IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i24p16437-d997480.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Last-Mile Delivery Methods in E-Commerce: Does Perceived Sustainability Matter for Consumer Acceptance and Usage?

Author

Listed:
  • Patrick Klein

    (Department of Business Administration, in particular Retail Management, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany)

  • Bastian Popp

    (Department of Business Administration, in particular Retail Management, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany)

Abstract

Sustainability has gained significant importance in e-commerce, as it impacts both consumer behavior and company success. This paper contributes to the literature on sustainability in e-commerce by studying the perceived sustainability of three common last-mile delivery methods (home delivery, parcel lockers, and click and collect) and other drivers of consumers’ acceptance of each delivery method (perceived costs, convenience). Based on a review of the relevant literature, a conceptual model integrating key determinants of consumers’ attitudes to delivery methods and their intention to use them is derived and tested using a sample of 536 German online buyers. The results demonstrate that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness increase the acceptance of the delivery methods, whereas perceived costs constrain it. The findings reveal significant influences of perceived sustainability on the acceptance of the delivery methods, which vary between its three components (environmental, economic, and social) and regarding the delivery method. Retailers and collaborating parcel delivery services are advised to continue making last-mile delivery methods more convenient. However, they are also advised to implement standards in terms of environmental and social sustainability and inform customers about their efforts regarding sustainable last-mile delivery to build a competitive advantage in omni-channel retailing.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick Klein & Bastian Popp, 2022. "Last-Mile Delivery Methods in E-Commerce: Does Perceived Sustainability Matter for Consumer Acceptance and Usage?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-27, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:24:p:16437-:d:997480
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16437/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16437/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xin Qi & Huaming Yu & Angelika Ploeger, 2020. "Exploring Influential Factors Including COVID-19 on Green Food Purchase Intentions and the Intention–Behaviour Gap: A Qualitative Study among Consumers in a Chinese Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Magdalena Rzemieniak & Monika Wawer, 2021. "Employer Branding in the Context of the Company’s Sustainable Development Strategy from the Perspective of Gender Diversity of Generation Z," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    3. Masukujjaman, Mohammad & Alam, Syed Shah & Siwar, Chamhuri & Halim, Sharina Abdul, 2021. "Purchase intention of renewable energy technology in rural areas in Bangladesh: Empirical evidence," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 639-651.
    4. Teresa Berglund & Niklas Gericke & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Daniel Olsson & Tzu-Chau Chang, 2020. "A cross-cultural comparative study of sustainability consciousness between students in Taiwan and Sweden," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 6287-6313, October.
    5. John Olsson & Daniel Hellström & Henrik Pålsson, 2019. "Framework of Last Mile Logistics Research: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Nuray Cakirli Akyüz & Ludwig Theuvsen, 2020. "The Impact of Behavioral Drivers on Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Case of Organic Farming in Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Sanghoon Lee & Eunil Park & Sang Jib Kwon & Angel P. Del Pobil, 2015. "Antecedents of Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile Telecommunication Services: Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility and Technology Acceptance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-15, August.
    8. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Friederike Paetz, 2021. "Recommendations for Sustainable Brand Personalities: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, April.
    10. Somi Yu & Jieun Lee, 2019. "The Effects of Consumers’ Perceived Values on Intention to Purchase Upcycled Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Mitxel Cotarelo & Teresa Fayos & Haydeé Calderón & Alejandro Mollá, 2021. "Omni-Channel Intensity and Shopping Value as Key Drivers of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, May.
    12. Sungchul Choi & Alex Ng, 2011. "Environmental and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability and Price Effects on Consumer Responses," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 269-282, December.
    13. Ching-Wei Ho & Yu-Bing Wang & Neil Y. Yen, 2015. "Does Environmental Sustainability Play a Role in the Adoption of Smart Card Technology at Universities in Taiwan: An Integration of TAM and TRA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-16, August.
    14. Li Hua & Shanyong Wang, 2019. "Antecedents of Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Energy-Efficient Appliances: An Empirical Study Based on the Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    15. Jacky Chin & Shu-Chiang Lin, 2016. "A Behavioral Model of Managerial Perspectives Regarding Technology Acceptance in Building Energy Management Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-13, July.
    16. Cintia Machado de Oliveira & Renata Albergaria De Mello Bandeira & George Vasconcelos Goes & Daniel Neves Schmitz Gonçalves & Márcio De Almeida D’Agosto, 2017. "Sustainable Vehicles-Based Alternatives in Last Mile Distribution of Urban Freight Transport: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, July.
    17. Charlie Chen & Steve Leon & Peter Ractham, 2022. "Will customers adopt last-mile drone delivery services? An analysis of drone delivery in the emerging market economy," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2074340-207, December.
    18. Paulo Rita & Ricardo F. Ramos, 2022. "Global Research Trends in Consumer Behavior and Sustainability in E-Commerce: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Knowledge Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, August.
    19. Dirsehan, Taşkın & Can, Ceren, 2020. "Examination of trust and sustainability concerns in autonomous vehicle adoption," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Devari, Aashwinikumar & Nikolaev, Alexander G. & He, Qing, 2017. "Crowdsourcing the last mile delivery of online orders by exploiting the social networks of retail store customers," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 105-122.
    21. Eunsuk Sung & Hongbum Kim & Daeho Lee, 2018. "Why Do People Consume and Provide Sharing Economy Accommodation?—A Sustainability Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    22. Idrees Waris & Rashid Ali & Anand Nayyar & Mohammed Baz & Ran Liu & Irfan Hameed, 2022. "An Empirical Evaluation of Customers’ Adoption of Drone Food Delivery Services: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.
    23. Yael Deutsch & Boaz Golany, 2018. "A parcel locker network as a solution to the logistics last mile problem," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 251-261, January.
    24. Kieran Mathieson, 1991. "Predicting User Intentions: Comparing the Technology Acceptance Model with the Theory of Planned Behavior," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 2(3), pages 173-191, September.
    25. Eunil Park & Jooyoung Lim & Yongwoo Cho, 2018. "Understanding the Emergence and Social Acceptance of Electric Vehicles as Next-Generation Models for the Automobile Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, March.
    26. Abhi Bhattacharya & Valerie Good & Hanieh Sardashti & John Peloza, 2021. "Beyond Warm Glow: The Risk-Mitigating Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 317-336, June.
    27. Yu Wang & Shanyong Wang & Jing Wang & Jiuchang Wei & Chenglin Wang, 2020. "An empirical study of consumers’ intention to use ride-sharing services: using an extended technology acceptance model," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 397-415, February.
    28. Seung Yoon Ko & Sung Won Cho & Chulung Lee, 2018. "Pricing and Collaboration in Last Mile Delivery Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    29. Xiaohong Jiang & Huiying Wang & Xiucheng Guo & Xiaolin Gong, 2019. "Using the FAHP, ISM, and MICMAC Approaches to Study the Sustainability Influencing Factors of the Last Mile Delivery of Rural E-Commerce Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-18, July.
    30. Magali Jara & Dany Vyt & Olivier Mevel & Thierry Morvan & Nélida Morvan, 2018. "Measuring customers benefits of click and collect," Post-Print halshs-01806403, HAL.
    31. Sören Lauenstein & Christoph Schank, 2022. "Design of a Sustainable Last Mile in Urban Logistics—A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, May.
    32. Martin Savelsbergh & Tom Van Woensel, 2016. "50th Anniversary Invited Article—City Logistics: Challenges and Opportunities," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(2), pages 579-590, May.
    33. Luigi Ranieri & Salvatore Digiesi & Bartolomeo Silvestri & Michele Roccotelli, 2018. "A Review of Last Mile Logistics Innovations in an Externalities Cost Reduction Vision," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    34. Alejandro Alvarado-Herrera & Enrique Bigne & Joaquín Aldas-Manzano & Rafael Curras-Perez, 2017. "A Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Following the Sustainable Development Paradigm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 243-262, January.
    35. Ritsuko Ozaki, 2011. "Adopting sustainable innovation: what makes consumers sign up to green electricity?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, January.
    36. Ruey-Chyn Tsaur & Yi-Hsuan Lin, 2018. "Exploring the Consumer Attitude of Building-Attached Photovoltaic Equipment Using Revised Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    37. Techane Bosona, 2020. "Urban Freight Last Mile Logistics—Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Sustainability: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    38. Sudarsan Jayasingh & T. Girija & Sivakumar Arunkumar, 2021. "Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Intention towards Electric Two-Wheelers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    39. Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Chin-Hsun (Ken) Tsai & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Wan Qing Lv, 2019. "U.S. Sustainable Food Market Generation Z Consumer Segments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    40. Ali Edrisi & Houmaan Ganjipour, 2022. "Factors affecting intention and attitude toward sidewalk autonomous delivery robots among online shoppers," Transportation Planning and Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(7), pages 588-609, October.
    41. Xu, Xun & Munson, Charles L. & Zeng, Shuo, 2017. "The impact of e-service offerings on the demand of online customers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 231-244.
    42. Frauke Sander & Ulrich Föhl & Nadine Walter & Vera Demmer, 2021. "Green or social? An analysis of environmental and social sustainability advertising and its impact on brand personality, credibility and attitude," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(4), pages 429-445, July.
    43. repec:ucp:bkecon:9780226316529 is not listed on IDEAS
    44. Vyt, Dany & Jara, Magali & Mevel, Olivier & Morvan, Thierry & Morvan, Nélida, 2022. "The impact of convenience in a click and collect retail setting: A consumer-based approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    45. Piergiorgio Degli Esposti & Ariela Mortara & Geraldina Roberti, 2021. "Sharing and Sustainable Consumption in the Era of COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.
    46. Luigi Leclercq-Machado & Aldo Alvarez-Risco & Romina Gómez-Prado & Berdy Briggitte Cuya-Velásquez & Sharon Esquerre-Botton & Flavio Morales-Ríos & Camila Almanza-Cruz & Sarahit Castillo-Benancio & Mar, 2022. "Sustainable Fashion and Consumption Patterns in Peru: An Environmental-Attitude-Intention-Behavior Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-18, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guarino Neto, Luigi & Geraldo Vidal Vieira, José, 2023. "An investigation of consumer intention to use pick-up point services for last-mile distribution in a developing country," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Yu, Vincent F. & Aloina, Grace & Eccarius, Timo, 2023. "Adoption intentions of home-refill delivery service for fast-moving consumer goods," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John Olsson & Daniel Hellström & Henrik Pålsson, 2019. "Framework of Last Mile Logistics Research: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-25, December.
    2. Sergio Maria Patella & Gianluca Grazieschi & Valerio Gatta & Edoardo Marcucci & Stefano Carrese, 2020. "The Adoption of Green Vehicles in Last Mile Logistics: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-29, December.
    3. Gleb V. Savin, 2021. "The smart city transport and logistics system: Theory, methodology and practice," Upravlenets, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 12(6), pages 67-86, October.
    4. Łukasz Sułkowski & Katarzyna Kolasińska-Morawska & Marta Brzozowska & Paweł Morawski & Tomasz Schroeder, 2022. "Last Mile Logistics Innovations in the Courier-Express-Parcel Sector Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-25, July.
    5. Mohamed Amr Sultan & Tomaž Kramberger & Mahmoud Barakat & Ahmed Hussein Ali, 2023. "Barriers to Applying Last-Mile Logistics in the Egyptian Market: An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-25, August.
    6. Csilla Bartucz & László Buics & Edit Süle, 2023. "Lack of Collaboration on the CEP Market and the Underlying Reasons—A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, June.
    7. Nils Boysen & Stefan Fedtke & Stefan Schwerdfeger, 2021. "Last-mile delivery concepts: a survey from an operational research perspective," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 43(1), pages 1-58, March.
    8. Marta Viu-Roig & Eduard J. Alvarez-Palau, 2020. "The Impact of E-Commerce-Related Last-Mile Logistics on Cities: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Mustafa Ozkan & Kemal Cek & Serife Z. Eyupoglu, 2022. "Sustainable Development and Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in North Cyprus: The Mediating Effect of Customer Identification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, April.
    10. Magdalena Mucowska, 2021. "Trends of Environmentally Sustainable Solutions of Urban Last-Mile Deliveries on the E-Commerce Market—A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-26, May.
    11. Kalina Grzesiuk & Dorota Jegorow & Monika Wawer & Anna Głowacz, 2023. "Energy-Efficient City Transportation Solutions in the Context of Energy-Conserving and Mobility Behaviours of Generation Z," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-28, August.
    12. Vyt, Dany & Jara, Magali & Mevel, Olivier & Morvan, Thierry & Morvan, Nélida, 2022. "The impact of convenience in a click and collect retail setting: A consumer-based approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    13. Dany Vyt & Magali Jara & Olivier Mevel & Thierry Morvan & Nélida Morvan, 2022. "The impact of convenience in a click and collect retail setting: A consumer-based approach," Post-Print halshs-03624658, HAL.
    14. Kexin Bi & Mengke Yang & Latif Zahid & Xiaoguang Zhou, 2020. "A New Solution for City Distribution to Achieve Environmental Benefits within the Trend of Green Logistics: A Case Study in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-25, October.
    15. Asma Troudi & Sid-Ali Addouche & Sofiene Dellagi & Abderrahman El Mhamedi, 2018. "Sizing of the Drone Delivery Fleet Considering Energy Autonomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    16. Fernanda Alves de Araújo & João Gilberto Mendes dos Reis & Marcia Terra da Silva & Emel Aktas, 2022. "A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Model to Evaluate Logistics Service Expectations and Delivery Methods in Last-Mile Delivery in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    17. Vasco Silva & António Amaral & Tânia Fontes, 2023. "Sustainable Urban Last-Mile Logistics: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-27, January.
    18. Wang, Haibo & Alidaee, Bahram, 2023. "White-glove service delivery: A quantitative analysis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    19. Leonardo N. Rosenberg & Noemie Balouka & Yale T. Herer & Eglantina Dani & Paco Gasparin & Kerstin Dobers & David Rüdiger & Pete Pättiniemi & Peter Portheine & Sonja van Uden, 2021. "Introducing the Shared Micro-Depot Network for Last-Mile Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    20. Louis Faugère & Chelsea White & Benoit Montreuil, 2020. "Mobile Access Hub Deployment for Urban Parcel Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:24:p:16437-:d:997480. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.