Measuring Web site quality improvements: a case study of the forum on strategic management knowledge exchange

As organizations have begun increasingly to communicate and interact with consumers via the Web, so the appropriate design of offerings has become a central issue. Attracting and retaining consumers requires acute understanding of the requirements of users and appropriate tailoring of solutions. Recently, the development of Web offerings has moved beyond the commercial domain to government, both national and international. This paper examines the results of a quality survey of a Web site provided by the OECD. The site is examined before and after a major redesign process. The instrument, WebQual, draws on previous work in Web site usability, information quality, and service interaction quality to provide a rounded framework for assessing e-commerce and e-government offerings. The metrics and findings demonstrate not only the strengths and weaknesses of the sites, but also the different impressions of users in member countries. These findings have implications for e-government Web site offerings. Finally, the last section draws some conclusions.