E-quality and e-service equality

Shachaf, Pnina and Oltmann, Shannon M. E-quality and e-service equality., 2007 . In Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-40), Waikoloa, HI (US), 3-7 January 2007. [Conference paper]

[thumbnail of eQualityAndEServiceQuality.pdf]
Preview
PDF
eQualityAndEServiceQuality.pdf

Download (228kB) | Preview

English abstract

Research is divided about the potential of e-service to bridge communication gaps, particularly to diverse user groups. According to the existing body of literature, e-service may increase or decrease the quality of service received. This study analyzes the level of service received by different genders and ethnic groups when public librarians answer online reference queries. Quality of e-service was evaluated along three dimensions: responsiveness, reliability, and courtesy. This study found no significant differences among different user groups along any of these dimensions, supporting the argument that the virtual environment facilitates equitable service and may overcome some challenges of diverse user groups.

Item type: Conference paper
Keywords: e-quality, e-service, equality, bias, gender, ethnicity, virtual reference
Subjects: I. Information treatment for information services > IJ. Reference work.
Depositing user: Pnina Shachaf
Date deposited: 24 Oct 2008
Last modified: 02 Oct 2014 12:13
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/12413

References

[1] American Library Association. (2005). American Library Directory Online. Chicago: American Library Association.

[2] American Library Association. (1995). Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. Retrieved May 31, 2006 from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

[3] Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. The American Economic Review, 94(4), 991-1013.

[4] Breeding, M. (2006). Lib-web-cat: A directory of libraries throughout the world. Retrieved June 5, 2006 from http://www.librarytechnology.org/libwebcats/

[5] British Broadcasting Corporation. (2006). BBC Weather. Retrieved June 5, 2006, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT003790

[6] Cesare, S.J. (1996). Subjective judgment and the selection interview: A methodological review. Public Personnel Management, 25(3), 291-305.

[7] Coffman, S. (2003). Going live: Starting and running a virtual reference service. American Library Association: Chicago.

[8] Crosby, F., Bromley, S., & Saxe, L. (1980). Recent unobtrusive studies of Black and White discrimination and prejudice: A literature review. Psychological Bulletin, 87, 546-563.

[9] Curry, D.A. (1994). Your worries ain't like mine: African American librarians and the pervasiveness of racism, prejudice and discrimination in academe. The Reference Librarian, 45/46, 299-311.

[10] Daily, B.F., & Steiner, R.L. (1998). The influence of group decision support systems on contribution and commitment levels in multicultural and culturally homogeneous decision-making groups. Computers in Human Behavior, 14(1), 147-162.

[11] Daily, B., Whatley, A., Ash, S. R., & Steiner, R.L. (1996). The effects of a group decision support system on culturally diverse and culturally homogeneous group decision making. Information & Management, 30, 281-289.

[12] Dole, W.V., & Hurych, J.M. (2001). Values for librarians in the information age. Journal of Information Ethics, 10(2), 38-50.

[13] Douglas, K. M., & McGarty, C. (2001). Identifiability and self-presentation: Computer-mediated, communication and intergroup interaction. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 3, 399-416.

[14] Feagin, J. (1991). The continuing significance of race: Antiblack discrimination in public places. American Sociological Review, 1, 101-116.

[15] Figlio, D. N. (2005). Names, expectations and the Black-White test score gap. NBER Working Paper No. W11195. retrieved June 7, 2006 from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=684721

[16] Froehlich, T. (1997). Survey and analysis of the major ethical and legal issues facing library and information services. Munich, Germany: K.G. Saur.

[17] Glaser, J., & Kahn, K. B. (2005). Prejudice and discrimination and the internet. in Y. Amichai-Hamburger (Ed.). The social psychology of the internet. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

[18] Gorman, M (2000). Our enduring values: Librarianship in the 21st century. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

[19] Hernon, P., & Calvert, P. (2005). E-service quality in libraries: Exploring its feature and dimensions. Library & Information Science Research, 27, 377-404.

[20] International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2005a). IFLA digital reference guidelines. Retrieved January 5, 2006 from: http://www.ifla.org/VII/s36/pubs/drg03.htm.

[21] International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2005b). More about IFLA. Retrieved May 10, 2006 from: http://www.ifla.org/III/intro00.htm

[22] Koehler, W.C., & Pemberton, J.M. (2000). A search for core values: Towards a model code of ethics for information professionals. Journal of Information Ethics 9, 27–54.

[23] LaPiere, R. T. (1934). Attitudes vs. actions. Social Forces, 13, 230-237.

[24] Madu, C.N., & Madu, A.A. (2002). Dimensions of Equality. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management,19(3), 246-258.

[25] Mason, R.O. (1986). Four ethical issues of the information age. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 10, 5–12.

[26] O’Neill, M., Wright, C., & Fitz, F. (2001). Quality evaluation in on-line service environments: An application of the importance-performance measurement technique. Managing Service Quality, 11(6), 402-417.

[27] Parasuraman, A. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49, 41-50.

[28] Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40.

[29] Pew Internet & American Life Project. (2005). Latest trends: Who is online. Retrieved January 28, 2006 from: http://www.pewinternet.org/trends/User_Demo_12.05.05.htm.

[30] Riesch, C., & Kleiner, B. H. (2005). Discrimination towards customers in the restaurant industry. Equal Opportunities International, 24(7/8), 29-37.

[31] Reference and User Services Association. (2004a). Guidelines for behavioral performance of reference and information service providers. Retrieved January 5, 2006 from: http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/guidelinesbehavioral.htm

[32] Reference and User Services Association. (2004b). Guidelines for implementing and maintaining virtual reference services. Retrieved September 20, 2005 from: http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/virtrefguidelines.htm.

[33] Rubin, R. & Froehlich, T. (1996). Ethical aspects of library and information science. In: Encyclopedia of library and information science, (Vol. 58, Suppl. 21, pp. 33–52). New York: Mercel Dekker.

[34] Shachaf, P. (2005a). A global perspective on library association codes of ethics. Library & Information Science Research, 27(4), 513-533.

[35] Shachaf, P. (2005b). Are virtual reference services color blind? [electronic version]. Proceedings of the 7th Annual Virtual Reference Desk. San-Francisco, CA, November 14-15, 2005. Retrieved June 5, 2006 from: http://data.webjunction.org/wj/documents/12437.pdf

[36] Shachaf, P. (2005c). Bridging cultural diversity through email. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 8(2), 46-60.

[37] Smith, M. (1997). Information ethics. Annual Review of Information Science & Technology 32, 339–366.

[38] Sproull, L., & Keisler, S. (1986). Reducing social context cues: Electronic mail in organizational communication. Management Science, 32, 1492-1513.

[39] Stacy- Bates, K. (2003). E-mail reference responses from Academic ARL libraries: An unobtrusive study. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 43(1), 59-70.

[40] US Census Bureau. (2006). Population Finder. Retrieved June 5, 2006, from: http://www.census.gov/

[41] US Census Bureau. (2004). United States population and housing narrative profile, 2004 data set: American community survey. Retrieved January 28, 2006 from: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/NPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_NP01&-ds_name=&-redoLog=false.

[42] Voss, C.A. (2003). Rethinking paradigms of service: Service in a virtual environment, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 23(1), 88-104.

[43] Yang, Z., Jun, M., & Peterson, R.T. (2004). Measuring costumer perceived online service quality: Scale development and managerial implications. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 24(11/12), 1149-1174.


Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item