Descriptive Content Analysis on E-Service Research

Abstract

The current study systematically and thoroughly reviewed the extant literature on e-service quality research to examine 1) how e-service is defined by researchers, 2) how e-service quality is defined by researchers, 3) what e-service quality scales and dimensions have been identified, 4) what outcome variables have been assessed in the e-service quality literature, and 5) what theories have been applied in the literature. A total of 72 articles published between 2003 and 2013 were content analyzed. The selected articles focused primarily on e-service quality in the context of B2C e-retailing. The findings of the study provide valuable information to e-service researchers by identifying gaps and disparities in the e-service quality literature. This study provides several crucial suggestions and directions for future research.