Beyond Usability: A Statistical Validation of Website Design Related to E-loyalty

Candidate: Yalcin Joe Ilsever
Type: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), School of Interactive Arts and Technology
Date: May 21, 2004
Senior Supervisor: Dr. John Bowes

Abstract

This thesis models customer flow, e-loyalty and website design issues.  It provides an overview and critical assessment of e-loyalty models developed in the past.  It demonstrates how these models need to be revised to explain online consumer behaviour.  The impact of website design (aesthetics) is assessed.  The role of a flow construct in shaping e-loyal cutomer online behaviour is demonstrated.  A positive, online shopping experience emphasizes the need to understand how online shopper activities involve the flow construct.  Flow is defined as customers' peak satisfying online experience with a high degree of involvement and satisfaction.

This thesis introduces a nonrecursive, structured equation model (SEM-AMOS) of e-loyalty, for the purpose of offering some tangible measurement criteria.  A nonrecursive model is one that allows for reciprocal or feedback effects between the variables (Byrne, 2001).  The new model of e-loyalty demonstrates the role of customer flow in shaping e-loyal customer behaviour.  The impact of site aesthetics on e-loyalty is validated.  The model illustrates customers' online flow experience and shows a relationship between the website aesthetics and customers' level of shopping experience.  The relationship between the flow contstruct and e-loyal customer is tested with good model fit indices.

This research adds to our understanding of the complexity of website design issues, while providing empirical evidence of the value of generating and retaining of e-loyal customers.  It is expected the e-loyalty model can be further validated in different online sites, with diverse product offerings.  This may help in building e-loyalty models for different market segments.