The Influence of Website Quality on Customer Purchase Intention through the Mediating Role of E-satisfaction and Flow Experience

To attract customers and ensure a competitive advantage in the e-commerce environment, it is crucial to identify which website attributes encourage customers to purchase by offering them overall satisfaction and online customer experience. Although various website attributes have been widely analysed in the literature based on traditional marketing theories, limited studies have applied the holistic view to categorise these website attributes and online consumer experience in the context of flow state. Inspired by the DeLone and Mclean IS model and flow theory, this study is the first to analyse the influence of website quality as the unified perspective of information quality, system quality, and service quality on purchase intention, with the mediating role of flow experience and e-satisfaction.

This study conducted an online survey with 442 individuals from Turkey who used an online travel agency during the last 12 months. It confirms that telepresence and enjoyment were strongly influenced by system quality and service quality. Further, telepresence and e-satisfaction had a direct effect on purchase intention, but enjoyment did not impact. E-satisfaction was strongly influenced by information quality. Service quality and system quality positively influence satisfaction but have less significant impact. In terms of the mediation effect, telepresence mediates the impact of system quality on purchase intention. E-satisfaction mediates the impact of information, system, and service quality on purchase intention. However, enjoyment has no mediation role in this study.

This research provides various unique contributions to the online consumer behaviour literature and e-retailers.

Key Words: Customer satisfaction; e-commerce environment; flow experience; online travel agency; website quality