Global measures of information service quality: A cross-national study

Maintaining consistently high quality information services (IS) is a powerful means of increasing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of a global enterprise. This study introduces a global Information Services Function (ISF) Quality Framework that outlines the importance of both behavioral and procedural dimensions in planning, implementing and evaluating global IS quality. Based on this framework, the study investigates the cross-national psychometric properties of a behavioral measure of service quality in the IS context. Using a cross-national survey of IS customers from Korea, Hong Kong, the United States and the Netherlands, perceived ISF service quality was measured using a service quality measure (SERVQUAL) to determine cultural effects. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, support was found for four of the original five SERVQUAL quality dimensions in the USA and the Netherlands. However, the same four-dimensional measurement model did not fit the Hong Kong and Korean samples. Further factor analysis showed that the Hong Kong and Korean samples shared a somewhat similar factor structure that differs from the shared USA and Netherlands structure. These findings support previous research that has found an ‘Asian factor’ with differing definitions of IS Service quality. These findings suggest that the feasibility of standardized global ISF measurement depends heavily on the relative magnitude of cultural effects. Rather than merely applying the USA ISF/SERVQUAL measure, a localized version of the instrument may need to be developed that captures the unique nature of ISF service perceptions in internationally based subsidiaries or companies.