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This paper proposes and validates an e-service quality (eSQ) evaluation model for B2C websites in the textile-and-fashion (TF) sector in Spain. The research allows to represent the positioning of the main websites of this sector according to different utilitarian and hedonic quality dimensions and to establish the global ranking of these websites by using the F-TOPSIS methodology. After a thorough bibliographic review of the most common attributes used to evaluate eSQ of B2C websites, an expert panel has assisted in both, their precise wording and grouping them into the factors and latent dimensions of the proposed model. Later, model validation was carried out through the psychometric analysis of a survey conducted over a sample of 405 users searching/buying on TF industry online sales platforms. The paper already shows the perceptual maps for the eSQ dimensions analyzed for different TF B2C websites. Finally, in order to be able to process the intrinsic uncertainty inherent to the valuations given by the users, the F-TOPSIS method was used to sort the main TF websites. The study has demonstrated the validity of the proposed model, making it replicable in other countries and allowing to obtain the positioning and ranking of the six main websites analyzed in Spain, where Asos and Zara were the leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper proposes a new and intuitive model to evaluate the utilitarian e-service quality on textile and fashion B2C websites in Spain. The relevant variables to include into this model have been validated through an in-depth literature review and a reliability study based on an empirical investigation. Among the several methodologies used to develop the model, the paper proves that fuzzy inference systems (FIS) have numerous advantages. The following are particularly relevant: the ease to manage non-linear behaviours and the intuitive way of incorporating knowledge to evaluate B2C websites. This knowledge can stem both: from the expert know-how or from the evaluation of consumer satisfaction on these websites. The knowledge is made explicit through if-then rules which work with linguistic-type concepts −agreed upon by experts, closer to the human reasoning mode. Finally, the usefulness of the proposed model and the defined FIS suitability to evaluate the model are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to carry out empirical testing of the relationship between corporate image and corporate satisfaction among business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce organizations who possess codes of conduct and study their effects on sales volume. The aim is to measure impacts of both corporate image as well as measure corporate satisfaction on online sales volume increases. In addition, the authors have added to the study the product-type dimension as a moderate variable.Design/methodology/approach A structural model is developed and empirically tested through survey data obtained from 127 Spanish companies adhering to a code of conduct.Findings The results indicate that adhering to a code of conduct has a positive impact on the increase in sales volumes. The paper identified the main reasons for adhering to a code of conduct, such as offering greater trust to potential consumers as well as improving the firm’s image, prestige and increasing quality and security.Research limitations/implications Further variables must be identified that would help to determine the impact on organizations adhering to codes of conduct.Practical implications This paper highlights how B2C e-commerce codes of conduct help managers achieve better conditions for competiveness. The findings show how adhering to a code of conduct has a positive impact on increased sales volumes. The results indicate that the reasons for adhering to a code of conduct are the following: it offers greater trust to potential consumers, as well as improves the firm’s image and prestige, and increases purchase quality and security.Originality/value This paper contributes to the enrichment of knowledge concerning B2C e-commerce codes of conduct developed a pioneering study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality and recognition of Spanish cuisine are fostering the development of culinary tourism, both domestic in origin and from abroad. Another detected trend is that an ever-greater proportion of tourists are using the Internet to obtain information and make decisions about activities to include in their trips. Given this context, the present work describes a comparative analysis of the websites of Spanish restaurants which have at least one Michelin star in order to assess the quality of those webpages and provide some guidance to their designers to facilitate their use as a marketing tool. The instrument used is the Web Assessment Index. This has been validated in other studies, and measures the quality of a website based on four dimensions: visibility, speed, navigability, and content. The results showed the quality of the website to be positively correlated with the category of the corresponding restaurant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moderating role of duration on the effects of trust and commitment on relational outcomes has been examined in the marketing literature in business-to-consumer contexts, but its application to business-to-business settings has been somewhat neglected. The current study tries to fill this gap by examining the moderating role of duration in the effects of trust and commitment on satisfaction and intention to continue a relationship. It examines a particular aspect of business-to-business marketing from a dyadic perspective: the franchisor-franchisee relationship. Measures were developed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation modelling was used to test the model based on data from a survey of 107 franchisors and 102 franchisees operating in Spain. Results highlight the moderating effect of duration from the franchisees' perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]