Thao-Binh Pham-ThiCustomer Retention on the Internet:
Investigating the Impact of Portal Quality on User Retention

About this book deutschenglish

The study analyzes empirically the influence of quality on user retention using the example of information based websites such as online health portals.

Given an increase of interest in health information online and a higher demand in reliable and credible information sources the study concentrates on the question of “what are the major quality criteria of an online health portal?” from the user perspective. In a second step it is examined whether a high portal quality can significantly build and increase retention of users of online health portals. From a managerial perspective it is highly important to deal with these questions as user retention implies a high user number and usage frequency, which are the main objective for providers of health portals as they are often financed by advertisements. Quality of the offered health information and services represent the key differentiating factor and the major lever to establish user retention for online health portals.

The scientific relevance is based on the fact that existing empirical works mainly concentrates on e-Commerce based business models and only few studies and concepts exist for information based business models, such as online health portals.

The book begins with a clarification of the terminology “customer retention on the internet” and a deep literature review of empirical works in this research field. Subsequently a new quality model, the “8C-Model”, for health portal has been conceptualized consisting of eight quality dimensions: Convenience, Character, Content, Communication, Community, Care, Customization and Credibility. Furthermore a path model has been developed that analyzes the relationship between “Portal Quality” and “User Retention” through two antecedents variables “Customer Satisfaction” and “Trust”. In addition the path model also investigates three potential consequences of high user retention: Increased user frequency, preference over competitors and willingness to pay. The empirical analysis of the 8C-Model as well as the path model has been done based on the PLS method and on a sample size of 157 test subjects. The analysis yielded positive results and the majority of hypotheses has been proven.

Ihr Werk im Verlag Dr. Kovač

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