Information Systems Service Quality, Zone of Tolerance, and User Satisfaction

Information system service quality has been a very important theme in both IS practice and research. User service expectations affect perceived service quality and user satisfaction. The objectives of this research are to i) to explore the relationship between perceived IS service quality and user satisfaction across the three regions of zone of tolerance (ZOT) and ii) to validate the associations between service expectations (adequate service and desired service) and service performance. The analysis of the data obtained from 193 IS users revealed a positive and significant association between perceived service quality and user satisfaction across the service zones and service dimensions with stronger associations in the acceptable service zone and weaker associations in the inadequate and superior service zones. Thus, the results demonstrate that the relationship between IS service quality and user satisfaction is affected by ZOT. It is found that the desired service expectation measure is more strongly related to service performance compared to the adequate service expectation measure. It is also observed that irrespective of the ZOT, the service dimension that contributes most to service performance is assurance. Tangibles have the widest ZOT and assurance has the narrowest ZOT compared to most other service dimensions. The author discusses the implications of the present study for both research and practice.