The Influence of E-Service-Quality on Customer Value Perception and Satisfaction: The Case of Third-Party Web Sites

Abstract

Internet technologies create marketplaces for consumers to purchase product or services from online Web sites instead of shopping in the traditional market channels such as department stores. Online shopping sites can be categorized into two types: (1) seller’s own Web sites, such as Walmart.com and Dell.com, offering online shopping options to buyers or (2) third-party (T-P) Web sites, such as eBay.com and Amazon.com, providing online platforms facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers. While previous studies often focus on the Web site quality for selling products directly, this study concentrates on the quality of third party Web sites that manage the exchange network between buyer and seller (e.g., eBay or Amazon). Specifically, Pavlou and Gefen (2004, p.40) suggests that “these online marketplaces, as endorsing institutions or intermediaries (“cyber-mediaries” or “info-mediaries”), are the equivalent of traditional middlemen (Song and Zahedi 2002).”