Measurement and validation of online financial service quality (OFSQ)

Purpose – The role of service quality in fostering the growth of online financial services has received much attention in the academic and practitioner communities. In this context the purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying dimensions of perceived service quality in the online financial services context and develop a scale for measuring online financial service quality (i.e. OFSQ). Design/methodology/approach – The present study anchors in Grönroos’s (1984) service quality model and DeLone and McLean’s (2003) information systems (IS) success model in developing a multidimensional multi-item scale for measuring OFSQ. Accepted scale development method was employed to identify the OFSQ dimensions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to analyze the data. Findings – OFSQ consists of five dimensions which are convenience quality, functionality, interaction quality, information quality, and image quality. The OFSQ scale exhibits adequate degree of validity and reliability. Practical implications – OFSQ instrument developed in this study enable service managers to accurately measure service quality and benchmark it to competitors that could help the service provider to improve their service performance level. These findings will provide the managers with a bird’s eye view of the levers for improving and managing the perceived quality of the online financial services in customer’s minds. Originality/value – The contribution of this study lies in the identification of perceived service quality dimensions in the online financial services context by integrating two theoretical models, i.e. Grönroos’s (1984) service quality model and DeLone and McLean’s (2003) IS success model.