Service Convenience and Relational Exchange in Electronic Mediated Environment: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

Academic research reflects an increasing concern that conventional knowledge on services management such as location strategy may not adequately inform management on crafting an ITdriven service strategy to succeed in the emerging electronic mediated environment. The focus of this study is to examine, from the consumer perspective, how service convenience affects the long term relational exchange in the electronic mediated environment (EME). Service convenience has been conceptualized as a second order construct with six convenience dimensions reflecting the process of online service consumption. An analytical framework has been developed and tested to validate the comprehensive framework of service convenience and its antecedents and consequences in the electronic mediated environment leading to a long-term exchange relationship. Analysis of data from 374 respondents revealed that service convenience is indeed a multidimensional concept and six convenience dimensions equally contribute to online consumers’ overall perceptions of service convenience. Service convenience was also found to serve as an important mediating variable between its antecedents and consequents. This study thus contributes to the development of the service convenience construct in the electronic mediated environment and also informs firms in developing an integrated online convenience strategy to meet customer requirements and expectations for long term exchange relationship building. Suggestions for future research and implications are discussed.

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