Antecedents of customer satisfaction on the internet: an empirical study of online shopping

TLDR

Electronic commerce’s growing popularity has made evaluating antecedents of customer satisfaction crucial for cyber shopping stores, yet existing models based on traditional channels may not suit online contexts. The study investigates antecedents of customer satisfaction in online shopping using case and survey methods. The authors developed a hypothesis‑driven research model via case studies and then tested the relationships between antecedents and satisfaction through surveys. Five antecedents were identified as more suitable for online shopping, including a novel factor—homepage presentation—that is absent from traditional marketing models.

Abstract

With the ever increasing popularity of electronic commerce, the evaluation of antecedents and of customer satisfaction have become very important for the cyber shopping store (CSS) and for researchers. The various models of customer satisfaction that researchers have provided so far are mostly based on the traditional business channels and thus may not be appropriate for CSSs. This research has employed case and survey methods to study the antecedents of customer satisfaction. Though case methods a research model with hypotheses is developed. And through survey methods, the relationships between antecedents and satisfaction are further examined and analyzed. We find five antecedents of customer satisfaction to be more appropriate for online shopping on the Internet. Among them homepage presentation is a new and unique antecedent which has not existed in traditional marketing.