Understanding customer perceptions of e-service deviations

Abstract

Service deviation, referring to the gap between service received and perceived by customers, exists not only in physical but also in internet environments. Since customers typically evaluate service quality according to services they received and their expectations, service deviation may leads to customer dissatisfaction. Dissatisfied customers usually have intention to search for alternatives which may affect the market share and profit of abandoned service provider if turned to action. However, not all dissatisfied customers actually take action. For example, Google and Facebook receive numerous complaints, but they are still the largest sites around. In this study, we explore multiple service deviations Internet customers experience and examine why dissatisfied customers stick with e-service providers despite having contemplated deviation. Using case analysis, we collected 276 complaint cases detailing service deviation experiences on 76 e-platforms. From these cases we determined the most frequent deviation types and found that only a minority of deviations result in switching behavior. Further tests then investigate customers` switching behavior. We hope that the findings will help e-service providers better understand the characteristics of e-service and customer behavior. © (2013) by the AIS/ICIS Administrative Office All rights reserved.