User Satisfaction with Information Technology Services: A Social Capital Perspective

In view of today’s collaborative and knowledge-intensive nature of IT services, this study reexamines the antecedents of user satisfaction with IT services. We conceive IT service provision as an interactive, relational process by which users and IT units engage in service coproduction. Drawing on social capital theory, we develop a research model to examine relational factors influencing user satisfaction with IT service. We propose that the three dimensions of social capital – structural, cognitive and relational capital – positively affect user satisfaction. Furthermore, we argue that these dimensions of social capital strengthen the well-known relationship between service quality (SERVQUAL) and user satisfaction. A field study of 159 users in four financial companies provides general empirical support to our hypotheses. The implications of the findings to theory, practice, and future research directions are also discussed.