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Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Nikunj Kumar Jain, Hasmukh Gajjar, Bhavin J. Shah and Ashish Sadh

The purpose of this paper is to understand the dimensions of the e-fulfillment process and its influence on customers in pure e-tailing; to classify the pertinent literature that…

2843

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the dimensions of the e-fulfillment process and its influence on customers in pure e-tailing; to classify the pertinent literature that has evolved over time addressing relevant managerial issues; and to identify the gaps between the practices prevalent in the e-fulfillment and those suggested by academicians to develop insights for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical systemic literature review approach was used for the study with quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Findings

The authors identified seven dimensions of e-fulfillment in the literature on pure e-tailing: e-business quality, product quality, pricing, availability, timeliness, condition and ease of return and explored its linkages with shopping satisfaction and repurchase intention of customers in e-tailing.

Research limitations/implications

The study was skewed toward an empirical approach. The study does not include many of the analytical models in this space.

Practical implications

This study helps e-tailers, academicians and practitioners understand critical dimensions of e-fulfillment and its influence on customers in the pure e-tailing setting in order to design customer-centric e-fulfillment architecture.

Originality/value

The study identified seven dimensions of e-fulfillment in the literature and explored its influence on shopping satisfaction and repurchase intention of customers in pure e-tailing. This is the first compilation of standalone/isolated studies available in the literature to provide e-tailers and academicians meaningful insights into e-fulfillment in the pure e-tailing setting.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 February 2021

Mitxel Cotarelo, Haydeé Calderón and Teresa Fayos

The purpose of this research is to analyse the LSQ in the context of three different omni-channel purchasing scenarios while considering four dimensions (timeliness, availability…

2675

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to analyse the LSQ in the context of three different omni-channel purchasing scenarios while considering four dimensions (timeliness, availability, condition and return of the product) and to assess their impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, an evaluation of the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty in the mentioned omni-channel scenarios is investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed two-phase research methodology is proposed: an initial qualitative analysis with six focus groups followed by quantitative research through surveys with a sample of 323 individuals. The proposed scales were tested for three purchase scenarios: “buy-online-ship-direct” (BOSD), “buy-online-pickup-in-store” (BOPS) and “buy-in-store-ship-direct” (BSSD). The data were analysed using partial-least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) techniques.

Findings

In an omni-channel context, the most important element of the logistics service deriving in satisfaction was timeliness for all the scenarios. The return-of-product dimension of LSQ was relevant for satisfaction in “ship-direct” scenarios, while the availability dimension was only relevant for customer loyalty in the BOPS scenario. Customer satisfaction had a positive impact on loyalty in the three purchasing scenarios.

Practical implications

These results might provide guidance to managers in order to improve not only logistics procedures and processes but also their relationships with their customers. Moreover, retailers need to account for return policies in ship-direct channels, prioritize punctuality and adapt delivery terms to ensure product availability.

Originality/value

This work represents a progress in LSQ research in the B2C omni-channel environment by extending its study to a previously untested purchasing scenario (BOSD) and including a fundamental and insufficiently explored dimension of the LSQ: the return.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 49 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2022

Rohit Titiyal, Sujoy Bhattacharya and Jitesh J. Thakkar

This paper aims to review the literature on “E-fulfillment” with respect to marketing and operations issues in the current dynamic and complex e-tailing environment and thereby…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review the literature on “E-fulfillment” with respect to marketing and operations issues in the current dynamic and complex e-tailing environment and thereby generate significant insights.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a systematic literature review on e-fulfillment focusing on marketing and operations issues therein. This systematic literature review consists of a critical review on e-fulfillment under planning (review question initialisation), searching (literature search), screening (literature evaluation), extraction and synthesis and reporting phases to conceptualise e-fulfillment. A total of 122 research articles have been reviewed to explore e-fulfillment and to develop key constructs and propositions.

Findings

This review provides the following three outcomes. First, the varied-fulfillment definitions have been critically reviewed, leading to synthesis, and thereby, an e-fulfillment definition is provided. Further, the variations for e-fulfillment across product types, which have been identified as a key variable for e-fulfillment, have been explored. Second, authors find five e-fulfillment components at the marketing and operations interface: website quality, customisation strategy, distribution strategy, last mile delivery and return management. Continuing with the e-fulfillment interface with marketing, the linkages between e-fulfillment and select post-purchase consumer behaviours measures across different product types have been reviewed. The paper thus with a focus on synthesising e-fulfillment literature from a process perspective emphasises the consumer behaviour metric for measuring e-fulfillment performance.

Practical implications

This study would help academicians, researchers, e-tailers and practitioners to understand e-fulfillment from a process perspective. For the researcher, it presents areas for future research by giving possible research directions in this emerging area. This study also brings out the impact of e-fulfillment according to product type on the post-purchase consumer behaviour measures, which will help e-tailers to link e-fulfillment to consumer behaviour metrics.

Originality/value

The paper classifies the fragmented literature to develop constructs and propositions for e-fulfillment. This is the first kind of study on e-fulfillment process and its impact on select post-purchase consumer behaviour measures across product types.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 45 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2019

Rohit Titiyal, Sujoy Bhattacharya and Jitesh J. Thakkar

E-fulfillment has a significant role to play within e-tailing, which provides products to a customer, comprising primarily of five components: website quality, customization…

Abstract

Purpose

E-fulfillment has a significant role to play within e-tailing, which provides products to a customer, comprising primarily of five components: website quality, customization strategy, distribution strategy, last mile delivery and return management. The purpose of this paper is to provide an e-fulfillment performance evaluation framework for an e-tailer, considering the different performance aspects of information systems (IS), marketing and operations for e-tailers.

Design/methodology/approach

Since quite a few performance aspects (i.e. IS, marketing system and operations) need to be factored in while evaluating the e-fulfillment performance, it may be considered as a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem. This study used decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) based analytic network process (DANP) to investigate the relationship between performance class and performance aspects, and calculated their weights. These designated weights of performance aspects help managers to find the important aspects needing improvement. The understanding of the interrelationship among the performance aspects enables managers to improve the efficiency of an e-tailing system.

Findings

This study provides the e-fulfillment performance evaluation framework to find the important aspects requiring improvement. The results of this study reveal that the important performance aspects of e-fulfillment performance are return policy, pickup method, innovativeness, assortment type, assortment width, trust (privacy and security) and promised delivery date.

Practical implications

This e-fulfillment performance evaluation could be used by an e-tailer to assess the e-fulfillment performance, and identify areas of improvement.

Originality/value

This study makes a contribution to the present body of knowledge by considering operations related performance aspects except the IS and marketing to evaluate the e-fulfillment performance.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 69 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2022

Rohit Titiyal, Sujoy Bhattacharya, Jitesh J. Thakkar and Bhawesh Sah

There is limited literature linking e-fulfillment and product type with postpurchase consumer behavior measures like loyalty, even though there has been a rapid increase in…

Abstract

Purpose

There is limited literature linking e-fulfillment and product type with postpurchase consumer behavior measures like loyalty, even though there has been a rapid increase in e-tailing. E-fulfillment is defined in literature as a sequence of processes. Each process in this sequence is expected to have a different impact on consumer loyalty across product type. Thus relative importance of e-fulfillment processes leading to consumer loyalty. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of e-fulfillment on consumer loyalty across two product types: “standard, regular” and “physical product” (e.g. book, clothing, etc.) and “standard, nonregular” and “physical product” (e.g. computer, refrigerator, etc.) using the peak-end rule theory for an e-tailer.

Design/methodology/approach

To know the consumer loyalty for e-fulfillment across the two product types, the partial least square-structural equation modeling approach aided by the SmartPLS 3 tool was used for data analysis as it avoids biases in the parameter estimation in regression analysis. A total of 603 consumer responses through an online and physically administered questionnaire were obtained and were used for the empirical analysis.

Findings

Results indicate that for standard, nonregular and physical products, all the e-fulfillment components (customization strategy, website quality, distribution strategy, last mile delivery and return management) positively impact consumer loyalty. Except for the customization strategy, for standard regular and physical product types, all other e-fulfillment components positively impact consumer loyalty.

Practical implications

This study will be helpful to e-tail managers to configure the e-fulfillment components according to product types, thereby increasing consumer loyalty.

Originality/value

While some e-fulfillment components have been linked to consumer loyalty in literature, there is no study establishing linkages between e-fulfillment as a construct and consumer loyalty across product types. This has implications for decision makers in e-tail as the study provides e-fulfillment strategy customization across product types for achieving consumer loyalty in e-tail, a key marketing metric.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2019

Pradeep Kautish and Rajesh Sharma

The purpose of this paper is to bridge together seemingly disparate yet interconnected paradigmatic antecedents of e-tailing and servicescape, i.e., product assortment, order…

1915

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bridge together seemingly disparate yet interconnected paradigmatic antecedents of e-tailing and servicescape, i.e., product assortment, order fulfillment, shopping assistance and its consequences for shopping efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed conceptual model is well grounded in the extensive literature from e-tailing as well as retailing domain and to assess the plausibility of the model. Total 246 female online apparel shoppers were surveyed from an Indian university and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling through SmartPLS.

Findings

The outcomes of the study indicate that the e-customer may derive a substantial share of shopping assistance and service interface through product assortment offered by e-tailing sites. Customer-perceived performance of this e-shopping process – a crucial element of e-tail servicescape – directly affects the shopping assistance, along with order fulfillment capability of retail scope.

Research limitations/implications

The study used a sample of graduate students at a north-west university in India, which limits the generalizability of the research to other consumer groups. The paper links a significant body of literature within a conceptually developed framework and identifies key research areas in the e-tailing realm.

Practical implications

By better understanding the role of product assortment as a value-added feature in online value co-creation process, the e-tail managers can leverage the proposed integrated capability to improve e-tailing performance and customer outcomes in the form of business.

Social implications

With rapid advancements in internet-led communication, we are witnessing the dawn of a new era of e-tail innovations around us which is expected to change the way people experience shopping.

Originality/value

This research is an attempt to enrich the level of understanding about online shopping environment in light of relationships among virtual and physical facets of e-tail, i.e., product assortment, order fulfillment, shopping assistance and shopping efficiency. The authors investigate customer-perceived product assortment performance in e-tailing and its significances on shopping outcomes.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2019

Mukaram Ali Khan, Syed Sohaib Zubair and Maria Malik

The purpose of this paper is to examine e-service quality (E-SQ) of online shopping in Pakistan using “E-S-QUAL scale.” Moreover, in this study, the relationship of E-SQ with…

3814

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine e-service quality (E-SQ) of online shopping in Pakistan using “E-S-QUAL scale.” Moreover, in this study, the relationship of E-SQ with e-customer satisfaction (E-CS) and e-customer loyalty (E-CL) has been studied.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a quantitative research methodology, data were collected from 298 respondents using convenience sampling and survey research design was followed. In order to develop the model and test the hypotheses, structure equation modeling (SEM) was done through AMOS.

Findings

Findings indicate that all of the first latent constructs are significant where E-CS and E-CL (dependent variables) are influenced by E-SQ (independent variable). Using SEM, statistically fit structural model was developed on the basis of confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis shows that there is a strong positive relation between E-SQ and E-CS and E-SQ and E-CL.

Practical implications

Asian markets have been identified as the fastest growing e-commerce markets in present era. Similarly, retail sector in Pakistan is booming, at the same time an exponential increase is being observed in the number of internet users and online shopping. It is important for marketers and retailers to explore new horizons and enter the age of e-commerce for expansion of their businesses.

Originality/value

The increasingly wide use of the internet is influencing everything around the globe and these emerging e-commerce trends have tremendously changed the mode of shopping from brick and mortars to e-stores. The study explores the e-commerce and focuses on E-SQ and its impact on E-CS and E-CL in the context of a developing economy, i.e. Pakistan, uncovering the key dimensions and attributes.

Details

South Asian Journal of Business Studies, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-628X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2017

Amresh Kumar and Bhawna Anjaly

The advent of e-retailing has created multiple options for customers. Hence, most important concern is to identify the experience which entices customers for repurchase from the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The advent of e-retailing has created multiple options for customers. Hence, most important concern is to identify the experience which entices customers for repurchase from the one particular e-retailer. This paper tries to identify the customer experience with reference to activities happening post-purchase. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate online post-purchase customer experience (OPPCE).

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology of this scale development study starts with skimming of relevant literature to identify the knowledge gap and prepare a theoretical background for the study. Then scientific method is applied for scale creation. First, items of the scale been identified through interviews of online shoppers and marketing experts. Then the major dimensions were identified through exploratory factor analysis applied on the data collected from active shoppers, who transacted online in last six months, with the help of a structured questionnaire survey. These data are analyzed through structural equation modeling to validate the scale.

Findings

The study yields that the scale for measuring OPPCE is multi-dimensional. It has six dimensions, i.e. delivery, product-in-hand, return and exchange, customer support, benefits and feel-good factors. The proper focus on the items of these dimensions can help e-retailers improve customer experience and increase repeat purchase.

Originality/value

Post-purchase activities have a significant impact on customer and their repeat purchase intensions. But it has not received its due attention particularly in the online context. Hence, this paper fills this knowledge gap and gives e-retailers a tool to enhance their customers’ experience.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 45 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Ian Phau

723

Abstract

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2019

Metehan Feridun Sorkun

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of the e-tailers’ product variety decisions on their logistics service quality (LSQ) in B2C e-marketplaces. Furthermore, it…

1047

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of the e-tailers’ product variety decisions on their logistics service quality (LSQ) in B2C e-marketplaces. Furthermore, it investigates the mediation of transaction intensity and the moderation of the perceived technical quality in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from one of Turkey’s biggest e-marketplace firms, N11.com. Consumer evaluations and the e-tailers’ product offers were used to operationalize research variables. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

Product variety increases the sales of e-tailers but negatively affects their LSQ. This negative effect does not stem from the operational complexity resulting from increased sales; on the contrary, transaction intensity actually suppresses the negative effect of product variety on LSQ. This study additionally reveals that the perceived technical quality weakens the negative impact of product variety on LSQ.

Originality/value

The intense competition in e-marketplaces makes LSQ a key competitive factor, highlighting the importance of revealing its determinants. Although the negative effect of product variety on operational performance has been revealed in manufacturing and physical retailing environments, it has been under-investigated in online retailing. Drawing on a knowledge-based view, this study reveals how product variety decreases LSQ in the online context despite its unique features (i.e. temporal and spatial separation). Moreover, by demonstrating that the delivered product’s instrumental performance affects the perceived LSQ, it reveals that technical quality and functional quality are not disjoint components in online purchases.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 49 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

1 – 10 of 176