IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v81y2024ics0969698924002364.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the crucial role of logistics service quality in customer satisfaction for fresh e-commerce: A mutually validating method based on SERVQUAL and service encounter theory

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Qiang
  • Wang, Zhong-Sen
  • Feng, Kun
  • Tang, Qiu-Yu

Abstract

The incessant advancement of e-commerce has brought promising opportunities for vending fresh commodities and stimulated the ongoing growth in the demand for fresh products. Logistics services serve as a vital link between fresh e-commerce and customers, playing a pivotal role in enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering the sustainable growth of businesses. Therefore, this study endeavors to investigate the correlation between logistics service quality and customer satisfaction within the context of fresh e-commerce, while also identifying the pivotal factors that impact logistics service quality. Initially, a novel logistics service quality measurement scale is developed based on the SERVQUAL model. Then, the study formulates the first hypothesis testing model using customer expectations and perceived value as mediating variables. Subsequently, incorporating the service encounter theory, the constructed logistics service quality measurement factors are re-clustered to establish distinct encounter dimensions and to formulate the second hypothesis testing model, which includes mediating variables of customer emotions and perceived value. Finally, empirical data are gathered and subjected to regression analysis and structural equation modeling to mutually validate both models employing identical input indicators. Results suggest that logistics service quality significantly impacts customer satisfaction across the delineated factors within the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model, alongside the four aspects of service encounters. Moreover, in the fresh e-commerce sector, customer perceived value, service expectations, and customer emotions play crucial mediating roles between logistics service quality and customer satisfaction. These findings hold practical implications for fresh e-commerce businesses aiming to enhance the service quality of logistics operations and achieve sustainable development in a customer-centric market context.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Qiang & Wang, Zhong-Sen & Feng, Kun & Tang, Qiu-Yu, 2024. "Investigating the crucial role of logistics service quality in customer satisfaction for fresh e-commerce: A mutually validating method based on SERVQUAL and service encounter theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:81:y:2024:i:c:s0969698924002364
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103940
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698924002364
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103940?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Chien-Ming & Chuang, Howard Hao-Chun, 2023. "Time to shift the shift: Performance effects of within-day cumulative service encounters in retail stores," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Fujii, Makoto, 2024. "Do sales control systems affect service–sales ambidexterity and salesperson performance? A job demands–resources perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Liu, Chao & Lv, Jingyu & Hou, Ping & Lu, Danrong, 2023. "Disclosing products’ freshness level as a non-contractible quality: Optimal logistics service contracts in the fresh products supply chain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 307(3), pages 1085-1102.
    4. Asante, Daniel & Tang, Chunyong & Kwamega, Michael & Asante, Eric Adom, 2022. "In pursuit of service encounter quality: Will service-oriented high-performance work systems benefit high-contact service industries?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Chen, Xin & Guo, Shuojia & Xiong, Jie & Ye, Zhuxin, 2023. "Customer engagement, dependence and loyalty: An empirical study of Chinese customers in multitouch service encounters," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Bolton, Ruth N. & Gustafsson, Anders & Tarasi, Crina O. & Witell, Lars, 2022. "Managing a Global Retail Brand in Different Markets: Meta-Analyses of Customer Responses to Service Encounters," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 294-314.
    7. Wong, IpKin Anthony & Dioko, Leonardo (Don) A.N., 2013. "Understanding the mediated moderating role of customer expectations in the customer satisfaction model: The case of casinos," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 188-199.
    8. Xu, Yuqiu & Wang, Jia & Cao, Kaiying, 2023. "Logistics mode strategy of firms selling fresh products on e-commerce platforms with private brand introduction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Wasaya, Allah & Prentice, Catherine & Hsiao, Aaron, 2024. "Shaping destination marketing with norms and personality," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. Wang, Tien & Duong, Trong Danh & Chen, Charlie C., 2016. "Intention to disclose personal information via mobile applications: A privacy calculus perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 531-542.
    11. Murali, S. & Pugazhendhi, S. & Muralidharan, C., 2016. "Modelling and Investigating the relationship of after sales service quality with customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty – A case study of home appliances business," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 67-83.
    12. Vieira, Valter Afonso, 2013. "Stimuli–organism-response framework: A meta-analytic review in the store environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1420-1426.
    13. Jain, Nikunj Kumar & Gajjar, Hasmukh & Shah, Bhavin J., 2021. "Electronic logistics service quality and repurchase intention in e-tailing: Catalytic role of shopping satisfaction, payment options, gender and returning experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    14. Gomez-Herrera, Estrella & Martens, Bertin & Turlea, Geomina, 2014. "The drivers and impediments for cross-border e-commerce in the EU," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 83-96.
    15. Teck H. Ho & Yu-Sheng Zheng, 2004. "Setting Customer Expectation in Service Delivery: An Integrated Marketing-Operations Perspective," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(4), pages 479-488, April.
    16. Siami, Sahar & Martin, Angela & Gorji, Mohammadbagher & Grimmer, Martin, 2022. "How discretionary behaviors promote customer engagement: the role of psychosocial safety climate and psychological capital," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 379-397, March.
    17. Md. Shahed Mahmud & Mesbah Uddin Talukder & Sk. Mahrufur Rahman, 2021. "Does ‘Fear of COVID-19’ trigger future career anxiety? An empirical investigation considering depression from COVID-19 as a mediator," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(1), pages 35-45, February.
    18. Tsai, Pei-Hsuan & Tang, Jia-Wei, 2023. "Consumers' switching intention towards E-commerce platforms’ store-to-store pickup services: The application of the extended PPM model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    19. Saura, Jose Ramon & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo, 2023. "Exploring the boundaries of open innovation: Evidence from social media mining," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Errajaa, Karim & Hombourger-Barès, Sabrina & Audrain-Pontevia, Anne-Françoise, 2022. "Effects of the in-store crowd and employee perceptions on intentions to revisit and word-of-mouth via transactional satisfaction: A SOR approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    21. Shokouhyar, Sajjad & Shokoohyar, Sina & Safari, Sepehr, 2020. "Research on the influence of after-sales service quality factors on customer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    22. Liu, Matthew Tingchi & Wong, IpKin Anthony & Tseng, Ting-Hsiang & Chang, Angela Wen-Yu & Phau, Ian, 2017. "Applying consumer-based brand equity in luxury hotel branding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 192-202.
    23. Tang, Yuk Ming & Chau, Ka Yin & Xu, Duo & Liu, Xiaoyun, 2021. "Consumer perceptions to support IoT based smart parcel locker logistics in China," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    24. El-Adly, Mohammed Ismail, 2019. "Modelling the relationship between hotel perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 322-332.
    25. Rita Pina & Álvaro Dias, 2021. "The influence of brand experiences on consumer-based brand equity," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(2), pages 99-115, March.
    26. Javed, Muhammad Kashif & Wu, Min, 2020. "Effects of online retailer after delivery services on repurchase intention: An empirical analysis of customers’ past experience and future confidence with the retailer," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    27. Agatz, Niels A.H. & Fleischmann, Moritz & van Nunen, Jo A.E.E., 2008. "E-fulfillment and multi-channel distribution - A review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 187(2), pages 339-356, June.
    28. Saurabh Pratap & Sunil Kumar Jauhar & Yash Daultani & Sanjoy Kumar Paul, 2023. "Benchmarking sustainable E‐commerce enterprises based on evolving customer expectations amidst COVID‐19 pandemic," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 736-752, January.
    29. Do, Quynh Huong & Kim, Thai Young & Wang, Xueqin, 2023. "Effects of logistics service quality and price fairness on customer repurchase intention: The moderating role of cross-border e-commerce experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    30. Robinson, Stacey & Orsingher, Chiara & Alkire, Linda & De Keyser, Arne & Giebelhausen, Michael & Papamichail, K. Nadia & Shams, Poja & Temerak, Mohamed Sobhy, 2020. "Frontline encounters of the AI kind: An evolved service encounter framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 366-376.
    31. Uzir, Md. Uzir Hossain & Al Halbusi, Hussam & Thurasamy, Ramayah & Thiam Hock, Rodney Lim & Aljaberi, Musheer A. & Hasan, Najmul & Hamid, Mahmud, 2021. "The effects of service quality, perceived value and trust in home delivery service personnel on customer satisfaction: Evidence from a developing country," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    32. Kim, Junic, 2021. "Platform quality factors influencing content providers’ loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    33. Manthiou, Aikaterini & Hickman, Ellie & Klaus, Phil, 2020. "Beyond good and bad: Challenging the suggested role of emotions in customer experience (CX) research," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    34. Singh, Balgopal, 2021. "Predicting airline passengers’ loyalty using artificial neural network theory," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    35. Palese, B. & Usai, A., 2018. "The relative importance of service quality dimensions in E-commerce experiences," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 132-140.
    36. Nisar, Tahir M. & Prabhakar, Guru, 2017. "What factors determine e-satisfaction and consumer spending in e-commerce retailing?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 135-144.
    37. Kopelman, Shirli & Rosette, Ashleigh Shelby & Thompson, Leigh, 2006. "The three faces of Eve: Strategic displays of positive, negative, and neutral emotions in negotiations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 81-101, January.
    38. Westbrook, Robert A & Oliver, Richard L, 1991. "The Dimensionality of Consumption Emotion Patterns and Consumer Satisfaction," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 18(1), pages 84-91, June.
    39. Bressolles, Grégory & Durrieu, François & Senecal, Sylvain, 2014. "A consumer typology based on e-service quality and e-satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 889-896.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Do, Quynh Huong & Kim, Thai Young & Wang, Xueqin, 2023. "Effects of logistics service quality and price fairness on customer repurchase intention: The moderating role of cross-border e-commerce experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Selim, Hassan & Eid, Riyad & Agag, Gomaa & Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa, 2022. "Cross-national differences in travelers’ continuance of knowledge sharing in online travel communities," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Chen, Xin & Guo, Shuojia & Xiong, Jie & Ye, Zhuxin, 2023. "Customer engagement, dependence and loyalty: An empirical study of Chinese customers in multitouch service encounters," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    4. Haq, Mahin & Moazzam, Muhammad & Khan, Abdul Salam & Ahmed, Waqas, 2023. "The impact of reverse logistics process coordination on third party relationship quality: A moderated mediation model for multichannel retailers in the fashion industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Ren, Gaofei & Chen, Yaoyao & Yang, Maobao, 2024. "Customer perception, integration behavior, and loyalty of internet of things enterprises," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Leilei Jiang & Wenming Sun & Lin Ren, 2024. "Bridging the Gap: Anxiety’s Role in Shaping Consumption Patterns of Chinese University Students in the O2O E-Commerce Landscape," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 13211-13232, September.
    7. Budiarto Tedja & Mochammad Musadieq & Andriani Kusumawati & Edy Yulianto, 2024. "Systematic literature review using PRISMA: exploring the influence of service quality and perceived value on satisfaction and intention to continue relationship," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    8. Al-Adwan, Ahmad Samed & Al-Debei, Mutaz M. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2022. "E-commerce in high uncertainty avoidance cultures: The driving forces of repurchase and word-of-mouth intentions," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Qingren He & Taiwei Shi & Ping Wang, 2022. "Mathematical Modeling of Pricing and Service in the Dual Channel Supply Chain Considering Underservice," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, March.
    10. Xiong, Yanyan & Cui, Xue & Yu, Liuming, 2024. "Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on online consumption share: Evidence from China's mobile payment data," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Liu, Na & Li, Jing, 2024. "The time code of online consumption: Exploring the impact of work hours on online consumption in the retail industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    12. Ata Allah Taleizadeh & Ebrahim Salehi Darabi & Park Thaichon, 2024. "Optimizing online selling through an online-to-offline platform: strategic ramifications for local n stores," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(6), pages 554-574, December.
    13. Uzir, Md Uzir Hossain & Al Halbusi, Hussam & Lim, Rodney & Jerin, Ishraq & Abdul Hamid, Abu Bakar & Ramayah, Thurasamy & Haque, Ahasanul, 2021. "Applied Artificial Intelligence and user satisfaction: Smartwatch usage for healthcare in Bangladesh during COVID-19," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Xie, Chaohong & Chiang, Chung-Yean & Xu, Xianhao & Gong, Yeming, 2023. "The impact of buy-online-and-return-in-store channel integration on online and offline behavioral intentions: The role of offline store," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Nima Pourmohammadreza & Mohammad Reza Akbari Jokar, 2023. "A Novel Two-Phase Approach for Optimization of the Last-Mile Delivery Problem with Service Options," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    16. Zhou, Cheng & Chang, Qian, 2024. "Informational or emotional? Exploring the relative effects of chatbots’ self-recovery strategies on consumer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    17. Jinwu Gao & Zhuolin Cui & Huijie Li & Ruru Jia, 2023. "Optimization and Coordination of the Fresh Agricultural Product Supply Chain Considering the Freshness-Keeping Effort and Information Sharing," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-25, April.
    18. Ayat Zaki Ahmed & Manuel Rodríguez Díaz, 2022. "A Methodology for Machine-Learning Content Analysis to Define the Key Labels in the Titles of Online Customer Reviews with the Rating Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-31, July.
    19. Mashalah, Heider Al & Hassini, Elkafi & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Bhatt (Mishra), Deepa, 2022. "The impact of digital transformation on supply chains through e-commerce: Literature review and a conceptual framework," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    20. Lukasz Skowron & Marcin Gąsior & Monika Sak-Skowron, 2020. "The Impact of a Time Gap on the Process of Building a Sustainable Relationship between Employee and Customer Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-17, 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:eee:joreco:v:81:y:2024:i:c:s0969698924002364. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    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.