Quality Criteria of Content-Driven Websites and their Influence on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: an Empirical Test of an Information Quality Framework

This paper shows how a conceptual framework of information quality has been tested and refined empirically in the context of content-driven Internet websites (such as news portals). Although there are already several similar models, these approaches do not offer management-relevant categories that allow to allocate responsibilities for the various web quality dimensions. The model presented in this paper, by contrast, tries to achieve both, empirically validated categories and relevant dimensions for management. The results of a survey (based on four prior focus groups) conducted among 673 Swiss Internet users are presented and discussed. The findings highlight crucial correlations between the quality of a website (in terms of its relevance, soundness, processes and infrastructure) and user satisfaction, as well as user loyalty. The results show a high perceived information quality contributes significantly to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

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