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The impact of website quality on customer satisfaction and purchase intention: perceived playfulness and perceived flow as mediators

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Abstract

The purposes of this study are to examine whether perceived playfulness and perceived flow would mediate the relationships among website quality, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention, as well as to assess the degree of reciprocity between perceived playfulness and perceived flow in an online travel agency context. This study suggested a research framework for testing the relationships among the constructs based on the stimulus-organism-response framework. In addition, this study developed a non-recursive model. After validating the measurement scales, empirical analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling. The findings confirm that website quality affects customers’ perceived playfulness and perceived flow, and in turn, would influence their satisfaction and purchase intention. Notably, this study finds that the service quality is more important than information and system quality in influencing customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Furthermore, the study reveals that the relationship between perceived playfulness and perceived flow is reciprocal. Based on the findings, the implications are discussed in the paper and directions for future research are also highlighted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan, ROC

    Chia-Lin Hsu

  2. Department of Leisure and Recreation Management, Chihlee Institute of Technology, No. 313, Sec. 1, Wunhua Rd., Banqiao Dist., New Taipei City, 220, Taiwan, ROC

    Kuo-Chien Chang

  3. Institute of Traffic and Transportation, National Chiao Tung University, 4F, No. 118, Section 1, Chung Hsiao W. Road, Taipei, 100, Taiwan, ROC

    Mu-Chen Chen

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  1. Chia-Lin Hsu
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  2. Kuo-Chien Chang
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  3. Mu-Chen Chen
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Correspondence to Kuo-Chien Chang.

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Table 5 Measurement items
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Hsu, CL., Chang, KC. & Chen, MC. The impact of website quality on customer satisfaction and purchase intention: perceived playfulness and perceived flow as mediators. Inf Syst E-Bus Manage 10, 549–570 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-011-0181-5

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