Conceptualising Online Marketplace Service Quality and Investigating Its Relevance for Customer Loyalty

Abstract

Online marketplaces are currently dominating e-commerce and are growing faster thanthe overall industry. This research extends the domain of service quality and existingapproaches for measuring service quality to conceptualise perceived service quality ofonline marketplaces. In particular, service quality is modelled as a third-order factorwhich comprises distinct, actionable service quality dimensions. An empirical studyamong 174 users of leading online marketplaces in Germany is used both to test thisconceptualisation and to identify the dimensions which influence service quality most.The structural model further integrates customer loyalty and consumers’ identificationwith the marketplace to reveal that service quality substantially determines loyaltyintentions. A significant effect of marketplace identification on customer loyaltyimplies that, besides strengthening service quality, building a strong marketplace brandis a promising strategy for marketplace operators.