Exploring customer perceptions of e-service quality in collaborative virtual environments: a critical incident analysis

Abstract

E-service has been increasingly recognized by both researchers and practitioners as being one of the key determinants in successful e-commerce. Second Life (SL) is a popular example of a collaborative virtual environment (CVE) that is an immersive, three-dimensional, virtual world. Inhabitants of SL often describe their experiences in-world as having great social presence. However, there are doubts expressed about whether human behaviours will be the same in VWs as they are in real life or on 2D websites. Hence, it seems dangerous to assume that marketing models such as service quality developed elsewhere will apply in these 3D CVEs. Using the Critical Incident Technique, this research aims to explore how customers conceptualize e-service quality in CVEs, such as Second Life. In addition, a primary concern of the online consumer is that of trust, often considered as a parameter within e-service quality. The second objective of this research is to explore what respondents believe constitutes institutional trust in CVE environments. The results will illustrate whether there are differences between respondent perceptions of what constitutes e-service quality and trust in CVE environments compared to the 2D website and offline context, and whether any new issues arise.

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ORCID for Alex Zarifis: orcid.org/0000-0003-3103-4601

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