E-service quality: comparing the
perceptions of providers and
customers
Emmanouil Stiakakis and Christos K. Georgiadis
Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia,
Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to identify the similarities and differences between the perspectives of
providers and customers regarding the important dimensions and attributes of e-service quality
(e-SQ).
Design/methodology/approach – Ten criteria are proposed for assessment of e-SQ in both
business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Confirmatory factor analysis
confirms the validity of grouping these criteria into five proposed dimensions. The e-SQ dimensions
and criteria are then ranked in terms of their importance by a survey of respondents from small and
medium-sized enterprises with experience in conducting e-business in Greece. The results are
compared with selected surveys of customers’ perceptions from the literature.
Findings – The results indicate that the providers’ perceptions are in agreement with customers’
perceptions with regard to e-SQ dimensions, but not with regard to specific criteria (items) within those
dimensions. The study also finds that providers have similar perceptions of the importance of the
suggested e-SQ criteria in B2B and B2C electronic transactions.
Research limitations/implications – The findings should be generalised with care if extrapolated
to other socio-cultural settings and specific industries.
Practical implications – Managers should recognise that there might be differences between their
views of e-SQ and those of their customers.
Originality/value – This is one of the few studies to have focused on the perceptions of providers in
assessing e-SQ.
Keywords Services, Customer services quality, Electronic commerce, Business-to-business marketing
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Most studies of the concept and measurement of electronic service (e-SQ) have
identified the dimensions of the construct from either the customer’s perspective or the
provider’s perspective (Heim and Field, 2007), and the majority of these have focused
on the priorities and needs of the customer. Although it is unquestionable that the
concept of e-service quality is inherently associated with the perceptions and
expectations of customers, it is also true that these perceptions of what constitutes e-SQ
might differ significantly from those of the service provider (Ghosh et al., 2004;
Surjadjaja et al., 2003). In a similar vein, some authors have contended that few
companies are able to understand and manage e-SQ from the user perspective and that
a holistic view that takes into account both perspectives is therefore needed for a full
understanding of e-SQ (Auer and Petrovic, 2004; Halaris et al., 2007).
Against this background, the present study contends that a comparison of the two
perspectives would provide useful insights into the nature of the dimensions of e-SQ
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0960-4529.htm
MSQ
19,4
410
Managing Service Quality
Vol. 19 No. 4, 2009
pp. 410-430
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0960-4529
DOI 10.1108/09604520910971539