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Ever since electronic data interchange was introduced in the 1980’s, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce came to exist. The internet introduced new business models prefixed by electronics such as: e-commerce, e-marketplace, e-learning, and e-government, among others. B2B businesses are increasingly seeking digital means to enhance sales, a shift driven by the success of online vendors, and the changing buyers' demographic. International industrial reports have indicated that the annual growth rates of B2B e-commerce industry will grow rapidly over the coming years (e.g. Frost and Sullivan, 2017; Forrester, 2019). Many factors are conducive to engagement in B2B e-commerce, including secure connectivity, real-time delivery of marketing messages, improved customer insight through CRM integration, complete mapping of buyer’s journeys and truly personalized marketing (Huang et al., 2012).
Electronic service quality (e-SQ) has evolved since the beginning of the new millennium. Zeithaml et al. (2000) and Parasuraman et al. (2005a; 2005b) attempted to determine a framework for customers’ evaluation of e-SQ, suggesting that e-SQ is a multidimensional construct, which they broadly defined as encompassing all phases of a customer’s interactions with websites. The literature on the dimensions of e-SQ and the consequences of these constructs in the B2B context (i.e. e-recruitment) is lacking as the set of relations between the four important elements for the success of e-services (e-SQ, e-satisfaction, e-trust, and e-loyalty) in this arena require further examination.
E-recruitment businesses are considered a new type of "for-profit organization" that emerged along with the development of internet (Huang et al., 2012). Statistics show that 60% of recruiters are investing in company career websites, and 28% are investing in recruiting via job boards. Additionally, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to check candidates, while only 43% use Facebook and 22% Twitter (Jobvite, 2016). The initiation of the e-recruitment industry in Jordan was in 2002, when Bayt.com started operating physically in the country. Akhtaboot.com was established later in 2007, while LinkedIn.com, which began its operations in the USA in 2003, expanded to serve the Jordanian market in 2010 (Bayt.com; Aktaboot.com; Linkedin.com, 2017). Post 2007, the industry evolved rapidly due to the exponential growth in mobile penetration, mobile applications, and social media trends, accompanied by fast changes in customers' behaviour patterns. The online jobsite business model falls under the B2B environment, and suppliers need to understand the nature and demands of their customers (HRM professionals). Thus, understanding the drivers of e-loyalty in the Jordanian B2B e-recruitment industry, an emerging market, is vital for developing and implementing marketing and business strategies for the industry players. Therefore, this study attempts to identify the main dimensions of electronic service quality that influence e-customer satisfaction and e-customer trust towards e-customer loyalty. Nevertheless, the constructs adopted in this study are relatively new for Jordanian e-recruitment industry in terms of applications and outcomes, thus, the study objectives are: (a) examining the relationship between electronic service quality and the level of e-customer satisfaction; (b) investigating the relationship between electronic service quality and e-customer trust; and (c) examining the relationship between e-customer satisfaction and e-customer trust and e-customer loyalty.
In addition to introduction, the current study is organized as follows; the second section describes the relevant literature review, followed by the current study model and hypotheses development. The forth section explains the study methodology and the statistical analysis used. The fifth section shows hypotheses testing. Finally, the results, discussion, conclusions, managerial implications, contribution, limitations, and areas for future research are presented.