Unhiding Nexus Between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Complaints, and Loyalty in Online Shopping Environment in Pakistan

Abstract

Due to the recent development in online shopping, the e-commerce business has experienced significant growth. However, in developing nations such as Pakistan, the concept of e-commerce is yet in its early stages, and there are several roadblocks to users using this platform. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the nexus between service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction (CS), customer complaints, and loyalty in the online shopping environment by integrating the SQ model with the American Customer Service Index (ACSI) model. A conceptual framework was created and evaluated using data obtained through a structured questionnaire (n = 296) from e-commerce users. In Smart-PLS v3, the author used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the study hypotheses. As per the study findings, reliability, responsiveness, trust, WD, and personalization are significant determinants of SQ. Meanwhile, in an e-commerce context, SQ is positively associated with CS, which leads to a reduction in customer complaints and an increase in customer loyalty. The results provide a birds-eye view to the managers to direct their spending scientifically to the variables that have the most significant influence on SQ and CS. It will assist current and prospective e-commerce retailers in gaining a thorough grasp of CS, complaints, and loyalty in their industry. Furthermore, the theoretical and practical contributions were discussed in this study.

Expectation and Complaint: Online Consumer Complaint Behavior in COVID-19 Isolation

“…For example, by investigating online shoppers in developing nations, Wattoo et al found that service quality is positively associated with customer satisfaction, which leads to a reduction in customer complaints in an e-commerce context. 20 Depending on the results of in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey, Ravichandran and Deng found that frustration emotion is the best predictor for CCB toward the service provider. 65 The measure of this emotion is also reflected in this study.…”

“… 27 In the process of online shopping, the perception of products and services is the basic of the consumer’s shopping experience. 2 , 20 Thus, the specific discussion of these two perceived factors is carried out by the perceived product quality and perceived service quality, which are also the two exogenous variables and represent the “S” (stimulus) in this study of CCB.…”

“…37 , 39 , 40 It has become a fundamental topic in the discussion of online customer satisfaction. 2 , 20 , 40 Especially during COVID-19 induced isolation, consumers only rely on the services provided by online retailers to complete shopping; service quality has a deeper impact on consumer behavior and should be taken seriously.…”

“…Secondly, satisfaction and negative emotional factors are also the key to solving problems. 14 , 20 , 21 The former represents the overall cognition and positive evaluation level of consumers in the transaction process; 21 The latter symbolizes consumers’ negative emotional reaction to a bad trading experience. 18 , 22 As the classic factors affecting CCB, their existing role under the influence of COVID-19-induced negative psychological needs to be reconfirmed.…”

Leader’s strategies for designing the promotional path of regional brand competitiveness in the context of economic globalization

“… Zeithaml et al (1996) revealed that brand loyalty represents the customers’ attempt to maintain a relationship with the target brand through a series of behaviors, mainly including the dissemination of word of mouth and repeat purchases, which will enhance the market competitiveness of the brand. Customer loyalty is the key to the formation of BM’s competitiveness and promotes online shopping of various products ( Wattoo and Iqbal, 2022 ). To establish a solid foundation of BM capacity, we must win considerable loyalty from the consumers.…”