Exploring the relationships between e-service quality, satisfaction, attitudes and behaviours in content-driven e-service web sites

• Published in: The Journal of services marketing 2010-01, Vol.24 (2), p.112-127
• Main Authors: Carlson, Jamie, O'Cass, Aron
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brand loyalty; Consumer attitudes; Consumer behavior; Consumers; Customer satisfaction; Customer services; Electronic commerce; Hypotheses; Influence; Internet; Marketing; Quality; Quality of service; Retail stores; Services; Studies; Websites
• ISSN: 0887-6045; 2054-1651
• DOI: 10.1108/08876041011031091

Purpose - The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to examine the relationships among e-service quality, consumer satisfaction, attitudes towards the web site and behavioural intentions in the context of content-driven web sites.Design methodology approach - Data from an online survey of 518 consumers were collected with the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling technique used to empirically test the model.Findings - Findings suggest that positive evaluations of e-service quality influences positive levels of consumer satisfaction, consumer attitudes towards the web site and behavioural intentions within the specific service context of content-driven professional sports web sites.Research limitations implications - The study specifically focuses on content-centric web sites within a single service domain being professional sport. Future research can apply the framework to other service sectors on the internet, as well as to other cultural settings.Practical implications - The study suggests that practitioners can use the model developed in this study to assist in allocating resources to the essential, or under-performing, e-service quality attributes needed to drive positive consumer satisfaction, attitudes and behavioural intentions.Originality value - The paper proposes and empirically supports the idea that e-service quality influences consumer attitudes as well as consumer satisfaction and behavioural intentions in the context of content-driven (professional sports) web sites. Moreover, the results of this study provide managers with a useful framework to manage content driven e-services, as well as for researchers interested in the issue of managing e-service quality.