This research examined how web-based services influence the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty. There have been numerous studies that have examined service quality based on SERVQUAL in traditional service industries. Some studies investigated customer loyalty based on Zeithmal, Parasuraman, and Malhotra's (2000) behavioral intentions (e.g. Mattila, 2004; Mattila & Patterson, 2004). Constrained by changing market conditions and Internet infrastructures, service quality has become more complicated. Customer loyalty management for web-based services may be different from the traditional practice. The primary purpose of this study was to test the SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988) and Zeithmal, Berry, and Parasuraman's (1996) theoretical framework of behavioral intentions on the web-based services using the e-Servqual instrument.
The results indicate that there was a statistical difference between the perceptions of service quality between the organizational employees and customers surveyed on all four dimensions of service quality as measured by the e-SERVQUAL instrument. The perception scores of service quality according to employees were higher than the
perception scores according to the customers.
The results also indicate that there is a relationship between service quality and consumer loyalty. However, the results indicate that there is no relationship between quality perception and consumer satisfaction. In addition, the research found gender plays a role in the privacy and fulfillment aspects of service quality, with men placing particular emphasis on these two components. Moreover, the research found that there is support for
the four factors of service quality, efficiency, service availability, fulfillment and privacy based on all of the groups surveyed. However, the factor analysis results suggest that the factors as measured by the e-SERVQUAL instrument may not be as clearly defined when used in a Chinese population. The results of this study should help organizations in making decisions on marketing activities based on service quality perception, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction in Taiwan's online service industry. Future studies on service quality and the value of the e-SERVQUAL instrument in non-American cultures should be considered in order to expand on the research findings from this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nova.edu/oai:nsuworks.nova.edu:hsbe_etd-1058 |
| Date | 27 May 2009 |
| Creators | Leu, Wan-Jin |
| Publisher | NSUWorks |
| Source Sets | Nova Southeastern University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | HCBE Theses and Dissertations |
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