Developing and validating an instrument for measuring user-perceived web quality

Many of the instruments to measure information and system quality were developed in the context of mainframe and PC-based technologies of yesteryears. With the proliferation of the Internet and World Wide Web applications, users are increasingly interfacing and interacting with web-based applications. It is, therefore, important to develop new instruments and scales, which are directly targeted to these new interfaces and applications. In this article, we report on the development of an instrument that captures key characteristics of web site quality from the user's perspective. The 25-item instrument measures four dimensions of web quality: specific content, content quality, appearance and technical adequacy. While improvements are possible, the instrument exhibits excellent psychometric properties. The instrument would be useful to organizations and web designers as it provides an aggregate measure of web quality, and to researchers in related web research.

[1]  Ramayya Krishnan,et al.  Assessing data quality in accounting information systems , 1998, CACM.

[2]  Sherry K. Little,et al.  Successful Web Pages: What Are They and Do They Exist? , 1998 .

[3]  Klara Nelson.  Global information systems quality: key issues and challenges , 1996 .

[4]  Moses Ma.  Agents in E-commerce , 1999, CACM.

[5]  Kelsey L. Johnson,et al.  Benchmarking: a tool for Web site evaluation and improvement , 1999, Internet Res..

[6]  D. Campbell,et al.  Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. , 1959, Psychological bulletin.

[7]  William J. Kettinger,et al.  Perceived Service Quality and User Satisfaction with the Information Services Function , 1994 .

[8]  Adel M. Aladwani.  Implications of some of the recent improvement philosophies for the management of the information systems organization , 1999 .

[9]  Efraim Turban,et al.  Determinants of successful Website design: relative importance and recommendations for effectiveness , 1999, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences. 1999. HICSS-32. Abstracts and CD-ROM of Full Papers.

[10]  Prashant Palvia,et al.  Consumer-Oriented Electronic Commerce on the World Wide Web: A Comparison of the U.S. and Japanese Practices , 1999 .

[11]  Brian D. Janz,et al.  Business Practices on the World Wide Web: A Comparison of Japanese and U.S. Web Sites , 2001 .

[12]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Current Technological Impediments to Business-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce , 1999, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[13]  Arun Rai,et al.  The effects of development process modeling and task uncertainty on development quality performance , 2000, Inf. Manag..

[14]  Nelson K. H. Tang,et al.  The effectiveness of commercial Internet Web sites: a user's perspective , 1998, Internet Res..

[15]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Validating Instruments in MIS Research , 1989, MIS Q..

[16]  William R. King,et al.  ASSESSING INFORMATION SYSTEM VALUE: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY , 1983 .

[17]  Hakman A. Wan,et al.  Opportunities to enhance a commercial website , 2000, Inf. Manag..

[18]  Earl R. Babbie,et al.  The practice of social research , 1969 .

[19]  Gustavo Rossi,et al.  Assessing the quality of academic websites: A case study , 1999, New Rev. Hypermedia Multim..

[20]  James Ho,et al.  Evaluating the World Wide Web: A Global Study of Commercial Sites , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[21]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[22]  Andrew Whinston,et al.  Electronic Commerce: A Manager's Guide , 1997 .

[23]  Margaret Tan,et al.  An empirical study of adoptors and non-adopters of the Internet in Singapore , 1998, Inf. Manag..

[24]  Gustavo Rossi,et al.  Specifying Quality Characteristics and Attributes for Websites , 2001, Web Engineering.

[25]  Jack C. Fisher.  More Than Just a Pretty Face , 1988 .

[26]  Petra Schubert,et al.  Web assessment-measuring the effectiveness of electronic commerce sites going beyond traditional marketing paradigms , 1999, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences. 1999. HICSS-32. Abstracts and CD-ROM of Full Papers.

[27]  Ann E. Barron,et al.  Design Guidelines for the World Wide Web , 1996 .

[28]  W. Currie.  The global information society , 2000 .

[29]  Hemant Jain.  Global Electronic Commerce: Theory and Case Studies , 1999 .

[30]  J. Christopher West,et al.  Global Electronic Commerce: Theory and Cases , 1999 .

[31]  Joseph J. Martocchio,et al.  Microcomputer playfulness: development of a measure with workplace implications , 1992 .

[32]  Oscar Nierstrasz,et al.  Design Guidelines for , 1997 .

[33]  Rolph E. Anderson,et al.  Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings , 1979 .

[34]  Mo Adam Mahmood,et al.  Effect of the quality of user documentation on user satisfaction with information systems , 1990, Inf. Manag..

[35]  Chang Liu,et al.  Exploring the factors associated with Web site success in the context of electronic commerce , 2000, Inf. Manag..

[36]  Eelko K. R. E. Huizingh,et al.  The content and design of web sites: an empirical study , 2000, Inf. Manag..

[37]  Paula M. C. Swatman,et al.  An exploratory study of small business Internet commerce issues , 1999, Inf. Manag..

[38]  William J. Doll,et al.  The Measurement of End-User Computing Satisfaction , 1988, MIS Q..

[39]  Gilbert A. Churchill.  A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs , 1979 .