The mediating effect of website quality on Internet searching behavior

The study investigates the mediating effect of website quality on Internet searching behavior. The research model incorporates three dimensions, namely (1) Internet attitudes of the Internet users, (2) website quality, including the system quality, service quality and information quality, and (3) Internet searching behavior demonstrated by the general population of Internet users. A survey instrument was used to gather data to exam the relationships in the proposed model. The collected online surveys (n = 856) are used to test the relationships among the three dimensions expressed in the proposed structural equation model. The results show that website quality has a mediating effect on Internet searching behavior. It is also discovered that there is significant correlation between Internet attitudes and website quality. This study contributes empirical data to the predominantly theoretical literature on Internet searching behavior in general and Internet attitudes and website quality in particular. It is, to a certain extent, common sense that website quality has a positive impact on Internet searching behavior. This paper takes an important step forward by detailing how website quality affects the Internet searching behavior via enhancing the effect of users’ Internet attitudes.

► Internet attitudes of the Internet users.
► Website quality.
► Internet searching behavior.