Service Quality Delivery Through Web Sites: A Critical Review of Extant Knowledge

Service Quality Delivery Through Web Sites: A Critical Review of Extant Knowledge

2002 | Valarie A. Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman, Arvind Malhotra
This article reviews and synthesizes the literature on service quality delivery through websites, describing what is known and what remains unknown, and developing an agenda for future research. It highlights the importance of service quality in online environments, where it is more critical than low price or web presence. The article discusses the conceptualization of electronic service quality (e-SQ), the criteria customers use to evaluate it, and the measurement of e-SQ. It also compares e-SQ with traditional service quality from both customer and organizational perspectives. The article identifies key dimensions of e-SQ, such as information availability, ease of use, privacy/security, graphic style, and fulfillment. It also discusses the measurement of e-SQ, including scales like WEBQUAL and e-SERVQUAL, and the factors that influence customer perceptions of e-SQ. The article also explores the differences between traditional service quality and e-SQ, including the role of expectations, the equivalence of dimensions, and the cognitive-emotional content of evaluations. It also discusses the organizational factors that contribute to poor e-SQ, such as the information, design, and communication gaps. The article concludes by identifying what is known about e-SQ and directions for future research, including the need for more rigorous empirical testing of e-SQ scales and a deeper understanding of the antecedents, composition, and consequences of e-SQ.This article reviews and synthesizes the literature on service quality delivery through websites, describing what is known and what remains unknown, and developing an agenda for future research. It highlights the importance of service quality in online environments, where it is more critical than low price or web presence. The article discusses the conceptualization of electronic service quality (e-SQ), the criteria customers use to evaluate it, and the measurement of e-SQ. It also compares e-SQ with traditional service quality from both customer and organizational perspectives. The article identifies key dimensions of e-SQ, such as information availability, ease of use, privacy/security, graphic style, and fulfillment. It also discusses the measurement of e-SQ, including scales like WEBQUAL and e-SERVQUAL, and the factors that influence customer perceptions of e-SQ. The article also explores the differences between traditional service quality and e-SQ, including the role of expectations, the equivalence of dimensions, and the cognitive-emotional content of evaluations. It also discusses the organizational factors that contribute to poor e-SQ, such as the information, design, and communication gaps. The article concludes by identifying what is known about e-SQ and directions for future research, including the need for more rigorous empirical testing of e-SQ scales and a deeper understanding of the antecedents, composition, and consequences of e-SQ.
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