Quality and effectiveness in Web-based customer support systems

The quality of a Web-based customer support system involves the information it supplies, the service it provides, and characteristics of the system itself; its effectiveness is reflected by the satisfaction of its users. This paper presents the results of a study of quality and effectiveness in Web-based customer support systems. Data from a survey of 726 Internet users were used to test theoretically expected relationships. The results of this study indicate that information and system quality determine effectiveness while service quality has no impact. Practical implications for managers and designers are offered. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.