Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty in Consumer Electronics E-Tailers: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

The E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL scales have been successfully tested in a study by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Malhotra (2005). However, E-S-QUAL and E-RecS­ QUAL are newly developed and lack specific application to different types of e-business. This non-experimental, correlational study is the first to examine and explore the relationships among electronic service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty for consumer electronics e-tailers. Using quota and snowball sampling, participants from the continental United States received e-mail invitations and voluntarily forwarded the e-mail invitations to their friends and family. A total of 276 participants completed the online survey. This study\u27s demographic characteristics included most between the ages of 26 and 35 years (47%), mean age of 35.2, most with graduate degrees (40.6%), and with 40% earning a family income of $75,000 or more. Out of twenty hypotheses (including four sub-hypotheses for H1 and three for H2) in this study, 13 were supported, two were marginally supported, and five were not supported. Findings indicated that electronic service quality was measured by online shoppers\u27 perceptions of service quality of consumer electronic e-tailers through four dimensions of the 17-indicator modified E-S-QUAL (efficiency, system availability, fulfillment, and privacy) . Electronic recovery service quality was measured by online shoppers\u27 perceptions of recovery service quality of consumer electronic e-tailers through two dimensions of modified E-RecS-QUAL (responsiveness and contact, and compensation). Findings also indicated that perceived value and customer satisfaction were two significant variables that mediated the relationships among customer expectations, electronic service quality, customer loyalty, and customer complaints. However, this study also found that electronic service quality and customer expectations had no direct effect on customer satisfaction, but had indirect positive effects on customer satisfaction for consumer electronics e-tailers. Consumer electronics e-tailers\u27 managers could formulate plans to improve service quality and recovery service quality through dimensions of E-S-QUAL and E­ RecS-QUAL. They also could formulate a competitive strategy based on the modified Electronic Customer Satisfaction (e-CS) model to keep current customers and to enhance customer relation management. The limitations and recommendations for future research are also included in this study

The moderating role of website familiarity in the relationships between e-service quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty

Intense competition drives e-tailers to search for radically new ways to maintain and increase their market share. Drawing on Bagozzi’s (1992) appraisal → affective response → behavior framework, this study highlights the need, and develops a framework for customer e-loyalty and website familiarity for e-tailer. The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating role of website familiarity in the relationships between e-service quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty in the context of an emerging economy, Turkey. The survey data were obtained using a judgmental sampling technique and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The findings show that website familiarity has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between e-satisfaction and e-loyalty, while e-service quality positively affects e-loyalty directly and indirectly through e-satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.No sponso

The effect of trust, transaction utility, and product uniqueness on International Online Outshopping (IOO) intention and customer delight: the role of e-tailer’s country image

International Online Outshopping (IOO) is the virtual movement of consumers from one electronic marketplace to another across the globe with the intention of purchasing goods from the convenience of their homes, at the click of a button. With an increasing number of U.S. consumers looking to shop for apparel-related products at foreign websites, this recent IOO phenomenon has raised questions among e-tailers and academicians as to the characteristics of this new-age, international online outshopper and the nature of an IOO purchase. Though there have been significant efforts to understand the characteristics of an outshopper in prior research, the process of an IOO purchase is yet to be understood comprehensively, especially in identifying the antecedents and consequences of an IOO purchase. Moreover, understanding of the influence of consumers’ perception of the e-tailer’s country image on their IOO intention is limited. Filling these research gaps, the purpose of this study is to develop and test a comprehensive framework consisting of both the antecedents of initial IOO intention and emotional consequences of an IOO purchase. Built on Commitment-Trust Theory, Mental Accounting Theory, Commodity Theory, and The Model of Customer Delight. The research framework consisted of two phases. Phase I manipulated and tested the effect of three antecedents (i.e., trust in e-tailer, transaction utility and product uniqueness) on IOO intention and included country image (U.K. image and China image) as the moderator of these effects (H1a-c to H3a-c). Phase II manipulated and tested the effect of the above three antecedents on the Model of Customer Delight which includes the emotions of surprise, arousal, positive affect, and customer delight (H4a-b to H11a-b). Both phases were tested on U.S. consumers’ IOO purchase at Chinese and U.K. e-tailers, the top two IOO destinations for U.S. consumers as well as leading developing and developed country e-tailers, respectively. An experiment was conducted by developing 16 IOO scenarios consisting of all possible combinations of high and low levels of trust (2) x transaction utility (2) x product uniqueness (2) at both Chinese (8 scenarios) and U.K. (8 scenarios) e-tailer settings. Using Qualtrics to conduct the experiment, 539 usable responses (275 Chinese and 264 U.K. e-tailer setting) were collected from college students. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 16 scenarios at either Chinese or U.K. e-tailer setting. Pre-tests were conducted to validate and refine the manipulation of high and low levels of trust, transaction utility and product uniqueness prior to data collection. Upon manipulation of the scenarios, participants’ IOO intention and their emotions in the Model of Customer Delight were captured using items on Likert-type scales. The hypotheses in the causal model (research framework) were tested using multiple-sample Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of this study showed that, in Phase I, trust in an e-tailer positively influenced IOO intention at both Chinese and U.K. e-tailers (H1 a & b supported), transaction utility positively influenced IOO intention at U.K. e-tailers but not at Chinese e-tailers (H2a unsupported, H2b supported) and product uniqueness did not influence IOO intention at both Chinese and U.K. e-tailers (H3 a & b unsupported). Country image moderated only the relationship between transaction utility and IOO intention such that it was stronger in the U.K. than Chinese e-tailer settings; however, this effect was opposite to the strength that was hypothesized (H2c unsupported). There was no moderating effect of country image on the relationship between trust and IOO intention, and product uniqueness and IOO intention (H1c and H3c unsupported). The findings of Phase II revealed that trust was the only manipulated factor that influenced surprise while transaction utility and product uniqueness did not influence surprise. However, contrary to the hypothesis, this effect of trust on surprise was negative (H4 – H6 unsupported). Further analysis into this anomaly revealed that trust increased the level of surprise among consumers with no prior experience shopping at foreign websites, whereas it decreased the level of surprise among those with prior IOO experience. Finally, the relationships in the Model of Customer Delight were significant (H7 – H11 supported). This study extended the research in outshopping literature to understand the phenomenon of IOO by conducting an experimental study, thereby advancing the theoretical understanding of country image, online trust, transaction utility and customer delight. The findings of this study suggest to managers in the e-tailing industry that, developing a trustworthy website is the most important step towards generating purchase intention at that e-tailer’s website, regardless of the e-tailer’s country image. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are also provided

Critical review of the e-loyalty literature: a purchase-centred framework

Over the last few years, the concept of online loyalty has been examined extensively in the literature, and it remains a topic of constant inquiry for both academics and marketing managers. The tremendous development of the Internet for both marketing and e-commerce settings, in conjunction with the growing desire of consumers to purchase online, has promoted two main outcomes: (a) increasing numbers of Business-to-Customer companies running businesses online and (b) the development of a variety of different e-loyalty research models. However, current research lacks a systematic review of the literature that provides a general conceptual framework on e-loyalty, which would help managers to understand their customers better, to take advantage of industry-related factors, and to improve their service quality. The present study is an attempt to critically synthesize results from multiple empirical studies on e-loyalty. Our findings illustrate that 62 instruments for measuring e-loyalty are currently in use, influenced predominantly by Zeithaml et al. (J Marketing. 1996;60(2):31-46) and Oliver (1997; Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill). Additionally, we propose a new general conceptual framework, which leads to antecedents dividing e-loyalty on the basis of the action of purchase into pre-purchase, during-purchase and after-purchase factors. To conclude, a number of managerial implementations are suggested in order to help marketing managers increase their customers’ e-loyalty by making crucial changes in each purchase stage

Product Returns in a Digital Era: The Role of Multidimensional Cognitive Dissonance, Regret, and Buying Context in the Post-purchase Appraisal Process

The retailing industry is battling a behemoth – the escalating problem of product returns. The problem is of a graver import for e-tailers. However, the underlying cognitive and affective appraisal process that leads to product returns in case of online purchase still remains unclear. The liberal product returns environment in the context of online purchase has led consumers to proactively consider the option of decision reversal. Nevertheless, the impact of the initial buying context on the post-purchase appraisal process has been neglected in previous studies. To bridge the gaps found after evaluating the current gamut of research work conducted on this topic, a mixed-method approach was employed in the present study. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews (N = 42), the first qualitative study identified three online purchase situations (unplanned, purchase-for-trial and opportunism buying) that frequently provoke product returns. Additionally, the qualitative uncovered the salient post-purchase appraisal factors. To empirically test the underlying appraisal process and the differences caused by the buying situations, a quantitative study was conducted, using scenario-based experiment (N = 620). Findings suggest that contrary to recent studies (e.g., Lee, 2015; Powers & Jack, 2013), cognitive dissonance is not the immediate cause of product returns. It is the affective factor, regret, which leads to decision reversal. Additionally, in opposition to the claim of previous literature that high coping potential reduces stress, this study suggests that the ability to reverse the decision actually increases regret and, in turn, leads to product returns. Results also indicate that buying context (e.g., different buying situations) causes difference in serial mediation pathways from both primary and secondary appraisal to product returns likelihood. E-tailers should utilise consumers’ behavioural profile in order to classify different consumer groups and tailor the means to manage product returns accordingly

The role of brand authenticity on social media for Fashion e-Tailers

Brands increasingly use social media to interact with prospects and customers and communicate their distinctive attributes, in order to adequately position themselves in the marketplace. Meanwhile, consumers increasingly look for authenticity in products and brands, resorting to brand-related cues in marketing communications to make authenticity assessments. This dissertation investigated whether and how fashion e-tailers use brand authenticity cues in social media and their potential impact on audience response. To this end, a survey with 105 respondents was conducted to identify the level of perceived brand authenticity of four fashion e-tailers with significant brand activity on Facebook – Farfetch, mytheresa, MATCHESFASHION.COM, and Zalando – measured by Morhart et al.'s (2014) perceived brand authenticity scale. Based on survey results, two brands were selected – Farfetch and Zalando –, as they were perceived to be the most and the least authentic, respectively. Data was collected (n=201) about their use of authenticity cues on Facebook posts and corresponding consumer response from September to November 2018. The use of authenticity cues was measured using Morhart et al.'s (2014) listed cues and response was measured by the number of reactions, comments, and shares of each post. Results show that when controlling for brand and audience size, existential cues trigger users to comment on Facebook posts. Brands wanting to be perceived as authentic may emphasize and incorporate human attributes in their social media communications.As marcas crescentemente usam redes sociais para interagir com clientes prospetivos e comunicar os seus atributos diferenciadores, para adequadamente se posicionarem no mercado. Simultaneamente, os consumidores progressivamente procuram autenticidade em produtos e marcas, recorrendo a pistas relacionadas com a marca para fazerem avaliações de autenticidade, em comunicações de marketing da marca. A presente dissertação investigou se e como os e-retalhistas de moda usam pistas de autenticidade de marca nas redes sociais e o seu potencial impacto na resposta do público. Com este propósito, um questionário com 105 inquiridos foi implementado para identificar o nível de autenticidade de marca de quatro e-retalhistas de moda com atividade significativa no Facebook – Farfetch, mytheresa, MATCHESFASHION.COM, Zalando – medido pela escala de autenticidade de marca de Morhart et al. (2014). Com base nos resultados do estudo, duas marcas foram selecionadas – Farfetch e Zalando –, sendo consideradas as marcas mais e menos autênticas, respetivamente. Dados foram recolhidos (n=201) sobre o uso de pistas de autenticidade nas publicações de Facebook e na respetiva resposta dos utilizadores, entre Setembro e Novembro (2018). O uso de pistas de autenticidade foi medido usando as pistas de autenticidade discriminadas por Morhart et al. (2014) e a resposta foi medida pelo número de reações, comentários e partilhas que cada publicação continha. Resultados mostram que, controlando o tamanho da marca e da audiência, as pistas existenciais estimulam os utilizadores a comentarem em publicações do Facebook. Marcas que queiram ser percecionadas como autênticas, deverão enfatizar e incorporar atributos humanos nas suas comunicações em redes sociais