Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the nonlinear impact of quality dimensions of third-party logistics (3PL) services on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach By interviewing 167 small-size companies, and using penalty and reward contrast analysis, the paper explores the nonlinear impact of seven dimensions of 3PL services (safety, fault’s recovery, reliability, speed, flexibility, communication, and friendliness) on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Findings The results confirm the existence of the dimensions’ nonlinear impact on customer satisfaction. It also shows that some quality dimensions have a direct and nonlinear impact on loyalty. The dimension “friendliness” has a direct impact on loyalty if the company has a below market average performance, which may lead customers to switch service providers. “Flexibility on collection and delivery” has a direct impact if the company has a higher performance, contributing to customers’ intention to continue using the service. Another finding is that, if the company delivers good service recovery after the customer found faults in the service, and if customers trust the company service, they say they intend to continue to work with the company. Research limitations/implications The present research focused only on small companies in one country (Brazil). Further studies should be carried out to explore different countries, with different realities, and different size of companies. Practical implications 3PL companies should not only deal with customers’ satisfaction, but also with other quality aspects that directly affect customer intention to continue doing business with the 3PL service provider. These are friendliness, flexibility regarding time and frequency of collection and delivery and faults’ recovery. Originality/value The present research confirms that the personal relationship is a crucial aspect to be managed in order to keep customers in the long term. In addition, as opposed to most research looking for the antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty of 3PL customers, the present research shows that there is a direct nonlinear impact of the dimensions’ performance on customers’ loyalty, what should be taken in consideration by 3PL managers. It also shows how penalty-reward contrast analysis may reveal nonlinear antecedents that could be used for better understandings companies’ success in the long term.
O objetivo deste trabalho foi averiguar quais as principais dimensões da qualidade de serviços logísticos e mostrar como uma empresa pode utilizar a avaliação da satisfação de seus clientes com os diversos atributos do serviço, para direcionar esforços de melhoria e aumentar a lealdade de seus clientes, utilizando uma combinação da análise de importância e desempenho e do modelo Kano de qualidade. O estudo proposto caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa descritiva quantitativa. Foram pesquisados 177 clientes usuários dos serviços de uma empresa logística por meio de um questionário com 22 atributos. Os resultados demonstram que, para evitar erros de avaliação, os esforços de melhoria devem levar em consideração a relação não linear entre o desempenho dos atributos do serviço e a satisfação dos clientes. O estudo mostra que a qualidade do serviço logístico é avaliada pelos clientes em cinco dimensões (confiabilidade, responsividade, flexibilidade, segurança e empatia) e que a lealdade é mais afetada pelos atributos classificados como "chave" pelo modelo Kano de Qualidade que pelos atributos classificados como "básicos" para o serviço.
The present study structures a new modality for loyalty programs and compares it with traditional approaches. Initially, described here are two modalities of loyalty programs - individual and coalition, often used, being analyzed are their main characteristics, advantages and restrictions, market ranges in which they operate and the managerial implications of each modality. Subsequently, the study proposes a new program modality (cluster) and provides practical aspects for its use. The types of loyalty (loyalty to the brand, loyalty to the store or loyalty to the program) that are intended to be achieved in each program modality were also identified. Participation of partners, accumulation of benefits, options for recovery of benefits, market ranges, program management and program focus were the analyzed variables for comparison of the programs. This analysis revealed which approaches are most appropriate for each type of program.
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