Conceptualizing consumers' perceptions of e‐commerce quality

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the structure of the concept of customer‐perceived quality (CPQ) in electronic commerce (e‐commerce).

Design/methodology/approach

The study applies the methodology of concept mapping to data obtained from online and offline focus groups. Following a series of structured conceptualization tasks, the data were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis to establish a conceptual construct of e‐commerce CPQ.

Findings

The proposed conceptual construct consists of six dimensions: outcome quality; consumer service; process controllability; ease of use; information quality; and web site design. The study finds that online consumers attach more importance to quality attributes associated with outcome quality and consumer service than to attributes associated with web transactions.

Research limitations/implications

The sample should be extended to facilitate the generalization of the findings from this research.

Originality/value

This paper identifies a three‐level structure for e‐commerce quality as perceived by consumers. The study offers practical insights to online retailers in providing superior service.

Citation

Su, Q., Li, Z., Song, Y. and Chen, T. (2008), "Conceptualizing consumers' perceptions of e‐commerce quality", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 360-374. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550810870094