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The purpose of this paper is to compare perceptions of retail logistics service quality among Romanian and Tunisian customers, and determine which dimensions of logistics service quality have the greatest influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Data were collected using self‐administered questionnaires from two convenience samples of hypermarket customers (100 in Romania and 100 in Tunisia). Logistics service quality was measured using two dimensions: the relational LSQ (The perception of Carrefour employees' assurance, responsiveness and caring) and the operational LSQ (Carrefour reliability). Data were analyzed by using confirmatory factor analysis, ANOVA and linear regression.

Respondents in both countries reported high levels of perceived logistics service quality in Carrefour. However, Romanians reported higher perceived logistics service quality than Tunisians for both dimensions. In the Tunisian sample, relational LSQ was the most important predictor of satisfaction, and the most important predictor of loyalty was the operational LSQ; in the Romanian sample, relational LSQ was the most important predictor of both satisfaction and loyalty.

Romanian Carrefour managers should focus on the customers' relationships with the staff in logistics service by implementing appropriate customer‐oriented training programs. Tunisian Carrefour managers should focus on the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

Despite the large number of studies on individual countries, no study compares logistics service quality among different countries. The present study compares perceptions of logistics service quality between consumers in two countries – Romania and Tunisia – that have different economic and cultural environments. This study shows that logistics service quality is an essential factor in satisfying and retaining retail customers in the retail sector.

Logistics service quality and customer loyalty have recently become the topic of discussion in both developing and under-developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to understand the logistics service quality factors contributing to customer loyalty in a developing country context.

Data were collected from 250 respondents who were direct or indirect clients of logistics firms, through online questionnaire distribution. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling was used to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The findings of this research revealed that operational logistics service quality (OLSQ) and relational logistics service quality have a significant impact on customer loyalty. Moreover, for enhancing customer loyalty, relationship quality is the key factor.

Research reveals that even in a developing country like Pakistan, it is important for carriers to establish high-level relational and OLSQ to satisfy shipper. It will correspondingly add worth to the discussion in the literature and it shall also provide the basis for future research studies.

The novelty of this paper is logistics service quality and its effect on customer loyalty from the perspective of a developing country, specifically due to geographical importance in the context of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

This study aims to identify service quality dimensions for logistics service providers (LSPs) and to examine their relationships with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Service quality dimensions are identified from vast literature review. Customers who take services from LSPs were surveyed to collect data on basis of developed survey instrument. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is applied to test the proposed research hypotheses.

The study shows that all the five service quality constructs, i.e. “Operational Quality”, “Resource Quality”, “Information Quality”, “Personnel Contact Quality” and “Customization and Innovation Quality” have direct relationship with customer satisfaction. They also have indirect relationship with customer loyalty, implying the full mediation of customer satisfaction.

The results of the study suggest that the logistics service quality (LSQ) can be measured multi-dimensionally. It provides clear implications to LSPs for improvement of service quality. The present research work is expected to be useful for both, logistics service providers and the customer organizations, which take services from LSPs. LSPs can develop strategies to improve their service quality on basis of findings from this study.

The present research will help in extending the existing literature on service quality in context to LSPs.

This study aims to reveal how omni-channel capability leads to customer satisfaction by examining the mediating roles of flexibility and operational logistics service quality (LSQ).

Consumers who had previously shopped from any particular retailer's both online and physical stores were surveyed to collect data on research constructs. Structural equation modelling and bootstrapping were employed to test research hypotheses.

This study shows the double mediation of flexibility and operational LSQ in the effect of omni-channel capability on customer satisfaction. Despite this indirect effect, omni-channel capability does not directly affect customer satisfaction, implying the full mediations of flexibility and operational LSQ. However, these mediating effects could not be verified for certain types of retailers (e.g. electronic retailers).

By using the theoretical lens of capability–service quality–performance triad (C-SQ-P), this study shows how omni-channel capability and flexibility affect customer satisfaction through operational LSQ. Hence, an original finding is that developing omni-channel capability may not be sufficient for customer satisfaction and that it may need to be supported by flexibility and operational LSQ. It additionally reveals that the mediations of flexibility and operational LSQ hinge on the type of retailing industry examined. Thus, this study draws on the necessity of investigating the contingent roles of flexibility and operational LSQ in omni-channel retailing for customer satisfaction.

This paper introduces the term “omni-channel capability” and tests its validity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of logistics service quality (LSQ) on omni-channel capability.

An online survey was used to evaluate the new concept of “omni-channel capability” and LSQ from the consumer’s perception. A two split sample technique was used to validate omni-channel capability and test the impact of LSQ on it through structural equation modeling. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to introduce, test and validate omni-channel capability, and test the study’s hypotheses. Consumers who had previously shopped from both the online and physical stores of a particular retailer completed a self-administered survey.

The findings supported the use of the term “omni-channel capability,” which has three elements: channel consistency, cross-channel and social media. The results also revealed the positive impact of operational LSQ on omni-channel capability.

Taking consumer perceptions as a reference point, this study reveals major issues that retailers should focus on while pursuing an omni-channel strategy. The findings also highlight the need for retailers to ensure operational LSQ to implement an omni-channel management strategy.

To improve on the limited theoretical understanding and empirical grounding of omni-channel management, this study described the three elements of omni-channel capability. The impact of operational LSQ on omni-channel capability gives empirical support for the theorized hierarchy of dynamic capabilities (zero- and first-order capabilities).

High-quality cold-chain logistics are key to effectively managing the quality of temperature-sensitive foods. Hence, this study investigates the service quality of such logistics, using a real-life case of temperature-sensitive milk delivery.

This study focuses on developing business analytics for quality control in cold-chain perishable-food logistics, grounded in normal accident theory and stakeholder theory, and tests them using real-world data.

The empirical business-analytics results indicate that cargo locations, logistics status and delivery times are the essential factors that influence the quality of temperature-sensitive milk.

This study confirms that a combination of normal accident theory and stakeholder theory can be usefully applied to the development of strategies for managing perishable-food logistics. As such, its proposed business analytics provide a fresh foundation for research on logistics quality management.

The balance between efficiency and service quality in a logistics system should be assessed carefully, and logistics companies should collaborate with their stakeholders and can help to mitigate potential cold-chain risks.

This pioneering analytical study explores the essential quality issues that confront cold chains and demonstrates how to extract vital insights from temperature-sensitive food logistics monitoring data. As such, it represents a noteworthy contribution to the field of logistics quality management.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This research paper aims to examine two hybrid models of logistics service quality (LSQ) and its influence on satisfaction, loyalty and future purchase intention in a business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce context. This study extends the literature for LSQ by incorporating the second-order assurance quality construct, which comprises personnel contact quality, order discrepancy handling and order returns, into one of the hybrid models.

A survey-based approach is used to collect data. Participant responses to questions concerning multiple LSQ dimensions and behavioral perceptions from their most recent online shopping experience are measured using structural equation modeling.

Findings highlight the importance of including a second-order construct assurance quality as a more explanatory model. Results illustrate that online ordering procedures and assurance quality impact customer satisfaction more than other prominent LSQ dimensions. Furthermore, the findings revealed a customer loyalty is a partial mediator between customer satisfaction and future purchase intention. This underscores the significance of improved logistics services as a competitive edge for e-commerce retailers.

Implications are limited to the e-commerce B2C domain.

The findings of this study underscore critical LSQ dimensions that garner greater satisfaction and retention in the online shopping experience. The results indicate that the effective and efficient handling of the initial order and any order problem significantly influences customer satisfaction and reaps the long-term benefits of customer retention.

The authors present and empirically test a hybrid model of LSQ in a B2C e-commerce domain that captures many of the important elements of the customer experience as espoused in the literature.

This study explores the factors that characterize the logistics service quality (LSQ) of cross-border e-commerce and identifies the different relationships between these factors with respect to customer satisfaction.

The study applied a two-stage mixed-methods design. The first stage (Stage 1) was a qualitative study of 3,000 reviews from the Amazon China e-commerce platform. The second stage (Stage 2) included a quantitative study that analyzed survey data from 590 Chinese cross-border e-commerce customers using the Kano model.

Stage 1 involved developing a conceptual framework for the LSQ of cross-border e-commerce, including six dimensions: timeliness, safety, reliability, economy, personnel contact quality and information quality. In Stage 2, the study found that only reliability and personnel contact quality indicators are linearly related to customer satisfaction. Timeliness and the safety of packaging greatly contribute to customer satisfaction, but do not cause dissatisfaction when unfulfilled. Economics and information quality indicators, and the safety of goods, are basic requirements that tend to provoke customer dissatisfaction when unmet, but do not increase customer satisfaction when they are met.

This study is one of the first to construct a conceptual model of LSQ that applies to cross-border e-commerce and to identify the instrumental nature of various LSQ attributes and their impact on improved customer satisfaction.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.