ES-QUAL model and customer satisfaction in online banking: evidence from multivariate analysis techniques

Research background: The commercial banks are adopting online services for their transactions to stay competitive and fulfill the customers' needs. There is a dire need to satisfy online customers in a competitive environment. Thus, this paper employed the ES-QUAL model and two mediating variables and outlined the recommendations to the management of the online banking industry to develop effective strategies. Purpose of the article: The undertaken research aimed to examine the electronic banking service quality and customer satisfaction. For this purpose, we employed the ES-QUAL model and examined the direct impact of ES-QUAL dimensions and customer's satisfaction. The secondary task of this paper is to investigate the mediation effect of customer's trust and the perceived value in an association between the ES-QUAL model and customer satisfaction. Finally, we examine and check whether customer satisfaction translates into the business performance of commercial banks or not. Methods: To achieve the overall goal of this research, SEM-based multivariate approach has been used, including confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple approaches (normal theory, and bootstrapping) to examine the moderation between the exogenous and endogenous variables. For the validation of hypotheses and results, a financial analysis has been performed simultaneously with the primary analysis. The research is done for a sample of 910 respondents of the account holders of five top commercial banks of Pakistan. Findings & Value added: The outcomes of the direct investigation revealed an affirmative, and potent impact of ES-QUAL dimensions on customer's satisfaction. The outcomes of the indirect relationship exhibited that the perceived value and trust mediate ES-QUAL dimensions and customer satisfaction. The secondary data of selected five commercial banks and ratios analysis validated the results of the ES-QUAL model, and it is concluded that the results are linear with the outcomes of customers' satisfaction of primary analysis.