Does Online Travel & Retail Distribution Agency's e-Service Quality Improve Customer Satisfaction, Trust, and Loyalty?

Purpose: This study explores the impact of e-service quality (e-SQ) on satisfaction, trust, and loyalty within Chinese online travel retail distribution agencies (OTRDAs) using the SOR (stimulus-organism-response) model. In addition, this research examines the mediating roles of satisfaction and trust in the relationship between e-SQ and loyalty. In the model, e-SQ encompasses four sub-dimensions, such as information, efficiency, reliability, and security. Research design, data, and methodology: Data were collected from 401 respondents through an online survey. The data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and SmartPLS 4.1 to test the relationships among the variables. Results: The findings reveal that information, efficiency, reliability, and security positively influence satisfaction and trust. Both satisfaction and trust, in turn, significantly enhance loyalty. Mediation analysis indicates that satisfaction and trust partially mediate the relationship between e-SQ and loyalty. Conclusions: The study highlights the direct effects of e-SQ components on satisfaction and trust, as well as their indirect effects on loyalty within the OTRDA framework. Notably, trust exerts a stronger influence on loyalty than satisfaction, underscoring the importance of trust as a mediator in the satisfaction-loyalty relationship. Consequently, customer loyalty programs for OTRDAs should prioritize trust evaluations alongside satisfaction measures.