Antecedents of B2C Channel Satisfaction and Preference: Validating e-Commerce Metrics

TLDR

Electronic commerce has created new opportunities, yet consumer attitudes toward B2C e‑commerce versus conventional shopping channels remain uncertain. The study aimed to assess B2C e‑commerce satisfaction and preference using TAM, TCA, and SERVQUAL constructs. Participants bought comparable items through both conventional and EC channels, completed post‑transaction surveys, and the authors built and tested a model of EC satisfaction and preference based on the three frameworks. Structural equation modeling revealed that TAM, TCA, and SERVQUAL metrics significantly explained EC satisfaction and preference, with perceived ease of use and usefulness, TCA ease of use, and SERVQUAL assurance driving satisfaction, which in turn predicted channel preference.

Abstract

Although electronic commerce (EC) has created new opportunities for businesses as well as consumers, questions about consumer attitudes toward Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce vis-à-vis the conventional shopping channels continue to persist. This paper reports results of a study that measured consumer satisfaction with the EC channel through constructs prescribed by three established frameworks, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), and Service Quality (SERVQUAL). Subjects purchased similar products through conventional as well as EC channels and reported their experiences in a survey after each transaction. Using constructs from the three frameworks, a model was constructed and tested to examine the determinants of the EC channel satisfaction and preference using the survey data. Structural equation model analyses indicate that metrics tested through each model provide a statistically significant explanation of the variation in the EC consumers' satisfaction and channel preference. The study found that TAM components—perceived ease of use and usefulness—are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction with the EC channel. Ease of use also was found to be a signi.cant determinant of satisfaction in TCA. The study found empirical support for the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL as determinant in EC channel satisfaction. Further, the study also found general support for consumer satisfaction as a determinant of channel preference.