Electronic logistics service quality (e-LSQ): Its impact on the customer's purchase satisfaction and retention

Shashank Rao, Thomas J. Goldsby, Stanley E. Griffis, Deepak Iyengar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

136 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Internet retailing industry continues to grow rapidly. Several Internet retailers are, however, struggling to retain customers due to the high level of competition among incumbents. We propose that customer satisfaction with the order fulfillment process is an important determinant of overall customer satisfaction with the retailer, as well as with the extent of customer retention enjoyed by the retailer. This paper offers a new concept for electronic logistics service quality and investigates the relationship between the quality of online fulfillment and the ensuing retention of customers, using archival data on 260 online retailers. The structural equation model results indicate that satisfaction with the physical distribution quality and cost are positively related with customer's purchase satisfaction and customer retention. Additionally, the results indicate that while purchase satisfaction is a strong indicator of customer retention, underlying drivers of purchase satisfaction do not have nearly the same impact on customer retention directly as they have on purchase satisfaction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-179
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Business Logistics
Volume32
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2011

Keywords

  • Customer retention
  • E-commerce
  • Online retailing
  • Order fulfillment
  • Secondary data

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