Examination of aspects of pro-consumer refund system

PurposePro-consumer refund system (PCRS) should be understood as a process in customer service, within which activities are related to the handling of goods that do not meet customer expectations, both in business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) relations. The research monitored three groups of variables – the importance of shopping decision factors, customer ID characteristics and PCRS characteristics. The authors explore relationships between these three groups of variables, and the authors tried to understand better the role of the PCRS system in customer perception of service quality.Design/methodology/approachAn electronic survey was used to collect data in the planned structure. Research questions were developed into variables, and these were then the basis for creating questionnaires. Data were collected through electronic questionnaires. The sample consisted of 327 respondents from Poland (confidence level = 95%, confidence interval = 5.42).FindingsThe results of the research show that the PCRS is very important and appreciated from the customer's perspective. Most of the respondents are aware of their consumer rights and correctly understand the meaning of the term “pro-consumer refund system”. Respondents require complex service in terms of returns; their satisfaction does not depend on any individual factor. This also means that the return system must be lenient in each aspect.Originality/valueA detailed analysis of aspects of PCRS has not yet been carried out in the literature. Although previous studies have focused, at least in part, on defining the essential attributes of PCRS, in most cases, it was an organization-driven view of this topic. The research examined the interrelationships between aspects of PCRS based on empirical data and offered a new perspective on this evolving concept.

Building the E-Commerce Supply Chain of the Future: What Influences Consumer Acceptance of Alternative Places of Delivery on the Last-Mile

Background: To cope with the expected further growth in e-commerce and to be able to continue delivering at low costs, new concepts for the last-mile are needed. This paper reviews the literature and qualitatively investigates which factors influence the acceptance of four alternative place-of-delivery innovations in a business-to-consumer (B2C) context: (1) parcel lockers, (2) reception boxes, (3) trunk delivery, and (4) home access systems; Methods: The available literature was reviewed. Furthermore, 37 interviews were conducted and analyzed using the deductive category development method. In the following, abductive reasoning can derive detailed research models that may form the basis for future confirmative studies; Results: The research gains more detailed insights into how consumers perceive innovative last-mile place-of-delivery concepts. The study provides a clearer picture of what factors influence the intention to use such alternative services; Conclusions: The results can be used by logistics service providers and e-tailers through targeted communication efforts and lay the groundwork for further confirmatory research.

Investigation to determine elements influencing customer's satisfaction in the B2C electronic retailing marketplaces

PurposeTaking the perfect perspective of customers' satisfaction, this paper aims to investigate the elements affecting customer satisfaction in business-to-consumer (B2C) online retailing stores, which are divided into five non-monetary dimensions: trust, order fulfillment, website construction, excitement and interaction.Design/methodology/approachDue to distinguishing the suitability of the data, the authors used exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Next, the authors utilized confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to check their validity. Then, the authors applied Cronbach's alpha to check the reliability of the elements. After that, the authors combined these five elements with structural equation modeling (SEM) to make a model. The authors also performed Friedman tests to prioritize the elements.FindingsThe results indicate that each element is undeniably significant and has an extraordinary impact on customers' satisfaction evaluation. Therefore, system providers and electronic retailers need to consider them on their websites to achieve marketing goals in the competitive online environments.Originality/valueElectronic commerce has resulted in an essential change in B2C marketing, especially in the electronic retailing industry. Online suppliers need to satisfy their customers to receive competitive advantages and increase their income. The purpose of this study is to research the elements affecting customers' satisfaction in B2C online retailing stores.

Customer reciprocity in greening: the role of service quality

Purpose Firms are increasingly making customers key stakeholders in their greening processes, requiring them to voluntarily use their resources to benefit the firm. In this context, this paper develops a new construct – tangible customer citizenship behaviour (CCB), i.e. voluntary participation of customer in operational processes of the company beyond normal requirements of exchange. This requires more involvement than the already documented intangible CCB. The purpose of the paper is to then explore whether service quality (SQ) (online and offline) influences such voluntary customer reciprocity in greening. Design/methodology/approach This study used a virtual survey among 400 customers of e-commerce firms that have adopted greening practices requiring customer engagement and regressions were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The authors find that both online and offline SQ positively impact intangible CCB but have no impact on customer greening reciprocity (tangible CCB). Additionally, the authors find that offline SQ positively impacts customer greening awareness. However, in spite of the presence of greening awareness and display of intangible CCB, SQ does not have any impact on greening reciprocity. Originality/value This study introduces to literature a more tangible form of voluntary behaviour on the part of the customer, i.e. tangible CCB or reciprocity. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is also one of the first to study the customer as an important stakeholder and participant in a business-to-consumer firm’s operating processes, particularly in greening which has no direct impact on the firm’s core offering. The focus on greening in the Indian context is also novel given the greening costs and requirements and the price competition are very different in emerging market contexts where e-commerce firms are experiencing the maximum growth.

Theoretical Foundations of the First Purchase in Marketing

Consumer decision making as an important process in marketing sphere has been discussed in detail, but so far researchers as a rule have not focused the attention on how the purchase happens for the very first time. The current text is an attempt to develop the foundations and to make a conceptual framework of the first purchase in marketing and to outline its significance for current or future consumption, especially for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Together with a review of the extent to which the first purchase is considered and interpreted in the academic tradition in the field (and in practice), an attempt has been made to outline it as a phenomenon, since it can have significant benefits for better understanding consumer behavior and the further improvement of marketing communications. With this regard, it can be assumed that the first purchase is the initial step of acquiring consumer experience, which determines whether the product will continue to be purchased or not. Of course, all this is largely valid for the b2c (business to consumer) markets, for the products for individual and household consumption, and for the b2b (business to business) ones the particularities may differ significantly and need to be a subject of additional research efforts.

Batch Order and Discrete Order Picking Integrated with Vehicle Routing Decisions

In a business-to-consumer (B2C) context, customers order more frequently and in smaller quantities, resulting in a high number of consignments. Moreover, online shoppers expect a fast and accurate delivery at low cost or even free. To survive in such a market, companies can no longer optimise individual supply chain processes, but need to integrate several activities. In this article, the integrated order picking-vehicle routing problem is analysed in an e-commerce environment. In previous research, a mathematical programming formulation has been formulated in literature but only small-size instances can be solved to optimality. Two picking policies are studied: discrete order picking and batch order picking. The influence of various problem contexts on the value of integration is investigated: a small picking time period, outsourcing to 3PL service providers, and a dynamic environment context.

ANALISIS SISTEM E-COMMERCE PADA PERUSAHAN JUAL-BELI ONLINE LAZADA INDONESIA

Perkembangan internet yang pesat memberi pengaruh yang signifikan dalam berbagai aspek kehidupan, salah satunya dalam dunia bisnis. Penggunaan internet tidak hanya terbatas pada pemanfaatan informasi yang dapat diakses melalui media internet, melainkan juga dapat digunakan sebagai sarana untuk melakukan transaksi perdagangan yang dikenal dengan istilah eletronic commerce atau e-commerce. Kemenkominfo mencatat Indonesia berada di posisi ke-8 pengguna internet terbanyak di dunia. Pada tahun 2014, pengguna internet di Indonesia naik hingga mencapai 82 juta. Angka tersebut membuktikan bahwa Indonesia memiliki pasar yang luas, terlihat dari banyaknya pemain ecommerce yang berasal dari luar negeri. Diantara banyaknya layanan e-commerce yang ada di Indonesia, Salah satu yang populer adalah toko online Lazada. Lazada Indonesia didirikan pada tahun 2012 dan merupakan salah satu cabang dari jaringan retail online Lazada di Asia Tenggara. Lazada Asia Tenggara merupakan cabang anak perusahaan jaringan Rocket Internet, perusahaan asal Jerman. Sebagai pendatang baru di bisnis e-commerce Indonesia,Lazada mampu merebut perhatian sebagian besar masyarakat internet (netizen). erdasarkan situs pemeringkat website Alexa.com, Lazada saat ini menempati urutan ke-11 sebagai situs yang paling sering dikunjungi. Peringkat tersebut menempatkan Lazada di urutan pertama sebagai situs toko online business to consumer (B2C) yang paling sering dikunjungi.

Factors Influencing Online Shoppers to Shop at Marketplace or Website: A Qualitative Approach

The Internet allows people to purchase without visiting an actual store. Many retail businesses use electronic commerce (e-commerce) operations to make it easy to sell goods or services to consumers over the Internet. Research is carried out on the process of e-commerce adoption, in particular on business to consumer (B2C). In addition, the advent of digital information platforms that enable the consumer to consumer (C2C) changes the way service ecosystems generate value for digital transformation and produce value for it. This paper, therefore, explores online shopping aspects and understands the influence on online consumers shopping on the marketplace or website. Qualitative research shows the elements encouraging online buyers to shop on the marketplace or the website by analyzing data obtained through interviews with 15 participants. The findings of this study indicate the main factors influencing online shoppers to shop at marketplace or website are 1) online convenience, 2) affordability, 3) information quality, 4) evaluation for options, 5) promotions, 6) electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), 7) trusted and secure, and 8) value added service. Businesses can take advantage of the results to understand emerging markets deeper. This trend provides business managers with the basis to design consumer attraction approaches and increase the performance of online shopping services. The findings of this study can allow marketers to understand consumers' intents and develop long-term partnerships between businesses and consumers. The potential for internet purchasing, especially in emerging markets, is growing increasingly tempting. This analysis is consistent with online shopping trends.

Validity of choice of court agreements, abusive terms in air carriage contracts, assignments and compensation, is there room for anyone else? (Comments on CJEU Judgment Delayfix, c-519/19)

In Delayfix case, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has interpreted the formal and substantive validity of a “choice of court agreement” included in an air carriage of passenger’s contract. But, for the first time, the CJEU has openly declared the unfair nature of these choice of court agreements, not only for the passengers, but also for third parties assigned by them. In opposition with former case law on the effects of a choice of court agreement for assignees. In carriage of passengers’ contracts, third parties are usually agencies devoted to the defense of air passenger rights and collection of credits who claim for the compensation rights in accordance with the rights conferred by Regulation 261/2004. From the EU Private International Law approach, the preliminary ruling is of interest, being the Brussels I bis regulation the instrument for clarifying whether this choice of court agreement should be deemed as enforceable or not, regarding the requirements of Article 25 Brussels I bis due to these contracts are not considered as consumer contracts. To the analysis of the merits and substantive law, contrarily than under EU Private International law rules these contracts are considered as Business to consumer (B2C) contracts, and Directive 93/13/CEE and other EU Consumer rules must be applied so as to determine the unfair nature of these clauses in these contracts.

Salesperson attributes that influence consumer perceptions of sales interactions

Purpose This paper aims to examine how modern, digital era customers in a business-to-consumer (B2C) setting prioritize salesperson-customer orientation attributes when evaluating their expectations regarding interactions with salespeople, as well as their impact on positive and negative word-of-mouth. In addition, the research further investigates which negative salesperson attributes have an impact on overall customer experience and satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Role theory and expectancy-disconfirmation theory form the theoretical foundation for two mixed-method studies. Study 1 is an exploratory content analysis of online consumer reviews and social media word-of-mouth related to consumer experiences with salespeople. Study 2 is a three-round Delphi study investigating which salesperson orientation attributes are most important to the customer in B2C interactions. Findings The results uncover which salesperson customer orientation attributes are essential for modern consumers and how they differ as a function of context (retail, direct-selling and follow-up) and how they contribute to the generation of digital word-of-mouth. Originality/value This paper expands B2C sales interaction literature by exploring the need for differing sales attributes based on the differential function of the shopping environment.