E-S-QUAL questionnaire: e-service quality and loyalty

Service quality on Shopee, Lazada, Tiki or TikTok Shop is an alternative to SERVQUAL when the service takes place online. E-S-QUAL by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Malhotra (2005) measures four core dimensions: efficiency, system availability, fulfillment and privacy.

Research model

Suggested model: the four E-S-QUAL dimensions affect loyalty intention, measured with the behavioral intentions scale of Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996). Parasuraman et al. (2005) also used loyalty intention to test the validity of E-S-QUAL. The library has no general customer satisfaction scale; if you add satisfaction as a mediator, cite a separate scale.

• Efficiency → Loyalty (positive)
• System Availability → Loyalty (positive)
• Fulfillment → Loyalty (positive)
• Privacy → Loyalty (positive)

Questionnaire items

Original English wording. Answered on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree … 5 = Strongly agree) unless the scale page says otherwise; (R) marks a reverse-coded item.

Efficiency (EFF) · E-S-QUAL scale

Code	Item
EFF1	This site makes it easy to find what I need.
EFF2	It makes it easy to get anywhere on the site.
EFF3	It enables me to complete a transaction quickly.
EFF4	Information at this site is well organized.
EFF5	It loads its pages fast.
EFF6	This site is simple to use.
EFF7	This site enables me to get on to it quickly.
EFF8	This site is well organized.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Malhotra (2005). See E-S-QUAL scale.

System Availability (SYS) · E-S-QUAL scale

Code	Item
SYS1	This site is always available for business.
SYS2	This site launches and runs right away.
SYS3	This site does not crash.
SYS4	Pages at this site do not freeze after I enter my order information.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Malhotra (2005). See E-S-QUAL scale.

Fulfillment (FUL) · E-S-QUAL scale

Code	Item
FUL1	It delivers orders when promised.
FUL2	This site makes items available for delivery within a suitable time frame.
FUL3	It quickly delivers what I order.
FUL4	It sends out the items ordered.
FUL5	It has in stock the items the company claims to have.
FUL6	It is truthful about its offerings.
FUL7	It makes accurate promises about delivery of products.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Malhotra (2005). See E-S-QUAL scale.

Privacy (PRI) · E-S-QUAL scale

Code	Item
PRI1	It protects information about my Web-shopping behavior.
PRI2	It does not share my personal information with other sites.
PRI3	This site protects information about my credit card.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Malhotra (2005). See E-S-QUAL scale.

Loyalty (LOY) · Behavioral intentions battery

Code	Item
LOY1	Say positive things about XYZ to other people.
LOY2	Recommend XYZ to someone who seeks your advice.
LOY3	Encourage friends and relatives to do business with XYZ.
LOY4	Consider XYZ your first choice to buy --- services.
LOY5	Do more business with XYZ in the next few years.

Source: Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman (1996). See Behavioral intentions battery.

Tips

• Choose one specific platform and survey only people who bought on it within a recent period (for example 6 months).
• The three E-RecS-QUAL dimensions (responsiveness, compensation, contact) apply only to people who have had a problem; if you use them, add a screening question and separate the respondent groups.
• Loyalty uses a 7-point likelihood scale with the stem 'How likely are you to...'; keep this scale or state clearly if you change to an agreement Likert scale.
• The original items say 'website'; for a mobile app, replace it with 'app' and state that you adapted it.

Work out the minimum sample size for this model; once the data are in, clean the responses and run the survey data analysis for your results chapter.

Studies that used this model

• Nguyen and Uong (2024). The impact of e-service quality on customer satisfaction and trust in online shopping – A case study of the generation Z (article in Vietnamese). Tạp chí Phát triển Khoa học và Công nghệ – Kinh tế, Luật và Quản lý, 8(1), 5017–5028. Sample: 428 Gen Z shoppers on Tiki, Shopee and Lazada; 4 E-S-QUAL dimensions and 3 E-RecS-QUAL dimensions; PLS-SEM. Reliability: α 0.784-0.844 (Table 3).
• Vo and Phan (2023). E-service quality and the repurchase intention towards online retailers in Vietnam: A case study of young consumer in Ho Chi Minh City. American Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Development, 5(1), 27–33. Sample: 324 young consumers in Ho Chi Minh City; E-S-QUAL → repurchase intention. Reliability: α 0.753-0.898; CR 0.754-0.901 (Table 3).

Collecting responses

If your own network cannot reach the target respondents, you can pay for verified responses through Genius Data (referral link, we may earn a commission), paying only for approved responses.