E-SERVQUAL and Electronic Retailing

Prateek Kalia1

Citation:
Kalia, P. (2013), “E-SERVQUAL and Electronic Retailing”, in Bansal, M. and Singla, B.
(Eds.),Proceedings of the 3rd National Conference on Trends and Issues in Product and
Brand Management, Baba Farid College of Management and Technology, Bathinda, India,
pp. 84–87.

Abstract
Electronic retailing (e-retailing) has undergone extraordinary growth in the past few years.
Everyday companies are adopting newer communication and information technologies to
maintain and enhance their performances. Organizations are using internet as a medium to
conduct business transactions to tap greater opportunities in global market at extremely low
operational costs. Organization can only survive in this competitive environment if they are able
to provide best service quality to their customers, making service as key factor in the success of
any organization. However two third of all the electronic stores are not able to achieve
profitability. The biggest reason for this unprofitability is attributed to an important construct
that has gained research attention known as e-service quality. To measure and improve the
performance, E-SERVQUAL instrument has been developed. This E-SERVQUAL instrument has
received wide acceptance across different industries. This paper will discuss various dimension
and importance of E-SERVQUAL with reference to electronic retailing.
Keywords Internet, electronic retailing, E-SERVQUAL, Service quality

Introduction
Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) have become important tools in business, which has a
major impact on business world. The amount of personal computers in the world will reach two
billions - by 2015 as per the forecast published by the Forrester Research marketing company.
With the boom in information technology, falling prices of personal computers and robust
infrastructure, total Internet population in India has grown from meager 2.8 million in 1999

1
Research Scholar, Department of Research Innovation & Consultancy, I.K Gujral Punjab Technical University,
Punjab (India), Email: rs.pkalia@ptu.ac.in
(World Bank Report, 2009), to 65 million in 2011 (Juxt India Online Landscape Report, 2011),
which is more than the total population of Canada. The last decade of retail was dominated by
the entry of chain stores in India with both Indian and international brands vying the Indian
consumer. While these brands have been working on aggressively building their presence across
the width of the country, yet Indian consumers were lured by shopping in international
destinations or had to reach out to metros or tier I to purchase popular brands or products. In this
decade, the retailing divide already started to narrow down and the Indian consumer too, like his
global counterpart, is increasingly shopping online. The opportunity is immense and today
retailers, many of whom once adopted a wait-and-see attitude, can no longer ignore the Internet.
Merely having a retail website is not enough and retailers need to reconsider who their customers
are and how they behave in this digital century. In this competitive environment, the most central
factor for sustainable competitive advantage is to provide the best possible service quality
leading to improved customer satisfaction, customer retention, and profitability (Sureshchandar
et al., 2002; Buttle, 1996). However, at least two thirds of all e-stores were unable to produce
profitability (Swaid, 2008). The biggest reason for this unprofitability is attributed to an
important construct that has gained research attention known as e-service quality. To measure
and improve the performance, E-SERVQUAL instrument has been developed. This E-
SERVQUAL instrument has received wide acceptance across different industries. The objective
of this paper is to discuss various dimension and importance of E-SERVQUAL with reference to
electronic retailing.

Electronic Retailing
e-Retailing is the direct sale of products, information and service through virtual stores on the
web, usually designed around an electronic catalogue format and auction sites
(http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/printarticle.asp?article_id=2804&page=1). Thus
an e-Retailing is a B2C (Business to customer) business model that executes a transaction
between businessman and the final consumer. B2C denotes business that sells products or
provides services to end-user consumers. (http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/b2c/)
The online non-travel industry which may be categorized into e-Retailing, comprising online
retailers and online auctions; online classifieds consisting online jobs, matrimony, property,
automobile and general classifieds; paid content subscription and digital downloads consisting
research, articles, exclusive videos and more. According to investors, top categories are travel,
classifieds, group buying, auto sales and luxury brands. According to IAMAI, of the whole pie,
70 percent of total online buying is composed of online travel which includes booking rail and
air tickets, hotel accommodations and tour packages. Thirteen per cent is e-Retailing, which
includes durable products such as electronic items, home and kitchen appliances as well as
personal items such as apparels and jewelry. Nine percent is amounted to transactions for
financial services such as insurance payments and renewals and trading accounts. Two percent of
the overall share comprises downloading mobile and digital content. Six percent of the overall
market makes other online services such as classifieds (jobs, matrimonial, cars, real estate, and
others), online food delivery and buying movie tickets and DVD rentals.
Because of changing lifestyle and changing mindset of the Indian customer, companies like
Snapdeal, Infibeam, Deals and You, Futurebazaar and more, see business opportunities as they
can cater to consumers across geographies, with no operational timings, unlimited shelf space
and almost zero infrastructure. Fashion and You, 99labels and others are making online fashion
retail an emerging trend in this segment. Some of the most preferred e-shopping destinations of
Indians are e-Bay, Rediff, Sify, Indiatimes, FutureeBazaar.

Service quality
The word quality means different things to different people. Garvin (1988) identified five
perspectives on quality.
1. The Transcendent view of quality is synonymous with innate excellence: a mark of
uncompromising standards and high achievement.
2. The product-based approach sees quality as a precise and measurable variable.
3. User based definition starts with the premise that quality lies in the eyes of the beholder. This
definition equates quality with the maximum satisfaction.
4. The manufacturing based approach, is supply based, and is concerned primarily with
engineering and manufacturing practices.
5. Value based definition defines quality in terms of value and price.
The nature of services requires a distinctive approach for defining and measuring service quality.
The intangible, multifaceted nature of many services makes it harder to evaluate the quality of
service compared to goods. Gronroos (2009) suggested that, customers are often involved in
service production therefore a distinction needs to be drawn between the process of service
delivery i.e. Functional Quality, and the actual output of the service i.e. Technical Quality. From
focus group research, Zeithaml et al. (1988) ten criteria used by the consumers in evaluating
service quality.

Dimension Definition
Credibility Trustworthiness, believability, honesty of the service provider
Security Freedom from danger, risk and doubt
Access Approachability and ease of contact
Listening to customers and keeping them informed in language they can
Communication
understand
Understanding
Making the effort to know customers and their needs
the customer
Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication
Tangibles
material
Reliability Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately
Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service
Competence Possession of the skills and knowledge required to perform the service
Courtesy Politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of contact personnel
Source: LOVELOCK, C. et al. (2007) Improving Service Quality and Productivity, In: Lovelock,
C. et al. Service Marketing, People, Technology, Strategy. 6th Edition. New Delhi: Prentice Hall,
pp.403.

In subsequent research, Zeithaml et al. (1988) found a high degree of correlation between several
of these variables and so consolidated them into five broad dimensions mentioned below.
1. Reliability involves consistency of performance and dependability. It also means that the
firm performs the service first time and honours its promises.
2. Empathy denotes easy access, good communications, and customer understanding.
3. Responsiveness concerns the willingness or readiness of employees to provide service. It
involves timeliness of service.
4. Assurance means competence, courtesy, credibility, and security.
5. Tangibles include appearance of physical elements

SERVQUAL Instrument
To measure customer satisfaction with various aspects of service quality, Valaire Zeithmal and
her colleagues developed a survey research instrument called SERVQUAL. The SERVQUAL
scale includes five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy.
Within each dimension, several items are measured on a 7-point scale; from strongly agree to
strongly disagree, for a total 21 items.

From SERVQUAL to e-SERVQUAL

SERVQUAL was developed primarily in the context of face-to-face encounters. In the modern
online environment, different service quality dimensions with new measurement items become
relevant. To measure electronic service quality on web sites, Parasuraman et al. (2005) created
22 –item scale called E-S-QUAL. Zeithaml et al (2002) created a 7-dimesion scale in which, the
first four dimensions constitute the core e-SERVQUAL scale whereas the latter 3 come into play
only when „online customers have questions or run into problems‟ (Zeithaml et al, 2002, p366).
These dimensions were as follows (Zeithaml et al, 2002, p366):
1. Efficiency – refers to the ability of the customers to get to the website, find their desired
product and information associated with it, and check out with minimal effort.
2. Fulfilment – incorporates accuracy of service promises, having products in stock, and
delivering the products in the promised time.
3. Reliability – is associated with the technical functioning of the site, particularly the extent to
which it is available and functioning properly.
4. Privacy – includes assurance that shopping behaviour data are not shared and that credit card
information is secure.
5. Responsiveness – measures the ability of e-tailers to provide appropriate information to
customers when a problem occurs, have mechanisms to handle returns, and provide online
guarantees.
6. Compensation – is the dimension that involves receiving money back and returning shipping
and handling costs.
7. Contact – the contact dimension points to the need of customers to be able to speak to a live
customer service agent online or through the phone.

Different researchers suggested different dimension, which are summarized in the table below.
Author(s) Dimensions Context
Zeithaml et Efficiency, reliability, fulfillment, privacy, responsiveness, Online
al. (2000) compensation, and contact. retailing
Yoo and
Online
Douthu Ease of use, aesthetic design, processing speed, and security.
retailing
(2001)
Cox and Dale Website appearance, communication, accessibility, credibility, Online
(2001) understanding and availability. retailing
Online
Yang (2001) Website design, security, and information.
retailing
Wolfinbarger
Online
and Gilly Website design, reliability, security, and customer service.
shopping sites
(2002, 2003)
Information, interactivity, trust, response time, website design,
Loiacono et Online
intuitiveness, flow, innovativeness, integrated communication,
al. (2002) retailing
business process and substitutability.
Yang and Jun Website design, security, reliability, responsiveness, Online
(2002) accessibility and customization. retailing
Responsiveness, credibility, ease of use, reliability,
Yang et al. Online
convenience, communication, access, competence, courtesy,
(2003) retailing
personalization, collaboration, security and aesthetics.
Yang et al. Reliability, responsiveness, competence, ease of use, security Online
(2004) and product portfolio. shopping sites
Kim and Web appearance, entertainment, information, transaction Online
Stoel (2004) capability, responsiveness, and trust. retailing

Gounaris et Website design, information, trust, responsiveness and Online

al. (2005) reputation. retailing

Lee and Lin Website design, reliability, responsiveness, trust, and Online
(2005) personalization. retailing
Efficiency, fulfillment, system availability, privacy,
Kim et al. Online
responsiveness, compensation, contact, information and
(2006) retailing
graphic style.
Source: LI, H, and SUOMI, R. (2009) A Proposed Scale for Measuring E-service Quality.
International Journal of u- and e-Service, Science and Technology, 2(1).

Importance of E-SERVQUAL
All dimensions discussed above help in the context of e-retailing where shoppers buy tangible
products that need to be packaged and delivered. In this setting of e-service experience, e-service
quality is a function of how the web facilitates effective shopping, purchasing and delivery of
products and services. Therefore, measuring the quality of the e-service experience includes cues
that occur before, during and after the e-purchase transaction and its possible only through E-
Servqual. Some of the benefits to the electronic retailers are mentioned below.
1. Differentiation: Most of the retailers find it very challenging to differentiate themselves
from competitors. One of the possible alternatives is to provide superior customer service.
Service quality of an organization can‟t be measured objectively, this further makes gauging
success difficult. E-SERVQUAL makes measuring service quality more objective and
precise.
2. Marketing Strategies: Electronic retailers can set their marketing objectives and strategies
on the basis of inputs received as per E-SERVEQUAL instrument.
3. Gauging Customer Perceptions: E-SERVEQUAL instrument can be used for the purpose
of gauging and tracking customer preferences and perception of the quality as compared to
other retailers.
4. Predicting Customer Satisfaction: E-Servqual is found to be the most important predictor
of overall customer satisfaction emphasizing on personal needs, site organization, user-
friendliness, and efficiency.
5. Personalization: The interactivity in e-service results in the requirement of personalization
in e-service and fulfillment is the requirement for e-service in the virtual environment.
6. Profitability: High e-service quality provides long-term benefits to companies.
7. Identifying Service Quality Gaps: The gaps between experience (satisfaction) and
expectation (importance) can be identified using this instrument.

Conclusion
The traditional SERVQUAL instrument has undergone evolution over the period of time. Based
on the literature review of various dimensions of e-service quality in this paper attempt has been
made to review and summarize various dimensions and measures of e-service quality. The
research on measuring service quality focuses primarily on, how to meet or exceed the
customer‟s expectations, and as a measure of how the delivered service levels equalize
consumer‟s expectations. The paper provides a framework and importance of e-service quality
and its determinants. It can be of assistance to companies that employ or plan to employ e-
service in their business.

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