Service quality in social networking apps among platforms M-SNS-QUAL: a multiple-item scale for assessing Mobile Social Networking Service Quality

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Service quality in social networking apps among platforms

M-SNS-QUAL: a multiple-item scale for assessing Mobile Social Networking Service Quality

by

Harry Henk Dijkema

This thesis is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the thesis for the MSc Business

Administration - specialization Strategic Innovation Management

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business

Student number: S1766392

Supervisors: Dr. C.W. Tan & Dr. E.T.K. Lim

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Abstract

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Acknowledgements

Finishing this thesis was the ultimate academic challenge in my student career and the completion of this paper is the official end of my Master’s program Business Administration with a specialization in Strategic Innovation Management. The last year of my five study years at the University of Groningen was an intensive year, I studied many hours and I’m proud to finally finalize my study. Studying in Groningen has always been an interesting journey and during the years I had wonderful times, which I will never forget during the rest of my life. At this point in my life I’m facing quite some interesting uncertainties, I’m wondering where I will work and live the coming years. However, one thing is certain: the completion of this thesis. I would like to thank all my study mates, colleagues and professors for this fact. However, in the following sentences I want to thank some people in particular.

First of all, I would like to thank my supervisors who did a lot of pre-readings on this thesis. Great thanks to Dr. Eric Lim and Dr. Chee-Wee Tan! I will remember the long meetings (max. 2,5 hours) in your office, the conversations we had on Skype and the surprising e-mails in the middle of the night. You inspired me to work hard for the things I want to achieve. Also the everlasting helicopter view of both of you on complex problems related to this thesis will not be forgotten. Each time I got stuck with something, both of you surprised me with your deep insights in e-commerce and m-commerce. I wish you all the best in France and Australia and hope to meet again.

Another person who deserves great credits is my girlfriend Elize, during my whole student time, and especially during the busy ones, she always supported and empowered me to work and study hard. I really appreciate the fact that you’ve always listened to my (complex) app, service quality and other thesis stories. I’m curious where the future will bring us together.

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Table of tables

Table 1: Reviewed journals and their five year Impact Factor ... 15

Table 2: Parasuraman’s et al. (1988) SERVQUAL framework with dimensions and descriptions ... 18

Table 3: Critics on Parasuraman’s et al. (1988) SERVQUAL framework ... 19

Table 4: Different available measurement scales for evaluating service quality in websites ... 20

Table 5: E-S-QUAL (Parasuraman et al., 2005) ... 20

Table 6: E-RecS-QUAL (Parasuraman et al., 2005) ... 21

Table 7: 7 C’s of Raport & Jaworski’s (2001) + 2M’s of Lee & Benbasat (2004) ... 22

Table 8: Influences of mobile context (Tarasewich, 2003) ... 22

Table 9: Lee and Benbasat’s (2004) mobile setting aspects ... 23

Table 10: Amount of apps in app stores ... 24

Table 11: Varshney and Vetter’s and Blog Mobile Marketing’s (2010) list of mobile app classes ... 24

Table 12: Georgiadis and Stiakakis’s (2009) article “Key Issues for the Quality Assessment of Mobile Commerce Services” ... 34

Table 13: Garofalakis’s et al. (2007) article “Quality attributes of consumer-based m-commerce systems” ... 35

Table 14: Lee and Chung’s (2009) article “Understanding factors affecting trust in and satisfaction with mobile banking in Korea: A modified DeLone and McLean’s model perspective.” ... 36

Table 15: Zhou’s (2012) article “Understanding users’ initial trust in mobile banking: An elaboration likelihood perspective” ... 36

Table 16: TAM, IDT & UTAUT theories and descriptions ... 37

Table 17: Customization E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL for use in M-SNS-QUAL ... 38

Table 18: Measurement items description and sources... 43

Table 19: Efficiency measurement items discussed ... 48

Table 20: Bond-based fulfillment measurement items discussed ... 50

Table 21: Identity-based measurement items discussed ... 52

Table 22: Comparison-based measurement items discussed ... 54

Table 23: System availability measurement items discussed ... 55

Table 24: Privacy measurement items discussed ... 56

Table 25: Personalization measurement items discussed ... 57

Table 26: Presentation measurement items discussed ... 59

Table 27: Enjoyment measurement items discussed ... 61

Table 28: Contact measurement items discussed ... 62

Table 29: Test sample consisting out of 25 most popular worldwide Social Networking apps ... 64

Table 30: Average score per dimension ... 69

Table 31: Efficiency graphics ... 70

Table 32: Fulfillment of bond-based graphics ... 71

Table 33: Fulfillment of identity-based attachment graphics ... 71

Table 34: Fulfillment of comparison-based attachment graphics ... 72

Table 35: System availability graphics ... 72

Table 36: Privacy graphics ... 73

Table 37: Personalization graphics ... 73

Table 38: Presentation graphics... 74

Table 39: Enjoyment graphics ... 74

Table 40: Contact graphics ... 75

Table 41: Efficiency scores per item ... 75

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Table 43: Identity-based attachment per item ... 77

Table 44: Comparison-based attachment scores per item ... 78

Table 45: System availability scores per item ... 79

Table 46: Privacy scores per item ... 80

Table 47: Personalization scores per item ... 81

Table 48: Presentation scores per item ... 82

Table 49: Enjoyment scores per item ... 83

Table 50: Contact scores per item ... 84

Table 51: Comparison findings and Applause score ... 89

Table 52: Alexa ranking ... 127

Table 53: Nielsen ranking ... 128

Table 54: comScore ranking ... 128

Table 55: Experian Hitwise ranking ... 128

Table 56: About.com ranking ... 129

Table 57: Sorav Jain’s ranking ... 129

Table 58: Mislove et al. ranking ... 129

Table 59: Platform portal rankings ... 129

Table 60: Wikipedia’s social networking ranking ... 131

Table 61: Sony Xperia P specificiations (previously known as Sony LT22i Nypon), derived from Gsmarena.com (2012)... 135

Table 62: Apple iPod Touch 4th generation specifications, derived from Phonearena.com (2012) ... 135

Table of figures

Figure 1: Average score per dimension on both Android and iOS ... 69

Figure 2: Efficiency score per item ... 76

Figure 3: Bond-based attachment scores per item ... 77

Figure 4: Identity-based attachment scores per item... 78

Figure 5: Comparison-based attachment scores per item ... 79

Figure 6: System availability scores per item ... 80

Figure 7: Privacy scores per item ... 81

Figure 8: Personalization scores per item ... 82

Figure 9: Presentation scores per item ... 83

Figure 10: Enjoyment scores per item ... 84

Figure 11: Contact scores per item ... 85

Figure 12: Connection details Wifi University Groningen on Sony Xperia P ... 133

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1. Introduction

1.1 Background introduction

Social media popularity continues to grow, connecting people with just about everything they watch and buy. “Whether it’s a brand icon inviting consumers to connect with a company on LinkedIn, a news ticker promoting an anchor’s Twitter handle or an advertisement asking a consumer to “Like” a product on Facebook, people are constantly being driven to social media.” (Nielsen, 2011, p. 1). Social media has grown rapidly – today nearly 4 in 5 active internet users visit social networks and blogs. Close to 40% of social media user’s access social media content from their mobile device, making the social networking apps the third most-used among U.S. smartphone owners (Nielsen, 2011).

In a study conducted by the Microsoft Tag (2010) community, mobile device usage was estimated to overtake desktop internet users by 2014, based on a rate of growth tracked since 2007. 86% of mobile internet users are using their devices while watching TV. On average, Americans spend 2,7 hours per day socializing on their mobile devices. Furthermore, 91% of mobile internet access is to socialize, compared to 79% on desktops (Microsoft Tag, 2010). The biggest social media platforms are approached by mobile phones via an application (an app); 200 million of the 600 million Facebook users uses Facebook’s mobile app; 50% of the 165 million Twitter users uses Twitter’s mobile app; more than 200 million YouTube views occur every day on mobile devices. A study conducted by the National Literacy Trust (2012) shows that children aged 7-16 are more likely to own a mobile device than a book. According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center (2011), the share of adult mobile phone owners who have downloaded some kind of app to their device nearly doubled in the years 2011-2012. Mobile apps are part of daily life and social networking via an app is in strong demand, although still a young field in comparison with desktop computing, research in mobile apps can add real value.

1.2 Relevancy

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et al., 2003, p. 54). This satisfaction originates in a perceived service quality and is, as will become clearer in this thesis, essential for the success of mobile apps.

1.3 Statement of the problem

Service quality is a vital component of any organization’s success in the internet age. Research in the extant literature on the effect of service quality on customer loyalty, shows that the focus of electronic service delivery and the electronic business (e-business) has shifted from information technology (IT) utilization in internal management tools to customer directed IT applications (Xu, Benbasat, & Cenfetelli, 2011). Consequently, the deployment of IT is characterized not only by technical issues but also by service quality issues (DeLone, 2003). Before, only employees were affected by internal apps, now the service and its quality of an app developed for customers can seriously benefit or harm companies’ success. Service quality has been measured heavily in the offline, non-electronic context. However, in the electronic business context, as observed by Jones, Reynolds and Arnold (2006) the breadth and depth of service functionalities shape consumers’ shopping experience by providing constant support throughout the entire transactional process. Service quality is of vital importance in the electronic context. The focus of the literature on electronic service quality is mainly on service quality in (retail) websites, and the interaction between a (online) retailer and the (online) shopper in the environment of a website. However, as the following (non-academic) citation will strongly indicate by example, it is likewise important to do research in the field of service quality delivered through a mobile device because it can affect customer loyalty and retention (Wells, Valacich, & Hess, 2011).

“There’s an old story about the person who wished his computer were as easy to use as his telephone. That wish has come true, since I no longer know how to use my telephone.” (Venkatesh, Ramesh, &

Massey, 2003).

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Android-powered phone was available in October 2008 (En.wikipedia.org, 2005). Both platforms use different business models and distribution models. The whole mobile market structure and value chain are evolving, also affecting app developers’ design choices.

1.4 Purpose

In this research I investigate what features in m-SN-apps users associate with high service quality and will subsequently create a model – based on extant literature – for evaluating and designing m-SN-apps. I will name this model the Mobile Social Networking Service Quality Model (M-SNS-QUAL). Service quality in the context of m-SN-apps is defined as: the extent to which m-SN-apps facilitates efficient and

effective voluntary commitment, participation, and contributions. Abowd et al. (1999) state that mobile

applications differ in the way they interact with, and use the context. Context is any information that can be used to characterize the situation of an entity. An entity is a person, place or object that is considered relevant to the interaction between a user and an application, including the user and application themselves. A mobile application is context aware if it uses context specific features to provide relevant information or services to the user, where relevancy depends on the user’s task. A mobile application is context unaware if it does not uses context to provide relevant information or services to the user (Abowd et al., 1999). The focus of this thesis will be on context-unaware features of m-SN-apps and their subsequent effect on service quality. In the literature review, the influence of service quality on usage will be further discussed. A secondary beneficial aspect of this research is the insight that can be gained in the role of different platforms on app developers’ design choices. This thesis will research the role of different platforms on app developers’ design choices and the subsequent service quality in social networking apps. However, as Wong (2010) already notes, “The winner of any comparison between Android and iOS is essentially the user.” (p.40). Platforms have different consumer approaches and business models, they can obtain open -, or gated app distribution portals and can differ in the openness of technology (e.g. access to source codes). These differences may impact developers’ design choices.

In order to state something on the moderating role of mobile platforms, I chose to do a research on the two most popular mobile platforms, or the interchangeable term operating systems (OS’s): iOS and Android. Apple’s iOS Appstore consists out of approximately 875.000 apps (148apps.biz, January 2013) and Google’s Android Playstore consists out of approximately 700.00 apps (Mashable.com, October 2012).

Considering the aforementioned, I formulated a number of research goals for this thesis: Add to the growing literature on electronic (mobile) service quality;

Add to the literature on design of SN-apps and its consequences for service quality;

Develop a model with associated (non-perceptual) measurements which can be used by app developers and their clients when evaluating, but also when developing a SN-app;

After having developed the model, insights and improvements will be gathered by applying the model to a selection of 50 SN-apps;

Provide insights in the role of mobile platforms on app developers’ design choices;

Provide understanding from an app developers’ perspective on design choices and subsequent service quality.

1.5 Significance of the study

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Stiakakis (2009), Lee and Chung (2009) and Zhou (2012) already wrote and published in the field of the mobile context and some of them already refer to service quality in mobile contexts. This thesis will continue the research on service quality by focusing on mobile app developers’ design choices in the context of SN-apps. From a managerial perspective, this thesis can add value too. In difficult economic times like the current, budgets and financial concerns are main topics in board rooms. Designing information systems (IS’s) like an app can be very costly, depending on the needs and frequency of use. Due to high hours’ pay of app developers and complex, long development projects, apps are estimated to cost in between $1K for a simple database app and $250K for a full-scale enterprise automation app with integration to business processes (Formotus.com, 2013). Recent research of CEB (2013) state that the Chief Information Officers (CIO’s) across Europe, however, are predicting to increase their IT budgets by an average of 2% in 2013, despite the economic downturn. Furthermore, 75% of the European IT organizations plan to invest in developing mobile applications, most of the mobile applications will be for internal communication usage (CEB, 2013). In order to spend their budgets on efficient and successful projects, value can be created by providing in-depth insights in the required design features relating to high service quality in social and communication apps. It is expected that in 2014, the spending on mobile application development will grow by 50% to nearly 2% of total IT expenditure, implicating the rising interest of organizations in mobile apps. However, a high amount of mobile apps fail. Due to bad designed user interfaces, wrong monetization (iPhone Life magazine, 2013), flawed customer feedback or undefined target audience (MobiDev, 2013). This thesis can be valuable for organizations evaluating mobile apps, but also for app developers and their clients developing mobile apps. The results of this thesis will give great insights in the features that serve as inhibitors and enablers of m-SN-apps usage. Furthermore, app developers can use the findings of this thesis to gain a clear view on different mobile platforms and their business models and requisites.

1.6 Research questions Main question:

How can context-unaware social networking applications be designed to improve service quality for customers?

Sub question:

What is the moderating role of mobile platforms on the relation between app developers’ design choices and service quality?

1.7 Application area: 25 worldwide most popular Social Network apps (Android, iOS)

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only one version – for each platform – of their app around the world.

1.8 Outline of the current research

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2. Literature review

In this chapter I will review existing literature concerning service quality, electronic service quality, mobile platforms and online social communities. I will describe definitions and backgrounds. Subchapter 2.1 describes the starting point of my thesis; a thorough literature review of relevant articles in four academic journals from the past 5 years.

2.1 Literature review method

The starting point of my thesis is the table in Appendix A. In order to get a complete and academic understanding of the topics described in this paper I did a thorough literature review in four journals (table 1) and checked all the articles from 2008-2013. Table 1 also presents the relative importance of the journals by providing the impact factor (Journal Citation Report, 2012). To get a structured overview of all relevant articles published in the last five years I collected all the articles related to the following concepts:

Service Quality

In order to get a complete overview of essential writings on the concept of service quality, I went through all the articles in the four journals and collected articles related to service quality. Service quality in offline contexts is heavily researched in the extant (service) marketing

literature, consensus on the definition of service quality is reached as will become clearer and its positive influence on customer loyalty and retention is widely accepted.

Electronic Service Quality

Besides the huge amount of service quality literature, there is a growing body of literature on electronic service quality. Most of this literature is focused on the online contact between a retailer and a consumer in a virtual environment. Service quality in retail websites is strongly researched. In order to construct a model for assessing service quality in mobile apps, I needed an in-depth understanding of the published literature in the field of electronic service quality and its impact on the information system (IS) usage.

(Electronic) Service quality in mobile platforms

The main focus of this thesis is service quality, or electronic service quality in mobile platforms. Literature on service quality in mobile apps, mobile contexts or mobile platforms is still scarce but growing. However, some literature is already published on service quality in mobile banking. Accessing bank accounts on mobile devices, the subsequent safety and the requirements for this are subjects of several authors. In order to add knowledge, and continuing understanding in the mobile context field, it was essential to have an in-depth understanding on the literature already published in this context.

Design of mobile platforms

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mobile applications can be found within the information provided by the big mobile Operating System (OS) providers like Apple (iOS) and Google (Android). These companies make requisites for app developers, provide information on efficient design and stimulate use of their own OS.

Social networking and social communities

In order to write about m-SN-apps and understand why people use social networks and participate in online communities, an in-depth understanding of these concepts is necessary. The knowledge gained can be used to fulfill the design expectations of m-SN-app users; design in this way can be customized towards the specific needs of the user.

Context (un)awareness

Due to the focus of this thesis on context aware- and unawareness, special attention is given to literature published within this field. The concept of context awareness is lightly covered in the literature during the past years; however, this concept is of less importance for the traditional desktop application designers (Lee, & Benbasay, 2004). The influence of context in this sense is present but small in personal computing, users are stuck to a working place. The real

importance of context comes to light with the introduction of the mobile device. Following this reasoning, context within the mobile device is subject to heavy changes and alterations and therefore sorely important for this research.

All the analytical work in the described literature is based on the assumption that academic literature is incremental and each new published article builds onwards previous literature. In this manner, I am able to use the most relevant and interesting findings from the above mentioned concepts. In the table in Appendix A, I summarized of each relevant article: the context and scope of application, the theoretical frame of reference, the (sub) dimensions and the methodology.

Table 1: Reviewed journals and their five year Impact Factor Journal

abbreviation

Description 5 year Impact

Factor* MISQ The Management Information Systems Quarterly (or MIS Quarterly) is

a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in the areas of management information systems (IS) and information technology (IT). Established in 1977.

4,447

ISR Information Systems Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in the areas of information systems and information technology. Established in 1990.

3,358

JMIS The Journal of Management Information Systems is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes original research articles in the areas of information systems and information technology. Established in 1984.

1,463

JAIS The Journal of the Association for Information Systems is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers research in the areas of information systems and technology. Established in 2000.

1.667

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2.2 The importance of service quality

In order to get more insights in service quality and how to measure its success, the subchapters 2.3 and 2.4 will provide a thorough background and understanding on service quality measurements in traditional and electronic contexts. Above all, subchapter 2.2 will explain the importance and influence of service quality in design on IS usage.

Service quality, defined in detail later in this thesis, can be summarized in general terms as the gap between a customer’s expectations and the actual service performance. The fulfillment of these expectations makes the service quality being judged high or low. Low service quality can lead to abandoning of the service, where high service quality can lead to repetition of the service usage (Deng, & Poole, 2010). In this subchapter I will focus in more detail on the effects of low/high service quality, with a view to clarify the importance of designing high service quality in mobile app design.

Measuring customer’s satisfaction with a website, mobile application or any other IS is frequently based on the “Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory” (EDT). EDT is the most widely accepted theory concerning customer satisfaction processes. The theory states that satisfaction and dissatisfaction results from a customer's comparison of performance of a product or service with the customer's expectations. Positive disconfirmation occurs when the performance is perceived better than the customers expected. Negative disconfirmation, and thus dissatisfaction, occurs when the performance is perceived worse than the customer expected. The paper of Collier and Bienstock (2006) “intends to provide fresh insight into customers’ dimension of e-service quality” (p.271). Collier and Bienstock (2006) propose that service quality can influence user satisfaction on three service dimensions: process quality, outcome quality and recovery quality. The findings of Collier and Bienstock (2006) suggest that customers evaluate the process of placing an order on a retail website by evaluating the design, information accuracy, privacy, functionality, and ease of use of the website. Bad experiences with one or more of these aspects can have a ripple effect with the subsequent evaluations of the service experience and can affect subsequently satisfaction and future behavioral intentions towards the electronic medium (Holloway, & Beatty, 2003). In the case of electronic service quality on retail websites, bad experience with interactivity or functionality of the website can cause an overall service quality judgment even before a transaction took place. Preferably, high service quality must be designed in IS’s.

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service quality, lower perceived sacrifice or user investment, and better perceived service performance. Since customer loyalty is important for the survival of businesses (Xu et al., 2011), service quality also may influences the survival of businesses or mobile IS’s. For this reason, design of mobile IS’s acquires (management) attention.

According to additional literature on service quality in electronic context; high service quality can influence loads of other beneficial aspects (displayed in italic font). It can influence users efficient access

to content and information on websites (Tan, Benbasat, & Cenfetelli, 2013). It can create customer engagement, which is essential in the mobile context with its scarce attention characteristics (Liu, Li, &

Santhanam, 2013). It can influence perceived waiting time (Lee, Chen, & Ilie, 2012). It can effect the

usability of IS’s (Kohler, Fueller, Matzler, & Stieger, 2011). It can influence the perceptions of product quality and, potentially, online purchase intentions or impulse purchases (Wells, Valacich, & Hess, 2011;

Kim, Chan, & Kankanhalli, 2012; Wells, Parboteeah, & Valacich, 2011). It can enhance users’ positive

emotional reactions and facilitate desirable psychological states and behaviors, which in turn can

influence the users’ subsequent experience with the IS’s (Deng, & Poole, 2010). It can lead – through high social presence and high visual appeal – to high trust in IS’s (Cyr, Head, LariOS, & Pan, 2009; Acquisti, Tsai, Cranor & Egelman, 2011; Kim, Ferrin, & Rao, 2009; Cyr, 2008). It can create end-user

satisfaction (Au, Ngai, Cheng, 2008; Kim, Ferrin, Rao, 2009; Cyr, 2008). It can impact economic outcomes

by structuring the information provided to the user (Susarla, Oh, & Tan, 2012). In the context of social networks, it can affect member dynamics and community responsiveness in both positive and negative ways (Butler, & Wang, 2012). It can influence IS’s technology usage intentions (Cenfetelli, & Schwarz, 2011). It can shape community members’ judgment of products and reviews, on for example retail websites (Forman, Ghose, & Wiesenfeld, 2008). In the context of online communities, it can lead to users sharing their knowledge and participate in a collaborative authoring process (Arazy, & Gellatly, 2012; Tang, Gu, & Whinston, 2012). It can affect customers’ continuance usage (Zhou et al., 2012). It can reduce stress, build intimacy, and increase social approval for one’s ideas (Lowry, Cao, & Everard, 2011). It can also enhances an individual’s creative performance within the IS (Müller-Wienbergen, Müller, Seidel, & Becker, 2011).

2.3 Service quality

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(Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry 1985, p.41). According to a Japanese philosophy, quality is ‘’zero defects – doing it right the first time’’ (Crosby, 1979, p. n.a.). Important reasons for the high amount of literature on service quality are the three underlying, difficult to cope with, themes. First, service quality is more difficult for the consumer to evaluate than goods quality. Second, service quality perception results from a comparison of consumer expectations with actual service performance and third, quality evaluations are not made only on the outcome of a service: they also involve evaluations of the service delivery (Parasuraman et al., 1985).

Service quality can be defined as the difference between customers’ expectations for service performance prior to the service encounter and their perceptions of the service received (Asubonteng, McCleary, & Swan, 1996). When customer expectations are higher than the actual performance, service quality will be judged low. When performance will exceed expectations, the quality evaluation will be positive. In this thesis I will use Lewis & Boom’s (1983) widely accepted definition for service quality:

“Service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations”

(p.99).

Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectations on a consistent basis. One of the first authors which develop a general measurement scale to asses and measure service quality are Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985, 1988). By analyzing pooled data from five service categories they constructed a 97-item instrument that would be reliable and meaningful in assessing quality in a variety of service sectors. After the purification stage, the authors concluded with a 22-item instrument, called SERVQUAL, for assessing customer perceptions of service quality in service and retailing organizations. Rooted in expectancy disconfirmation theory, SERVQUAL is a framework that intends to measure the difference between expectations and perceived quality. Due to the expectation-performance gap, SERVQUAL is called a gap analysis. In the 1990’s, Parasuraman et al. (1991, 1993, 1994) refined the SERVQUAL dimensions and items and stated that the five dimensions are still valid and reliable as a “general skeleton to measure service quality” (Abu-El Samen et al., 2013, p.404). Parasuraman’s et al. (1988) five dimensions are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (table 2).

Table 2: Parasuraman’s et al. (1988) SERVQUAL framework with dimensions and descriptions Dimension Description

Tangibles Physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of service personnel Reliability Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

Assurance Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence Empathy Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers

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(2013) who examined all the dimensions of the model with a great amount of service quality literature. Moreover, the proposed universality and applicability of the SERVQUAL model is made questionable by viewing the numerous modifications that are evident in many studies that use this model, as will become clearer in subchapter 2.9.

Table 3: Critics on Parasuraman’s et al. (1988) SERVQUAL framework # Critic

1 SERVQUAL is using gap scores to measure service quality

2 SERVQUAL was criticized because of its unstable dimensionality and conceptualization; many scholars deleted or added dimensions to the model.

3 SERVQUAL measures the attributes of the functional service quality and it lacks technical quality 4 The SERVQUAL dimensions appear to be different according to the type of service industry and

country, questioning the validity of the model.

5 A number of empirical studies have challenged the validity and reliability of the SERVQUAL instrument and dimensions among several service settings

2.4 Electronic service quality

The SERVQUAL model implies the important role of service quality in offline contexts. Moreover, service quality is a vital component for any organization’s success in the internet age (Xu et al., 2011). However, the perception of online service quality can be different from the offline equivalent due to different characteristics (Collier, & Bienstock, 2006). A widely accepted definition for service quality in shopping websites is the one of Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Malhotra (2005). The definition is defined broadly to encompass all phases of a customer’s interactions with a web site:

“The extent to which a web site facilitates efficient and effective shopping, purchasing, and delivery.” (Parasuraman et al., 2005, p.217)

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and practitioners today is the prevention of loss of sight on the basics. Information relevancy, timeliness and accuracy of information still remain essential to information system successes, even though the complexity of the systems increases.

Similar to service quality in offline contexts, service quality in electronic and online contexts is heavily studied and measurement models have been developed. In table 4 several available measurement scales for evaluating service quality in websites are presented. In order to give an example of a measurement scale model for evaluating service quality in electronic contexts, this subchapter will end with a more detailed description of the original QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL models. I will use the E-S-QUAL and the E-RecS-E-S-QUAL models of Parasuraman et al. (2005) as a foundation for creating a model that evaluates service quality in m-SN-apps (the M-SNS-QUAL model). The model of Parasuraman et al. (2005) is cited 1167 times since its publication, which is an indicator for its high quality. In subchapter 2.8 I will elaborate more on my choice and motivation for using the models of Parasuraman et al. (2005) as a foundation.

Table 4: Different available measurement scales for evaluating service quality in websites

Model Authors

WebQual Loiacono, Watson, and Goodhue, 2000

SITEQUAL Yoo and Donthu, 2001

eTailQ Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2003

E-S-QUAL & E-RecS-QUAL Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Malhotra, 2005

Parasuraman et al. (2005) construct, refine, and test a multiple-item scale model (E-S-QUAL & E-RecS-QUAL) for measuring the service quality delivered by websites on which customers shop online. First they articulated the meaning and domain of e-service quality based on insights from the extant literature and a comprehensive qualitative study. Second, they developed a preliminary scale and revised it back on feedback from two focus groups. Third, they administered the revised scale to a representative sample of 549 internet users. Fourth, they performed a four-stage analytical process in order to reveal appropriate measures. Finally, the authors concluded with four dimensions of electronic service quality (E-S-QUAL) and three dimensions of electronic recovery service quality (E-RecSQUAL) which each dimension having its own measurement items (table 5 & 6). The complete model along with all 33 measurement items can be found in Appendix B.

Table 5: E-S-QUAL (Parasuraman et al., 2005)

Dimension Description

Efficiency The ease and speed of accessing and using the site.

Fulfillment The extent to which the site’s promises about order delivery and item availability are fulfilled.

System availability

The correct technical functioning of the site.

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Table 6: E-RecS-QUAL (Parasuraman et al., 2005)

Responsiveness Effective handling of problems and returns through the site. Compensation The degree to which the site compensates customers for problems. Contact The availability of assistance through telephone or online representatives.

2.5 Mobile platform

This thesis concentrates on electronic service quality provided through mobile devices. In this subchapter I will outline the differences between desktop computer- and mobile usage design aspects and their subsequent influences on service quality. Subchapter 2.5.3 will outline the motivation for answering the sub question about the influence of platforms on developers’ design choices.

2.5.1. Differences desktop-computing and mobile usage

There is no doubt that the use of mobile technologies and devices is growing. From the beginning of the 1990’s the world has been witnessing a great growth in use of desktop computers and mobile devices. The world of commerce subsequently has adapted heavily to these developments in technology. The commerce through computer desktops – frequently labeled as electronic commerce (e-commerce) – and mobile commerce (m-commerce) emerged. Mobile commerce can be viewed as a subset of e-commerce and refers to:

“any transaction with monetary value that is conducted via a mobile network” (Ngai, & Gunasekaran, 2007, p. 3).

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dimensions are important and applicable for the design of the mobile user interface: mobile setting (or context) and mobile device constraints.

Table 7: 7 C’s of Raport & Jaworski’s (2001) + 2M’s of Lee & Benbasat (2004)

Context Site's layout and design

Content Text, pictures, sound and video, that the web pages contain Community The ways sites enable user to user communication

Customization Site's ability to self-tailor to different users or to allow users to personalize the site

Communication The ways sites enable site-to-user communication or two way communication Connection Degree site is linked to other sites

Commerce Site's capabilities to enable commercial transaction

Mobile setting Represents the unique environment where mobile users conduct their tasks in terms of time, place, and context

Mobile device constraints

Is related to diverse issues related to inferior performance of mobile devices – slow UPC’s, low bandwidth, and limited input/output devices in comparison with desktop computers.

In addition, Tarasewich (2003) also recognizes challenges in mobile design, besides the recognition of device constraints like smaller screens and lower CPU’s, the author developed a model to clarify the differences in context between desktop computing and mobile usage. Tarasewich (2003) states that the mobile user context is subject to influences from the environment, participants and activities. Before mobile devices, computer applications designers only had to deal with a limited set of contextual influences. Examples of these context influences in computer application design are organizational culture, user characteristics (skills, education), and working environments (light, ergonomics). With the attendance of mobile devices and technologies, context is less predictable in comparison with the traditional computer application contexts. Mobile device users are more flexible, can use their device everywhere and their environments are becoming more unstable from one moment to the next. Table 8 shows Tarasewich’s (2003) model to clarify the specific influences on the context of the mobile device user. The authors recognize several challenges in designing user interfaces for mobile contexts. These include the increased demands on attention and the dynamic environments, caused by the rapidly and busy context of mobile device users. Further design challenges are the mobile device limitations, caused by the smaller screens and the relatively slow CPU’s of the participants. Other challenges pointed out by the authors have to do with the usability, security, safety and social concerns.

Table 8: Influences of mobile context (Tarasewich, 2003)

Category Description Representative characteristics in mobile setting

Environment Is concerned with the properties of objects in the physical

environment.

- Location and orientation of objects - Physical properties of objects - Brightness and noise levels

- Availability and quality of devices and communications

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and other participants in the environment.

- Personal properties (age, gender, education, preferences)

- Mental state - Physical health - Expectations Activities Covers user, participant, and

environmental activities.

- Tasks and goals of users and participants - Events in the environment (e.g. weather) Interactions

between categories

The model includes any

interactions or relationships that may exist among participants, activities, and the environment.

- Co-location - Group dynamics - Social situations

- Participant/environment relationships (worker/ workplace)

- Season, time-of-day, day-of-the-week

Table 9: Lee and Benbasat’s (2004) mobile setting aspects Aspects Description

Spatiality Encompasses the mobility of both users and devices by referring to the ability of consumers to roam anywhere while carrying their mobile devices.

Temporality Refers to the fact that mobile users can access the internet instantly, even while engaged in a peripheral task.

Contextually Is concerned with the milieu in which users conduct their mobile tasks, such as the degree of interaction with others.

Lee and Benbasat (2004) found that the mobile setting comprises of spatiality, temporality, and contextually aspects (table 9). They predict that technology will improve in the future and that the mobile features will become equivalent to those of desktop computers, except for the size of the screen (with an exception for mobile tablets; iPad etc.). Summarizing, the design of mobile apps and its dependent service quality is different from the design of desktop computers its service quality in two general ways. First, the context of mobile technologies is completely different, unpredictable and filled with a lot more distraction. Second, the mobile device constraints make the design of mobile application completely different than the design of desktop computer applications. Except for the smaller screen, in the future the mobile device constraints challenge will disappear due to technology developments. Thus, the mobile interface should be developed to compensate for the limited visual display of the devices. Further, designers need to account for and anticipate on the complex mobile setting in which mobile users act. In my framework for evaluating m-SN-apps I accounted for these two aspects. Because both aspects can cause bad experiences with the service delivered by the mobile device; can be the reason for not closing the gap between user’s expectations and the actual performance and can negatively influence perceived service quality.

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2.5.2 Mobile app classes

Nowadays, mobile apps are part of daily life. The amount of apps in the different app stores is tremendous (table 10). This subchapter will give a short overview of the number of, and different classes of mobile apps. The overview is relevant for this thesis due to the highlighting effect of it on the popularity and relevancy of mobile devices and the apps installed on it.

Table 10: Amount of apps in app stores

Store Amount of apps Source

iOS Appstore 875.683 apps (January 2013) 148apps.biz (2008)

Android Playstore 700.000 apps (October 2012) Mashable.com (2012)

Windowsphone 120.000 apps (October 2012) Mashable.com (2012)

Varshney and Vetter published, already in 2002, a list of different classes of mobile apps. They stated: “since there are potentially an unlimited number of mobile commerce applications, we attempt to identify several important classes of applications” (Varshney, & Vetter, 2002, p.186). Due to the facts that in the early 2000’s mobile apps were not available on such a big scale, the price of mobile devices were high and the challenges with mobile constrains were not fixed, the popularity of mobile apps was still low. However, Varshney and Vetter (2002) created a useful list of app classes which, combined with more recent app classifications, form a valuable overview of different app classes (table 11).

Table 11: Varshney and Vetter’s and Blog Mobile Marketing’s (2010) list of mobile app classes Varshney and Vetter’s list of mobile app classes (2002)

Apps Description

Mobile financial applications Applications where mobile devices become powerful financial mediums.

Mobile advertising application Applications turning the wireless infrastructure and devices into a powerful marketing medium. Mobile inventory management applications and

Product locating and shopping applications

Applications attempting to reduce the amount of inventory needed by managing in-house and inventory-on-move.

Proactive service management applications Applications attempting to provide users information on services they will need in very-near-future.

Wireless re-engineering applications Applications that focus on improving the quality of business services using mobile devices and

wireless infrastructure.

Mobile auction applications Applications allowing users to buy or sell certain items using multicast support of wireless infrastructure.

Mobile entertainment services and games applications

Applications providing the entertainment services to users on per event or subscription basis. Mobile office applications Applications providing the complete office

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support for mobile users everywhere.

Wireless data center applications Applications supporting large amount of stored data to be made available to mobile users for making intelligent decisions.

Blog Mobile Marketing’s (2010) list of 10 app classes

Calculate / Utilities Applications Applications to make calculations and do mathematics.

Entertainment applications Application just for fun, to get rid of some time.

Games applications Applications that allow the user to play games,

challenge others and become a high-level user.

News applications These applications will provide users with news,

updated and background stories are presented. Productivity applications These applications include navigations apps,

banking apps and other productivity applications which tend to help the user in normal-day tasks. Social networking applications These applications allow users to access their

personal social networks, keeping track of peers and communicate with them.

Sport applications Applications that give specific news and updates

about sports.

Travel applications Applications that provide information about

travelling, airline tickets and for example cities.

Weather applications These applications serve as weather forecast

services, they provide information on the weather.

2.5.3 Differences mobile platforms: Android and iOS

This subchapter will outline how differences in mobile platforms and their business models affect the relation between app developers’ design choices and electronic mobile service quality. The mobile app distribution process is a process by which an app is developed, brought to the market and purchased by customers, and used on mobile devices. This distribution process is different than the protected environment approach which was popular with the introduction of mobile devices 10 years ago; mobile network operators were in charge of the interface between customers and other companies. Nowadays, mobile platforms owners play the role of app store (or portal), device manufacturer or even both (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010). Appstores or portals play the intermediary role between developers and consumers.

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approximately 875.000 apps (148apps.biz, January 2013) and Google’s Android Playstore consists out of approximately 700.00 apps (Mashable.com, October 2012).

The app distribution process is a typical two-sided market (Parker, 2005) with developers on one side and consumers on the other. In a market like this, an increase or decrease on one side will induces a similar effect on the other side. To state it differently, as the amount of consumers’ increases for a given platform, the number of app developers attracted to this platform will increase. When the number of developers and subsequently the number of apps increase; the platform will attract even more consumers. On the one hand, developers have an incentive to develop for the most popular platform in order to reach the crowd of consumers. On the other hand, consumers have an incentive to buy devices running a particular platform with many apps. This is seen in the literature as a mechanism with a positive feedback loop (Holzur, & Ondrus 2010). Two-sided markets can lead to a high volume of transactions and can be interesting for a “middleman to charge a fee per sale” (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010, p.23). Both the iOS and Android portals function as middleman, however each platform with its own approach.

Portals can be centralized or decentralized. Decentralized portals allow free uploads and distributions of app developers. There is no centralized policy. Big disadvantage of this is the confusion for the consumer. On the other hand, portals can be centralized. One portal is proposed as the main portal and all apps are published on this particular portal. Advantage for app developers is the single point of sale (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010). Apple and Google both have a centralized portal for offering apps, but with different approaches. Apple owns a unique and exclusive portal (the Appstore) with a strict application review process. Google does not restrict the publication of apps to its portal (the Playstore).

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Because Apple is a popular platform, app developers are attracted towards the platform (caused by the positive feedback loop). Because of the strict requisites of Apple to publish an app in its publishing portal, I expect that app developers need to design according to the rules of Apple. This will stimulate the app developer’s choice for design dimensions based on Apple’s high-quality design principles. In comparison with the lack of fixed design principles on Android, app developers for Android will design less high-quality apps for Android.

Hypothesis 1: On average iOS apps will score higher on the overall dimensions than Android apps

Available in every platform are software development kits (SDK’s), which enable app developers to design apps running on particular platforms. Mobile app development tools differ among platforms. Capiluppi and Michlmayr (2007) distinguish between closed technology (the cathedral model) and open technology (the bazaar model). In a cathedral model the platform owner keep control over all strategic decisions about the platform in order to provide consistent, quality apps. In a bazaar model, the platform owner grants app developers’ access to all parts of the SDK and OS source code. No central architect is responsible for the platform and app developers can publish any app they want. The cathedral model assumes that providing only quality apps will attract consumers. The bazaar model assumes that having a low barrier to publish apps will attract more consumers and subsequently more apps. Having in mind the positive feedback loop in the distribution market, both approaches can be successful.

In order to develop an iOS app, developers can use two developing SDK’s: using mobile web technologies, or using the native Cocoa Touch framework (Goadrich, & Rogers, 2011). Apple describes its Cocoa Touch Framework as follows:

“The Cocoa frameworks consist of libraries, APIs, and runtimes that form the development layer for all of OS X. By developing with Cocoa, you [the app developer] will be creating applications the same way OS X itself is created. Your application will automatically inherit the great behaviours and appearances of OS X, with full access to the underlying power of the UNIX operating system.” (Developer.apple.com, 1997).

In order to develop an Android app developers require the Java SE Development kit and a development environment (together the Android SDK). Google describes its SDK as follows:

“The Android SDK provides you [the app developer] the API libraries and developer tools necessary to build, test, and debug apps for Android.” (Developer.android.com, 2012).

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viewer. This is an example of the system’s bazaar model. Google’s open design is grounded into the philosophy of freedom for the user: each setting can be changed and the user is able to customize his/her own platform. In this way, the customer could be perfectly served and popularity of the platform will grow (Butler, 2011). The absence of fixed pre-installed apps motivates Android app developers to build a variety of additional apps and third-party developers develop loads of new diverse apps (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010). This provides the consumer with a great variety of choice options between apps. Android app developers will experience a greater variety in design choices than iOS developers. Because Android developers can access the source code, more personalization features can be designed into Android apps.

Hypothesis 2: Android apps score on average higher on the personalization dimension than iOS apps.

A platform could dedicate itself to one particular type of device or a set of varied devices (device uniformity). This approach allows platform owners to have control over devices and allows them to standardize features. Compatibility problems will be less of an issue however the risk of possible smaller user bases is present (Butler, 2011). A platform can also choose to be open for every device (device variety). With this approach platforms can reach more customers and are less dependent on individual manufacturers. The main disadvantage has to do with inconsistencies in design and compatibility problems (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010).

Apple is totally based on the device uniformity thinking. iOS is only available on a limited range of devices, all manufactured by Apple itself. This allows app developers to design iOS apps that are completely compatible with each Apple device (Butler, 2011). Also a consistent design among the limited different devices can be kept. Google is based on the device variety thinking, it allows Android to run on a variety of devices. Google can reach more potential customers with this approach. The main drawback is the high amount of required customization of Android for each particular device, this will ask more time and effort of app developers to make their apps compatible on several Android devices (Butler, 2011). Apple has its hardware and software under one roof (Wong, 2010) and app developers may experience less problems with compatibility and other errors. The correct technical functioning of the app (system availability) will increase due to the strict policy of Apple.

Hypothesis 3: iOS apps score on average higher on the system availability dimension than Android apps.

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will stimulate the platform’s owner revenues. Platforms with portal integration focus on app development and app sale by integrating a portal or app store (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010).

Apple has a fully integrated distribution channel. It has strict supervision on every app published, has strict control over its portal and produces its own devices. Apple is in this way able to earn high revenues since they own the complete distribution channel, from device sales to app sales (Holzur, & Ondrus, 2010). Android has got a portal integration. They own only the Playstore and do not manufacture devices by themselves. The differences in integration can influence the choice of app developers for which platform to design, because the amount of integration influences the share of revenues for the app developer. However, as the positive feedback loop theory implicates, in the end app developers will design for popular platforms. I don’t expect that the level of app distribution integration will influence the design choices of app developers from iOS nor Android significantly. From an architectural platform viewpoint, Android’s apps are safer than Apple’s apps (Pcworld, 2010). Each Android app runs in its own virtual environment and can’t access data from other apps without strict user permission (Church, & Oliver, 2011). iOS apps can access many system resources by default, it allows apps to access user information without the strict permission of the user itself. iOS developers need to handle with this. iOS users put their trust in Apple, they can’t decide in detail what particular information the app can access. On the other hand, Android users can decide themselves what access each app has and are in this way able to control their own privacy (Butler, 2011). For app developers, Android has got a “clear developing structure” (Developer.android.com, 2012). Although, app developers need to handle with all the permission requests, they don’t need to take care of the “collaboration between apps” (Developer.apple.com, 1997). iOS app developers need to put a lot more effort in designing an iOS app, the (native) apps are rooted in the deep nature of the iOS platform.

Hypothesis 4: Android apps will score higher on the privacy dimension than iOS apps 2.6 Extant literature on social networks

This thesis focuses on mobile service quality in m-SN-apps; this section will introduce extant literature on social networks and will provide in-depth insights in the needs and motives of social network users. These insights can be of great value to organizations evaluating or designing m-SN-apps. Almost all social network platforms or online communities rely upon people’s voluntary commitment, participation, and contributions. For this reason the design of online social network platforms need to encourage commitment and contributions from members. Subchapter 2.7 will elaborate more on service quality in m-SN-apps.

2.6.1 Background introduction social networks

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“An Internet-collected collective of people who interact over time around a shared purpose, interest, or need, and who are governed by norms and policies” (Preece, 2000; Ren et al., 2007)

Preece, Maloney-Krichmar and Abras (2003) wrote a useful article on the history of online communities. The first communication tool on the Internet – founded in 1971 – was email, and still it is the most frequent used tool to communicate online. Email is a one-to-one communication tool, in 1975, listservers were invented which allowed for “one to many postings” (Preece et al., 2003, p. 2). The first emoticon was invented in 1979, and was made by using “-)” (Preece et al., 2003, p. 2) to soften the impact of dry and plain text. During the 1980’s bulletin boards were developed for online usage, people could post messages to a board and in this way their messages could be seen by many. In the late 1980’s instant chat was developed and available for broad usage. In 1991 the World-Wide-Web (WWW) was developed by Tim Berners-Lee, this stimulated the widespread use of websites and de development of online community groups. The invention of the WWW was the beginning of the Internet era, in which almost every individual would have access to a shared information source and within that, would have access to virtual communities. Nowadays, internet telephone, streaming video, photographs, voice, web cam, wikis, and personal pages are available for the crowd and are imbedded in social networking mediums. Developments in technology stimulated the amount of users of online social networks. In order to indicate how serious or severe social networks can become and expand, consider the next fragment.

“In april 2006, a well-loved member of a group (“guild”) in World of Warcraft suffered a stroke in real life and died. The other group members, who knew her only through her virtual persona, nonetheless felt saddened and decided to hold a virtual funeral for her. During the funeral service, members of a rival gang crashed in and violently disrupted the ceremony. This event generated heated commentary over the blogs ranging from moral outrage to humorous sympathy for the invaders.” (Franceschi, Lee, Zanakis, Hinds, 2009, p.73)

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2.6.2 Bond-based attachment

Social interaction can provide an opportunity for people to get to know others, become familiar with others and to build a level of trust in the relationship with others. Social psychologists found that as the frequency of interaction increases, the liking for one another also increases (Cartwright, & Zander, 1953). The same is true for social interaction in online communities; the frequency of interaction between members can also create the opportunities for getting to know new people and becoming familiar with them. Participants of communities may become engaged because they feel connected to other individuals in the group, and they want to interact with these individuals. According to Lim (2013) bond-based attachment “is amplified whenever members in online communities experience social co-presence: a subjective feeling of being with others in a communal environment” (p.13). Members with strong bond-based attachment motives feel socially or emotionally attached to particular members of the community and much less to the network (identity) as a whole. Because the bond-based attachment user motive is clear and widely accepted in the literature, I state that app designers or evaluators need to take this motive into account in order to achieve high service quality. High service quality, indicated for example by user satisfaction can be achieved by designing an interface that allow for communication between peer users. In this sense the user expect interaction with others, the perceived service performance fulfills the user’s expectation better and subsequently the service quality will rise. In this thesis I define, based on Ren et al. (2007) and Lim (2013), bond-based attachment as:

“the extent to which members feel a connection with other specific members of the social network”. 2.6.3 Identity-based attachment

Whereas members with bond-based attachments to groups have feelings of attachments towards members in groups, members with identity-based attachments have feelings of attachments towards the common identity of the group. Because of the focus on the identity of the group, and less on the members, people with identity-based attachments tend to perceive others in the group as interchangeable (Ren et al., 2007). Identity-based theory implies that members feel a commitment to the community’s purpose or topic. Group identity can be created by defining a collection of people as members, owners of the same identity. This identity can be hobbies, interests, nature and for example age. Lim (2013) explains identity-based attachment by making a difference between the focus of the social network. A network can focus on ‘the self’ or ‘the community’, bond-based or identity-based. In this thesis I define identity-based attachment as:

“the extent to which members feel a connection with the identity of the social network”. 2.6.4 Comparison-based attachment

Service quality in social networking apps among platforms M-SNS-QUAL: a multiple-item scale for assessing Mobile Social Networking Service Quality