E-service quality dimensions' effect on customers' willingness to buy: structural equation modelling approach

Abstract

In today's digital environment where no personal interaction with customers, to supervise and engage more with them becomes, a challenging task for the e-service vendor. Customers' evaluations of the e-service quality are critical to service firms that aim to improve their marketing strategies so accurate measurement of e-services quality is a major concern to management. The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to examine the relationships among e-service quality dimensions and willingness to buy from electronic stores. Data from an offline survey of 513 consumers is analysed with the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The high fit indexes and the theoretically consistent parameter estimates suggest that the structural model fits the data well. The findings show that e-service quality dimensions: web site design, assurance, reliability and empathy have the positive correlation with willingness to buy and directly impact on customers buying behaviour except responsiveness. The significance of this study is that it provides a model of e-service quality and customers' willingness to buy. Limitations and future research are also discussed.