Transcript B2C E-commerce Web Site Quality: an Empirical Examination

B2C E-commerce Web Site Quality: an
Empirical Examination (Cao, et al)
Article overview presented by:
Karen Bray
Emilie Martin
Trung (John) Nguyen
Kenneth C. Brawley
Company
LOGO
Agenda
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Conceptual Framework
4. Methodology and Results
5. Implications and Limitations
6. Conclusion
Introduction
“What constitutes web site quality or what
makes a website effective?”
• This question must be answered before
implementing an e-commerce portal.
• Decision makers need guidelines for
developing their e-commerce presence.
Introduction

Previous studies on web-site quality:

Focused on basic content management
1. Evaluation of quality of information
2. Relevance
3. Multi-media use

And on function
1. Evaluation of search engines
2. Waiting and response times
3. Interface design
Introduction
Factors for web site quality and factors that
affect customers’ perceptions are
unclear.
 Empirical studies have been only
exploratory in nature.
 Current research focuses on the following:
1. Information quality
2. System quality
3. Service quality
4. Attractiveness
Introduction
Goal of this research:
“Identify those variables that capture ecommerce web site quality and to
develop measures & empirically
evaluate them.”
Literature Review

TAM (Technology Acceptance Model)
•
•
•
Model for predicting system acceptance by
users.
Also, diagnoses design problems before
implementation.
Model bases user acceptance on:
1.
2.
Perceived usefulness
Perceived ease of use
Literature Review
 The TAM model is intended to provide an
explanation for the factors which
determine computer acceptance.
-
Capable of explaining user behavior across a
wide range of end-user computer
technologies.
 TAM is applicable to the current study in
that e-commerce web sites are a form of
computer technology
Literature Review

IS (information systems) Success Model

IS success model involves 6 dimensions,
which only seem to include the systems
aspect and not the human interaction
aspect:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Systems quality
Information quality
Use
User satisfaction
Individual impact
Organizational impact
Literature Review

IS Model and SERVQUAL (service
quality)
-
•
Incorporates IS model and SERVQUAL to
include human interaction
SERVQUAL Dimensions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Reliability
Responsiveness
Assurance
Empathy
Tangibles
Literature Review

The IS / SERVQUAL model measures
the gap between what is expected and
what is delivered.

In the e-commerce context, service
quality is considered to cover assurance,
reliability, & empathy, while systems
quality addresses tangibles &
responsiveness.
Conceptual Framework
Author’s believe that system quality can be addressed via
system quality, information quality, service quality and
attractiveness:
Conceptual Framework
 System quality: measures the functionality
of a web site, i.e. usability, availability and
response time.
•
Search facility
•
Responsiveness
•
Multi-media capability
Conceptual Framework
 Information quality: captures the e-commerce
content issues. Providing information is the basic
goal of a web site. Content is represented by
information accuracy and relevance.
•
Information Accuracy
•
Information Relevance
Conceptual Framework
 Service quality: measures the overall
support delivered by the web site. It
includes trust and empathy, i.e. the web
site should be secure and personalized.
•
Trust
•
Empathy
Conceptual Framework
 Attractiveness: consists of the issues of
whether web pages are fun to read and
subjectively pleasing.
•
Playfulness
Methodology & Results
 The authors used the following experiment:
• A survey was conducted to measure the four
theorized components of website quality.
• 71 students at ASU submitted 213 usable
questionaires.
• Each student was required to rate the website with
a scale of 1 – 7.
Methodology & Results

Requirements while visiting the website:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Go to the site and explore it first
View books
Select a specific book that is desired
Add the chosen book to their shopping cart
View the contents of their shopping cart
Methodology & Results
 Results of the survey:
Methodology & Results

Significant findings of the survey (how
websites should be designed):
3.
Provide accurate information
Reduce loading and searching time
Make searching easier
4.
Site should also be appealing in design
1.
2.
Implications & Limitations

Web site quality can be a management
tool because customer’s have positive
and negative perceptions about
websites.

In order to be effective, a website must
have:
1.
2.
Good content
Good service
Implications & Limitations
 Guidelines for web interface design:

Capability of hardware

Focus customers perceptions

Enhance trust from a technological
perspective

Guidelines for web interface design (cont):
1.
Evaluate existing similar sites
2.
Compare design alternatives
3.
Use usability measures/metrics
4. Check for conformance
Implications & Limitations
 Limitations of the study:
 The
questionnaire is self-reported by
respondents: the researcher’s intentions were
obvious.
 The
sample may be biased as it includes
students only from one university.
 Finally,
the sample book sites are few in
number.
Conclusion
 This paper identifies a set of factors
capturing the quality of an e-commerce
web site.
 A set of reliable instruments for web site
quality has been developed and
empirically validated.
 These factors have significant practical
meaning for e-commerce web designers
and web managers.
Thank You!