An evaluation of cyber-bookshops: The WebQual method

This paper describes the use of WebQual 2.0 to evaluate Internet bookshop W eb sites. Initially applied in the domain of information-intensive Web site s, WebQual 2.0 has been extended and refined to encompass an interaction-qu ality perspective on e-commerce Web sites. Its development draws on an anal ysis of the service-quality literature. WebQual assesses Web site quality f rom the "voice of the customer" perspective, an approach adopted in quality -function deployment. It is used to assess customer perceptions of on-line bookshops, one of the more mature areas of Internet commerce. Three UK-base d Internet bookshops are assessed using a natural experiment. Data are coll ected from students using an on-line questionnaire. Analysis of the results demonstrates considerable variations in the offerings of the Web sites. Th e findings and their implications for e-commerce are discussed, and conclus ions and directions for further research are provided.