Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this research paper was to examine the applicability of electronic service quality instrument, E-S-QUAL, in e-commerce industry in India. Additionally, the efficacy of the instrument was also examined for two sub-groups of users based on frequency of usage. Design/methodology/approach – Field research was conducted with a modified version of the instrument. The data collected were analysed using multivariate techniques. Findings – The study confirms the validity of the four dimensions (efficiency, fulfillment, system availability, and privacy) of E-S-QUAL instrument. All four dimensions were found to be significant predictors of perceived value. Efficiency and fulfillment were significant predictors of overall perceived quality. Perceived value had a positive and significant relationship with loyalty. The two relationships were further examined for two sub-groups of web users based on the frequency of usage. For heavy users of web sites, all four dimensions were significant predictors of perceived value. For predicting perceived value in respect of light users of web site, efficiency, fulfillment, and privacy were important determinants. The relationships among latent constructs were checked using structural equation modeling and the model was found to be acceptable. The result showed that electronic service quality affected perceived value, which in turn affected loyalty toward a web site. Originality/value – This paper makes an attempt to replicate the four dimensions structure of E-S-QUAL instrument on online shopping sites in India thus enhancing its external generalizability. Additionally, the paper investigates the association of the four aforesaid dimensions with perceived value and overall perceived quality for two sub-groups of users: frequent and non-frequent. The cornerstone of this particular study was to examine the frequency of usage as deterministic parameter for perceived value and overall perceived quality.
7. Limitations and Conclusions
Like any other research, this work is not without limitations. Most respondents in the present study were young and represented a substantial body of web-users, yet they were not representative of all web-users. Hence, findings should be viewed with extreme caution. Also, the present study was not conducted for any particular web site rather the respondents expressed their reaction to the most favoured web site they used for shopping. It would be interesting to note if future researchers could investigate the appropriateness of the E-SQUAL model by industry type or by product type. Indian e-commerce industry is still in its nascent stage and is evolving. From a managerial perspective, providing high levels of e-service quality is extremely critical and important to succeed in the e-commerce space today. Therefore, better understanding of customer preferences for web site usage is required. Indian customers consider efficiency, fulfillment, system availability, and privacy as important dimensions of E-S-QUAL for assessing electronic service quality. However, among all dimensions investigated, efficiency was adjudged the most important determinant of electronic service quality in India. The present study also revealed that customers who perceive electronic service quality to be high are more likely to have higher perceived value, become loyal, and shop regularly. Also, those who use web site frequently consider its privacy feature to be very important, and are likely to purchase more from their favoured web site. In sum, the findings of this research may help the researchers and practitioners understand on how electronic service quality in India is perceived by the users, and what is necessary to make appropriate e-service quality strategies for different categories of customers for enhanced web usage, customer retention, and profit planning.
