Customer Satisfaction in Virtual Environments: A Study of Online Investing
研究在线投资环境中，信任如何影响客户满意度，发现感知可信度是满意度的关键前因，而环境安全感和操作能力影响信任形成。
Many firms are moving to make virtual interfaces their primary, or even sole, points of customer contact. In this environment, some traditional service quality dimensions that determine customer satisfaction, such as the physical appearance of facilities, employees, and equipment, and employees' responsiveness and empathy are unobservable. In contrast, trust may play a central role here in enhancing customer satisfaction. We model trust as an endogenously formed entity that ultimately impacts customer satisfaction, and we elucidate the linkages between trust and other factors related to the performance of the online service provider and to the service environment. The model is validated using two samples—one comprising 225 online investors of a large online broker, and the other comprising 203 members of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). The findings suggest that perceived trustworthiness of an online broker is a significant antecedent to investors' satisfaction, and that perceived environmental security and perceived operational competence impact the formation of trust. The results have important managerial implications.