Purpose of this research is to investigate the key factors affecting perceived quality, user satisfaction and customer loyalty in the context of Software as a Service (SaaS) adoption. Research begings with a literature review regarding the evolution from traditional, on-premise software models to cloud-based SaaS solutions. Literature review focuses on SaaS advantages like flexibility, scalability and cost-effectiveness, and the main challenges such as data security, change management and integration complexity that organizations are facing when transitioning to SaaS.

Empirical approach of the study involved development and distribution of a structured questionnaire to a diverse group of users from various age groups and levels of professional experience. Questionnaire was designed to assess how users perceive critical quality factors like agility, service assurance, reliability, scalability, security, responsiveness and usability. Collected data were analyzed to identify relationships between quality factors, user satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Findings of the analysis indicate that reliable customer support and usability have the biggest influence on perceived SaaS quality. Additionally, quality is found to be the main factor affecting user satisfaction which in turn directly translates into increased customer loyalty. Results indicate that satisfied users are more likely to remain with their current provider, use additional software and services and recommend their current provider to others. Technical aspects like security, scalability and reliability are necessary conditions for an organization to adopt SaaS, however on their own they are not sufficient to ensure high user satisfaction. It’s the overall user experience, from interface design to customer support, which makes the difference in regards to user satisfaction.

Based on these findings, this dissertation offers recommendations to SaaS providers and client organizations. These recommendations include prioritizing investments in user experience and support and actively monitoring user satisfaction. Areas for future research, like sector-specific studies and qualitative methods to get more insights into the factors influencing user satisfaction and SaaS success, have also been identified as part of this dissertation.