The development of an e-travel service quality scale

ARTICLE IN PRESS

Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1434–1449 www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

The development of an e-travel service quality scale Chaang-Iuan Ho, Yi-Ling Lee Department of Leisure, Recreation and Tourism Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, 168 Gifeng E. Road, Wufeng, Taichung County 413, Taiwan, ROC Received 7 October 2005; accepted 2 December 2006

Abstract The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of e-travel service quality, and to develop a reliable and valid measurement instrument. The concept of an e-service quality construct is first clarified and the processes involved in scale development are then presented. Five core components of e-travel service quality are identified, namely, information quality, security, website functionality, customer relationships and responsiveness. The reliability and validity of this five-factor scale are verified using empirical data, and it is found that the e-travel quality service scale has strong predictive capability in relation to online customer satisfaction and loyalty intention. Moreover, a second-order factor is constructed due to the high correlation among the five factors. Finally, the managerial implications in regard to the research findings are discussed. r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: E-travel services; E-travel service quality; Quality factors; Scale development

1. Introduction The way of doing business in the tourism industry has been changed dramatically due to the development of information technology. The rapid growth in the size of the e-travel service business is clear evidence of this. According to Focus on Internet News Data (2004), there were 64 million US users searching for travel-related information online in 2003, and 35% of Canadians browsed through Web-based tourist information (Focus on Internet News Data, 2003). Expenditure on e-tourism amounted to US$22.7 billion in 2002, and the Forrester Research report predicts that this figure will increase to US$50 billion in 2007 (Focus on Internet News Data, 2002). The Internet has become one of the most important platforms for travel-related service entrepreneurs to provide services and communicate information with their target customers. The number of travel-related websites has grown rapidly during the past decade, and the competition has become more intensive then ever. To Tel.: +886 4 23323000x7451; fax: +886 4 23742363.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (C.-I. Ho), [email protected] (Y.-L. Lee). 0261-5177/$ - see front matter r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2006.12.002

survive, or even succeed, entrepreneurs need to be customer-orientated. An e-service company should see things through customers’ eyes, realize their needs, and design an online service system that can meet customers’ expectations. Therefore, understanding how clients define e-service quality is crucially important for a company doing business in the world of the Web. In spite of these developments, only few studies related to e-travel service qualities have been published so far. Kaynama and Black (2000), for instance, have developed E-QUAL, which is grounded on the well-known SERVQUAL instrument (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988). These two researchers made adjustments the attributes of e-commerce in order to evaluate the service performance of online travel agencies. However, the contents of their service quality constructs were brief and ambiguous, and the proposed conceptual framework was not verified either. Kim and Lee (2004) identified the dimensions of Web service quality both for online travel agencies and online travel suppliers, but they did not perform further research in regard to scale development. The measurement of e-travel service quality may involve the adoption or modification of a hands-on scale (e.g., Loiacono, Watson, & Goodhue, 2002; Yoo & Donthu, 2001).

ARTICLE IN PRESS C.-I. Ho, Y.-L. Lee / Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1434–1449

However, whether or not the scale would be sufficiently effective in capturing the Internet-based travel service attributes is questionable. As far back as the early 1990s’, Carman (1990) suggested that a degree of caution should be exercised while using SERVQUAL since each service industry might have its own unique dimensions. Carman’s suggestion may be applicable to online service cases in that the dimensions from other service settings may not adequately address some of the more critical issues associated with the assessment of e-travel services. Based on the above reasoning, instead of merely using modified versions of a ready-made scale, there is a need to explore service sector-specific attributes and develop a suitable quality measurement for travel websites. The primary purpose of this study is therefore to identify the components of e-travel service quality and their interrelationships, and based on this fundamental task, develop and verify a measurement instrument. The research processes focus on investigating and identifying those features that are perceived by customers as being the necessary elements of service quality for achieving their satisfaction. Here, e-travel services refer to the services provided by the websites of intermediary firms and agencies that make up the sector. The websites are populated by traditional brick-and-mortar or hybrid organizations that facilitate communication and transactions between customers and travel-related service providers (e.g., airlines, hotels, and car rental firms). The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. First, the extant related literature is reviewed and then the criteria used in evaluating e-travel service quality are introduced. These criteria are sorted into certain e-service quality dimensions drawn from prior studies with regard to other online service settings. The methodology applied in identifying the quality factors and verifying the latent structure is then illustrated, and this is followed by the research results. Finally, the major research findings and managerial implications are discussed. 2. E-travel service quality components In terms of measuring the service quality of online travel agencies, Kaynama and Black (2000) proposed seven criteria including content, accessibility, navigation, design/ presentation, responsiveness/feedback, background information, and personalization/customization. These criteria were selected specifically due to their similarity to the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL. The dimension of ‘‘tangibility’’ was reflected in the service attributes of online travel agencies for ‘‘accessibility’’, ‘‘navigation’’ and ‘‘design and presentation’’. The ‘‘reliability’’ dimension was replaced by the site’s content to be represented as the promised services. The ‘‘responsiveness’’ dimension retained the same name even though the e-mail responses were examined in e-travel services. The ‘‘assurance’’ dimension was transformed into the elements of ‘‘background’’. The personal attention

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described by the ‘‘empathy’’ dimension was reflected in the ‘‘personalization and customization’’ established by the website. However, while these multidimensional constructs were established, no scale items were developed for each specific dimension. Mills and Morrison (2004) investigated the potential attributes of customer satisfaction with travel websites (TWs) and found that the perceived service quality which was a multi-dimensional construct played a crucial role in determining customer satisfaction. In this study, the constructs of the TW interface included access, the speed of TW loading, appearance, navigation, interactivity, search, and security. In view of the listed service attribute, they were mainly related to the functions of the website. The perceived quality of TW is represented as the dimensions of incentives, feedback and information reliability. In terms of the definitions of these constructs, the service activities were engaged in responding to the customers and fulfilling their requirements. Kim and Lee (2004) found that online agencies and online travel suppliers share similar commonalities regarding information content, reputation and security, structure and ease of use, as well as the usefulness which are all usually derived from the dimensions of considering Web service quality. There seems to be no need to distinguish between the concepts of service quality for these two online travel service settings. These researchers offer some support in identifying the dimensions of e-travel service quality. In order to develop a measurement tool, the author of this study also turns to and relies heavily on a rich and growing literature in relation to other online service settings. Table 1 summarizes the e-service quality dimensions that have been identified in prior studies. It is found that the dimensions differ quite significantly. The differences may arise in part from the fact that the various researchers focused on different aspects. Nevertheless, some of the dimensions adapted from other e-service contexts serve as a basis for the construction of quality dimensions for e-travel services. Apart from the related literature review, several major travel websites in Taiwan were selected and their content analyzed to further conceptualize and operationalize e-travel service quality. The service activities and functions are broadly classified into several major domains: the array of travel information (e.g., product, destination, flight, etc.), forums of communication (e.g., bulletin boards, chat rooms, Q&A), personalized services (e.g., online travel consultation, itinerary design and arrangement), and a transactional mechanism (e.g., online reservations and payment). By incorporating the dimensions suggested by prior studies into these service domains, eight dimensions related to the evaluation of web-based travel service quality are proposed. 2.1. Information quality The information made available by the websites has been widely accepted as a key component of the perceived service


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Table 1 Quality dimensions of online services identified by researchers Researchers

Service setting

Research focus

Dimensions

Cox and Dale (2001)

Web service

Service quality

Accessibility; communication; credibility; reliability; security; understanding; color, appearance; availability; functionality; integrity; resources; relationship services

Janda, Trocchia, and Gwinner (2002)

Internet retail

Service quality

Performance; access; security; sensation; information

Kaynama and Black (2000)

On-line travel agencies

Service quality

Content and purpose; accessibility; navigation; design and presentation; responsiveness; background information; personalization and customization

Kim and Lee (2004)

On-line travel agencies and suppliers

Service quality

Information content; reputation and security; structure and ease of use; usefulness

Li, Tan, and Xie (2002)

Web-based service

Service quality

Tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy; quality of information; integration of communication

Loiacono et al. (2002)

Website

Website quality

Ease of understanding; intuitive operation; information quality; interactivity; trust; response time; visual appeal; innovativeness; flow

Madu and Madu (2002)

On-line services

Service quality

Performance; feature; structure; aesthetics; reliability; storage capability; serviceability; security and system integrity; responsiveness; product/service differentiation and customization; trust; web store policies; reputation; assurance and empathy

Perdue (2001)

Resort website

Overall quality of the site; overall resort quality as presented by the site

Site accessibility; navigation; visual attractiveness; information content

Srinivasan et al. (2002)

Online retailer

Customer loyalty

Customization; contact interactivity; care; community; cultivation; choice; character

Tan, Xie, and Li (2003)

Web-based information systems

Service quality

Reliability; responsiveness; access; flexibility; ease of navigation; efficiency; assurance/trust; security; site aesthetics; customization/ personalization; quality of information

van Riel, Liljander, and Jurriens (2001) Wan (2002)

Portal site Hotel website

Service quality; e-loyalty Performance

Convenience; site design; ease of use; financial security; assurance; enjoyment User interface; variety of information; on-line reservation

Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003)

On-line retailer

Service quality

Website design; fulfillment/reliability; privacy/security; customer service

Yoo and Donthu (2001)

Internet shopping site

Overall site quality; attitude toward site; on-line purchase intention; site loyalty; site equity

Ease of use; design; speed; security

Zeithaml et al. (2002)

Website

Service quality

Efficiency; reliability; fulfillment; privacy; customer service (responsiveness; compensation; contact)

quality (e.g., Kim & Lee, 2004; Novak, Hoffman, & Yung, 2000; Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Malhotra, 2002). The travel and tourism industry is an information-oriented business, and the Internet can provide companies with an arena to construct a rich and dynamic platform for information supply and exchange. The issue of whether the quality of travel information carried on the websites meets the needs and expectations of users is thus crucial. Based on past research, the common criteria for assessing information content include accuracy, timeliness, its concise nature, relevance, reliability and completeness (e.g., Jeong & Lambert, 2001; Madu & Madu, 2002; Perdue, 2001).

2.2. Security This dimension deals with how a website proves to be trustworthy for its customers. Madu and Madu (2002) suggest that online services are delivered and operated in a highly reliable and dependable manner in order to build trust and convey confidence to customers. Due to the lack of a physical entity and interpersonal contact while purchasing online, customers are especially concerned with the transaction’s safety. Security also refers to the attributes of privacy that are imperative for making transactions online (Zeithaml et al.,


2002). Customers may worry that their personal and transactional information can be accessed or used over the Internet by third parties. Security has been perceived as being a critical dimension in terms of service quality or satisfaction, and is unique to the Internet environment (e.g., Szymanski & Hise, 2000; Yoo & Donthu, 2001). Lack of the assurance of security has been regarded as the main barrier preventing customers from shopping online. It is natural to conclude that security is a crucial component of quality when considering online travel services.

2.3. Ease of use This dimension contains three aspects. Navigation deals with how easily users search for information within the website. It is regarded as the essence of the multidimensional construct of e-travel service quality (Kaynama & Black, 2000). Without interaction with personnel, online customers need to locate information and merchandise by themselves. If they frequently get lost or confused during the search process, they are likely to quit. The design and presentation of a website involving a navigation mechanism affects the relevance and efficiency of the outcome of searching (Perdue, 2001). It suggests that navigation plays a dominant role in delivering satisfactory e-travel services. The second aspect, website access, refers to the ability of users to access resources (including travel-related information and service features) on the travel website and it is related to the ease of connection and speed of download (Cox & Dale, 2001). It is likely that online users will quit and click on to other sites because it took too long for them to access a website or download information from it. Thus there is a degree of support for website access as one of the important components related to service performance. The third part of this dimension describes the transactional functions which enable customers to feel that the website is intuitive, simple, and user-friendly for completing transactions (Kim & Lee, 2004; Novak et al., 2000). Several components, including easy ordering, easy payment, and easy cancellation, indicate the degree to which customers believe that of the use of the website would involve little or no effort.

2.4. Availability Availability refers to the extent to which the services provided by the website can be obtained and used. This dimension deals with the extent to which online information resources are equipped for providing customers with the wanted services that are easy to locate. These services also take the difficulty out of linking web pages, and facilitate the making of purchasing decisions (Jeong & Lambert, 2001; Madu & Madu, 2002). The variety of information and the comprehensiveness of its coverage are considered to be primary indicators (Wan, 2002).

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2.5. Customization Customization may be regarded as the extent to which a website can tailor-make services to fit individual customer’s needs, for example, the extent to which the customized content of the website can provide a user with the relevant and up-to-date information that will meet his specific needs. This dimension involves individual designs for clients in accordance with their patterns of consumption and preferences resulting in an optimum online service. Customization saves the customers’ time and even increases their perception of service quality (Madu & Madu, 2002; Srinivasan, Anderson, & Ponnavolu, 2002). 2.6. Community A virtual community which is developed in a website may be regarded as an online social organization to provide users and customers with the opportunities to share opinions and exchange information among them. Armstrong and Hagel (1996) believe that virtual communities aggregate information, people and relationships. Indeed, such an opinion-exchanging platform that comprises both chat rooms and a Bulletin Board System (BBS) is effective in terms of word-of-mouth communication. These service features provided by websites give users the opportunity to interact with website personnel or other users. This two-way communication makes it easier for users to search for information, make purchasing decisions, and give feedback to the website. Close relationships developed through the interaction within online communities prompt users to participate, learn and act more online. Some researchers (including Kim, Lee, & Hiemstra, 2004; Srinivasan et al., 2002) found that the community factor had impacts on customer loyalty in an online service context. Therefore this dimension is related to users assessing e-travel service quality. 2.7. Responsiveness Although carrying the same name as the one in SERVQUAL, this dimension has been measured by the promptness with which a website responds to customers in an online environment (e.g., Kaynama & Black, 2000; Madu & Madu, 2002; Zeithaml et al., 2002). For example, how can queries or questions from customers be answered quickly and efficiently? How can customers’ needs and complaints be responded to via e-mail in a courteous way? How do the employees of a website deal with customers’ concerns in regard to transaction completeness? These issues are conceptualized as components of the responsiveness dimension. 2.8. Delivery fulfillment This dimension refers to a website’s success in delivering product/service and its willingness to correct mistakes that

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occur during transactions. It overlaps to some extent with the reliability dimension of Zeithaml et al. (2002), which has been identified as an important factor in e-service quality. Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) especially lay emphasis on the error-free ordering process and on-time delivery of an order for online customers. A website that makes effort to minimize the dissatisfaction with the services provided will receive a higher level of quality evaluation from its customers. Based on the above discussion, possible quality dimensions for e-travel services are proposed. Some dimensions may bear the same labels that have appeared in previous studies; however, the contents may somehow be different in this study. In accordance with the research results of Parasuraman et al.’s study (1988), some degree of overlap among these conceptual dimensions may be expected here (e.g., ease of use and availability). In other words, high correlations between these dimensions may exist. The extent to which the dimensions actually capture customer perceptions of e-travel service quality and which trade-offs may exist will be illustrated in the following section. 3. The scale development process 3.1. Generation of scale items Based on the above conceptualization and an extensive review of the related literature, an initial pool of 44 scale items capturing e-travel service quality was generated (see Table 2). Two sets of statements regarding the expected and perceived service quality were developed according to the disconfirmation paradigm. All items were phrased positively and were scored on a seven-point scale ranging from ‘‘Strongly disagree’’ (1) to ‘‘Strongly agree’’ (7). To help identify and capture more specific facets of Internet-based travel services, in-depth interviews with 8 online purchasers were conducted. The purchasers were asked to provide open-ended lists of their activities related to e-travel services. The interviews lasted between 60 and 90 min. All of the activities listed by the interviewers fitted well into the previous eight categories of e-travel service quality and confirmed the multidimensional structure of service quality. In addition, the interviewees were asked to describe their experiences and opinions while completing the 44 scale items. It should be mentioned that the questionnaire was initially developed in English and then translated into Chinese. In order to ensure the accuracy of translation, the scale was revised to incorporate the feedback received from these participants on the wording and translation of the statements. The 44-item instrument was then pre-tested with the data collected from 50 online purchasers of e-travel products. For convenience, all of the subjects were college students who were recruited from the university where the author worked. It should be mentioned that these students were an older population than traditional students, and most of

Table 2 Initial scale items of e-travel service quality Statements 1. Information accurate 2. Information updated 3. Information concise (not ambiguous) 4. Information relevant 5. Information reliable 6. Feel safe in online purchasing on this site 7. Feel secure providing sensitive information 8. Feel personal privacy protected 9. Company behind the site reputable 10. Won’t give customer’s (user) information to other sites 11. Has adequate secured feature to protect customers’ information 12. Make full confirmation in online payment 13. Easy to maneuver 14. Quick and easy to complete a transaction 15. Search function helpful 16. Find the wanted information with a minimum of time 17. Functions as the site should 18. Be linked quickly 19. Easy for customers to make or cancel orders 20. Provides FAQ information 21. Easy to find wanted information 22. Provides in-depth information for customers making purchasing decisions 23. Has comprehensive information 24. Provides online travel consultation 25. Provides URL links to other related sites 26. Responds to users’ inquiries promptly 27. Help available when problems encountered 28. Employees are ready and willing to respond to customers’ needs 29. Customers are informed as transaction is completed 30. Provides a message channel for users’ comments 31. The organization and layout of the site is in a logical fashion 32. Website appears professional 33. Website is visually appealing 34. Has features personalized to users 35. Understands customers’ needs and gives specific information 36. Offers extra services or information based on all customers’ preferences 37. Develops a platform for users to exchange travel experiences 38. Customers can express their opinions according to travel theme/ topics 39. Easy for users to turn to the chat room (BBS) for more information 40. Users can make travel-loving friends with the others on this site 41. Easy to track the delivery of products/services purchased 42. Policies for canceling orders laid out on the site are customerfriendly 43. Service representatives did as they promised to e-mail or call customers by a certain time 44. Products/services are delivered by the time promised

them worked full-time during the day and took courses at night so they were more likely to provide useful information to represent online customers with a variety of website usage and purchasing experiences. The participants were asked to rate the importance of each item and to comment on the statement. To select the items that were deemed to be representative of users’ considerations in regard to e-travel service quality, a criterion was set. If the average score for the item was below 4.0, the item was considered to

ARTICLE IN PRESS C.-I. Ho, Y.-L. Lee / Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1434–1449 Table 3 Scale items retained for online surveys Items 1. Information accurate 2. Information updated 3. Information concise (not ambiguous) 4. Feel personal privacy protected 5. Company behind the site reputable 6. Won’t give customer’s (user) information to other sites 7. Has adequate secured features to protect customers’ information 8. Makes full confirmation in online payment 9. Easy to maneuver 10. Quick and easy to complete a transaction 11. Search function helpful 12. Functions as the site should 13. Be linked quickly 14. Easy for customers to make or cancel orders 15. Provides FAQ information 16. Easy to find wanted information 17. Provides in-depth information for customers making purchasing decisions 18. Has comprehensive information 19. Provides URL links to other related sites 20. Responds to users’ inquiries promptly 21. Help available when problems encountered 22. Customers are informed as transactions are completed 23. Provides a message channel for users’ comments 24. Has features personalized to users 25. Understands specific needs and gives personal attention 26. Develops a platform for users to exchange travel experiences 27. Easy for users to turn to the chat room (BBS) for more information 28. Easy to track the delivery of products/services purchased 29. Policies for canceling orders laid out on the site are customerfriendly 30. Products/services are delivered by the time promised

be less important and was eliminated from the pool. As a result, a total of 30 items appeared to tap purchasers’ perceptions/expectations of e-travel service quality (see Table 3). Minor wording adjustments were made to clarify the statements and to respond to the collected comments after careful examination. The revised pool of 30 items plus an additional 12 items with respect to users’ demographics and Internet usage patterns constituted the questionnaire for the follow-up online survey. An iterative process was carried out to develop the etravel service quality scale and to refine the items. Two studies were conducted. The first study focused on: (1) primarily identifying the underlying dimensions of the scale and condensing the pool of items, and (2) examining the dimensionality and establishing the reliability of the components. The second study sought to confirm the dimensionality of the condensed scale by analyzing fresh data obtained from another online survey. 3.2. First study 3.2.1. Data collection In order to identify the dimensions of e-travel service quality, an online survey was conducted for data collection.

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The investigation was implemented through the assistance of a major portal website in Taiwan between January 20, 2005 and February 4, 2005. While the services of this portal website were close to Yahoo Taiwan, this website was not a seller of travel services. Participants were randomly selected from the e-mail address inventory of users of the portal website. E-mails were distributed to invite these selected users to participate in the survey. From these inviting e-mails, the respondents were able to access the website where the WWW questionnaires were posted. In considering the incentive for participating, those who participated in the survey were entered into a sweepstake that offered prizes. To avoid the generation of repeated responses, the respondents were asked to give their ID number for the purpose of screening the sample. Respondents were restricted to those who had purchased travel products within the last twelve months. Because it could not be known if the interviewees were qualified, all the responses were collected and then an investigation was conducted to decide whether the data should be accepted or rejected. Furthermore, in order to ensure the data quality, three scale items were selected to be reversed for negatively worded statements to screen the questionnaires collected. The data were to be discarded if the responses of the three screen questions were inconsistent with those of the original ones. In total, 1114 questionnaires from non-purchasers and 456 questionnaires from online purchasers were collected, respectively. Of those returned by purchasers, 60 questionnaires were eliminated because the respondents engaged in online purchasing over the course of twelve months. In addition, 107 questionnaires were invalid. After editing the data, a total of 289 usable responses were obtained for the data analysis. Table 4 presents the profiles of the sample in terms of the principal socio-demographic characteristics. The sample population had more females (69%) than males (31%). The ages of the respondents had a concentrated distribution where the largest category extended from 25 to 29 years of age (45.7%). The next largest category comprised the respondents from 30-34 years of age (22.1%). In regard to education level, 54.7% of the respondents were 4-year College educated, 18% had taken some college courses, and 21.5% had received graduate school degrees. Of the total sample, 26.3% were married and remainders were single. In order to assess the representation of the sample, the author collected and compared the Internet users’ socio-demographic characteristics for these respondents with those reported in prior studies conducted by Yahoo Taiwan, the dominant local portal website. The w2-test was conducted. With the exception of age, educational level and monthly income, the survey results of the two studies were similar. It should be noted that more than 10% of Yahoo users were less than 19 years old and likely to be high school students who would not buy travel products online. Therefore, this minor



Table 4 Profiles of the respondents from three samples Study 11 (%)

Study 22 (%)

Yahoo Taiwan3 in 2004 (%)

Gender Male Female

31.1 68.9

47.4 52.6

41 59

Age* 19 years old or below 20–24 years old 25–29 years old 30–34 years old 35–39 years old 40 years old or above

.0 11.4 45.7 22.1 11.4 9.3

.0 8.4 38.7 30.4 11.5 10.9

14 19 24 17 12 13

Education* High school or below 2-year college 4-year college/university degree Graduate school

5.9 18.0 54.7 21.5

5.0 16.8 56.0 22.3

29 23 39 9

Martial status Single Married Other

73.0 26.3 .7

66.2 33.5 .3

64 34 2

Occupation Farming, fishery, forestry and feeding Manufacturing Information industry Information services Construction Business Transportation Communication Finance/real estate Social work Mass media/advertisement Personal services Business services Public administration Military Teacher (college) Teacher (elementary and high school) Professional Housewife Student Unemployed Other

.0 7.3 5.2 8.3 2.1 6.6 1.7 1.0 9.3 5.5 1.4 1.7 8.0 11.1 0 1.4 5.5 3.8 1.4 7.6 1.7 9.3

.3 9.4 7.6 11.0 2.1 5.0 1.0 1.3 7.6 2.6 2.4 1.3 5.8 7.1 0 2.1 4.5 5.0 2.4 11.0 2.6 8.1

0 10 4 5 2 4 1 1 5 4 2 3 5 4 1 1 3 2 3 25 4 9

Avg. monthly income* NT$15,000 or below NT$15,001–25,000 NT$25,001–35,000 NT$35,001–45,000 NT$45,001–55,000 NT$55,001–65,000 NT$65,001 or above

10.7 10.4 32.9 21.5 13.8 3.1 7.6

12.6 10.5 21.2 25.4 11.3 7.3 11.8

26 12 18 12 7 5 8

Socio-demographic characteristics

Note: 1. Sample size ¼ 289; 2. Sample size ¼ 382; 3. Sample size ¼ 13,040. *Denotes significant difference at .05 level.

discrepancy may have resulted in the differences in the distribution of education level and monthly income between the samples.

Other survey data regarding Taiwan’s travel services online, which were collected from a local marketing company (Insightxplorer Limited, 2003) indicated a similar sample of online purchasers. The sample population had more females (55%) than males (45%) and had a concentrated distribution in the 20–35 age group. It seems that young women in Taiwan dominated in purchasing travel products online.

3.2.2. Study 1: results of exploratory factor analysis Factor analysis was employed by using the service quality scores to identify the dimensionality of the e-travel service quality. In accordance with the disconfirmation paradigm, the service quality score was derived by subtracting the perceived quality score from the expected quality score. The mean value and standard deviation of the service quality score for each measurement statement is presented in Table 5. A principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation was performed and the factors with eigenvalues greater than one were extracted. To reduce the number of items to a more manageable set, the criteria used in deciding whether to delete an item were low factor loadings (below 0.5) or high factor loadings on more than one factor (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998). The items with the low item-to-total correlations, which indicated that the items had a relatively weak relationship with the other items, were also discarded. As a result, five dimensions of e-travel service quality were identified and 27 scale items were retained. With these five factors, 71.8% of the variance might have been explained. It should be noted that the factor of website functionality revealed the highest exploratory power by its extremely high eigenvalue (13.8) among the five factors retained. The finding indicated that the functions of a travel website in relation to navigation, access, and availability were highly emphasized by the customers and regarded as the essence of the supplied services. As to the reliability of these five factors, the high alpha values ranging from 0.83 to 0.93 indicated good internal consistency among the items within each dimension. The combined reliability was even higher (0.96). A summary of the quality attributes of each factor and the corresponding factor loadings is provided in Table 5. In comparing the five extracted factors with the eight original proposed dimensions of e-travel service quality, two of the eight proposed dimensions, information quality and security, remained distinct. As for the other six dimensions, namely, ease of use, availability, customization, community, responsiveness, and delivery fulfillment, these were broken down into three distinct dimensions (D1, D3 and D2 in Table 5), with each consisting of items mainly from two of the original six dimensions. The result of several dimensions being combined into one construct is not unusual. This dimensionality-converging result was also found by Llosa, Chandon, and Orsingher (1998) in their adoption of SERVQUAL. A plausible explanation is


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Table 5 Summary results of exploratory factor analysis n ¼ 289 Item

Website functionality (D1) Quick and easy to complete a transaction (Q10) Search function helpful (Q11) Easy to maneuver (Q9) Functions as the site should (Q12) Be linked quickly (Q13) Provides in-depth information for customers making purchasing decisions (Q17) Has comprehensive information (Q18) Easy to find wanted information (Q16)

Mean value (S.D)

Factor loading

(1.26) (1.28) (1.16) (1.27) (1.27) (1.20)

.723 .723 .706 .686 .655 .650

.90 (1.21) .79 (1.10)

.650 .637

1.02 .96 1.03 .97 1.09 1.05

Responsiveness and Fulfillment (D2) Customers are informed as transaction is completed (Q18) Responds to users’ inquiries promptly (Q20) Provides a message channel for users’ comments (Q23) Products/services are delivered by the time promised (Q30) Help available when problems encountered (Q21) Policies for canceling orders laid out on the site are customer-friendly (Q29) Provides FAQ information (Q15)

(1.21) (1.67) (1.44) (1.41) (1.44) (1.47)

.773 .713 .710 .671 .661 .571

1.34 (1.49)

.563

Customer relationships (D3) Develops a platform for users to exchange travel experiences (Q26) Understands specific needs and gives personal attention (Q25) Easy for users to turn to the chat room (BBS) for more information (Q27) Has features personalized to users (Q24) Easy to track the delivery of products/services purchased (Q28)

1.47 1.27 1.70 1.28 1.43

(1.62) (1.58) (1.72) (1.60) (1.73)

.803 .776 .772 .565 .532

.89 (1.21) .91 (1.16) .99 (1.23)

.846 .820 .807

(1.12) (1.42) (1.00) (1.24)

.841 .771 .547 .505

Information quality (D4) Information accurate (Q1) Information concise (Q3) Information updated (Q2) Security (D5) Has adequate secured feature to protect customers’ information (Q7) Won’t give customer’s information to other sites (Q6) Company behind the site reputable (Q5) Makes full confirmation in on-line payment (Q8)

.90 1.62 1.27 1.31 1.36 1.43

.94 1.34 .78 1.06

Eigenvalue

Variance explained (%)

Cronbach’s a value

13.832

51.23

.919

1.932

7.16

.929

1.381

5.11

.877

1.186

4.39

.920

1.065

3.94

.830

Note: Q4, Q14 and Q19 were deleted.

that across-dimension similarities or commonality might have resulted in fewer factors than expected. To further investigate the configuration of these dimensions, a cross-validation of the obtained results was undertaken. Using three data sets including the data regarding respondents’ perceived quality, expected quality and e-travel service quality, the service evaluation factors were individually extracted and three patterns of the dimensional configurations were obtained. A summary of the quality attributes of each factor and the corresponding factor loadings is shown in Table 6. Although the data did not yield an equal number of items (27, 28 and 30 scale items remained, respectively), the analyses rigorously presented the dimensions consistently identified across the data sets. The overall patterns of factor loadings and the number of indicators belonging to each factor were remarkably similar, though not identical. Nevertheless, this finding indicated that there was a basic universality in

these quality factors that was highly consistent in regard to the factor structure. The dimensionality of e-travel service quality was primarily validated and five factors were extracted. 3.3. Second study The second study was then conducted to further evaluate the 27-item scale. The corresponding data were collected from another online survey. A similar task was performed and the questionnaire was identical to that in the first study. However, to avoid the problem of repeated responses from the two studies, the respondents targeted were limited in advance to those who had not participated in the first wave survey. In total, 785 questionnaires from non-purchasers and 496 questionnaires from online purchasers were collected in the second wave survey. Of those returned by purchasers,


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Table 6 Factor loading matrices of five dimensions extracted from three service-quality data sets Items

Service quality (Q ¼ PE) D1

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4a Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14a,b Q15b Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19a Q20 Q21 Q22 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q26 Q27 Q28 Q29 Q30

D2

D3

Perceived quality (P) D4 .837 .791 .811 .526

.706 .721 .707 .670 .648 .475

D5

D1

D2

D3

.569

D4

D5

D1

D2

D3

.763 .706 .778 .568 .561 .757 .848 .502

.512 .647 .881 .869 .658

.562 .610 .570 .768 .687

.586 .769 .796 .771 .521 .600 .678

D5

.689 .658 .735 .730 .734 .593 .636 .564 .565 .676

.493 .709 .660 .764 .699

D4 .857 .758 .786

.712 .754 .511 .814 .672 .731 .756 .708 .701 .668 .463 .450 .576 .538 .543

.628 .640 .653

Expected quality (E)

.582 .599 .577 .682 .592

.737 .859 .881 .853 .535 .577 .695

.748 .813 .793 .723 .630 .740 .745

Note: The data are from the first study, sample size ¼ 289. a Indicates that the scale items were deleted in the data set of e-travel service quality. b Indicates that the scale items were deleted in the data set of perceived quality.

114 questionnaires were eliminated because the respondents were unqualified or the questionnaires could not be used. After editing the data, 382 usable responses were obtained for further data analysis. As shown in Table 4, the socio-demographic categories (with the exception of age and education) of the sample were similar to those that were reported by the surveys of Yahoo Taiwan and the first study. 3.3.1. Study 2: results of confirmatory factor analysis To verify the underlying factor structure in the proposed scale from the previous analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. The 27-scale items with first-order factor structure (i.e. the dimensions were specified as one level of factors that were mutually correlated) was first tested. The model did not yield an adequate fit (see Table 7), and it was found that several indicators had lower values (below 0.5) for the coefficient of determination (R2). Based on the recommendation of Hair et al. (1998), such variables should be deleted from the model. Indeed, the values of these variables were relatively low compared with the other remaining variables.

Thus an iterative elimination process was carried out. As a result, a total of 9 items were successively deleted from the proposed measurement scale. Interestingly, the four items which represented the sub-dimension of delivery fulfillment were all deleted. It may be explained that customers believed these service attributes were important, but not as critical while the travel products could be obtained electronically. Scale items were deleted from the dimensions of website functionality, namely, customer relationships and security. Such an item-elimination made the pool to be a satisfyingly parsimonious one. Table 8 illustrated the goodness of fit of the two scales with or without item-elimination. Furthermore, the high inter-correlation ranging from 0.42 to 0.87 across the factors was strongly suggestive of the presence of a higher-order factor. Then, following the method utilized by Dabholkar, Thorpe, and Rentz (1996), a second-order factor model was developed and estimated to compare the model’s performance with alternative structures. The proposed factor structure consisted of a second-order model in which the five factors formed a second-order construct. This was mathematically


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Table 7 Confirmatory factor analysis of initial 27 scale items (first-order factors) Dimension and label

Factor loadings

R2

Measurement error

li

t

Ei

Factor 1. Information quality Information accurate Information updated Information concise

.831 .86 .92

9.57 20.45 22.88

.301 .26 .15

.80 9.99 6.60

.70 .74 .85

Factor 2. Security Company behind the site reputable Won’t give customer’s information to other sites Has adequate secured feature to protect customers’ information Makes full confirmation in on-line payment

.62 .79 .84 .76

12.79 17.61 19.28 16.76

.61 .38 .29 .42

12.60 10.55 9.09 11.10

.39 .62 .71 .58

Factor 3. Website functionality Easy to maneuver Quick and easy to complete a transaction Search function helpful Functions as the site should Be linked quickly Easy to find wanted information Provides in-depth information for customers making purchasing decisions Has comprehensive information

.69 .72 .75 .79 .75 .82 .8 .76

14.93 15.91 17.02 18.18 16.90 19.22 18.42 17.18

.53 .48 .43 .38 .44 .33 .36 .42

12.96 12.78 12.54 12.22 12.57 11.84 12.14 12.50

.47 .47 .57 .62 .56 .67 .64 .58

Factor 4. Customer relationships Easy to track the delivery of products/services purchased Has features personalized to users Understands specific needs and gives personal attention Develops a platform for users to exchange travel experiences Easy for users to turn to the chat room (BBS) for more information

.4 .68 .76 .92 .88

7.83 14.72 17.12 23.08 21.35

.84 .54 .42 .15 .23

13.60 12.84 12.25 7.12 9.57

.16 .46 .58 .85 .77

Factor 5. Responsiveness and fulfillment Policies for canceling orders laid out on the site are customer-friendly Products/services are delivered by the time promised Provides FAQ information Responds to users’ inquiries promptly Help available when problems encountered Customers are informed as transaction is completed Provides a message channel for users’ comments

.65 .57 .72 .78 .79 .64 .68

13.70 11.83 15.95 17.63 18.07 13.60 14.68

.58 .67 .48 .40 .38 .59 .54

12.98 13.24 12.51 12.00 11.83 12.99 12.80

.42 .33 .52 .60 .62 .41 .46

Fit statistics Degrees of freedom w2 Normed fit index (NFI) Non-normed fit index (NNFI) Comparative fit index (CFI) Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) Adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)

t

314 1438.57 .95 .96 .96 .74 .69 .11

Table 8 Competing models of e-travel service quality Scale

w2

df

NFI

NNFI

CFI

GFI

AGFI

RMSEA

SRMR

Initial scale (27 items, first-order factors) Revised scale (18 items, first-order factors) Final scale (18 items, second-order factors)

1439 400 417

314 125 130

.95 .97 .97

.96 .98 .98

.96 .98 .98

.74 .89 .89

.69 .85 .85

.11 .08 .08

.09 .04 .05

equivalent to a five-factor correlated model. The two models, one with a higher-order factor and one without, performed similarly for all fitness measures (see Table 8).

In addition, following the method proposed by Marsh and Hocevar (1985) that compared the first- and secondorder model, the target coefficient that was used as a



reference for a higher-order structure justification was calculated by dividing the w2 value of the first-order model by that of the second-order model, and the value obtained was 0.96. According to a recommendation by Marsh and Hocevar, the first-order factors could be integrated into a higher-order construct if the target coefficient is close to 1. The target coefficient in this study thus qualified for the standard. Therefore, based on the above results, we concluded that the second-order factor structure was well supported. This suggested that online purchasers evaluated e-travel service quality not only on the basis of the five dimensions but they also regarded the overall e-travel service quality as a higher-order factor that captured a meaning common to all the dimensions. That is, online purchasers evaluated e-travel service quality as a whole rather than in isolation. Table 9 illustrates the results of the analysis for the final set of 18 items that determined e-travel service quality. All

estimated parameters were positive and significant at the 0.05 level (if t-values were greater than 1.96). Several commonly utilized indices of the overall fitness of a model—GFI, AGFI, CFI, NFI, NNFI, SRMR and RMSEA—were included in Table 8. The global fit measure of the model measured by the ratio of w2/df was 3.21, which was slightly greater than the two or three times recommended by Carmins and McIver (1981). Overall, the model fitted the data at an acceptable level (NFI ¼ 0.97, NNFI ¼ 0.98, GFI ¼ 0.89, AGFI ¼ 0.85, SRMR ¼ 0.046, RMSEA ¼ 0.078). To assess the internal consistency of a scale, the composite construct reliability and variance-extracted measures for each construct were estimated (see Table 9). The reliabilities of the five constructs regarding e-travel service quality ranged from 0.84 to 0.90, and all exceeded the recommended level of 0.7. For the variance-extracted measures, all the constructs with their

Table 9 Confirmatory factor analysis of final 18-scale items (second-order factor) Dimension and label Factor 1. Information quality (Z1), CCR ¼ .86, AVE ¼ .68 Information accurate (y1) Information updated (y2) Information concise (y3)

Mean value (S.D.)

Factor loadings

t values

R2

.77 (1.23) .99 (1.19) .96 (1.18)

.84 .86 .92

NA 20.38 22.55

.70 .73 .85

Factor 2. Security (Z2), CCR ¼ .84, AVE ¼ .64 Company behind the site reputable (y4) Has adequate secured feature to protect customers’ information (y5) Makes full confirmation in online payment (y6)

1.13 (1.14) 1.45 (1.11) 1.35 (1.24)

.79 .84 .77

NA 16.40 15.14

.62 .71 .59

Factor 3. Website functionality (Z3), CCR ¼ .90, AVE ¼ .61 Search function helpful (y7) Functions as the site should (y8) Be linked quickly (y9) Easy to find wanted information (y10) Provides in-depth information for customers making purchasing decisions (y11) Has comprehensive information (y12)

.90 .95 1.10 .99 1.18 1.12

(1.22) (1.08) (1.22) (1.22) (1.25) (1.25)

.72 .79 .76 .84 .81 .78

NA 14.98 14.41 15.88 15.43 14.72

.52 .62 .58 .70 .66 .60

Factor 4. Customer relationships (Z4), CCR ¼ .89, AVE ¼ .74 Has features personalized to users (y13) Develops a platform for users to exchange travel experiences (y14) Easy for users to turn to the chat room (BBS) for more information (y15)

1.35 (1.55) 1.49 (1.65) 1.72 (1.63)

.73 .95 .89

NA 18.00 17.36

.53 .90 .79

Factor 5. Responsiveness (Z5), CCR ¼ 0.84, AVE ¼ 0.63 Provides FAQ information (y16) Responds to users’ inquiries promptly (y17) Help available when problems encountered (y18)

1.27 (1.33) 1.63 (1.58) 1.40 (1.41)

.74 .82 .83

NA 15.56 15.76

.55 .66 .68

Fit statistics Degrees of freedom w2 Normed fit index (NFI) Non-normed fit index (NNFI) Comparative fit index (CFI) Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) Adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) Standardized root mean square residual (SRMR)

130 417.78 .97 .98 .98 .89 .85 .078 .046

Note: ‘‘NA’’ indicates those parameters that have been constrained to equal 1 in order to fix the scale of the latent variables.‘‘CCR’’ ¼ composite construct reliability; ‘‘AVE’’ ¼ average variance extracted.


high values ranging from 0.61 to 0.74 substantially exceeded the recommended level of 0.5. This indicated that more than half of the variance for the specified indicators could be accounted for by a certain construct. Therefore, the measurement model assessments lent substantial support for the confirmation of the proposed etravel service quality model.

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3.4. E-travel service quality dimensions Fig. 1 demonstrates the second-order factor structure with its five dimensions. The five quality dimensions extracted were defined as follows: Factor 1, information quality, refers to the measurement items that are mainly related to the service attributes of the

0.84 0.86 η1

y1 y2

0.92 y3

0.79

y4

0.67 0.84 η2

y5

0.77 y6

0.76 y7 0.72 0.79 0.76 0.84

0.93 Overall service quality

η3

y8 Y9 y 10

0.81 0.78

y 11 y 12

0.93

0.73

y 13

0. 95

y 14

0.71 η4

0.89 y 15

0.74

χ2 = 418, d.f. = 130, p-value = 0.00

η5

NFI = 0.97, NNFI = 0.98, GFI = 0.89, AGFI = 0.85, SRMR = 0.046, RMSEA = 0.078 Fig. 1. Second-order factor model of e-travel service quality.

0.82

y 16 y 17

0.83 y 18


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provided information provided by websites. This factor refers to various service attributes, namely, the accuracy, concise nature, and timeliness of information. Factor 2, security, consists of such service attributes as the protection of customers’ information, site reputation, and confirmation of payment. Factor 3, website functionality, refers to service characteristics regarding the functions and availability of the site. Some items are related to the ease of use, such as ease in searching, operating, and accessing. The other items are related to the provision of profound and comprehensive information in regard to customers’ wants and needs. This dimension, which was crucial for online users, encompasses the determinants of accessibility and navigation which were stated as being fundamental to e-service operations. Factor 4, customer relationships, is related to personalized services a website provides for its customers and their interactions with other website users through the online community. It encompasses the exchange of travel information and experiences among website users. In other words, this dimension profiles the service features that a website has designed to make it easier for its users to inform, connect and listen to other online users in the virtual community. Factor 5, responsiveness, includes attributes that describes the ability of website personnel to respond to customers’ inquiries. 3.5. Scale’s nomological validity In the final stage of scale development, the author sought to examine how the e-travel service quality scale predicted

customer behavior as the measurement was designed to do. According to Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996), the behavioral intention variables play an important role in assessing the nomological validity of measurement tools to do with service quality. Eleven statements listed in Table 10, which are based on a revision of the study by Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003), constituted two constructs that are utilized to assess the predictive validity of the e-travel service scale measure. These statements include six satisfaction items and five behavioral loyalty items. All the statements were measured using the same scale with the endpoints ‘‘Strongly disagree’’ (1) and ‘‘Strongly agree’’ (7). A path analysis was conducted to test the relationship between service quality, satisfaction and behavioral loyalty. The results presented in Table 11 indicate that service quality had a direct effect on satisfaction and that the effect of service quality on loyalty intentions was also important. The models each had an excellent fit with the data. Thus, e-travel service quality served as an important indicator for predicting satisfaction as well as behavioral intention. The developed measurement scale also exhibited a good predictive validity. 4. Conclusions This study has successfully constructed a scale that can measure and evaluate e-travel service quality. Major dimensions of e-travel service quality have been identified and a pool of measurement items has been found. An instrument has also been formed that exhibits a high degree

Table 10 Measuring statements regarding customer satisfaction and loyalty intentions Constructs

Statements

Satisfaction

If I had to do it over again, I would make the most recent on-line purchase on this website It was the right thing to make the most recent on-line purchase on this website Truly enjoyed purchasing from this website The choice to purchase from this website was a wise one Satisfied with the most recent decision to purchase from this website Happy with the most recent online purchase on this website

Loyalty intentions

Encourage friends and relatives to do business with this website Say positive things about the website to other people Do more business with the website in the near future Recommend the website to those who seek the advice Consider this website as the first choice for buying the travel product that I most recently purchased on-line

Table 11 Relationships of e-travel service quality to customer satisfaction and behavioral loyalty Path

Parameter estimation

t-value

Fit indices

SQ-SA

.43

7.63

NFI ¼ .97, NNFI ¼ .97, CFI ¼ .98, GFI ¼ .97, AGFI ¼ .92 RMSEA ¼ .094, SRMR ¼ .038

SQ-BL

.60

7.51

NFI ¼ .98, NNFI ¼ .97, CFI ¼ .98, GFI ¼ .97, AGFI ¼ .92 RMSEA ¼ .093, SRMR ¼ .037

Note: ‘‘SQ’’ ¼ e-travel service quality; ‘‘SA’’ ¼ satisfaction; ‘‘BL’’ ¼ behavioral loyalty.


of validity and reliability. According to the research results, online customers placed emphasis on information quality, security, website functionality, customer relationships, and responsiveness while considering e-travel service quality. The analyses also revealed that these five dimensions were highly correlated and yielded a second-order factor structure. These findings shed valuable light on the development of a measurement tool for e-travel service quality where little prior research has been conducted. This research suggests that website functionality and customer relationships were the two most critical factors in evaluating e-travel service quality. It appears that online customers evaluate e-travel service quality mainly on the basis of website functionality, including the elements such as workable functions that are quickly linked and make it easy to find the wanted information. Online customers can be easily turned off when the site is difficult to access, or cannot be navigated easily, for much time may be unnecessarily used up. The performance pertaining to these key features of a website affects searching for, conveying and browsing travel-related information. The quality dimension of customer relationships has been perceived as being particularly important to the customers with online purchasing experiences. Apart from the provision of personalized services, this service factor includes online tourist community communication, which refers to online customer’s interactions within the website and their social networks with other customers. As a matter of fact, the virtual community is able to provide far more information than online customers have typically been able to access both conveniently and cost effectively, and it can aggregate appropriate content and integrate it into communication, and even produce member-generated content (Hagel & Armstrong, 1997). The emphasis on the interactivity may drive online communities to augment the information and expertise available to other customers visiting and retaining information. The dimension of security may be regarded as the degree of the customer’s trust and confidence in the website. Such a trust may result not only from the related services provided (e.g., confirmation of an online payment and the security feature to protect the customer’s information), but also from the company’s long-term establishment (the reputation of the company). The service attributes of responsiveness also receive the attention from online customers who expect their inquiries and problems to be responded to and resolved quickly. Finally, the service quality factor turns to focus on information quality. Indeed, the tourism industry is an information-oriented business. The distinctively highpriced, high involvement, well-differentiated characteristics of travel products and services involve a great amount of perceived risk in regard to which customers depend heavily on information searching/providing if it is to be reduced. The major contribution of this study is that it adds to a growing body of literature on tourism service quality in a web-based context. It establishes the representative dimensions of e-travel service quality and the relevant indicators

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that measure each dimension. The indicators constitute a valid and reliable measurement instrument. Such a scale serves as a managerial tool to the extent that e-travel service providers can evaluate the performance of their online services and initiate proper practices, which are aimed at improving their service quality. In other words, the scale of e-travel service quality can help management to map the performance of specific service domains more precisely and to propose corresponding improvement programs more effectively. For example, the key attributes of information quality, such as accuracy, frequent updates and brevity, should be incorporated in the design and enhancement of the web pages. Measurement items such as the quality of website functionality may become an effective checklist when examining the operational efficiency of the websites. Regardless of whether they are merely acquiring information or making reservations, customers hope to find a site with user-friendly web pages, convenient links and fast connections. The sensational effects captured by this dimension of customer relationships may be measured as the extent to which online customers find the website customized, informative and involved. For customers seeking to acquire the confidence to make online purchases, much more attention should be paid to the concerns of security. Furthermore, a procedure should be developed that is highly reliable in terms of the way in which it responds to customers’ inquiries and complaints in regard to online transactions. In validating e-travel service quality as a second-order factor, the practitioners may come closer to capturing both the underlying commonality among dimensions and the extent to which the dimensions represent overall service quality. The common underlying theme among all dimensions seems to point to the availability of information. Each dimension contains more or fewer ingredients that are relevant to the provision of information. Website functionality is related to service and information delivery. Customer relationships refer to the personalized information provided by websites and the online community is an informative arena for customers to interact with other users. Responsiveness deals with the provision of information on FAQs and prompts assistance. Due to their needs, online customers seek essential, related and special information through the site itself or the community. To meet such needs, travel websites should provide customized information related to customers’ interests and offer a userfriendly environment to facilitate their online surfing, searching and communicating. The research results of this study coincide with the research findings of Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003), including the extracted factors in regard to design, privacy/security, and customer service. This finding enhances the applicability of the scale in the e-travel service setting. The differences between two studies may contribute to the different business properties that play an important role in the determinants of service quality. For customers shopping on a retailing website, the delivery



accomplishment of the purchased products must be assured. Therefore, the fulfillment/reliability dimension appears to be crucial for retaining customers. However, these service attributes raise relatively less attention for customers of e-travel services because some product deliveries can be fulfilled online in terms of their digital features, such as electronic flight tickets and hotel accommodation coupons. Additionally, e-travel services refer to more intangible, functional, subjective, and relational elements so that the factor of information quality is derived and serves as a core component of service quality. Furthermore, without the physical meeting of service providers and customers on the Internet, the hybrid agencies have to focus much more on the output from the service encounter (i.e., the quality of information) and on the interaction with customers while they are seeking help (i.e., the responsiveness of the website). Compared with the service quality factors identified in relation to traditional travel agencies (LeBlanc, 1992), some similarities and differences exist. The elements of the dimensions, namely, information quality, security, responsiveness and customer relationships for e-travel service providers partially resemble those of the quality factors including competence, confidentiality, responsiveness and competitiveness, respectively. These may be regarded as the core values of the services provided by travel agencies: paying individualized attention to customers to show professionalism, responsiveness, and to respect their concerns for privacy and data security. In terms of the other quality factors, such as courtesy, timeliness and accessibility, it is suggested that employees play a central role in a traditional agency. By contrast, online customers may perceive that they interact with an entire organization instead of an employee while seeking help from a travel website. Therefore, the hybrid service providers have to focus much more on the output from the service encounter (i.e. the quality of information) due to the lack of much human interaction on the Internet. In addition, the determinant of physical evidence, which is identified in a physical service environment, is also replaced by the dimension of website functionality in an e-business. It reflects the finding that the service attributes supplied by travel agencies from a traditional form to a hybrid context exhibit new elements. Some limitations of this research should be acknowledged and directions for future studies should also be suggested. The service quality dimensions obtained in this study bear the same name as those of Kim and Lee (2004); however, the content is somewhat different. To some extent, the differences may contribute to different services and functions provided by the e-travel industries across nations. The nationality-specific service requirements and website attributes may exist and lead to the content differences in certain service dimensions. Based on the study of Tsikriktsis (2002), the factor in regard to cultural differences across regions and nations may affect the validity of e-travel service quality dimensions. The extent

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