03-07-2012, 11:42 AM
A CONJOINT ANALYSIS OF ONLINE CONSUMER SATISFACTION
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ABSTRACT
The ability to measure the level of customer satisfaction with online shopping is essential in gauging the success
and failure of e-commerce. To do so, Internet businesses must be able to determine and understand the values of
their existing and potential customers. Hence, it is important for IS researchers to develop and validate a diverse
array of metrics to comprehensively capture the attitudes and feelings of online customers. What factors make online
shopping appealing to customers? What customer values take priority over others? This study’s purpose is to
answer these questions, examining the role of several technology.
Introduction
Internet commerce involves the sale and purchase of products and services over the Internet [Keeney 1999]. It
was touted to have massive sales potential, with previous expectations of over $1 trillion by 2002 [Burke 1997;
Mehler et al. 1997]. Yet, these expectations have fallen well short of the $1 trillion estimate, with the U.S. Census
Bureau reporting that U.S. e-commerce sales in 2002 equaled only $43.5 billion and $70 billion in 2003. However,
online spending is on the rise. Retail e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2004 were approximately $15.7
billion, an increase of 23.1 percent from the second quarter of 2003 (U.S. Census Bureau 2003). E-commerce sales
in the second quarter of 2004 accounted for 1.7 percent of total sales, while in the second quarter of 2003 ecommerce
sales were 1.5 percent of total sales (U.S. Census Bureau 2003).
Conceptual Model
Literature on online consumer satisfaction and values reveals several antecedents to online customer
satisfaction. For example, convenience, site design, and financial security affect e-satisfaction [Szymanski & Hise
2000]. Of the many other features discussed [Buskin 1998; Ernst & Young 1999], we selected three categories of
factors as key to influencing e-satisfaction: technology, shopping, and individual product factors. While there are
other factors, conjoint analysis requires us to keep a relatively parsimonious model, and these three categories are
most often mentioned in the literature, and are directly related to consumers’ interactions with Internet businesses.
The technology factors deal with the website qualities that ensure functionality of the site acknowledging that the
consumer must be able to access the site, and be able to use it in order to purchase. Shopping factors deal with
aspects of the consumer’s feelings during and after the shopping experience. Product factors pertain to the qualities
of the product or service for sale. These three categories, which comprehensively capture consumers’ interaction
with the technology, the online shopping experience, as well as the actual product (or service) purchased, are
depicted in Figure 1. Variables in each category, identified in a pilot study, are described further below.
Technology Factors
Technology factors include the qualities of a website that ensure functionality of the site, including: security,
privacy, and usability/site design [Jarvenpaa & Todd 1997; Keeney 1999; Palmer & Griffith 1998; Rasmussen 1996;
Torkzadeh & Dhillon 2002]. Technology factors deal with the consumer’s perceptions of their interaction with the
B2C website and the Internet merchant responsible for that website. Three features of each attribute (security,
privacy, and usability/site design) will be evaluated using a conjoint analysis to get a preferred feature within each
attribute as well as determining an overall ranking of each attribute, including an overall importance score (see
Table 1).
Shopping Factors
Shopping factors focus on customers’ feelings and perceptions during and after the shopping experience.
Factors determining this include convenience, trust and trustworthiness of Web merchants, and delivery time
[Bélanger et al. 2002; Keeney 1999; Nielsen 2000 Patterson et al. 1997; Torkzadeh and Dhillon 2002]. The
prototypical online consumer leads a wired lifestyle and is time starved, suggesting that online shoppers may do so
to save time [Bellman et al. 1999]. This indicates that the overall convenience of the shopping experience is very
important as well as the amount of time it takes for the product to be received. Trust is of importance during the
actual shopping experience because if the consumer does not trust the merchant to make good on their purchase a
transaction will not take place. Three features of each attribute (convenience, trust, and delivery) will be evaluated
using a conjoint analysis to get a preferred feature within each attribute as well as determining an overall ranking of
each attribute, including an overall importance score (see Table 1).
Convenience.
Product Factors
Product factors pertain to the qualities of the product or service for sale. Often, products purchased online are
no different than those purchased at brick and mortar stores. Customers choose between competing products
depending upon which offer the best value [Keeney 1999]. Factors determining this include merchandising, overall
product value, and availability of product customization [Jarvenpaa & Todd 1997; Keeney 1999; Szymanski & Hise
2000; Torkzadeh & Dhillon 2002; Zhu & Kraemer 2002]. Product factors deal with consumers’ perceptions of the
actual product being purchased. Three features of each attribute (merchandising, product value, and customization)
will be evaluated using a conjoint analysis to get a preferred feature within each attribute as well as determining an
overall ranking of each attribute, including an overall importance score (see Table 1).