Purpose -Compared with the emphasis that service quality research has received in online marketing, much less work has been done on the role of price perception, service attribute-level performance and satisfaction that unfolds over time, and their effects on customer retention. This paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature. Design/methodology/approach -This paper builds propositions about the role of price and customer satisfaction at different stages on customers' intention to return. Research hypotheses are developed based on theory from the combined literatures of services, product pricing, and behavioral decision theory. Data from the e-retailing industry related to two specific periods of shopping experience (at checkout and after delivery) are used in the empirical tests. Structural equation modeling is employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings -The findings of this study indicate that after-delivery satisfaction has a much stronger influence on both overall customer satisfaction and intention to return than at-checkout satisfaction, and that price perception, when measured on a comparative basis, has a direct and positive effect on customer overall satisfaction and intention to return. Research limitations/implications -The data are only available from surveying customers who have made purchases. Future study can investigate how satisfaction with shopping convenience has impacted customer acquisition. Measures of actual return behavior, as opposed to behavioral intentions, will also enhance the validity of the study. Practical implications -This paper concludes that excellence pre-sales service is not necessarily an advantage that allows e-tailers to develop customer retention. In fact, e-tailers might command higher customer retention through providing good performance in after-delivery service and continuously generating favorable price perceptions among customers because both have a strong and positive influence on return intention. Originality/value -This research conceptualizes and explores different aspects of satisfaction that unfold over time, regarding customers' whole shopping experience with a particular e-retailer. It is a pioneer work that empirically investigates the relative contribution of at-checkout and after-delivery satisfaction in generating intention to return to an e-tailer.
Consumer fears about Internet security and ordering over the Internet can influence online buying behavior, and these fears may be exacerbated by increasing attention to identity theft. A key strategy to increase consumer trust in ordering has been participation in third-party certification programs. This study presents a model describing the relationship between third-party identifying logos, trust transfer, and trust buildup and tests the model with data collected by an online survey. The results support hypotheses that perceptions of third-party logos are related to intensity of seal exposure, importance of trust factors in online shopping, and disposition toward third-party certification. Also, such perceptions and the current level of consumer trust in general in online shopping are positively related to transfer of trust from certification to online e-marketers. Prior research found that validating logos does not increase transfer of trust; a post-hoc analysis revealed that this finding is dependent on
Investigates the role of brand name in consumers' decision making during a customization process, and develops a conceptual understanding of the factors influencing the role of brand name from a “search vs experience” perspective. Addresses the strategic relationship of brand with perceived product/service/information preference match and the impact of preference match on consumer “willingness to pay for customization”. Brand name was found to be an important decision variable for customization in terms of getting a better preference match. Brand name still holds an important role on consumer communications, as was expected. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that customization would not “commoditize” brands, but rather increase the effect of brand names in purchase decision making. High‐knowledge consumers reported stronger brand name effect in terms of its importance and usefulness in their decision making. The brand name effect varies across product categories, and the effect is stronger in the customization of search products than that in experience products. Thus, brand names have greater impact on choices in a search product where less total quality information on components is available for facilitating consumer choices. Discusses managerial implications of the study's findings.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to make contributions toward new knowledge and understanding of how marketers can provide effective online customization experiences for customers. The practicality of online mass customization has received much attention as consumers perceive more value from customized products than from their standardized counterparts. Little research has been done to understand consumers’ behavioral intentions in response to these value additions. This study incorporates product information framing in developing and empirically testing a model of the relationship between online customization and price sensitivity, endowment addition and expected likelihood of product return. Design/methodology/approach – The relationship among the constructs specified in the model was tested using multiple group structural equation modeling analysis. Findings – The findings indicate that consumers perceived knowledge gain via customization process influences the utilitarian value, which directly impacts levels of likelihood of product return and price sensitivity. The process value, on the hedonic side, influences more on the endowment addition. Endowment addition is found to mediate the relationship between the hedonic benefits and the two utilitarian outcome variables: price sensitivity and likelihood of product return. Originality/value – Understanding the consequences of customization is particularly crucial for marketers. This research is the first to expand and further our knowledge of customization, particularly in relation to its outcomes of customers’ behavioral intentions.
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