnaire which is applied
to assess customer’s perceptions of the quality of Web sites. The questionnaire is
completed by customers and the qualitative customer assessments are converted into
quantitative metrics that are useful for management decision-making. WebQUAL
allows comparisons to be made between E-Commerce environments in the same
domain, or for the same E-Commerce environment over time. WebQUAL has been
iteratively developed through its application to a number of domains, from university
Web sites, through to auction sites, book store Web sites, and even Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) sites on mobile phones. One of the major influences in
its development has been the communications theory and, therefore, WebQUAL is
particularly suited for assessing the information quality of information-intensive E-
Commerce environments. The WebQUAL instrument is being iteratively refined by
applying and adapting it to a variety of E-Commerce domains.
57
3.9.2.3 E-SERVQUAL
E-SERVQUAL (Zeithaml et al, 2002) is a conceptual model of service
quality for E-Tailing environments. It is based on the traditional (off-line) service
quality framework called SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, et al. 1994) and has been
derived from an exploratory research involving focus groups and two phases of
empirical data collection and analysis. This process produced seven service quality
characteristics: efficiency, reliability, fulfillment, privacy, responsiveness,
compensation, and contact. These characteristics represent the criteria customers use
to evaluate on-line services. For example the characteristic responsiveness has the
criteria: ability to get answers to questions, quick delivery and updates on status of
order. E-SERVQUAL can be used as a framework by marketing managers to assess
the service quality of E-Tailing environments.
3.9.2.4 E-SEQUAL
E-SEQUAL (Dawson et al., 2003), is a service quality framework that is
empirically grounded and integrates e-CRM and HCI strategies for the effective
design and development of E-Tailing environments. E-SEQUAL can provide
guidance to E-Businesses regarding integration of front- and back-end business
processes, and across different customer touch points such as phone, fax, e-mail, and
so on. It can be applied as an evaluation instrument to guide Web designers,
marketing professionals, developers and usability professionals to come up with
requirements for integrating customers’ expectations of service quality, value and
usability into the design of E-Tailing environments.
58
3.9.2.5 E-S-QUAL
E-S-QUAL (Parasuraman A., Zeithaml, Valarie A, Malhotra, Arvind; 2005)
is for measuring the service quality delivered by Web sites on which customers shop
online. Two stages of empirical data collection revealed that two different scales
were necessary for capturing electronic service quality. The basic E-S-QUAL scale
developed is a 22-item scale of four dimensions: efficiency, fulfillment, system
availability, and privacy. The second scale, E-RecS-QUAL, is salient only to
customers who had non-routine encounters with the sites and contains ii items in
three dimensions: responsiveness, compensation, and contact. Both scales
demonstrate good psychometric properties based on findings from a variety of
reliability and validity tests and build on the research conducted on the topic.
3.9.3 Conceptual Framework
Based on the narrow down scope of literature review above, the relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction can be shown in figure 3.1. The
five Service quality dimensions have been selected from the SERVQUAL. In the
SERVQUAL instrument, 50 statements measure the performance across these five
dimensions. For each statement, the expectation and the experience of a customer are
determined. There is some criticism on the long-term stability of the results of the
SERVQUAL scale (Lam and Woo, 1997) and on the general applicability of the five
dimensions (Buttle, 1996; Crosby and LeMay, 1998). Although alternative models
have been proposed for the measurement of service quality, the SERVQUAL scale
has been widely used by academics and practitioners to measure service quality.
Therefore, this model has been used as a point of reference in this Thesis.
59
Figure 3.1: Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction based on
SERVQUAL
3.9.4 SERVQUAL Dimensions in Relation to Online Purchasing
� Tangibles
Examples of the tangibles factor are “has up-to-date equipment”, “physical
facilities are visually appealing” and “materials are visually appealing”. These
aspects might be even more important in e-business as there is no face-to-face
contact between the customer and an employee. The visual aspects of the equipment
(i.e. the Web site) are the only visual contact between a customer and an
organization. Therefore, the need to have well functioning and good-looking Web
sites is paramount. There are a great number of customers who abandon their
shopping carts on the Internet because they get frustrated with the technology or the
design and lay out of the Web site interface (Hager and Elliot, 2001).
Service quality dimensions
(SERVQUAL)
Tangibles
Reliability
Assurance
Responsiveness
Empathy
Customer Satisfaction in
Online Purchasing
60
The visual aspects of Web sites are also judged differently by the people of
different age. While young people may be attracted by flashy graphics, sounds and a
high-speed interface, older people do not want blinking texts that are hard to read or
animations that distract from the use of the Web site (Houtman, 2002). Although a
number of Web sites offer users the opportunity to customize the Web site to their
needs, this customization process is mostly aimed at the content of the Web site and
not at the graphics, animations and sounds.
� Reliability
Some of the aspects in the reliability factor have to do with “doing what is
promised” and “doing it at the promised time”. Although many organizations seem to
think that the major reason why customers shop via the Internet is because of the low
prices, this does not always need to be the case. Some organizations found out the
hard way that there are also a lot of customers shopping via the Internet because of
convenience considerations (Riseley and Schehr, 2000). If customers cannot trust an
organization to do what they ask, those customers will be dissatisfied. Price line, for
example, ran into big problems by the end of 2000 because of its focus on the lowest
prices. People could buy a plane ticket at a very low price, but because of possible
inconvenient flying times there was a big risk for customers. This resulted in
dissatisfied-customers who were happy to trade off Price line’s discounts for the
convenience of a competitor (Riseley and Schehr, 2000).
61
� Responsiveness
One of the aspects in the responsiveness factor is “gives prompt service”. The
amount of time it takes to download a Web page appears to be of great importance to
the users of the Internet. Research in 1999 found that fewer than 10 percent of users
leave a Web site if page response time is kept below 7 s. However, when it rises
above 8 s, 30 percent of users leave. When delays exceed 12 s, a staggering 70
percent of users leave a Web site (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002). It can be assumed that
people expect Web sites to be even quicker than in 1999 because of the technological
advances. Thus, it is very important for organizations to have a Web site that is
quick, but on the other hand users expect Web sites to be visually appealing. As the
number and size of animations, pictures and sounds increase to make a Web page
more visually appealing, the time it takes to download that Web page will also
increase, which is judged negatively by users. Hence, there is a trade-off between the
looks of a Web site and the speed of that site. Organizations will have to try to find
the right balance between good looks and speed. The trade-off between looks and
speed is complicated by companies’ demand that their Web sites convey the
corporate image (Manning et al., 1998). The design department of a company wants
Web pages to be easily recognizable as belonging to that company. In their view,
Web pages have to display company and product logos as well as other graphics that
underscore the corporate identity. These graphics add to the overall size of Web
pages and thereby increase the download time for Internet users. It is questionable
whether users are willing to accept slower pages in return for more logos and
graphics that do not improve the functionality of the Web site (although they might
improve the visual appeal).
62
� Assurance
One of the aspects in the assurance factor is “knowledge to answer
questions”. Customers expect to find everything they want on a Web site. In a bricks
and mortar store, people feel comfortable with a limited inventory. On the Internet,
people are not satisfied if they cannot find everything they want. Web shops need to
have great depth of inventory and rich and relevant product information (Dayal et al.,
2002). Two other aspects in the assurance factor are “employees can be trusted” and
“feel safe in your transactions with employees”. First, there is the risk for users to
share personal information with an organization they do not know. Research on this
topic (Statistical Research Inc., 2001) shows that at least 50 percent of users are very
concerned about: misuse of credit card information given over the Internet; selling or
sharing of personal information by Web site owners; and cookies that track
customers’ Internet activity. Second, the same research shows that two-thirds of
active Web users typically abandon a site that requests personal information and one
in five has entered false information to gain access to a Web site. Aspects in the
assurance factor that could be very important in e-business are (Daughtrey, 2001):
• Availability of a formal privacy and confidentiality policy on a Web site;
• secured access to a Web site (that customers are prompted to acknowledge);
• general reputation of supplier;
• certifications or guarantees of assurance; and
• reports of experiences of other customers.
The first aspect in this list is also acknowledged by the International
Organization for Standardization in Geneva. The Code of Practice for Information
Security Management (ISO/IEC 17799:2000) provides a basis for establishing and
maintaining the means of handling sensitive data (Daughtrey, 2001). Certifications
and guarantees of assurance are also important in e-business. More and more
organizations are trying to obtain certification by an objective, consensus-based
standard, just as they did earlier with quality management standards (Daughtrey,
2001). These organizations are becoming aware of the advantages of such
certification in relation to customers’ trust in these organizations.
63
� Empathy
In the dimension of empathy there are several aspects that are usually not
found on a Web site. Because of the fact that there is no human interaction, Web
sites normally do not offer personal attention. To achieve this, a number of Web sites
have a design that can be personalized by the users of these sites, so people can have
their own version of the Web site. This kind of Web site design is aimed at giving
users the experience of getting personal attention. The idea is that the more a Web
site is tailored to a particular customer’s needs, the more likely that customer will
return again and again (The Economist, 2001). The most advanced technologies in
this area aim to create a face-to-virtual-face interaction. A friendly looking face of a
virtual assistant on your screen is supposed to make customers feel more
comfortable. With the use of artificial intelligence, the virtual assistant can suggest
products or services that might be of interest to a customer based on previous
purchases and on reactions to the questions of the virtual assistant. The latter
possibility of asking users of a Web site questions via a virtual assistant will enable
companies to tailor their offerings to the wishes of the user to prevent customer
dissatisfaction. The only purpose of all these technological gadgets is to add one of
the Web’s key missing ingredients: warmth (The Economist, 2001).
64
3.10 Project Schedule
Project planning is very important to make sure that the research activities of
this project are on following the schedule. The Gantt chart in Appendix A shows the
work planning for this research. Project plan scheduled all the activities that will be
done to conduct the project.
The first phase in the work planning includes planning, problem
identification, literature review and research methodology which is done during the
second semester of session 2007/2008 in Master Project I. Second phase continues
after the first phase to develop information to achieve the identified objectives.
Master Project II covers empirical data representation, data analysis, conclusion and
final report documentation.
3.11 Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we had identified the guide lines and procedures that will be
applying in this project. Project methodology leads the work throughout the life cycle
of a project. This chapter discussed various aspects of the study related to the
research methodology including the research approach, research strategy, data
collection processes and data analysis techniques.
Since the purpose of this research is to understand the most important
dimensions of service quality from the Iranian customers’ perspective, quantitative
research is found to be more appropriate for this study. Moreover, a survey method
has been done using a questionnaire in order to gain a better understanding of the
research area. The questionnaire was developed based on research questions and
frame of reference. For the study sample has been selected from the cloob.com
members; because this group has more experience of e-commerce and online
65
shopping than the rest of people in Iran. Sample was selected by using judgment
because some criteria were followed during the sample selection. For quantitative
data analysis, statistical tools of Microsoft excel and SPSS are used for data input
and analysis. The statistics results were presented by graphical form with detailed
description. Numbers of different steps were taken to ensure the reliability and
validity of the study. Project schedule has also been designed using Gantt chart to be
a guide in this project in order to ensure the research is done in a systematic and
effective manner.
CHAPTER 4
DATA COLLECTION
4.1 Introduction
This chapter will present data that has been collected through quantitative
survey. At first we give an overview of the website which uploaded the
questionnaires that means the sample population and after that the data will be
presented according to the research questions and the variables identified in the
frame of reference.
4.2 Overview of the Sample
Cloob.com is a virtual Iranian society website that people can have their
profiles, web logs, list of friends, photo album, clubs, sending & receiving messages,
online shopping, sending SMS, online advertising and etc. Cloob.com has 88309
active members, and 20968 more has been invited and there are 6508 clubs in this
site (based on August 24, 2005 reports). Its members are all aware of e-commerce, as
67
they could rent a flat or buy a car from this website.
Main purpose of this study is to understand the most important dimensions of
service quality in online shopping sector from the Iranian perspective. Based on the
objectives of the study the sample should be familiar with using Internet and also it
should have experience of using online purchasing.
Based on the facilities which cloob.com provides its 88309 members; it is
obvious that its members are all familiar with using Internet and e-commerce. So, the
members of Cloob.com were seemed to be the best sample for this study.
4.3 Quantitative Data Presentation
Online survey has been conducted based on the structured questionnaire. The
questionnaire has been developed based on the variables that were identified in the
frame of reference.
The purpose of the questionnaire survey was to develop empirical evidence
on the quality factors of Web sites that are important to people who are familiar with
the Internet and frequent Internet users. The questionnaire used in the study is
comprised of four parts. Part A contains demographic profile of respondents
including gender, age group, marital status, education and many more. Part D
consists of expectations and perceptions of respondents based on a five-point scale
ranging from “strongly unsatisfied=1” to “strongly satisfied=5” to measure the 50
items of service quality dimensions. The survey comprised the following questions:
• Personal information (gender, age, education);
• Respondents’ use of Internet (equipment, frequency of use);
• Specific web sites that are visited by respondents (a predefined list of 6
categories of web sites);
68
• Aspects of web quality (a predefined list of 50 aspects).
The core of the questionnaire consists of the list of aspects of Web quality.
For every aspect we ask the respondent to indicate the importance of that aspect and
at the same time we ask for their satisfaction with that aspect. The structure of the
questions is based on the SERVQUAL scale (Zeithaml et al., 1990). The aspects
have been defined according to the categories of the model developed by Cox and
Dale (2001, 2002) and are as follows:
• clarity of purpose;
• design;
• communication;
• reliability;
• service and frequently asked questions;
• accessibility and speed;
• product or service choice;
• order confirmation;
• product purchase;
• user recognition;
• extra service; and
• Frequent buyer incentives.
For each of these categories a number of aspects have been defined in the
questionnaire.
The questionnaire has been discussed with experts in the field of e-commerce
and a pilot study has been conducted amongst a small number of students. This lead
to an improved questionnaire which has been used for the research presented in this
work.
I divided questionnaire into 4 parts in order to have better results. The first
part has 14 questions and was about the respondents’ personal information. The other
69
three questionnaires were about different aspects of service quality based on
SERVQUAL.
4.3.1 Sample and Response Rate
All the cloob.com members had access to the questionnaires (approximately
88,000) a link and a brief introduction about the study were provided on their
personal page. For the first part of questionnaire; responses were received from 730
persons. After three days the second part was uploaded and 550 responded, then for
the third part 207 and the forth part 255 responses were received. The number of
responses from online survey was rather low (approximately 0.829 percent of the
number of members), however, acceptable for this type of survey.
4.3.2 Descriptive Statistics
We were trying to give weight through Iranian Internet users’ perspective, as
was mentioned before our sample expected to be Internet frequent user and familiar
with electronic commerce. The demographic statistics are provided within figures
4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 which describe gender, education, and age respectively.
Pie chart in figure 4.1 shows that more than half of responders were male.
About 730 had replied the questionnaires out of which only 245 were female. Please
find table 4.1 in appendix C which provides clear statistics.
70
Gender
Female,
245, 34%
Male, 482,
66%
Missing, 3,
0%
Female
Male
Missing
Figure 4.1: Pie chart; number of respondents by gender.
Bar chart in figure 4.2 illustrates respondents’ fields of study in seven given
categories plus “others” option. About 56 percent of respondents were engineer that
is 408 persons and approximately 28.5 percent of them chose “others”. Managers
were 4.8% of repliers stand in third position and 3.8% were accountants. As it is
showed in figure 4.2 the fifth category was medicine (2.6%) next group with 2.3
percent was marketing specialists. The number of persons in the field of Social
science was very close to marketing (1.2%). Only 1% was active in law. It is obvious
that most of our sample was technical people and very small number of it was
specialist in law.
71
Field of Education
0 100 200 300 400 500
Engineering
Medicine
Social Science
Law
Accounting
Marketing
Management
Others
Fie
ld o
f E
du
cati
on
Frequency
Figure 4.2: Bar chart; number of respondents based on their education’s field.
The majority of sample was 31 to 35 years old, figure 4.3 shows about 260
persons were more than 35 years old. In spite of Iran being a young country, it is a
surprise that a very small numbers of respondents (12 persons) were from the age
group of less than 21 years old.
Age
0 100 200 300 400
<21
21-25
26-30
31-35
>36
Missing
Ag
e
Frequency
Figure 4.3: Bar chart; number of respondents by age.
72
Table 4.1 shows the respondents’ use of the Internet in terms of the quality of
their own equipment. They are absolutely satisfied with their PCs (Personal
computers) and also feel fine about printing over the web but dissatisfied with
connection speed and downloading from the web. Overall the respondents are rather
satisfied with their hardware but it seems they have problem with the Internet Service
providers (ISP) and/or telephone lines.
Table 4.1: Satisfaction of the respondents with the equipment they use
Equipment Mean
PC 4.098
Printing from the Web 3.426
Connection Speed 2.920
Downloading from the Web 2.865
Note: On a five point scale from very dissatisfied to very satisfied
Table 4.2 has summarized the frequencies of respondents’ Internet visits.
They visit the Internet on an average 15 times per week, and approximately spend an
hour per visit. So, it is clear that they are frequent users of Internet.
Table 4.2: The use of the web
The use of the web Mean
Easy to find relevant information 3.538
Easy to use web page links 3.812
Easy to find the desired web site 3.632
Time spent on one site 17.589 min
Time on the web per Internet visit 58.797 min
Number of Internet visits per week ~ 15 visits
Note: If not indicated otherwise, on a five point scale from very difficult to very easy
73
It is interesting to note that the types of Web sites that are used most often by
respondents are: search engines and the web sites that are less frequently used are:
Secondhand shops (see table 4.3).
Table 4.3: Websites ranked by frequency of visits
Website Mean
Search Engines 3.906
Music Stores 2.527
E-shops 2.433
Book Stores 2.118
Movie Stores 1.972
Secondhand Products 1.567
Note: On a five point scale from never to once a day or more
Table 4.4 shows top five and table 4.5 shows the bottom five of the
importance (expectations) and the satisfaction (experiences) related to the service
quality factors of the web sites. Service quality factors have been ranked by their
importance score.
Table 4.4: The top five service quality factors with the highest scores of importance
Service Quality Factors Importance
mean
Satisfaction
mean
Access is fast 4.294 3.648
Information is found with a minimum of clicks 4.186 3.651
24 x 7 x 365 user accessibility 4.156 3.980
Brand image is important 4.105 3.840
Finding your way on the web site is easy 4.104 3.635
74
Table 4.5: The bottom five service quality factors with the lowest scores of
importance
Service Quality Factors Importance
mean
Satisfaction
mean
A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas 3.558 3.817
Web sites that focus on brand awareness have a store
locator 3.506 3.652
The user is invited into a frequent buyer program 3.482 3.714
Links are provided to pages on related products and
services 3.469 3.648
The user can make a purchase without web site
registration 3.338 3.600
Comparing the importance scores in different rows, it is understood that all
the service quality factors are important and have very tiny differences with each
other which is a proof to their tight solidarity.
Respecting Iranian society and technical facilities for Internet users it was
expected that top service quality factors based on their importance’s scores weighted
for basic factors such as speed of connection, safekeeping strategies, etc. which are
available in table 4.4 and is an absolute proof to our expectation. A complete analysis
of these tables could be found in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 5
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
5.1 Introduction
Collected quantitative data has been presented in the previous chapter.
Chapter 5 brings the analyzed data according to the research question which tries to
rank the service quality dimensions based on Iranian online shoppers’ perspective.
The ranked service quality factors between Iranian online shoppers (target
population) are compared with the American students (a research was done by
Iwaarden & Wiele, 2003). Finally, we have the conclusion and a discussion about
possible areas that further research could be conducted.
5.2 The Most Important Dimensions of Service Quality
Iranian customers were assumed to be in need of basic facilities,
infrastructures, of electronic commerce through out the previous chapter. Now let us
see what statistics say:
76
In table 5.1 the importance (expectations) and satisfaction (experiences) are
summarized based on predefined aspects related to the quality of web sites. The top
ten aspects seem to relate the basic infrastructure of e-commerce. Responders believe
that the most important aspect of service quality must be “fast Access”, as they were
asked about their PC satisfaction in table 4.2 (Satisfaction mean is: 4.098) they are
pretty satisfy with their own systems, the main problem is the telecommunication
system in Iran. Broad Band is not available for everybody. Although Iran provides
the cheapest Internet service in the world (Based on Payam Radio news on
September 1, 2005); but the quality of service (QoS) is poor and not acceptable.
The second important factor (“Information is found with a minimum of
clicks”) is again related to the first problem. After having difficulties to access the
Internet the user wishes to get the needed information as fast as possible without
disturbing irrelevant information. It also refers to the design of the website;
customers do not want complicated pages which they should spend lots of time to get
simple information.
The third factor is “24 x 7 x 365 user accessibility” which shows how it is
bothering to go on a website to buy a CD and they ask you to come another day
because today is weekend and their service is not available now!! It is a must that
users have accessibility to the site at any time he or she wishes, 24 hours in any day.
The forth factor is “Brand image” customers want to be sure about what is
behind websites. Customers who buy a product on the Internet, would like that the
web sites and the organizations behind them to be trustworthy. The next important
web quality is design of web sites according to find our way on it which must be
easy; the privacy and security policies must be available for users; i.e. customers
must be aware of to what extend they have privacy and security. Responders strongly
believe that a website also should provide well programmed search options, direct
instructions and a standard navigator bar.
77
Table 5.1: The top ten service quality factors with the highest scores of importance
Service quality factors Importance
mean
Satisfaction
mean
Delta
S-I
Access is fast 4.294 3.648 -0.65
Information is found with a minimum of clicks 4.186 3.651 -0.54
24 x 7 x 365 user accessibility 4.156 3.980 -0.18
Brand image is important 4.105 3.840 -0.26
Finding your way on the web site is easy 4.104 3.635 -0.47
The privacy policy is accessible 4.073 3.566 -0.51
The security policy is accessible 4.035 3.392 -0.64
There are well programmed search options 3.979 3.718 -0.26
Instructions are directly available 3.968 3.677 -0.29
A standard navigation bar, a home button and
back/forward buttons are available on every page 3.957 3.902 -0.06
The bottom ten aspects seem to relate to extra services such as “A customer
platform is provided for exchange of ideas” or “Web site animations are meaningful”
and information such as “Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed” or “An email
address for queries and complaints is provided”. Apparently respondents do not find
these extras very important in their use of the Internet.
It seems that Customer Relationship Management; some how, does not play a
big role in attracting customers and make them stick to websites by this time. They
mostly care about speed of connection and safekeeping and safety of their visits and
shopping.
The gaps between experiences and expectations (satisfaction minus
importance) (see table 5.2) are widest for the aspects that respondents perceive as
most important. The aspect with the largest gap is “access is fast” (satisfaction score
3.648 and importance score 4.294). In the top ten aspects there are no aspects with a
positive delta, meaning that for every aspect the experience is less than expected. In
the bottom ten aspects there are seven aspects with a (very small) positive delta: “An
78
email address for queries and complaints is provided”, “Different payment options
are stated clearly”, “The home page features options for new and registered users”,
“A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas” , “Web sites that focus on
brand awareness have a store locator”, “The user is invited into a frequent buyer
program”, “Links are provided to pages on related products and services”, “The user
can make a purchase without web site registration”. Respondents are quiet satisfied
with these features of the web sites.
Table 5.2: The bottom ten service quality factors with lowest scores of importance
Service quality factors Importance
mean
Satisfaction
mean
Delta
S-I
Web site animations are meaningful 3.632 3.513 -0.12
It is easy to print from the web 3.606 3.497 -0.11
An email address for queries complaints is
provided 3.605 3.760 0.15
Different payment options are stated clearly 3.579 3.704 0.13
The home pages features options for new and
registered users 3.559 3.574 0.01
A customer platform is provided for exchange of
ideas 3.558 3.817 0.26
Web sites that focus on brand awareness have a
store locator 3.506 3.652 0.15
The user is invited into a frequent buyer program 3.482 3.714 0.23
Links are provided to pages on related products
and services 3.469 3.648 0.18
The user can make a purchase without web site
registration 3.338 3.600 0.26
In conclusion, respondents believe that all the aspects of web quality are
important (Importance mean starts from 3.338) but the “Access is fast” is the most
important factor among the others and they are not satisfied with current connection
79
speed but feel pretty fine with extra services.
5.3 Comparing Web Quality Factors between Iranian and American
Customers
People in different countries have different cultures, attitudes, believes, etc.
These varieties also affect their online purchasing. Here The top ten highest and the
ten bottom lowest web quality scores of importance for the American perspective are
compared with the Iranian perspective (based on the research on 293 American
students that has been done by Iwaarden and Wiele, 2002).
Table 5.3 illustrates the top ten highest scores of importance from the eyes of
Iranian and American users. It as is showed with grey color only three aspects are
common between them (“Fast access”, “Finding your way on the web site is easy”
and “There are well programmed search options”). That means both groups strongly
expect web sites to provide fast access, easy navigating design and well functioning
search options.
Although the telecommunication systems in U.S.A are totally different and
much advanced than Iranian systems we can see here that access must be fast and
people do not want to spend their times for opening pages’ searching and struggling
for what they want.
80
Table 5.3: The top ten with the highest score on importance from Iranian and
American perspective
No Iranian Perspective American Perspective Rate*
1 Access is fast Finding your way on the web site
is easy 5*
2 Information is found with a
minimum of clicks Access is fast 1*
3 24 x 7 x 365 user accessibility
A complete overview of the order
is presented before final purchase
decision
19*
4 Brand image is important Tax and/or other charges are
clearly detailed 40*
5 Finding your way on the web site is
easy The registration process is simple 23*
6 The privacy policy is accessible Access to anticipated delivery
times is available at all times 20*
7 The security policy is accessible All relevant order confirmation
details sent by email 38*
8 There are well programmed search
options
Order cancellation and returns
details are confirmed within three
days
37*
9 Instructions are directly available Order-tracking details are
available until delivery 33*
10
A standard navigation bar, a home
button and back/forward buttons are
available on every page
There are well programmed
search options 8*
Note: * The factor’s rate which is given by Iranian online shoppers.
Let’s see the American perspective factors states in which position of
Iranian’s list: the two first factors as are shown in table 5.3 are placed in 5th and 1st
Persian list respectively. “A complete overview of the order is presented before final
purchase decision” placed in 19th; “Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed” is
81
in 40th; “The registration process is simple” hold the 23rd place; “Access to
anticipated delivery times is available at all times” is in place 20th; “All relevant
order confirmation details sent by e-mail” is in 38th; “Order cancellation and returns
details are confirmed within three days” holds 37th; “Order-tracking details are
available until delivery” is in 33rd; and “There are well programmed search options”
is the 8th factor through Iranian’s perspective. In overall, only three factors are
selected in top ten through both groups and the rest of factors are in 19th to 40th
position of Iranian’s list (the right column of table 5.3 shows the positions of
“American’s perspective” factors).
In table 5.4 the bottom ten with lowest scores of importance are provided. As
the grey color says there are four common aspects that they both less care about
websites: “Web site animations are meaningful”, “A customer platform is provided
for exchange of ideas”, “The user is invited into a frequent buyer program” and
“Links are provided to pages on related products and services”.
These extra services may have the first attraction but customers give them
last priority among the other web quality factors. For instance, many web designers
believe that meaningful animations bring spirit to a web site but as we have figured
out by statistics customers do not really expect this feature.
A frequent buyer program is set up by many managers and they suppose that
online buyers are impresses by these services; however, our studies have proved that,
compared with after services, customers do not pay much attention to these services.
82
Table 5.4: The bottom ten with the lowest score on importance from Iranian and
American perspective
No Iranian Perspective American Perspective Rate*
41 Web site animations are meaningful Searches on related sites are
provided 35*
42 It is easy to print from the web The privacy policy is accessible 6*
43 An email address for queries
complaints is provided The security policy is accessible 7*
44 Different payment options are
stated clearly
The web sites contains company
details 25*
45 The home pages features options
for new and registered users
Scrolling through pages and text
is kept to a minimum 29*
46 A customer platform is provided for
exchange of ideas
Links are provided to pages on
related products and services 49*
47 Web sites that focus on brand
awareness have a store locator
Web site animations are
meaningful 41*
48 The user is invited into a frequent
buyer program
A customer platform is provided
for exchange of ideas 46*
49 Links are provided to pages on
related products and services
The user is invited into a frequent
buyer program 48*
50 The user can make a purchase
without web site registration Brand image is important 4*
Note: * The factor’s rate which is given by Iranian online shoppers.
What is interesting here is that three aspects which are: “The security policy
is accessible”, “The privacy policy is accessible” and “Brand image is important”
available in the top ten column of Iranian perspective and also in bottom ten column
of American perspective. It shows Iranian responders need to know more about the
security of their visits and shopping. Brand image give buyers a kind of guarantee for
what they deal, from this point of view we understand that how much Iranian cares
about the safety aspects while American shoppers show very less attention to these
policies.
83
In Iran people face many problems when they buy or sell something, one of
the reasons is that the policies, instructions and laws are not very clear for both sides.
Again in online shopping Iranian afraid of same problem, they seek for guarantees,
clear security policies in order to reduce their risks of purchasing.
5.4 The Most Important Factors of SERVQUAL
Jos Van Iwaardenm and Ton Van der Wiele, 2003 clustered the aspects of
service quality and showed how they compatible with five factors of the
SERVQUAL. The importance mean was brought in order to find each SERVQUAL
dimension an importance mean and in table 5.5 illustrates the ranked SERVQUAL
factors based on their importance scores.
Tangible is recognized as the most important factor; therefore, a well
functioning and good-looking web site is paramount. Assurance is the second one.
Responders want a website to have a formal privacy, confidentiality policy, secure
access and certifications or guarantees of assurance. Looking at tables 5.3 and 5.4 we
come to this conclusion that Iranians are more concerned about security than the
Americans.
Also Iranian online shoppers ask organizations to honor their promises such
as on time delivery and after sale services. In other words they ask for reliability of
the company.
Responsiveness is the next thing they do care about; how websites give
prompt services. Online shoppers expect good responses when they contact web sites
through e-mail or phone call.
And after all of the other web quality factors they want is personal attention
which Empathy refers to. Customization has the last priority among the other aspects
84
through Iranian online shoppers.
Table 5.5: Ranked SERVQUAL factors according to their importance mean
Ranking SERVQUAL factors Importance mean
1st Tangibles 4.00617
2nd Assurance 3.81200
3rd Reliability 3.76427
4th Responsiveness 3.75300
5th Empathy 3.67750
What should be noticed here is the very little difference between importance
scores of SERVQUAL factors. Respondents expect a web site to provide all of the
web quality factors (the last factor has 3.67750 score) but above all a web site should
function properly.
85
5.5 Implications for Practitioners
Customers have access to almost unlimited information about what they want
to buy with variety of products available for them by the emergence of Internet and
Web technology. Hence, it is not easy for break-and-mortar or online retailers to gain
and sustain competitive advantages based only on a cost strategy in retailing market.
Rather, defining customers’ needs and preferences, and their related quality
dimensions have increasingly become a key driving force in enhancing customers’
satisfaction and attract more customers. Identification and ranking of customers’
expectations of the online retailer services provide a frame of reference for ranking
customers’ preferences of service quality.
This study ranked fifty factors of service quality based on Iranians’
perspective. Obviously, in order to maintain a high level of overall service quality,
online retailers should pay attention to all these dimensions brought in this study. A
proof for this claim is the importance scores mean that starts with 3.338, given by
responders, that is even the last factor is seen important. However, to strengthen
competitiveness in the extremely competitive market, given limited organizational
resources, it is recommended that online retailers should focus on the main five key
dimensions, reliability; tangibles; empathy; assurance; and responsiveness, in order
to achieve high level of service quality and customer satisfaction simultaneously.
More specifically, the following implications are recommended to online
retailers:
First and foremost, speed of access to the web site may be the critical
determinant of the success of the online retailers. Since the access to the Internet is
not so fast in Iran, online visitors prefer to connect to those websites which could be
opened easier and faster. Therefore, to satisfy the customers, online retailers should
build websites without huge flashes, graphics, and images which may increase the
size of page and take more seconds to appear. Besides, the structure of the website
plays a big role here, as the number of clicks for achieving the desired information
depends on the design of the website. Hence, it is important for managers to consider
86
the different ways of reaching specific information on the website.
Second, 24 hours user accessibility factor indicate that websites are expected
to be available all the time and all the days of the week. Managers should insist on
reputation of website and try to avoid the non responding situations. If anything
happened that made the website down for a while; relevant information about the
problem and the time it would be backed should be provided.
Third, assurance dimension implies that customers should be aware of
privacy limits and security policies. Managers should allocate specific space for
introducing protection and privacy policies that are accessible for customers and give
a thorough understanding about the way website is kept secure.
5.6 Implications for Theory
The main purpose of the study is to rank the online service quality
dimensions through Iranian customers’ perspective in online retailing sector and aim
to describe how different environments could affect preferences of service quality
factors. Theoretically this study extends the knowledge body of service quality and
customer satisfaction by enriching the Iranian’s preferences in online retailing sector,
and based on existing theories, this study tested five key service quality dimensions
in online retailing context.
More specifically, concerning research question one the majority of the
findings for this study supported the existing literature. The new findings were
discovered from quantitative empirical data. Online service quality dimensions
ranked through Iranian’s perspective and compared with Americans. It also increased
and enhanced understanding about relative importance service quality dimensions.
87
5.7 Implications for Future Research
With the development of e-commerce and web technology, some areas which
are not covered in this study are interesting and need to be explored. In addition, the
limitation and shortcoming of this study also provide implications for future
research. Future research could add extensions to this study.
This research needs further analysis. While this research yields a number of
very interesting results, we believe that there are a number of things that should be
done to confirm our results as well as to expand our hypotheses.
Firstly, with the number of Internet users now over one billion, a small group
of online users in Tehran is not enough. Hence, research with larger samples that
pose the same or similar questions would be appropriate.
Secondly, various languages, religions, cultures and a host of other factors
may be important to user's impression of the quality of a web site.
At the end, in this competitive market, service quality is one of the key
elements which bring value added for companies. Online retailers are focusing on
making their websites more appealing in order to increase their stickiness.
Practitioners need to understand the factors that make people to visit a website; spend
some time and make them purchase online. Researchers all around the world are
talking about "loyal customers": they spread the good word-of-mouth, not to shift to
competitor easily, spend more money and are cheaper to attract. Practitioners should
be aware of all factors which are affecting the behavior of their customers.
Respecting this critical issue for e-business, we believe more studies are
needed to fulfill our e-world with superior facilities and make life easier and better.
CHAPTER 6
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
6.1 Introduction
Discussion and Conclusion is the last chapter in this Master Project report.
Literature review, research methodology, data collection and data analysis have been
presented in the previous chapters. The main focus of this project is to understand the
most important dimensions of service quality that affect customer satisfaction in
online purchasing in Iran. Achievement of project 1 and 2 will also be discussed in
this chapter. The problem and constraint that are faced during the progress of the
project will also be discussed and concluded in this chapter.
89
6.2 Achievement
This study ranked the five service quality dimensions from the Iranian
customers’ perspective in online retailing sector. Customers’ perceptions are very
important especially in the service sector such as the online purchasing and e-
commerce since there is high customer involvement in the delivery of the service
itself. Theoretically this study extends the knowledge body of service quality and
customer satisfaction by enriching the Iranian’s preferences in online retailing sector
and based on existing theories.
We ranked fifty factors of service quality based on Iranians’ perspectives.
Obviously, in order to maintain a high level of overall service quality, online retailers
should pay attention to all these dimensions brought in this study.
A proof for this claim is the importance scores mean that starts with 3.338,
given by respondents, that is even the last factor is just as important. However, to
strengthen competitiveness in the extremely competitive market, given limited
organizational resources, it is recommended that online retailers should focus on the
main five key dimensions, reliability, tangibles, empathy, assurance, and
responsiveness in order to achieve high level of service quality and customer
satisfaction simultaneously.
90
6.3 Constraints and Challenges
There were some constrains and challenges that had been faced during the
early phase of this research project especially when conducting the research process
and literature review. Service quality is a concept that has aroused considerable
interest and debate in the research literature because of the difficulties in both
defining it and measuring it with no overall consensus emerging on either. In this
research study the limited time to do more in depth research and study is another
challenge to gather the complete information and understanding for this study area.
Better result will be achieved if the project period is lengthened.
With the development of e-commerce and web technology, some areas which
are not covered in this study are interesting and need to be explored. In addition, the
limitation and shortcoming of this study also provide implications for future
research. Future research could add extensions to this study.
This research needs further analysis. While this research yields a number of
very interesting results, we believe that there are a number of things that should be
done to confirm our results as well as to expand our hypotheses.
Firstly, with the number of Internet users now over one billion, a small group
of online users in Tehran is not enough. Hence, research with larger samples that
pose the same or similar questions would be appropriate.
Secondly, various languages, religions, cultures and a host of other factors
may be important to user's impression of the quality of a web site.
At the end, in this competitive market, service quality is one of the key
elements which bring value added for companies. Online retailers are focusing on
making their websites more appealing in order to increase their stickiness.
Practitioners need to understand the factors that make people to visit a website; spend
some time and make them purchase online. Researchers all around the world are
talking about "loyal customers": they spread the good word-of-mouth, not to shift to
91
competitor easily, spend more money and are cheaper to attract. Practitioners should
be aware of all factors which are affecting the behavior of their customers.
Respecting this critical issue for e-business, we believe more studies are
needed to fulfill our e-world with superior facilities and make life easier and better.
6.4 Recommendations
Although there are challenges and constraints being faced during early phase
of this research project, the literature review about the project and initial finding to
develop the project has been done successfully.
More specifically, the following implications are recommended to online
retailers. First and foremost, speed of access of the web site may be the critical
determinant of the success of the online retailers. Since the access to the Internet is
not so fast in Iran, online visitors prefer to connect to those websites which could be
loaded easier and faster. Therefore, to satisfy the customers, online retailers should
build websites without huge files of graphics, and images which may increase the
size of the loading page and take more time to be fully loaded. Besides, the structure
of the website plays a big role as the number of clicks in achieving the desired
information depends on the design of the website. Hence, it is important for web
designer and developers to consider many different ways of providing information on
the website.
Secondly, 24 hours user accessibility factor indicates that websites are
expected to be available all the time and all the days of the week. Business owners
must ensure that the system is up all the time and keep the downtime as the minimum
as possible. Should there be any downtime occur, customers are expected to be
informed and updated with regards to the problem and the estimation of time when
the system will be back to normal.
92
Last but not least, assurance dimension implies that customers should be
aware of the privacy limits and security policies. Online Retailers should make their
policies known and clearly understood by customers besides giving assurance that
customer’s information are fully secured.
6.5 Chapter Summary
In conclusion, all intended tasks in Project 1 & 2 has been completed
successfully. In Project II, we did the data collection and data analysis. All the
constraints and challenges that are faced during project 1 hopefully resolved. The
purpose of the research is to rank the service quality factors and to find the most
important service quality dimensions that affect customer satisfaction in online
purchasing in Iran. The findings of this research are mostly useful to those
(managers, web designers, etc.) who intend to penetrate the Iranian market with least
cost, time and energy. The results indicate the most important web quality factors
through Iranian online shoppers’ perspective.
LIST OF REFERENCE
Allard C.R. van Riel and Veronica Liljander, 2001; Exploring consumer evaluations
of e-services: a portal site, International Journal of Service Industry
Management; Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 359-377.
Alomaim Nasser, Zihni Mustafa, and Zairi Turkey Mohamed, 2003; Customer
satisfaction @ virtual organizations; Management Decision; 41/7, pp. 666-
670.
Anderson Eugene W., Fornell Claes, and Mazvancheryl Sanal K., October 2004;
Customer Satisfaction and Shareholder Value, Journal of Marketing; Vol.
68,172-185.
Bansal Harvir S., McDougall Gordon H.G., Dikolli, and Sedatol Karen L.; 2004, E-
Relating e-satisfaction to behavioral outcomes: an empirical study; Journal of
Services Marketing; Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 290-302.
Bennett Rebekah, and Rundle Sharyn, 2004; Customer satisfaction should not be the
only Goal; Journal of Services Marketing; Vol. 18. No. 7; pp. 514-523.
Cai Shaohan, and Jun Minjoon, 2003; Internet users’ perceptions of online service
quality: a comparison of online buyers and information searchers; Managing
Service Quality, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 504-519.
Chatterjee Sudipta, and CHatterjee Adittya, 2005, Prioritization of Service Quality
Parameters Based on Ordinal Responses, Total Quality Management, Vol. 16,
No. 4, 477-489.
Chin-Fu Ho, and wen-Hsiung Wu, 1999; Antecedents of customer satisfaction on the
Internet: An empirical study of online shopping; Proceedings of the 32nd
Hawaii International conference on system science.
94
Cho Namjae, 2001; Development of electronic commerce user-consumer satisfaction
for Internet shopping; Industrial Management & Data Systems, No. 101/8;
pp. 400-405.
Cooper Donald R., and Schindler Pamela S., 2003; Business Research Methods;
Eighth edition; ISBN: 0- 07-249870-6; McGraw-Hill higher Education.
Cox J., and Dale, 2001, Service quality and e-commerce: an exploratory analysis;
Managing Service Quality; Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 121-131.
Emerson Carol J. and Grimm Curtis M., 1999, Buyer-seller customer satisfaction: the
influence of the environment and customer service, Journal of Business and
Industrial Marketing; Vol. 14, No. 5/6, pp. 403-415.
Fang Xiang, and Yang Zhilin, 2004; Online service quality dimensions and their
relationships with satisfaction, International Journal of Service Industry
Management, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 302-326.
FecÏikova Ingrid, 2004; An index method for measurement of customer
satisfaction; The TQM Magazine; Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 57-66.
Feinberg Richard A., Kadam Rajesh, Hokama Leigh, and Kim Iksuk, 2002; The state
of electronic customer relationship management in retailing; International
Journal of Retail & Distribution Management; Vol.30, No.10, pp. 470-481.
Feinberg Richard and Kadam Rajesh, 2002; E-CRM Web service attributes as
determinants of customer satisfaction with retail Web sites; International
Journal of Service Industry Management; Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 432-451.
Freed Larry, Foresee Results, Spring 2005, Foresee Results / FGI Research Top 40
Online Retail Satisfaction Index, Available at: www.foreSeeResults.com.
Gagnon Joseph L., and Chu Julian J., 2005, Retail in 2010: a world of extremes,
Strategy and Leadership, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 13-23, ISSN 1087-8572.
Gustafsson Anders, Johnson Michael D., and Roos Inger, 2005; The Effects of
Customer Satisfaction, Relationship Commitment Dimensions, and Triggers
on Customer Retention, American Marketing Association, ISSN:0022-2429
(print), 1547-7185 (electronic).
Hallowell Roger, June 1995; The relationships of customer satisfaction, customer
loyalty, and profitability: an empirical study; International Journal of Service
Industry Management, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 27-42.
95
Hellier Phillip K., Geursen Gus M., and John A. Rickard, 2003; Customer
repurchases intention: A general structural equation model; European
Journal of Marketing; Vol. 37, No. 11/12, pp. 1762-1800.
Iwaardenm Jos Van, Wiele Ton Van der, Ball Leslie, and Millen Robert, 2003;
Applying SERVQUAL to web sites: an exploratory study, International
journal of quality and reliability management, Vol. 20, No. 8, pp. 919-935.
Janda Swinder, Trocchia Philip J., and Gwinner Kevin P.; 2002, Consumer
perceptions of Internet retail service quality; International Journal of Service
Industry Management; Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 412-431.
Jun Minjoon, Yang Zhilin, and Kim DaeSoo, 2004; Customers’ perceptions of online
retailing service quality and their satisfaction; International Journal of
Quality & Reliability Management; Vol. 21, No. 8.
Ka-shing, and Fock Henry K.Y., 2004; Retaining and divesting customers: an
exploratory study of right customers, “at- risk” right customers, and wrong
customers; Journal of Services Marketing; Vol. 18, No 3, pp. 187-197.
Kelsey Kathleen Dodge and Bond Julie A., 2001; A model for measuring customer
satisfaction within an academic center of excellence; Managing Service
Quality; Vol. 11, No 5, pp. 359-367.
Kotler Philip, 2003, Marketing Management, Pearson Education, Inc. Fifth edition.
Lee Gwo-Guang, and Lin Hsiu-Fen, 2005; Customer perceptions of e-service quality
in online shopping, International Journal of Retail & Distribution
Management, Vol. 33, No. 2.
Lee Haksik, Lee Yongki, and Dongkeun, 2000; The determinants of perceived
service quality and its relationship with satisfaction; Journal of services
marketing; Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 217-231.
Lin Chia Chi, 2003; A critical appraisal of customer satisfaction and e-commerce;
Managerial Auditing Journal; Vol. 18/3, pp. 202-212.
Liu Shin-Ping, Yaasuo Tucker, Koh Chang E., and Kappelman Leon, 2003; Standard
user interface in e-commerce sites; Industrial Management & Data Systems;
Vol. 103/8; pp. 600-610.
Madu Christian N., and Madu Assumpta A., 2002; Dimensions of e-quality;
International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 19, No. 3,
pp. 246-258.
96
Moreno Muffatto and Roberto, 1995; A process-based view for customer
satisfaction; International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management; Vol.
12, No. 9, pp. 154-169.
O’Neill Martin, Wright Christine and Fitz Frank, 2001; Quality evaluation in online
service environments: an application of the importance performance
measurement technique; Managing Service Quality; Vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 402-
417.
Parasuraman, A. Zeithaml, Valarie A. Malhotra, and Arvind, 2005; E-S-QUAL: A
Multiple-Item Scale for Assessing Electronic Service Quality; Journal of
Service Research, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 213-233.
Park Jihye, and Stoel Leslie, 2005; Effect of brand familiarity, experience and
information on online apparel purchase; International Journal of Retail &
Distribution Management, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 148-160.
Parmita Saha, and Yanni Zhao, 2005; Relationship between online service quality
and customer satisfaction; Master’s thesis, Lulea University of Technology.
Rampersad Hubert, 2001; 75 painful questions about your customer satisfaction; The
TQM Magazine; Vol. 13, No 5, pp. 341-347.
Rosenbloom Bert and Jiang Pingjun, 2005; Customer intention to return online: price
perception attribute-level performance, and satisfaction unfolding over time;
European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39 No. ½, pp. 150-174.
Saunders Mark N. K., and Thornhill Adrian, 2003; Organizational justice, trust and
the management of change an exploration; Personnel Review, Vol. 32, No. 3,
pp. 360-375.
Söderlund Magnus, 1998; Customer satisfaction and its consequences on customer
behaviour revisited the impact of different levels of satisfaction on word-of-
mouth, feedback to the supplier and loyalty; International Journal of Service
Industry Management, Vol. 9, No. 2 , pp. 169-188.
Stauss Bernd, 2002; The dimensions of complaint satisfaction: process and outcome
complaint satisfaction versus cold fact and warm act complaint satisfaction;
Managing Service Quality, Vol. 12, No 3.
Sureshchandar G.S., Chennai, and Nadu Tamil, 2002; The relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction ± a factor specific approach; Journal
of Services Marketing, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 363-379.
97
Szymanski David M., 2002; E-Satisfaction: An Initial Examination; Journal of
Retailing; Vol. 76(3), pp. 309-322, ISSN: 0022-4359.
Tamimi Nabil, Rajan Murli, and Sebastianelli Rose, 2003; The state of online
Retailing; Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy,
Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 146-155.
Tawfik Jelassi, and Albrecht Enders, 2005; Strategies for e-business: Creating Value
through Electronic and Mobile Commerce; Financial Times Press, ISBN:
0273688405.
Tihomir Vranesevic Claudio Vignali, and Daniella Vignail, 2002; Culture in defining
consumer satisfaction in marketing; European Business Review, Vol. 14, No.
5, pp. 364-374.
USA TODAY research using Market Guide data in 2000-04-12, Available at:
www.usatoday.com/money/dotcoms/dot038.htm
Williams Roger, and Visser Rolf, 2002; Customer satisfaction: it is dead but it will
not lie down; Managing Service Quality, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 194-200.
Wirtz Jochen, 2003; Halo in customer satisfaction measures the role of purpose of
rating, number of attributes and customer involvement; International Journal
of Service Industry Management, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 96-119.
Xing Xiaolin, Tang Fang-Fang, and Yang Zhenlin, 2004; Pricing dynamics in the
online consumer electronics market; Journal of Product & Brand
Management, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 429-441.
Yen Hsiu Ju Rebecca, and Gwinner Kevin P., 2003; Internet retail customer loyalty:
the mediating role of relational benefits; International Journal of Service
Industry Management; Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 483-500.
Zairi Mohamed, 2000; Managing customer satisfaction: a best practice perspective;
The TQM Magazine; Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 389-394.
Zeithaml Valarie A., and Bicentennial Alice H. Richards, 2002; Service excellence in
electronic channels; Managing Service Quality; Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 135-138.
Zwass Vladimir, 1996; Electronic Commerce: Structures and Issues; International
Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 3-23.
98
APPENDIX A
GANTT CHART PROJECT 1, 2
99
GANTT CHART PROJECT 1
100
GANTT CHART PROJECT 2
101
APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR REPONDENTS
This survey is design to measure service quality in online shopping in Iran.
Please take a few minutes to give your most thoughtful answers. Your participation
is greatly appreciated and all responses will be kept confidential. There are no right
and wrong answers. All we are interested in is your opinion on quality of services in
online purchasing in Iran.
102
Part A: Personal Information
1. Please indicate your field of study [tick four boxes maximum]?
� Engineering � Medical
� Marketing � Management
� Social Science � Accounting
� Low � Other
2. Please indicate your age?
� < 21 � 21-25 � 26-30 � 31-35 � > 35 3. Please indicate your gender?
� Male � Female
4. Please indicate the extent to which you visit the following web sites?
Never Once a Once a Once a Once a day
year month week or more
Book stores � � � � �
Music stores � � � � � Movies stores � � � � � Secondhand Products � � � � � Search engines � � � � � E-shops � � � � �
103
very neutral very
dissatisfied satisfies
5. How satisfied are you with the pc you use? � � � � � 6. How satisfied are you with the connection speed? � � � � �
7. How satisfied are you with the ability of your printer to � � � � � print directly from the web?
8. How satisfied are you with the ability to download from� � � � � the web to your own pc or discs?
9. How easy is it to find the desired web site? � � � � �
10. How easy is it to use web page links? � � � � �
11. How easy is it to find relevant information? � � � � �
12. On average per internet visit what time do you spend on a specific web site? [Minutes]
� < 1 � 1-5 � 26-15 � 16-30 � >30 13. On average per internet visit what time do you stay on the web? [Minutes]
�<15 � 15-30 � 31-60 � 61-120 � >120 14. On average per week what is the number of internet visits?
� <2 � 2-5 � 6-10 � 11-20 � >20
104
Part B:
Please indicate on a five point scale the extent to which you find the
following statements important by circling a number in the first column and also
indicate on a five point scale the extent to which you satisfied or dissatisfied with the
following statements.
Expectations:
1 = Not important 3 = Neutral 5 = Very important
Perceptions:
1 = Very dissatisfied 3 = Neutral 5 = Very satisfied
Expectations Perceptions
How important is
this item to you
Level of satisfaction
with this item
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Clarity of purpose
1. The purpose is clear
2. Finding your way on the web site is easy.
3. Instructions are directly available
Design
4. The number and type of links are
meaningful
5. Navigation is consistent and
standardized
105
6. A standard navigation bar, a home
button and back/forward button are
available on every page
7. Opening of new screen is kept to a
minimum
8. It is easy to print from the web
9. Information is found with a
minimum of click
10. There are well programmed search
option
11. Forms to enter personal details are
self explanatory
Communication
12. Scrolling through pages and text is
kept to a minimum
13. Colors, pictures and images are
consistent, relevant and clear
14. Web sites animations are
meaningful
Assurance
15. The security policy is accessible
16. The privacy policy is accessible
17. The web sites contains company
details
18. External validation of
trustworthiness is important
19. Brand images is important
Service and Frequently Asked
Questions
20. An email address for queries and
complaints is provided
21. Queries or complaints are resolved
within 24 hours
106
22. User feedback is sought to measure
customer satisfaction
23. Information is provided to
Frequently Asked Questions and
answers
24. The Frequently Asked Questions
and answers contain links that take
the user to the relevant page
Accessibility and speed
25. 24*7*365 user accessibility
26. Page availability information is
given on entry
27. Access is fast
28. Graphics and animations do not
detract from use
Product or service choice
29. Full product or service
characteristics are available
30. Full detail of product or service
pricing are available
31. Required stock information is
available throughout the buying
process
Order confirmation
32. Tax and/or other charges are clearly
detailed
33. Terms and conditions of sales are
accessible
34. Access to anticipated delivery times
is available at all times
Product purchase
35. The user can make a purchase
without web site registration
107
36. Different payment options are
stated clearly
37. A complete overview of the order is
presented before final purchase
decision
38. All relevant order confirmation
details are sent by email within 24
hours
39. Order tracking details are available
until delivery
40. Order cancellation and return
details are confirm within three
days
User recognition
41. The registration process is simple
42. Registration process details are
retained
43. The home page features options for
new and registered users
Extra service
44. A customer platform is provided for
exchange of ideas
45. Links are provided to pages on
related products and services
46. Search on related sites are provided
(e.g. a hotel/flight search on travel
sites)
47. The user can customized the web
sites and the information is retained
(e.g. seat and meal preferences on
travel sites)
48. Web sites that focus on brand
awareness have a store locator
108
Frequent buyer incentives
49. The user is invited into a frequent
buyer program
50. The web site offers free shipping
and handling within a set of rules
109
APPENDIX C
TABLES
Table1: Number of respondents by gender
Frequency Percentage
Male 245 33.6
Female 482 66.0
Missing 3 0.4
Total 730 100
Table2: Number of respondents by field of education
Frequency Percentage
Engineering 408 55.9
Medicine 19 2.6
Social Science 9 1.2
Law 7 1.0
Accounting 28 3.8
Marketing 17 2.3
Management 35 4.8
Others 207 28.4
Total 730 100
110
Table3: Number of respondents by age
Frequency Percentage
<21 12 1.6
21-25 30 4.1
26-30 92 12.6
31-35 334 45.8
>36 260 35.6
Missing 2 99.7
Total 730 100.0
Table4: Service quality factors with the scores of importance and satisfaction mean
Service quality factors Importance
mean
Satisfaction
mean
Delta
S-I
1. Access is fast 4.294 3.648 -0.65
2. Information is found with a minimum of
clicks 4.186 3.651 -0.54
3. 24 x 7 x 365 user accessibility 4.156 3.980 -0.18
4. Brand image is important 4.105 3.840 -0.26
5. Finding your way on the web site is easy 4.104 3.635 -0.47
6. The privacy policy is accessible 4.073 3.566 -0.51
7. The security policy is accessible 4.035 3.392 -0.64
8. There are well programmed search options 3.979 3.718 -0.26
9. Instructions are directly available 3.968 3.677 -0.29
10. A standard navigation bar, a home button and
back/forward buttons are available on every page 3.957 3.902 -0.06
11. The user can customize the web site and the
information is retained (e.g. seat and meat
preferences)
3.956 3.858 -0.10
12. Colors, pictures and images are consistent,
relevant and clear 3.950 3.812 -0.14
13. Navigation is consistent and standardized 3.919 3.616 -0.30
111
14. Graphics and animations do not detract from
use 3.913 3.807 -0.11
15. Full details of product or service pricing are
available 3.890 3.767 -0.12
16. Opening of new screens is kept to a
minimum 3.881 3.689 -0.19
17. The web site offers free shipping and
handling within a set of rules 3.875 3.841 -0.03
18. Terms and conditions of sales are accessible 3.865 3.591 -0.27
19. A complete overview of the order is
presented before final purchase decision 3.853 3.822 -0.03
20. Access to anticipated delivery times is
available at all times 3.831 3.75 -0.08
21. Queries or complaints are resolved within 24
hours 3.824 3.682 -0.14
22. User feedback is sought to measure customer
satisfaction 3.813 3.550 -0.26
23. The registration process is simple 3.811 3.827 0.02
24. Page availability information is given on
entry 3.789 3.784 -0.01
25. The web sites contain company details 3.778 3.594 -0.18
26. Information is provided to Frequently Asked
Questions and answers 3.765 3.660 -0.10
27. The Frequently Asked Questions and
answers contain links that take the user to the
relevant page(s)
3.758 3.773 0.02
28. The number and type of links are meaningful 3.756 3.541 -0.21
29. Scrolling through pages and text is kept to a
minimum 3.733 3.633 -0.10
30. The purpose is clear 3.728 3.937 0.21
31. Full product or service characteristics are
available 3.723 3.689 -0.03
32. Registration process details are retained 3.721 3.888 0.17
112
33. Order tracking details are available until
delivery 3.691 3.9 0.21
34. Required stock information is available
throughout the buying process 3.688 3.619 -0.07
35. Searches on related sites are provided (e.g. a
flight/hotel search on travel sites) 3.678 3.780 0.10
36. External validation of trustworthiness is
important 3.676 3.571 -0.10
37. Order cancellation and return details are
confirmed within three days 3.674 3.727 0.05
38. All relevant order confirmation details are
sent by e-mail within 24 hours 3.673 3.851 0.18
39. Forms to enter personal details are self
explanatory 3.667 3.658 -0.01
40. Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed 3.646 3.541 -0.10
41.Web site animations are meaningful 3.632 3.513 -0.12
42. It is easy to print from the web 3.606 3.497 -0.11
43. An email address for queries complaints is
provided 3.605 3.760 0.15
44. Different payment options are stated clearly 3.579 3.704 0.13
45. The home pages features options for new and
registered users 3.559 3.574 0.01
46. A customer platform is provided for
exchange of ideas 3.558 3.817 0.26
47. Web sites that focus on brand awareness
have a store locator 3.506 3.652 0.15
48. The user is invited into a frequent buyer
program 3.482 3.714 0.23
49. Links are provided to pages on related
products and services 3.469 3.648 0.18
50. The user can make a purchase without web
site registration 3.338 3.600 0.26
113
Table5: Importance of SERVQUAL Dimensions
SERVQUAL Dimensions Importance
Mean
Reliability 3.76427
A complete overview of the order is presented before final purchase
decision 3.853
Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed 3.646
Different payment options are stated clearly 3.579
All relevant order confirmation details are sent by e-mail within 24 hours 3.673
Access to anticipated delivery times is available at all times 3.831
Terms and conditions of sales are accessible 3.865
Order tracking details are available until delivery 3.691
Order cancellation and return details are confirmed within three days 3.674
Full details of product or service pricing are available 3.890
The registration process is simple 3.811
Full product or service characteristics are available 3.723
Registration process details are retained 3.721
The web site offers free shipping and handling within a set of rules 3.875
Access is fast 4.294
The user can make a purchase without web site registration 3.338
Tangibles 4.00617
Finding your way on the web site is easy 4.104
Information is found with a minimum of clicks 4.186
Navigation is consistent and standardized 3.919
There are well programmed search options 3.979
Instructions are directly available 3.968
Opening of new screens is kept to a minimum 3.881
Empathy 3.67750
Links are provided to pages on related products and services 3.469
Searches on related sites are provided (e.g. a flight/hotel search on travel
sites) 3.678
A standard navigation bar, a home button and back/forward buttons are
available on every page 3.957
114
It is easy to print from the web 3.606
Assurance 3.81200
The security policy is accessible 4.035
The privacy policy is accessible 4.073
External validation of trustworthiness is important 3.676
The web sites contain company details 3.778
Brand image is important 4.105
Page availability information is given on entry 3.789
The user is invited into a frequent buyer program 3.482
A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas 3.558
Responsiveness 3.75300
The Frequently Asked Questions and answers contain links that take the
user to the relevant page(s) 3.758
Information is provided to Frequently Asked Questions and answers 3.765
Queries or complaints are resolved within 24 hours 3.824
User feedback is sought to measure customer satisfaction 3.813
An email address for queries complaints is provided 3.605
