Type of online sales channel as a determinant of consumers’ perception of its e-service quality : An experimental study of Generation Y on the e-commerce market

Sammanfattning: With the growing popularity of e-commerce, this market has become highly competitive, prompting companies to develop an appropriate strategy. As it turned out, focusing on e-service quality is the key and most competitive strategy in this market. However, as there are three predominant online sales channels, companies first need to understand how these are perceived regarding e-service quality and take further steps on this basis. Therefore, the primary purpose of this thesis was to investigate the impact of the type of online sales channel on e-service quality perception among Generation Y. Accordingly, an online between-subjects experiment was carried out in which 369 valid responses were retained. Respondents assessed the e-service quality of one presented online shop (marketplace, reseller or web-store channel) based on five dimensions identified by Lee and Lin (2005). The findings showed that the channel type impacts e-service quality perception. However, it determines only two of the five dimensions, responsiveness and trust, which further suggests that these are the most powerful predictors of e-service quality. The study contributes to pushing the research on e-service quality and e-channels forward by identifying e-service quality dimensions affected by the type of online sales channel. Subsequently, it provides evidence that even if the channel type influences just two dimensions, it still affects the overall e-service quality. Therefore, it further demonstrates the validity of using a higher-order construct instead of first-order constructs regarding e-service quality. Furthermore, it also extends the Technology Acceptance Model research by questioning today’s importance of website design. Moreover, this paper enables companies that already sell online and those who want to start selling online to make more accurate decisions when choosing an online sales channel. Finally, it gives the owners/managers of online sales channels an indication of which areas need improvement to enhance the perception of e-service quality in the channel they operate.