A mixed-methods approach to identifying and exploring the causes of the electronic service gap between hospital website developers and users

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify the gap between the expectations of website developers and users regarding the quality of services provided through information technology or network services (e-service quality) in a hospital environment and to discover the major causes of this gap. The study methodology included two stages. In the first stage, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) questionnaire based on e-service quality theories was used to identify the gap between ‘website developer−expected e-service quality’ and ‘user−expected e-service quality’ In the second stage, a series of in-depth interviews with website developers at hospitals was conducted to understand the causes of the gaps. Seven causes of e-service gaps between website developers’ and users’ expectations of website quality were identified: purpose, perception, professional skills, equipment, responsibility, perspective, and differences in habits. Moreover, this research explores the positive and negative directions of the gaps.

KEYWORDS:

• E-service quality
• hospital service quality
• expectation gap
• hospital website

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation: [Grant Number 2016M602838], and Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan: [Grant Number MOST 109-2410-H-130-026].

Notes on contributors

Wei-Hsi Hung

Wei-Hsi (Frank) Hung is Professor of Management Information Systems at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. His research interests are in the areas of e-commerce, IS alignment, knowledge management, and supply chain management. His research papers appeared in journals such as Decision Support Systems, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Industrial Marketing Management, Computers in Human Behavior, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Internet Research et al.

Chih-Lang Tseng

Chih-Lang Tseng is a PhD student of the Department of Information Management at National Chung Cheng University. His research areas are in the information systems implementation, service quality, and e-commerce.

Fang-Kai Chang

Fang-Kai Chang is assistant professor at the Department of Business Administration in the Fang Chia University in Taiwan. His research interests are in the areas of cross-border e-commerce, and IT-enabled service, and has published in various journals.

Yi-Che Wu

Yi-Che Wu is a master student of the Department of Information Management at National Chung Cheng University. His research areas are in the information systems implementation, and service quality