E‐service attributes available on men's and women's apparel web sites
Managing Service Quality: An International Journal
ISSN: 0960-4529
Article publication date: 25 January 2011
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether service attributes available on women's apparel web sites differ from those available on men's apparel web sites in relation to the nine dimensions of E‐A‐S‐QUAL (E‐S‐QUAL for apparel).
Design/methodology/approach
Using three separate sources, 97 women's and 97 men's apparel web sites were selected, which constituted a variety of apparel retail web sites that are a fair representation of available US retail apparel web sites. ANOVAs and chi‐square analysis were performed.
Findings
The results of content analysis suggest that differences exist between women's and men's apparel web sites in providing online services that improve e‐service quality in such a way that women's web sites provided more service attributes that improve e‐service quality than men's web sites.
Practical implications
The results of content analysis suggest that the distribution or availability of almost half the e‐service attributes analyzed significantly differed between women's and men's apparel web sites. For the further growth of men's apparel shopping via the internet, e‐retailers of men's apparel need to provide e‐services at a more sophisticated level.
Originality/value
This study provides valuable information to both men's and women's apparel e‐retailers to understand their current performance in delivering e‐service and areas for improvement.
Keywords
Citation
Kim, M., Kim, J. and Lennon, S.J. (2011), "E‐service attributes available on men's and women's apparel web sites", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 25-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604521111100234
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited