E-service quality perceptions: an empirical analysis of the Chinese e-retailing industry

Abstract

China will become the largest online retail market in the world in the near future. Chinese consumers may have their own patterns of online consumption and behaviour that are different from those of consumers in the West. However, most research on consumer behaviour and e-service quality relies on theoretical frameworks developed in Western societies. The aim of this paper is to propose and empirically verify a conceptual framework for how customers judge e-service quality in the context of the Chinese e-retailing industry. Meanwhile, the key dimensions of e-service quality are searched with a survey to understand the e-service quality perceptions of Chinese consumers to enhance their e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. The empirical results suggest that e-retailers should pay more attention to process quality and service recovery in the context of Chinese culture and Chinese personality with high uncertainty avoidance taking consideration of service guarantee as one aspect.