Impact of University Website Usability on Satisfaction: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Abstract

One of the many ways through which the universities can communicate with students is through their website, which is considered as the face of the organization. It also represents the organization as a whole, its culture, value and vision. The current study aimed to check the usability of Gujarat Technological University’s website from students’ perspective and to find its association with satisfaction. The current study tried to address the gap in the literature, wherein in the Indian context, the majority studies were conducted in the context of library website only. The current study has adopted a quantitative approach, where a single cross-sectional research design has been used with convenience sampling. The present study had adapted the Website Usability Evaluation (WEBUSE) scale. A total of 577 students from the fields of management, computer science, and engineering have responded to the structured questionnaire. The structural equation model of the study revealed that all the four dimensions of website usability were positively associated with satisfaction, whereas content, organization and readability criterion had the most influence on satisfaction followed by user interface design, performance and effectiveness and navigation and links. The study strongly recommends the university to maintain up-to-date content, organize it well and it should be readable for the students in order to maximize the satisfaction with the website. JEL Codes: I230, M150