A hybrid ANP evaluation model for electronic service quality
Highlights
► We propose a hybrid ANP evaluation model to evaluate multiple-criteria of e-SQ with the interdependence perspective. ► Develop by a process of algorithm that combines the consistent fuzzy preference relations method with the ANP approach. ► Overcome the problems while using the ANP in ranking options during multiple-criteria decision-making. ► The interdependence perspective among multiple-criteria should be taken into consideration by practitioners when improved their e-SQ.
Introduction
Electronic service (e-service) is now considered as one of the key determinants of successful electronic commerce. Zeithaml et al. [1] first introduced the concept of electronic service quality (e-SQ), stating that service quality on the Internet is “the extent to which a website facilitates efficient and effective shopping, purchasing, and delivery of products and services.” Essentially, this term refers to the ability of a website to facilitate customer activities related to online shopping. Many researchers have pointed out that e-SQ is the most important determinant of long-term success for online retailers, and also indicated that good e-SQ is prerequisite for companies to operate e-commerce on the Internet. Thus, previous research has developed evaluation scales for e-SQ, including SITEQUAL [2], WebQual [3], eTailQ [4], and E-S-QUAL [5], indicating the different criteria for e-SQ evaluation within various industries [6]. In particular, such research has mainly used multidimensional and hierarchical structures and has ignored questions of interdependence and feedback between criteria and sub-criteria [7]. Using the analytic network process (ANP) approach, which is capable of addressing interdependent relationships among criteria and sub-criteria, we examine the e-SQ evaluation process from this approach.
However, using the ANP approach requires n(n − 1)/2 judgments for n criteria to compute a pairwise comparison matrix, and problems may arise that may seriously affect the evaluation results, including a lack of consistency and complexity and the inability to handle information uncertainty [26]. Therefore, this study uses the consistent fuzzy preference relations method in tandem with the ANP approach, as this strategy only requires the use of (n − 1) judgments to compute a pairwise comparison matrix that have n criteria, and the increase in the number of criteria or sub-criteria reduces the number of comparisons required and enhances the efficiency and accuracy of the decisions [8]. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discover the interdependence perspective of criteria and sub-criteria for e-SQ evaluation, and to propose a three phases of measurement that combines the consistent fuzzy preference relations method with the ANP technique to evaluate multiple-criteria and sub-criteria of e-SQ with the interdependence perspective.
Section snippets
Electronic service quality
According to Rust and Lemon [9], online retailers should pay more attention to the increasing number of dissatisfying experiences that customers have online. This might include service breakdowns, lost orders, or inadequate complaint handling. Consequently, practitioners of e-service operations today must ensure high-quality electronic services for success, and the bar for electronic service quality is rising quickly due to the pace of competition and the ease of duplicating service features
Construction of hybrid ANP evaluation model for e-SQ
This study proposed a process of algorithm that combines the consistent fuzzy preference relations method with the ANP approach to evaluate the weights and influence of interdependent e-SQ criteria and sub-criteria. The content comprised seven subsections including identifying the criteria and sub-criteria of e-SQ, the network hierarchy construction of e-SQ, determining the fuzzy preference linguistic degree for e-SQ evaluation, pairwise comparison matrices among the criteria and sub-criteria
Empirical application
The use of travel websites has become the most popular and common way for customers to purchase travel-related services and products on the Internet. According to Marcussen [38], online shoppers spent the most on travel services, including airline and rail tickets, hotel accommodations, and travel packages. The travel agencies that operate their own travel websites have expanded from providing and delivering travel-related information and services to customers in the style of traditional
Conclusion
Previous researchers have developed many methods of evaluating e-SQ that have only focused on the independent hierarchical structure of the criteria at play and have ignored the interrelationships among those criteria or sub-criteria. At the same time, inconsistencies in the comparison matrix often creates slightly biased results, and e-SQ evaluation is a very complicated multi-criteria decision-making process; the available information in a multi-criteria decision process is usually uncertain,
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