The Role of Service Quality in Predisposition for Portuguese Online Commerce

Abstract

The study of the quality of a service represents an area of study of vast interest and knowledge. Many academics have developed studies around quality systems, quality information and quality of service. At the same time, electronic commerce has assumed a strong predominance in the choice of consumers in different sectors of activity. Therefore, it is clear the need of companies operating in this environment, in addition to addressing new business models and taking advantage of the great benefits offered by this new digital age, include in their strategies the needs and expectations of their customers, managing to build a reliable image. The theoretical framework was designed to study the factors that influence trust and predisposition among online consumers, analyzing their buying behavior. Based on the literature, a research model was developed, which one looked for to answer these questions. In specific, we intent to understand the relations between service quality, system quality and quality information; satisfaction and trust. From the analysis of these data, it was concluded that service quality, information, system quality and satisfaction showed a strong relation with trust. In an interdisciplinary perspective, this study contributes to a better theoretical understanding of trust in online commerce and helps to identify the characteristics that make part of its construction by consumers, providing relevant data that can help them to define the best marketing strategies. Implications for future research are also presented.