Service Quality and Customer Loyalty: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction among Professionals

The study of e-consumer behavior is getting more attention in e-commerce related literature. Acknowledging the importance of e-commerce, this study aims to investigate the influence of e-service quality dimensions ( efficiency, requirement fulfilment, accessibility, privacy and responsiveness) on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty as well as to understand the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on e-service quality and customer loyalty. The study employed survey strategy using a self-administered questionnaire with professionals working in different industries and business settings located in Sabah, Malaysia. Study results indicated that out of five e-service quality dimensions, efficiency, accessibility, privacy and responsiveness are positively affecting customer satisfaction but in contrast accessibility had insignificant impact on customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, efficiency, accessibility and responsiveness were found to have a positive and significant relationship with customer loyalty. The findings of hierarchical regression indicated that customer satisfaction partially mediated the effects of efficiency, privacy and responsiveness on customer loyalty. Based on these findings, the study implications and suggestions regarding future research are discussed.