Case Study: Measurement of Variables – Operational Definitions

Case Study: Measurement of Variables – Operational Definitions

Chapter 11: TheStandard AsianMerchantBank

TheStandardAsianMerchantBankisa MalaysianmerchantbankheadquarteredinKuala Lumpur.Thebankprovidesfinancialservicesin assetmanagement,corporatefinance,and securities   broking.   Clients   of   The   Standard   Asian   Merchant   Bank   are   among   others institutional investors,  foundations,  (semi)  public  institutions,  companies,  and  high  net- worthindividualclients.SegmentsinwhichTheStandardAsianMerchantBankoperatesare smallandmedium-sizedlistedcompanies,realestate,andbiotechfirms.

 

SyafiqAimiisa BusinessstudentfromtheNationalUniversityof Malaysiawhichislocatedin Bangi, Selangor -about 35km south ofKuala Lumpur.  Syafiq iscurrentlyundertaking  a research  project  for  the  Structured  Products  (SP)  desk  ofThe  Standard  Asian  Merchant Bank’s   securities   department.   The   SP   desk   is responsible   for developing   and selling structuredproducts:investmentsthatconsist ofa portfolioofsecuritiesandderivatives. Structured products areinvestment instrumentsthatarecreatedtomeetspecific needs thatcannotbemetfromstandardizedfinancialinstruments.TheproductsoftheSPdeskare tailor-madeandtheyaredevelopedbasedonthe StandardAsian MerchantBank’sniche specializations  which  are  Asian  listed  real  estate  companies,  life  sciences  companies,  and shares.

 

TheSPdeskofTheStandardAsianMerchantBankhasitsownwebsitethatisprimarilyused toprovideinformationtotheusersofthewebsite.Thewebsitecontainsinformationabout theproductsoffered(e.g.,brochures,legaldocuments,andbid-askspreads),publications, andcontactinformation.Thewebsitecanbeclassifiedasa services-oriented relationship- building website.  There  are  two  main  groups  of  website  users;  financial  advisors  and institutionalclientsoftheSPdesk.Theyusethewebsitetoexamineproductfeatures,prices oftheproductsofferedbytheSPdesk,andlegalinformation.

 

 

 

For  the  SP  desk,  there  are  several  reasons  why  they  have  asked  Syafiq  to  undertake  a researchproject:

 

 

1. 1.  Satisfactionwiththewebsitehasneverbeenmeasured.Asaresult,theSPdeskdoes notknowhowtheusersexperiencethewebsite.Thecurrentcontentandlayoutof thewebsitearebasedonassumptionsofwhatusersarelookingforonthewebsite. Forthisreason,thewebsitemaycontainelementsdeemedunnecessarybytheusers andit mightlackfeaturesthatareimportanttotheuse
2. 2.  Usersofthewebsiteonlyspendasmallamountoftimeonthewebsite.In2011,

morethan70%(75.4%)ofthevisitorsspentlessthan30secondsonthewebsiteof theSPdesk(AWStats,2011).Theproductsofferedatthewebsitearequitecomplex and   clients   often   have   a   lack   of   knowledge   concerning   Structured   Products. Therefore  it  is  desirable  to  encourage  website  users  to  spend  more  time  on  the website.

3. 3.   Thewebsiteisnotself-explanatory.Consequently,peoplecontactemployeesofthe SPdesktoaskforexplanationandclarification.Thisisatimeconsumingprocessthat isrelativelyexpensiveforasmalldesk.

 

Basedonpreliminaryresearch,thefollowingproblemstatementwascreatedbySyafiq:

 

 

“WhatelementsareofimportanceindrivingSatisfactionwiththe WebsiteintheAsian investmentbankingindustry,towhatextentdothesevariablesinfluenceSatisfaction with theWebsite,andhowcantheresultsofthisstudybeusedtocreateawebsitefortheSP deskthat isself-explanatory, that peopleuseas theirmain information sourceand that websiteusersspendmoretimeon?”

 

SeveralresearchmethodsareusedbySyafiqtoanswertheproblemstatement.Inorderto determinethevariablesrelevanttohisstudySyafiqhascarriedoutaliteraturereviewand face-to-face interviews.  Based  on  the  literature  review  and  a  rigorous  analysis  of  the interviewsSyafiqhasdevelopedthefollowingconceptualmodel.

 

 

 

 

Informationquality

 

 

Systemquality

 

 

 

Interactivity

 

SatisfactionwiththeWebsite

 

 

Systemdesignquality

 

 

 

 

Syafiqnowwantstocollectquantitativedatatobeabletotestthismodelwithmultivariate regressionanalysis.In ordertocollectthesequantitativedata,Syafiqis currentlybusywith designingasurveywhichhewantstopostonline.Hehasdevelopedthefollowingtablethat shouldhelphimtooperationalizetheconstructsinhisconceptualmodel.

 

Table 1:Overview oftheConstructs/variables inmyModel,“Subconstructs”, andSurvey

 

Questions

 

Information quality

Variable	Definition	Surveyquestions
Informationcontent	Referstothecontent oftheinformation providedbythewebsite(Hernandezet al. 2009)	Therangeofinformationishigh. The information isapplicabletothewebsite’sactivities(zie relevance). The information isdetailed (zieaccuracy). The maingoalofthe informationonthewebsiteisclear. Thewebsiteprovidesin-depth information. The information onthewebsiteisinformative toyourusage.The information onthewebsiteisvaluable toyour usage.The information onthewebsiteisoftheappropriatedetail.Thecontentonthewebsitesupportsitsintendedpurpose.
Relevance	Referstothedegreetowhichthe information meetstheneeds ofthe websiteuser (Muylle etal.2004).	Thewebsiteprovidesinformation thatexactlyfits your needs. The information isapplicabletothewebsite’sactivities. The information inthewebsiteisrelevant. The information inthewebsiteistothepoint. The information inthewebsitedoesnothelpmeatall.
Up-to-date	Referstothecurrencyoftheinformation onthewebsite(McKinneyetal. 2002).	Information isalwaysupdated inthesite. Thewebsiteprovidesup-to-dateinformation. The information iscurrent. Yougetthe information youneedintime.
Understandability	Referstotheclearnessandgoodnessofthe information(Cheung and Lee2005, 2008).	Thecontentofthewebsiteiseasytounderstand.The meaning ofthe informationisclear. The information inthewebsiteisclear to me. The information inthewebsiteispresentedclearly.The information isclear in meaning. The information iseasytocomprehend. Ingeneral, information onthewebsite isunderstandablefor youto use.
Completeness	Referstothecompletenessofthe information onthewebsite(Muylle etal. 2004)	Thewebsiteprovidescomprehensive information. Thewebsiteprovidessufficientinformation.The information inthewebsiteiscomplete. The information inthewebsiteissufficientlydetailed.

 

 

 

Reliability	Referstothedegreeofconsistency anddependabilityoftheinformationonthewebsite(Cheung andLee 2005,2008; McKinneyetal.2002).	Thewebsiteprovidesinformation that youtrust.The information onthewebsiteistrustworthy.The information onthewebsiteis credible. Ingeneral, information onthewebsite isreliableforyoutouse.
Accuracy	Referstothedegreetowhichtheinformation onthewebsite isperceivedtobeprecise(Muylle etal. 2004;Zhangand vonDran2002).	Thewebsiteprovidesaccurate information.Thewebsiteprovidespreciseinformation.The information onthewebsiteisdetailed.The information onthewebsiteisaccurate. The information onthewebsiteisnotprecise. Icanrelyonthe information inthewebsite. The information inthewebsiteissufficientlydetailed.
Usefulness	Referstothedegreetowhichtheuser believesthattheinformationonthewebsitewill enhancetheirdecision (Cheung andLee2005, 2008; McKinneyetal.2002)	The information onthewebsiteisuseful. The information onthewebsiteisinformative toyour usage. The information onthewebsiteisvaluable toyour usage. Ingeneral, information onblackboard isusefulfor youtouse.

 

Systemquality

Variable	Definition	Surveyquestions
Navigability	Referstothe easewithwhichusers canfindtheneededinformation on thewebsite(Schmidt etal. 2007;EvansandKing 1999*).	I findthesite easytonavigate. Thenavigation linksarestated in everypage. Itiseasytofindtheinformation I needfromthiswebsite. The organizationofthecontentsofthissite makesit easyfor metoknow whereI amwhennavigatingit. You obtaindesired information quickly. Itiseasyto locate the information. Thewebsite isbeing easytogobackandforthbetweenpages.Thewebsite isprovidinga few clickstolocate information. Ingeneral, thewebsite iseasytonavigate.
Access	Referstotheavailabilityofthe websiteatall times(Cheung andLee 2005; 2008)	Thewebsite isresponsivetoyour request. Ingeneral, thewebsiteprovidesgoodaccess. Thewebsite isavailable atall times. Thewebsitecanbeaccessedusingdifferentbrowsers(OS).
Easeof use	Referstothe easewithwhichthe website canbeused(Tarafdarand Zhang 2006).	I findthesite easytooperate. Thewebsite iseasytounderstand. Thiswebsite issimple touse, evenwhenusing itfor thefirsttime.Thewebsite iseasytouse. Thewebsite isuser-friendly. Itisdifficulttooperatethewebsite. Ingeneral, thewebsite isuser friendly. Thewebsite iswell organized. I findthewebsite easytouse.
Speed	Referstothedegreetowhichthe websiteusersperceivethewebsite tobefastorslow(Muylle etal. 2004).	I findthesitedownloadtimeacceptable.Thespeedofdisplaybetweenpagesishigh. There isverylittle timebetween myrequest forpagesandhavingthe pagesdisplayed onmy computer. Therateatwhich informationisdisplayed isfast.Thesitedoesn’twastemytime. Thewebsite istimeconsuming. Itdoesnottake muchtimetogetfromoneplace inthewebsiteto another. Thewebsite isfast. Thewebsite isquicklyloadingall thetextandgraphics. WhenI usethewebsitethere is verylittle waitingtimebetweenmyactions andthewebsite’sresponse. Thewebsite loadsquickly. Thewebsitetakeslongtooload.
Security	Referstotheusersperceptions’ of thewebsite’sreliabilityandsafety (AwamlehandFernandes2005).	Youfeelthewebsite issecure. Thewebsitehasprovisionsfor user authentication. Thewebsitehasan informationpolicy. Thewebsitehasadequatesecurityfeatures.
Privacy	Referstothe elementsthatprovide websiteusersasenseof privacy (Schmidt etal. 2008).	I feel like myprivacyisprotectedatthiswebsite.
Systemaccuracy	Referstotheaccuracyofthewebsiteinprovidinginformationto itsusers.	Thesystem isaccurate. Areyousatisfiedwith theaccuracyofthesystem?
Systemreliability	Referstothereliabilityofthe website inprovidinginformationtoitsusers.	Yougetthe informationthatyourequested onthewebsite.

 

 

 

Interactivity

Variable	Definition	Surveyquestions
Customersupport	Referstothefacilitiesand communication channelsthatacompanyofferstoestablish directcontactwithusersinordertohelpthemwithquestions or problems(ChenandYen2004; Hernandezetal. 2009;Wan2000; Wolfinbargerand Gilly2003**).	I cansendmyfeedbackaboutthesite. Think ofall thepossible waysthat you cancontactour bank whenyou needto. Based onthisinformation andonyour ownpreferences, how easydoyouthink it istocontactus? Youaresatisfiedwiththecustomersupportprovidedbythewebsite.Youaresatisfiedwiththeafter-salessupportprovidedbythewebsite.Thewebsiteunderstands your problemsandrequests. Thewebsiterespondstoyour requestsfast enough. Thewebsiteprovidesthepersonalized customer supportyouneed. Thewebsiterespondstoyour problemsandrequestspromptly.Thecompanyiswillingandreadytorespondto customer needs. Whenyouhaveaproblem, thewebsiteshowsasincere interest insolvingit. Inquiriesareansweredpromptly.
Customisation	Referstotheabilityofwebsitesto presentcustomized informationto fulfill the individual needs ofusers (Tarafdar andZhang 2006;Chenand Hitt2002***; Greer andMurtaza 2003****)	Thewebsiteprovidesinformation thatexactlyfits your needs.Thewebsitecanunderstandwhat you need viainteractivecommunication. Thewebsitehaspersonalization characteristics.Thewebsite offerscustomized information. The levelofpersonalization isaboutright, nottoo muchortoo little.Thewebsiteprovidestheprecise information youneed. Thewebsiteprovidesreportsthat seemtobejustabout exactlywhatyouneed. Thewebsiteallowsmeto interactwithit toreceivetailoredinformation. I can interactwiththewebsite in ordertogetinformationtailored tomy specificneeds.
Control	Referstothe featuresonthewebsitethat influence theusers’sense ofcontrol(WolfinbargerandGilly 2000)*****.	Thesiteprovidesvalueadded features. WhenI amusingthiswebsite, I feelthatI am incontrolofwhatI can do. Theuser controlstheorder or sequenceofinformation access. Theuser controlshowfasttogo throughthewebsite. Theuser controlsopportunitiesfor interaction. Userscontrolthedifficultyleveloftheinformation accessed.Thewebsitehasfeatures,whichhelpmeaccomplish mytask.

 

 

Systemdesignquality

Variable	Definition	Surveyquestions
Visualappeal	Referstotheaestheticsofthe website(Loiacono etal. 2002).	Thesitehasanattractiveappearance.Thewebsitehasanattractive layout. I like thelayoutofthewebsite. The layoutofthewebsiteis visuallycomforting.The layoutofthewebsiteisannoying. Thewebsite isvisuallyattractive. Thewebsitehasanattractivescreen layout.Thewebsite isvisuallypleasing. Thewebsitedisplaysvisuallypleasing design.Thewebsite isvisuallyappealing.
Innovativeness	Referstotheuniquenessandcreativityofthewebsite(Loiacono et al. 2002).	Thedesignisappropriatetothetypeofthesite.Thewebsite isinnovative. Thewebsitedesignisinnovative.Thewebsite iscreative.
Legibility	Referstothe easeofreading ofthe information onthewebsite(Palmer 2002).	Thesitepresentsthe information inanappropriateformat. The outputformat iseasytoread. The layoutofthe information iseasytounderstand.Thewebsite iswell organized. Thewebsitehasasimple layoutfor itscontent.Thewebsitehasacleardesign. The information onthewebsiteiseasytoread.Thetext on thewebsite iseasytoread.
Consistent image	Referstotheconsistencyoftheimageprojectedbythewebsitewith the imageofthefirm (Loiacono et al. 2002).	Thedesignisappropriatetothetypeofwebsite. I findthesitehasconsistentpagelayout. Youaresatisfiedwiththe imageofthewebsite. The companyto which the website belongshasa well-knownbrand.The website projectsanimage consistentwiththe company’simage.Thewebsite fitswithmyimageofthecompany.

 

 

 

Thewebsite’simage matchesthat ofthecompany.

 

SatisfactionwiththeWebsite

Satisfactionwiththe website	Definition	Surveyquestions
	Thediscrepancybetweenacustomer’sexpectations andperceptions ofperformance	Ingeneralterms, I amsatisfiedwiththewaythatthiswebsitehas carried outmyactions. Ingeneral,Iam satisfied withtheservicethatIreceivedfromthewebsite.Pleasethinkofyouroverallexperience withthewebsite.Onascaleof1-7,overall,howsatisfiedareyouwiththewebsite? Youaresatisfiedwith thewebsite.

Note.The“surveyquestions”inthe last columnarequestionsfromvariousstudiesonwebsitequality.I havetriedtofind

asmanyquestionsas Icould.Everysinglesurveyquestionis takenoutof(oneof)thepaperspresentedinthereferencelist.

 

 

REFERENCELIST

 

 

AwamlehRaedandCedwynFernandes(2005),“Internetbanking:anempiricalinvestigation intotheextentofadoptionbybanksandthedeterminantsofcustomersatisfaction intheUnitedArabEmirates,”JournalofInternetBankingandCommerce,10(1),

0509-05.

 

Chen,KuanchinandDavidC.Yen(2004),“Improvingthequalityofonlinepresencethrough interactivity,”Information&Management,42,217-26.

Chen,P.S.andL.M.Hitt(2002),“MeasuringSwitchingCostsandtheDeterminantsof CustomerRetentioninInternet-EnabledBusiness,”InformationSystemsResearch,13 (3),255-74.

Cheung,ChristyM.K.andMatthewK.O.Lee(2005),“TheAsymmetricEffectof Website

 

AttributePerformanceonSatisfaction:AnEmpiricalStudy,”inproceedingsofthe

 

38thHawaiiInternationalConferenceonSystemSciences,1-10.

 

Evans,J.R.,andV.E.King(1999),“Business-to-businessmarketingandtheWorldWideWeb: Planning,managingandassessingwebsites,”IndustrialMarketingManagement,28 (4),343–58.

Greer,T.H.andM.M.Murtaza(2003),“WebPersonalization:TheImpactofPerceived InnovationCharacteristicsontheIntentiontoUsePersonalization,”Journalof ComputerInformationSystems,Spring,50-3.

Hernandez,Bianca,JulioJimenezandJoseM.Martin(2009),“Keywebsitefactorsin e- businessstrategy,”InternationalJournalofInformationManagement,29(5),362-71.

Loiacono,EleanorT.,RichardT.WatsonandDale L.Goodhue(2002),“WebQual:Ameasure ofwebsitequality,”inMarketingTheoryandApplications,Vol.13,ed.K.K.Evansand

 

 

 

L.K.Scheer:Chicago:AmericanMarketingAssociation,1-71.

 

McKinney,Vicki,KanghyunYoonandFatemehM.Zahedi(2002),“TheMeasurementof Web-CustomerSatisfaction:AnExpectationandDisconfirmationApproach,” InformationSystemsResearch,13(3),296-315.

Muylle,Steve,RudyMoenaertandMarcDespontin(2004),“Theconceptualizationand

 

empiricalvalidationof websiteusersatisfaction,”Information&Management,41,

 

543-60.

 

Palmer,JonathanW.(2002),“Websiteusability,designandperformancemetrics,” InformationSystemsResearch,13(2),151–67.

Schmidt,Serje,AntoniS.CantallopsandCristianePizuttidosSantos(2008),“The characteristicsofhotelwebsitesandtheirimplicationsforwebsiteeffectiveness,” InternationalJournalofHospitalityManagement,27(4), 504-16.

Tarafdar,MonideepaandJieZhang(2005),“AnalysisofCriticalWebsiteCharacteristics:A Cross-CategoryStudyofSuccessfulWebsites,”JournalofComputerInformation Systems,46(2),14-24.

Wan,HakmanA.(2000),“Opportunitiestoenhanceacommercialwebsite,”Information& Management,38(1),15–21.

Wolfinbarger,M.,andM.C.Gilly(2000),“Consumermotivationsforonlineshop-ping,”in

 

proceedingsoftheAmericasConferenceon InformationSystems,LongBeach,CA: AssociationforInformationSystems,1362–6.

Zhang,PingandGiselaM.vonDran(2002),“UserExpectationsandRankingsofQuality

 

FactorsinDifferentWebSiteDomains,”InternationalJournalof ElectronicCommerce,

 

6(2),9-33.

 

 

QUESTIONS  

1. 1.  Measurement is  the  assignment  of  numbers  to  characteristics  (or  attributes)  of

 

objects   according to a pre-specified set of rules.   Describe the object   and characteristicsofSyafiq’sstudy.

2. 2.  The measurement  ofmore  abstract  andsubjective  characteristics  (orattributes  – such  for  instance   the  attributes   in  Syafiq’s   study)   is  more  difficult  than  the

measurement of other, more tangible attributes such as weight, length, gender, age, and marital status. Why is that?

3. 3.   Onewayoftappingmoreabstractandsubjectiveattributesisoperationalizingthese attributes.
4. Whatisoperationalization?

 

1. b.  Describetheprocessofoperationalizingvariables.

 

4. 4.  BasedonareviewoftheliteratureSyafiqhasdevelopedatable(Table1)thatshould helphimtooperationalizethe variablesof his conceptualmodUsethistableto discusstheattribute‘InformationQuality’intermsofdimensionsandelements.In other words,  which  dimensions  of  ‘Information  Quality’  has  Syafiq  found  in  the literatureand howhavethesedimensionsfurtherbeenbrokenintoelementsby researcherswhohaveinvestigatedthisissueinthepast?
5. 5.    Syafiqcoulddecidetousethesurveyquestionshehasfoundintheliteratureasa

 

basis for hisquestionnaire. Isit,ingeneral, agood or a badideatouseexisting scales?Why?

Reference:

Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2013). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (6th ed.). Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-119-94225-2.